by Curt Contrata
Les McDonald (L) was the 1976, 1980, and
1982 world champ, and Bill Werwage was
the 1970, 1972, and 2004 world champ.
F2B: There were 61 modelers from 23
countries competing for the F2B world title.
This was only the second time the CLWC has
been held in the US. The US hosted its first
WC in 1984, after an uninterrupted streak of
seven consecutive F2B wins spanning 14
years. China won that year and—with the
exception of 1986 and 1992—has won ever
since. Going into this year’s competition, the
US and China were tied at eight wins apiece,
and only three other countries had also won:
Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, each
twice.
The contest format involves two rounds of
qualifying during four days; each round takes
two days to complete. At the end of the
qualifications, each flier’s best score is used
to determine the 15 fliers who advance to the
finals.
The first day of qualifying started with
cool air and a gentle breeze—but only for the
first couple of fliers. The wind slowly
increased throughout the day and continued
to blow for the next two days of
qualifications.
The winds subsided for the second half of
the second round, on the fourth day. With the
better conditions, those who were lucky
enough to fly that day had a much better
chance of advancing to the finals. As it turned
out, 10 of the 15 finalists had flights on Day
Four.
In spite of the winds, US team members
Ted Fancher, Paul Walker, Bill Werwage,
and Rob Gruber had great qualifying flights.
Ted flew first in the first round and had
terrific air, but the early flight draw hurt his
first-round scoring chances. He flew his
beautiful, original Final Edition design
powered by a RoJett .61.
The rest of the US team had terrible
conditions, and each flew as though the wind
was not a factor. Their flying and their
models’ performances were extremely
impressive. Paul flew a Saito 72-powered
Miss America Mustang of his own design,
Bill Werwage had his piped PA .61-powered
P-47 Razorback, and Rob Gruber flew a
Randy Smith-designed Dreadnought with a
piped PA .61.
The diversity of models, engines, and
flying styles was the talk of the contest.
The winning US team (standing left to right): Paul Walker, Ted Fancher, Junior
champion Rob Gruber, and (kneeling) overall champion Bill Werwage.
F2B
There were a fair number of piped models,
long two-strokes, and four-strokes. There
were good and bad examples of each
approach, and it was a great opportunity to
see them all in action under the same
conditions. They all seemed to work fine in
perfect air, but some worked better than
others in the wind.
Equipment and flying ability were put to
the test when the winds blew, and the
Americans never hurt for power. This really
helped in the wind because the models that
were down on power were pushed around
quite a bit and struggled to get through the
pattern. It was impressive how well those
fliers dealt with their aircraft slowing down
and speeding up throughout the maneuvers. It
was common to see models wind up
Randy Smith congratulates Bill Werwage on his high-scoring final flight as Bill cleans
off his original-design, piped PA .61-powered P-47 Razorback.
22 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author
11sig1.QXD 8/23/04 3:00 pm Page 22
extremely fast on consecutive rounds and
have each leg of the Square Eights flown at
different speeds.
In good air, the Discovery Retro .60-
powered models have a pleasant, smooth
sound that presented well. When watching
these models fly, they give the impression of
a slow, smooth pattern. The downside is that
they suffer in vertical performance by slowing
when climbing and speeding up rapidly
downhill.
The longer-stroke engines also have
difficulty penetrating the wind, especially in
the overheads. Even in a light breeze, models
drifted on vertical portions of square
maneuvers. These attributes were common
among all of this type of engine, including the
hand-built ones.
Of the models using this type of power,
the ones that Andrai Yatsenko of Ukraine
produced seemed to be the most competitive.
Several of his airplanes were flown in the
competition, and all were take-apart models
that assembled in just 10 minutes from a 10 x
17 x 32-inch box.
With the four-strokes, there were three
approaches. Paul Walker ran a Saito 72 that
muscled its way around with an impressive
growl. His model was fast, and his style was
aggressive as he powered his way through the
wind.
The French Rémi Beringer Saito 56
models flew fast in level flight and slowed
dramatically in parts of some maneuvers.
With the combination of model design and a
four-stroke’s running characteristics, their
models appeared to rotate on their propellers.
The French models had exceptionally long
tails and gave me the impression of sliding
through turns as they followed their noses. To
get an idea of how they looked, hold a pen in
its center. Imagine it to be the profile of a
Stunt model, and fly it through a loop. Now
hold it by the nose and pull it through a loop
as if it is rotating on the nose, letting the tail
drag behind. Do a few squares and let the tail
whip as it follows the nose.
Defending and five-time World Champion
Xinping Han of China
and teammate Anlin
Niu ran Saito 56
engines. There was
nothing remarkable
about their designs or
approach; everything
with their program
was conservative and
consistent.
In the finals, it was
a fight to the finish
between Bill
Werwage, Rémi
Beringer, and Xinping
Han. Rémi led after
the first round and
flew third in the final
round. Bill flew next
and posted the highest
score of the contest,
taking the lead.
Xinping flew 14th in the last round and put up
his best flight of the week.
It was a long wait as the scores were
added, followed by big smiles on the
American team members’ faces. In the end,
Rémi was third, Xinping was second, and Bill
finished in first place. Rob Gruber flew to a
well-deserved first place in Junior, and with
the support of Paul Walker and Ted Fancher,
the US team finished in first place, sweeping
all of the Gold Medals in this category.
Congratulations to all, including US Team
Manager Keith Trostle.
Rémi Beringer of France flew to a well-deserved third-place
finish with his attractive Gee Bee Sportster powered by a Saito
56 engine.
Retiring champ Xinping Han of China does some image practicing
before his last flight. He finished in second place.
A nervous US team watches Xinping’s final flight. L-R: first
alternate Bob Hunt, Bill Werwage, Paul Walker, Ted Fancher.
November 2004 23
11sig1.QXD 8/23/04 3:02 pm Page 23
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/11
Page Numbers: 22,23
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/11
Page Numbers: 22,23
by Curt Contrata
Les McDonald (L) was the 1976, 1980, and
1982 world champ, and Bill Werwage was
the 1970, 1972, and 2004 world champ.
F2B: There were 61 modelers from 23
countries competing for the F2B world title.
This was only the second time the CLWC has
been held in the US. The US hosted its first
WC in 1984, after an uninterrupted streak of
seven consecutive F2B wins spanning 14
years. China won that year and—with the
exception of 1986 and 1992—has won ever
since. Going into this year’s competition, the
US and China were tied at eight wins apiece,
and only three other countries had also won:
Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, each
twice.
The contest format involves two rounds of
qualifying during four days; each round takes
two days to complete. At the end of the
qualifications, each flier’s best score is used
to determine the 15 fliers who advance to the
finals.
The first day of qualifying started with
cool air and a gentle breeze—but only for the
first couple of fliers. The wind slowly
increased throughout the day and continued
to blow for the next two days of
qualifications.
The winds subsided for the second half of
the second round, on the fourth day. With the
better conditions, those who were lucky
enough to fly that day had a much better
chance of advancing to the finals. As it turned
out, 10 of the 15 finalists had flights on Day
Four.
In spite of the winds, US team members
Ted Fancher, Paul Walker, Bill Werwage,
and Rob Gruber had great qualifying flights.
Ted flew first in the first round and had
terrific air, but the early flight draw hurt his
first-round scoring chances. He flew his
beautiful, original Final Edition design
powered by a RoJett .61.
The rest of the US team had terrible
conditions, and each flew as though the wind
was not a factor. Their flying and their
models’ performances were extremely
impressive. Paul flew a Saito 72-powered
Miss America Mustang of his own design,
Bill Werwage had his piped PA .61-powered
P-47 Razorback, and Rob Gruber flew a
Randy Smith-designed Dreadnought with a
piped PA .61.
The diversity of models, engines, and
flying styles was the talk of the contest.
The winning US team (standing left to right): Paul Walker, Ted Fancher, Junior
champion Rob Gruber, and (kneeling) overall champion Bill Werwage.
F2B
There were a fair number of piped models,
long two-strokes, and four-strokes. There
were good and bad examples of each
approach, and it was a great opportunity to
see them all in action under the same
conditions. They all seemed to work fine in
perfect air, but some worked better than
others in the wind.
Equipment and flying ability were put to
the test when the winds blew, and the
Americans never hurt for power. This really
helped in the wind because the models that
were down on power were pushed around
quite a bit and struggled to get through the
pattern. It was impressive how well those
fliers dealt with their aircraft slowing down
and speeding up throughout the maneuvers. It
was common to see models wind up
Randy Smith congratulates Bill Werwage on his high-scoring final flight as Bill cleans
off his original-design, piped PA .61-powered P-47 Razorback.
22 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author
11sig1.QXD 8/23/04 3:00 pm Page 22
extremely fast on consecutive rounds and
have each leg of the Square Eights flown at
different speeds.
In good air, the Discovery Retro .60-
powered models have a pleasant, smooth
sound that presented well. When watching
these models fly, they give the impression of
a slow, smooth pattern. The downside is that
they suffer in vertical performance by slowing
when climbing and speeding up rapidly
downhill.
The longer-stroke engines also have
difficulty penetrating the wind, especially in
the overheads. Even in a light breeze, models
drifted on vertical portions of square
maneuvers. These attributes were common
among all of this type of engine, including the
hand-built ones.
Of the models using this type of power,
the ones that Andrai Yatsenko of Ukraine
produced seemed to be the most competitive.
Several of his airplanes were flown in the
competition, and all were take-apart models
that assembled in just 10 minutes from a 10 x
17 x 32-inch box.
With the four-strokes, there were three
approaches. Paul Walker ran a Saito 72 that
muscled its way around with an impressive
growl. His model was fast, and his style was
aggressive as he powered his way through the
wind.
The French Rémi Beringer Saito 56
models flew fast in level flight and slowed
dramatically in parts of some maneuvers.
With the combination of model design and a
four-stroke’s running characteristics, their
models appeared to rotate on their propellers.
The French models had exceptionally long
tails and gave me the impression of sliding
through turns as they followed their noses. To
get an idea of how they looked, hold a pen in
its center. Imagine it to be the profile of a
Stunt model, and fly it through a loop. Now
hold it by the nose and pull it through a loop
as if it is rotating on the nose, letting the tail
drag behind. Do a few squares and let the tail
whip as it follows the nose.
Defending and five-time World Champion
Xinping Han of China
and teammate Anlin
Niu ran Saito 56
engines. There was
nothing remarkable
about their designs or
approach; everything
with their program
was conservative and
consistent.
In the finals, it was
a fight to the finish
between Bill
Werwage, Rémi
Beringer, and Xinping
Han. Rémi led after
the first round and
flew third in the final
round. Bill flew next
and posted the highest
score of the contest,
taking the lead.
Xinping flew 14th in the last round and put up
his best flight of the week.
It was a long wait as the scores were
added, followed by big smiles on the
American team members’ faces. In the end,
Rémi was third, Xinping was second, and Bill
finished in first place. Rob Gruber flew to a
well-deserved first place in Junior, and with
the support of Paul Walker and Ted Fancher,
the US team finished in first place, sweeping
all of the Gold Medals in this category.
Congratulations to all, including US Team
Manager Keith Trostle.
Rémi Beringer of France flew to a well-deserved third-place
finish with his attractive Gee Bee Sportster powered by a Saito
56 engine.
Retiring champ Xinping Han of China does some image practicing
before his last flight. He finished in second place.
A nervous US team watches Xinping’s final flight. L-R: first
alternate Bob Hunt, Bill Werwage, Paul Walker, Ted Fancher.
November 2004 23
11sig1.QXD 8/23/04 3:02 pm Page 23