September 2004 131
FOR AN EVENT as young as RC Combat, the sport already has a
few well-defined traditions. One of my favorites is the beginning
of the Combat season each spring in Paris, Texas.
The Paris meet—officially called the Lone Star
Championships—is hosted by the Paris RC Club and Kelvin
McFadden is the CD. Kelvin and his fellow club members do a
great job running the event and handling the crowds for what has
become one of the premier RC Combat events in the United States.
The meet’s status as a premier event was honored this year by
making the Lone Star Championships the official opening
competition of the Radio Control Combat Association (RCCA)
2004 National Championship Series!
Premier or not, as with all events, you need a little cooperation
from Mother Nature to make all the planning and effort worth the
time. Apparently Kelvin assigned the job of weather controller to
the right people because they got exactly what they needed: no
rain during the two-day meet but some beforehand to soften the
ground.
Although rain before the event is not strictly required, it sure
helps because the clay-rich ground at the field has less give than
asphalt when it’s dry. The dousing before the contest softened the
ground enough to be forgiving of those one-point landings.
During the meet a front went through the area and threatened
rain, but its only impact was a few rapid changes in wind
direction! The club and Mother Nature had done everything they
could to get ready for the event. All that was needed was fliers,
and they came in droves!
Sixty-nine pilots flew in the contest, taking part in one or more
of the three official events and one demonstration event. On
Saturday, March 20, the meet opened with 53 pilots participating
in Open B Combat. With six rounds of four heats each, it doesn’t
take a math wizard to figure out that giving 53 pilots the
opportunity to fly in any one of four heats results in more than a
dozen airplanes in the air at once. Now that’s what I call a targetrich
environment!
As you can imagine, the competition was fierce and the scores
were high. Streamers seemed to be everywhere. When the final
round was flown and the results were tallied, Lee Liddle defended
his Texas turf and took first place with 3,620 points! Only 44
points behind was Eric Wenger of Norman, Oklahoma; one more
cut would have been enough to take the lead from Lee. In third
place was Mike Fuller of Evansville, Indiana, with a respectable
2,744 points.
The only lull in Saturday’s Open B action came during the
lunch break when a demonstration round of 2548 Scale was given.
The 2548 event is an attempt to address some rules issues in the
current 2610 Scale event by standardizing wingspan and weight
limits rather than a specific scale as 2610 does. The supporters of
the proposed new class are driving toward obtaining provisional
status and will be giving demonstrations at several meets this year.
An interesting aspect of 2548 is that the “scaleness” of the
model—in outline, finish, and details—is added into the Combat
scores obtained in each round. In other words, the more scale the
model looks, the more advantage the flier has in the scoring. I’m
sure we will see more of this proposed event.
After Open B was finished, the first round of 2610 Scale RC
Combat was launched. Twenty pilots flew in four rounds of two
heats each. Time allowed only two of the rounds to be completed
Saturday afternoon. The final two rounds were held Sunday
morning.
One memorable thing about this event was the large number of
Greg Rose, 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond OK 73003
RADIO CONTROL COMBAT
Here are some of the Open B pilots at the Lone Star
Championships. Not everyone got into the picture!
The smallest event at the contest was 2610 Scale, which still
drew 20 fliers. Notice the large number of twins!
Ron Caravona readies his Me 110 twin-engine aircraft for Scale
Combat on the busy Paris, Texas, flightline.
09sig5.QXD 6/23/04 12:38 pm Page 131
twin-engine designs that flew. As far as I
know, Round 1, Heat 1, may have set
some sort of record because three of the
models flown were twin-engine designs: a
MiG-5 flown by Lou Melancon, an Me
110 flown by Ron Caravona, and a P-38
flown by Mark LaBoyteaux! They may not
have been the highest scorers, but they
definitely won kudos for “coolness.”
The top scorer in the event was Kirk
Adams flying his new Blackburn
Firebrand design. In second place—in a
finish that was even tighter than in Open
B—was Oklahoma’s Don Howard with his
new TBD Devastators. Don was only 14
points behind Kirk. Mike Fredricks came
down from Wisconsin and took third place
with 1,300 points using his well-tested
Fulmar design.
After the end of the Scale portion of
the event, a record-setting Slow
Survivable Combat (SSC) event began. An
incredible 62 pilots flew in six rounds of
six heats! Flying that many sorties in one
day requires an unbelievable amount of
planning and support from the club, and a
lot of cooperation from the fliers. Both did
a great job keeping the event moving.
Unfortunately, the wind picked up
quite a bit for the second day of the meet,
which made flying SSC airplanes more
difficult. Although speeds were quite
different fighting upwind versus running
downwind, the pace of the action was still
high.
It hardly seems fair to list the top three
in an event with 62 fliers. Eleven pilots
scored more than 2,000 points each.
Getting that many points is a contestwinning
performance anywhere but in
Paris!
The best of the best in SSC was Eric
Wenger with 2,748 points. The two
winners from Open B switched places for
SSC as Lee Liddle came in with 2,424
points for second place. In third place with
2,324 points was Danny Vaught, and Mike
Fredricks was only 10 points behind him.
SSC has certainly blossomed on the RC
Combat scene, and taking the title of the
largest event flown at Paris away from
Open Class B is noteworthy. For two days
of incredible Combat flying, there is
nothing like Paris in the springtime!
That’s all for now, so until next time, fly
safely, fly Combat, and be sure to check
your six! MA
132 MODEL AVIATION
WWW.PSPEC.COM
Complete engine and muffler packages are available.
VISIT US AT WWW.PSPEC.COM.
DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME!
TWISTER 4-STROKE MUFFLERS & ELBOWS
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ULTRATHRUST MUFFLERS
PERFORMANCE SPECIALTIES
PO Box 3146 • Gardnerville, NV 89410
Phone: 775-265-7523 • Fax: 775-265-7522
SG Model Engines
P.O. Box 280303
Northridge, CA 91328
Tel. (818) 472-8460
Engines, Accessories & Parts
Dealers
Welcome
Web Site: Shop.vendio.com/RossiEnginesUSA
Our Full-Size
Plans List
has hundreds
of models
to choose from.
See page 183
for details.
Did You Know …
That any donation you make to AMA is tax-deductible?
AMA is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit association. This
means that any funds you donate beyond your regular
membership dues can be deducted from your taxes.
Please consider donating to AMA. Your gift will help
us continue our efforts to improve your organization.
Micro-Mark has more than 2,600 name-brand and
hard-to-find tools and accessories…many at discount
prices. You’ll complete your projects in less time
with more professional results!
340-3287 Snyder Avenue
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-1538
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE ZIP
To order our catalog, send $1 and this coupon to:
1-800-225-1066 • www.micromark.com
®
Please say you saw our ad in the September issue of Model Aviation.
MICRO-MARK’S
got it!
#82439
HEAVY DUTY CHOPPER II…FOR THE SERIOUS CRAFTSMAN
09sig5.QXD 6/23/04 12:39 pm Page 132
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/09
Page Numbers: 131,132
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/09
Page Numbers: 131,132
September 2004 131
FOR AN EVENT as young as RC Combat, the sport already has a
few well-defined traditions. One of my favorites is the beginning
of the Combat season each spring in Paris, Texas.
The Paris meet—officially called the Lone Star
Championships—is hosted by the Paris RC Club and Kelvin
McFadden is the CD. Kelvin and his fellow club members do a
great job running the event and handling the crowds for what has
become one of the premier RC Combat events in the United States.
The meet’s status as a premier event was honored this year by
making the Lone Star Championships the official opening
competition of the Radio Control Combat Association (RCCA)
2004 National Championship Series!
Premier or not, as with all events, you need a little cooperation
from Mother Nature to make all the planning and effort worth the
time. Apparently Kelvin assigned the job of weather controller to
the right people because they got exactly what they needed: no
rain during the two-day meet but some beforehand to soften the
ground.
Although rain before the event is not strictly required, it sure
helps because the clay-rich ground at the field has less give than
asphalt when it’s dry. The dousing before the contest softened the
ground enough to be forgiving of those one-point landings.
During the meet a front went through the area and threatened
rain, but its only impact was a few rapid changes in wind
direction! The club and Mother Nature had done everything they
could to get ready for the event. All that was needed was fliers,
and they came in droves!
Sixty-nine pilots flew in the contest, taking part in one or more
of the three official events and one demonstration event. On
Saturday, March 20, the meet opened with 53 pilots participating
in Open B Combat. With six rounds of four heats each, it doesn’t
take a math wizard to figure out that giving 53 pilots the
opportunity to fly in any one of four heats results in more than a
dozen airplanes in the air at once. Now that’s what I call a targetrich
environment!
As you can imagine, the competition was fierce and the scores
were high. Streamers seemed to be everywhere. When the final
round was flown and the results were tallied, Lee Liddle defended
his Texas turf and took first place with 3,620 points! Only 44
points behind was Eric Wenger of Norman, Oklahoma; one more
cut would have been enough to take the lead from Lee. In third
place was Mike Fuller of Evansville, Indiana, with a respectable
2,744 points.
The only lull in Saturday’s Open B action came during the
lunch break when a demonstration round of 2548 Scale was given.
The 2548 event is an attempt to address some rules issues in the
current 2610 Scale event by standardizing wingspan and weight
limits rather than a specific scale as 2610 does. The supporters of
the proposed new class are driving toward obtaining provisional
status and will be giving demonstrations at several meets this year.
An interesting aspect of 2548 is that the “scaleness” of the
model—in outline, finish, and details—is added into the Combat
scores obtained in each round. In other words, the more scale the
model looks, the more advantage the flier has in the scoring. I’m
sure we will see more of this proposed event.
After Open B was finished, the first round of 2610 Scale RC
Combat was launched. Twenty pilots flew in four rounds of two
heats each. Time allowed only two of the rounds to be completed
Saturday afternoon. The final two rounds were held Sunday
morning.
One memorable thing about this event was the large number of
Greg Rose, 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond OK 73003
RADIO CONTROL COMBAT
Here are some of the Open B pilots at the Lone Star
Championships. Not everyone got into the picture!
The smallest event at the contest was 2610 Scale, which still
drew 20 fliers. Notice the large number of twins!
Ron Caravona readies his Me 110 twin-engine aircraft for Scale
Combat on the busy Paris, Texas, flightline.
09sig5.QXD 6/23/04 12:38 pm Page 131
twin-engine designs that flew. As far as I
know, Round 1, Heat 1, may have set
some sort of record because three of the
models flown were twin-engine designs: a
MiG-5 flown by Lou Melancon, an Me
110 flown by Ron Caravona, and a P-38
flown by Mark LaBoyteaux! They may not
have been the highest scorers, but they
definitely won kudos for “coolness.”
The top scorer in the event was Kirk
Adams flying his new Blackburn
Firebrand design. In second place—in a
finish that was even tighter than in Open
B—was Oklahoma’s Don Howard with his
new TBD Devastators. Don was only 14
points behind Kirk. Mike Fredricks came
down from Wisconsin and took third place
with 1,300 points using his well-tested
Fulmar design.
After the end of the Scale portion of
the event, a record-setting Slow
Survivable Combat (SSC) event began. An
incredible 62 pilots flew in six rounds of
six heats! Flying that many sorties in one
day requires an unbelievable amount of
planning and support from the club, and a
lot of cooperation from the fliers. Both did
a great job keeping the event moving.
Unfortunately, the wind picked up
quite a bit for the second day of the meet,
which made flying SSC airplanes more
difficult. Although speeds were quite
different fighting upwind versus running
downwind, the pace of the action was still
high.
It hardly seems fair to list the top three
in an event with 62 fliers. Eleven pilots
scored more than 2,000 points each.
Getting that many points is a contestwinning
performance anywhere but in
Paris!
The best of the best in SSC was Eric
Wenger with 2,748 points. The two
winners from Open B switched places for
SSC as Lee Liddle came in with 2,424
points for second place. In third place with
2,324 points was Danny Vaught, and Mike
Fredricks was only 10 points behind him.
SSC has certainly blossomed on the RC
Combat scene, and taking the title of the
largest event flown at Paris away from
Open Class B is noteworthy. For two days
of incredible Combat flying, there is
nothing like Paris in the springtime!
That’s all for now, so until next time, fly
safely, fly Combat, and be sure to check
your six! MA
132 MODEL AVIATION
WWW.PSPEC.COM
Complete engine and muffler packages are available.
VISIT US AT WWW.PSPEC.COM.
DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME!
TWISTER 4-STROKE MUFFLERS & ELBOWS
PISTON/CYLINDER ASSEMBLIES
ULTRATHRUST MUFFLERS
PERFORMANCE SPECIALTIES
PO Box 3146 • Gardnerville, NV 89410
Phone: 775-265-7523 • Fax: 775-265-7522
SG Model Engines
P.O. Box 280303
Northridge, CA 91328
Tel. (818) 472-8460
Engines, Accessories & Parts
Dealers
Welcome
Web Site: Shop.vendio.com/RossiEnginesUSA
Our Full-Size
Plans List
has hundreds
of models
to choose from.
See page 183
for details.
Did You Know …
That any donation you make to AMA is tax-deductible?
AMA is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit association. This
means that any funds you donate beyond your regular
membership dues can be deducted from your taxes.
Please consider donating to AMA. Your gift will help
us continue our efforts to improve your organization.
Micro-Mark has more than 2,600 name-brand and
hard-to-find tools and accessories…many at discount
prices. You’ll complete your projects in less time
with more professional results!
340-3287 Snyder Avenue
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-1538
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE ZIP
To order our catalog, send $1 and this coupon to:
1-800-225-1066 • www.micromark.com
®
Please say you saw our ad in the September issue of Model Aviation.
MICRO-MARK’S
got it!
#82439
HEAVY DUTY CHOPPER II…FOR THE SERIOUS CRAFTSMAN
09sig5.QXD 6/23/04 12:39 pm Page 132