2004 Southwest Regionals

2 0 0 4
J o h n P a t t o n
SRoeugitohnwaelsst
THE SOUTHWEST REGIONALS
contest has been held in Arizona
throughout its existence—for 54
years. It has traditionally been a
Free Flight competition, but
through the years Control Line and
Radio Control events have been
added, which has imparted a unique
flavor to this gathering. Each year
the contest is held on Martin Luther
King Jr.-day weekend in January
(17-19) so that many attendees can
make a three-day weekend of it.
The 2004 site was close to Eloy,
midway between Phoenix and
Tucson. This land was formerly
used to grow cotton and is as flat as
a board for miles. There is not much
vegetation there because Arizona
has been enduring a drought for a
few years.
Bruce Augustus launches Super Cyclone .65-
powered Playboy Senior. He finished third in
OT Gas Pylon. Katy Patton photo.
Jean Andrews flew this Jabberwock in Rubber
Small Cabin. He was Nostalgia Rubber
National Cup champ in 2002 and 2003.
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:48 am Page 30
June 2004 31
Bud Romak readies Arlie Armstrong Hurricane for flight. It was
designed in roughly 1940; has Super Cyclone engine.
Jerry Murphy with his new Jayhawk, which he says is a Witch
Hawk with some Pearl influence. He flies it in F1J.
Lynn Pulley shows his Satellite-influenced model. It uses a
Nelson .21 engine and has full auto surfaces.
John Warren lights the fires on his F1C. He finished fourth after
dropping a max by eight seconds in the sixth round.
Dave Shirley’s Verbitsky Reductor F1C model did well with six
straight maxes, but dropped seventh to take sixth place.
Vic Lichtenberg flew his 615-square-inch, Veco .19-powered
GEEF in A Nostalgia. He enjoyed the Arizona sunshine.
Photos by the author except as noted
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:51 am Page 31
32 MODEL AVIATION
The clear “Hat of the Year” award
winner, even though the year just
started, is Larry Kruse.
David Ramsey launches Alert in A Nostalgia. Note wide-open spaces behind him!
Frank Roberge won 1⁄2A Gas with his original-design Foxbat
powered by a Cyclon .049 engine. Katy Patton photo.
Herb Kothe and OT Rubber Small Stick-winning Korda C powered
by 16 strands of 1⁄8-inch rubber twisting 17-inch propeller.
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:53 am Page 32
June 2004 33
Jim O’Reilly shows off his OT Rubber
Large Stick entry: an Ed Lidgard-designed
Hi-Ho. Photo by Katy Patton.
Don DeLoach with Hand-Launched and
Catapult Gliders early in the morning. He
won several Gas events at the contest.
Lewie Kear with his national-recordsetting
Catapult Glider. He captured third
with it at this competition.
Martin Schroedter winds his Vivchar F1B model for his first max
of the day. He won the event in the second flyoff round.
Jean Andrews makes a perfect launch with his Jabberwock in
Rubber Small Cabin. It looks like Jean could fly too!
Timer mechanism on Mike Woodhouse’s F1B Wakefield. There’s
lots of hooking up to do. Notice retrieval radio antenna.
Columnists do “walk the walk”; David Ramsey (Flying Models)
flew Alert he scaled from original plans in A Nostalgia.
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 4:38 pm Page 33
34 MODEL AVIATION
The weather was mild, with
temperatures in the low 70s and light
breezes after 10 a.m. Numerous
participants were reaching for the
sunscreen because there was bright
sunshine all weekend.
Event entries (there were more than
150) reflected the good weather, with
nonstop flying all weekend. People from
across the US, Canada, and even Europe
helped provide the contest with an
international flavor.
For 2004 there were three concurrent
contests at the site: an AMA/Society of
Antique Modelers (SAM)/National Free
Flight Society (NFFS) National Cup
contest, the FAI Free Flight America’s
Cup contest and finals qualifier, and a
SAM RC Old-Timers event. In addition to
the flying, there was a large MECA
(Model Engine Collectors Association)
Collecto in nearby Casa Grande.
“Busy” hardly describes a full-on FF
contest of this scale. There were 34 events
contested at the AMA/SAM/NFFS area
alone. The FAI crowd started flying its
rounds at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and
continued throughout the day. The sky was
usually full of brightly colored models
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At your dealer now! (S680 shown). screaming upward and then floating
gracefully high above.
This year many rubber-powered models
seemed to gain as much altitude as the
high-performance Gas models. At one
point Saturday near noon, 14 models were
flying in what appeared to be the same
thermal. There was every color of the
rainbow, with some airplanes flashing in
the bright sunlight as they turned in lazy,
gliding circles.
Most of the models landed less than a
couple hundred yards from their launch
points after their maxes. One flier said that
his airplane landed less than 10 feet from
its starting point! Even the chase bikes
were silent; most modelers just walked to
retrieve their airplanes. However,
sometimes the breezes did come up to
make things challenging.
FFers are great modelers who
understand how to trim and fly their
aircraft. They are also pretty darn good
motorbike riders. A FFer will ride a bike
back to the field one-handed while holding
a model in his or her free hand. Most chase
their airplanes using small dirt bikes, some
of which have been around for quite
awhile. It is worth going to a contest just to
see the many types of bikes the fliers use.
Don DeLoach (Colorado Springs CO)
almost swept the AMA Gas events this
year, with wins in the A, B, and C classes.
Daryl Perkins (Chino Hills CA) won the D
Gas event and is probably happy that Don
didn’t enter it too! Don was busy winning
P-30 and flying Nostalgia Rubber.
The AMA Gas-model fliers are
following the FAI fliers’ technology lead
and are getting some high performance
from their aircraft. Frank Roberge
(Scottsdale AZ) won the 1⁄2A Gas event
with his own-design Foxbat using a Cyclon
engine. The model featured nice
craftsmanship and a winning design. I hope
to see more of this airplane in the future.
Californian Michael Thompson won
Classic AB Power, and Lynn Pulley
(Saugus CA) won Classic CD Power.
These aircraft do not have auto surfaces
but are still modern, high-performance FF
models in every way. Lynn’s Killerbee 750
broke the class D record two years ago at
the Southwest Regionals.
The Nostalgia events (Gas and Rubber)
were well attended, and it took some great
flying to win. It is a treat to see the older
designs still showing that they have “legs.”
Dan Sobala (Tucson AZ), who designed
the GEEF in the 1950s, flew his design to
win several awards, which included a first
in A Nostalgia. Vic Lichtenberg (Tacoma
WA) also flew a GEEF in that category. A
Nostalgia had 13 entrants, so hats off to
Dan for his six maxes!
B Nostalgia was fairly close, with SAM
Speaks Editor Bruce Augustus (Sun Valley
ID) nosing out Dick Nelson (Tucson AZ)
by 30 seconds after five maxes. Dan
Sobala was third. (Guess what he was
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:18 pm Page 34
36 MODEL AVIATION
flying.) Bruce flew a Fox .29X-powered
Ramrod 750.
Gene Smith (Stillwater OK) took the C
Nostalgia win with six maxes, and Archie
Harlan (Phoenix AZ) flew to second place
with his GEEF powered by an O.S. Max
.35.
Gary Sherman (Corona CA) did well in
the Old Timer (OT) Gas categories, taking
first place in OT Gas Pylon with his
Sailplane and a close second in OT Gas
Fuselage behind Ron Thomas (Moreno
Valley CA).
The Rubber events were exciting to
watch. Herb Kothe (Boulder CO), Bud
Romak (Moraga CA), Carl Redlin (Park
City UT), and the great Bob White
(Monrovia CA) were extremely busy all
weekend. The sky was constantly filled by
these silent and elegant models.
Herb Kothe didn’t seem to stop
winding all weekend, and he wound up
(groan!) in first place in two events. He
edged out Al Yuhasz (Denver CO) for a
win in OT Rubber Small Stick by 15
seconds after seven maxes, and he just got
by Carl Redlin in OT Rubber Small
Fuselage with three maxes.
Al did win OT Rubber Large Fuselage
with a strong showing and got by Jim
O’Reilly (Wichita KS). Bob White bested
everyone with 970 seconds, flying his
Torontonian in Nostalgia Wakefield. It had
a strong climb and a flawless glide!
Former FF Indoor World Champ Bud
Romak placed in four Rubber events and
won Nostalgia Rubber with a time of 1,116
seconds. Wow! It seems as though he
enjoys flying in the sunshine.
Kevin Sherman (Corona CA) bested
seven entries in OT Rubber Large Stick
with an incredible 1,604 seconds. That is
almost nine maxes. The Rubber events are
getting more and more popular now that
good rubber is available. The performance
of these aircraft is nothing short of
astounding.
Tim Batiuk (Pacifica CA) dominated
the small Glider events: Catapult and Hand
Launched (HLG). Lee Hines (Costa Mesa
CA) and Lewie Kear (Mesa AZ) couldn’t
catch up in Catapult, and Dallas Parker
(Sepulveda CA) and Norm Smith (Ione
CA) couldn’t do it in HLG. Then Tim
added a few more maxes than he needed
for a time of 1,138 seconds (more than
nine maxes!) in Catapult.
Larry Kruse (Lawton OK) won the
“Hat of the Year” award while flying in
the Jetex/Rapier event to nudge out Frank
Pollard (Port Townsend WA). Ben Nead
(Tucson AZ) finished third. How about
some rocket scientists/chemists out there
coming up with some good fuel?
FAI is contested in one-hour rounds. That
means everyone basically has to fly in
similar air with a one-hour launch window.
With 56 competitors in the various events,
things got really busy on the flightline!
The large FAI events (F1A Glider, F1B
Wakefield, and F1C Power) were flown
Saturday.
The 22 F1A Glider fliers started the
day. After seven rounds, only six
contestants had flown seven straight maxes
to make it to the flyoffs, where the max
flight time increased to 300 seconds in the
eighth round.
The cooler afternoon air cut the field to
three fliers after the first flyoff round, in
which Junior Kyle Jones (Avon Lake OH)
crashed during launch. Jim Parker (North
Hills CA) and Peter Brocks (Scottsdale
AZ) just couldn’t get enough good air.
Hector Diaz, Pierre Brun (Van Nuys CA),
and Ernesto Buselli launched into the
cooling evening air, and Hector got the
best air and a win by more than a minute.
Wakefield F1B had 17 fliers, only five
of which made it to the flyoff rounds. The
max increase to 300 seconds and the late
afternoon air did it again. George Batiuk
(San Luis Obispo CA) launched quickly
and easily maxed, but he had a problem
because he couldn’t retrieve his airplane
and had to go to a backup model.
Bob Tymchek (Nipomo CA) and Allen
Ulm (El Cajon CA) had motor problems,
but they still launched and did not make it
to the final round. The Round Nine launch
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06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:19 pm Page 36
June 2004 39
was into chilly air, with Martin
Schroedter (Morgan Hill CA) winning by
only five seconds over George Batiuk and
Jack Emory (Whitehall MI).
Only six F1C fliers entered this year.
These airplanes are superbly
sophisticated, and their performance is
nothing short of phenomenal! It strains
the imagination to see what a 2.5cc
engine can do!
The competitors who made it to the
flyoffs were Terry Kerger (San Gabriel
CA), Guy Menanno (Granada Hills CA),
and Randy Archer (Scottsdale AZ), and
they maxed out in the eighth round. Terry
and Guy launched into some cooling air,
and Randy waited for a minute or so to
see how their flights looked. Then he felt
something and made a picture-perfect
launch to take first place by more than
two minutes.
The 22 entrants flew F1G Coupe
d’Hiver Sunday with breezy conditions in
the early rounds. The wind had died down
by 10:30, and perfect conditions
dominated the day. Even so, only six
fliers made it to the flyoff round after five
flights.
John Clapp (Sayre PA), Bob White,
Dick Wood (Phoenix AZ), and Eddie
Vanlandingham (Mansfield TX) launched
together, but Hung (the thermal god) was
looking the other way while George
Schroedter watched and waited. The first
four fell out quickly while George waited
awhile and picked good enough air to win
with a 162 flight.
This year four Juniors flew in F1H
Glider and two made it to the flyoff
rounds. Brian VanNest (Bishop CA) won,
with Mike McKeever (Fair Oaks CA) and
Ryan Archer (Scottsdale AZ) following.
Ryan set a Junior record with his
performance. Watch out, Randy!
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With its “mini-rockets,” F1J was
incredibly exciting. John Warren flew
flawlessly to win over Ed Carrol (Newhall
CA) and Guy Menanno. These aircraft are
approaching the F1C models in
performance!
Several AMA record applications were
sent in from this contest. Don DeLoach
filed for records in AB Classic Gas flying
in B Gas with a Shocker 540 and in CD
Classic Gas flying in C Gas with a Pilfered
Pearl. Paul Andrade (Highlands Ranch
CO) filed for a record in Mulvihill with a
time of 22 minutes, 21 seconds.
The Southwest Regionals has been
blessed with some great weather and fine
flying throughout the years, but the best
thing about this contest is the friendship
and camaraderie of the fliers and families.
Thanks to everyone who came and made
this one of the best contests we have had.
Wait until next year!
Special mention has to go to Contest
Manager Al Lidberg (Tempe AZ) and the
three contest directors who made this event
memorable; Greg Tutmark (Seattle WA) at
the AMA table, John Nystedt (Scottsdale
AZ) at the FAI table, and Bob Angus
(Tucson AZ) at the SAM RC event did a
great job.
I hope to see everyone again next year. MA
John Patton
4228 N. 35 Pl.
Phoenix AZ 85018
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06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:19 pm Page 39

2 0 0 4
J o h n P a t t o n
SRoeugitohnwaelsst
THE SOUTHWEST REGIONALS
contest has been held in Arizona
throughout its existence—for 54
years. It has traditionally been a
Free Flight competition, but
through the years Control Line and
Radio Control events have been
added, which has imparted a unique
flavor to this gathering. Each year
the contest is held on Martin Luther
King Jr.-day weekend in January
(17-19) so that many attendees can
make a three-day weekend of it.
The 2004 site was close to Eloy,
midway between Phoenix and
Tucson. This land was formerly
used to grow cotton and is as flat as
a board for miles. There is not much
vegetation there because Arizona
has been enduring a drought for a
few years.
Bruce Augustus launches Super Cyclone .65-
powered Playboy Senior. He finished third in
OT Gas Pylon. Katy Patton photo.
Jean Andrews flew this Jabberwock in Rubber
Small Cabin. He was Nostalgia Rubber
National Cup champ in 2002 and 2003.
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:48 am Page 30
June 2004 31
Bud Romak readies Arlie Armstrong Hurricane for flight. It was
designed in roughly 1940; has Super Cyclone engine.
Jerry Murphy with his new Jayhawk, which he says is a Witch
Hawk with some Pearl influence. He flies it in F1J.
Lynn Pulley shows his Satellite-influenced model. It uses a
Nelson .21 engine and has full auto surfaces.
John Warren lights the fires on his F1C. He finished fourth after
dropping a max by eight seconds in the sixth round.
Dave Shirley’s Verbitsky Reductor F1C model did well with six
straight maxes, but dropped seventh to take sixth place.
Vic Lichtenberg flew his 615-square-inch, Veco .19-powered
GEEF in A Nostalgia. He enjoyed the Arizona sunshine.
Photos by the author except as noted
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:51 am Page 31
32 MODEL AVIATION
The clear “Hat of the Year” award
winner, even though the year just
started, is Larry Kruse.
David Ramsey launches Alert in A Nostalgia. Note wide-open spaces behind him!
Frank Roberge won 1⁄2A Gas with his original-design Foxbat
powered by a Cyclon .049 engine. Katy Patton photo.
Herb Kothe and OT Rubber Small Stick-winning Korda C powered
by 16 strands of 1⁄8-inch rubber twisting 17-inch propeller.
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:53 am Page 32
June 2004 33
Jim O’Reilly shows off his OT Rubber
Large Stick entry: an Ed Lidgard-designed
Hi-Ho. Photo by Katy Patton.
Don DeLoach with Hand-Launched and
Catapult Gliders early in the morning. He
won several Gas events at the contest.
Lewie Kear with his national-recordsetting
Catapult Glider. He captured third
with it at this competition.
Martin Schroedter winds his Vivchar F1B model for his first max
of the day. He won the event in the second flyoff round.
Jean Andrews makes a perfect launch with his Jabberwock in
Rubber Small Cabin. It looks like Jean could fly too!
Timer mechanism on Mike Woodhouse’s F1B Wakefield. There’s
lots of hooking up to do. Notice retrieval radio antenna.
Columnists do “walk the walk”; David Ramsey (Flying Models)
flew Alert he scaled from original plans in A Nostalgia.
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 4:38 pm Page 33
34 MODEL AVIATION
The weather was mild, with
temperatures in the low 70s and light
breezes after 10 a.m. Numerous
participants were reaching for the
sunscreen because there was bright
sunshine all weekend.
Event entries (there were more than
150) reflected the good weather, with
nonstop flying all weekend. People from
across the US, Canada, and even Europe
helped provide the contest with an
international flavor.
For 2004 there were three concurrent
contests at the site: an AMA/Society of
Antique Modelers (SAM)/National Free
Flight Society (NFFS) National Cup
contest, the FAI Free Flight America’s
Cup contest and finals qualifier, and a
SAM RC Old-Timers event. In addition to
the flying, there was a large MECA
(Model Engine Collectors Association)
Collecto in nearby Casa Grande.
“Busy” hardly describes a full-on FF
contest of this scale. There were 34 events
contested at the AMA/SAM/NFFS area
alone. The FAI crowd started flying its
rounds at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and
continued throughout the day. The sky was
usually full of brightly colored models
One North Haven Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21224 USA.
www.sullivanproducts.com TigerDrivetm
Unleashed
Tired of yanking on a rope? TigerDrive is the solution to broken pull start ropes,
burned up onboard starters and hard-to-turn engines. Simply replace the recoil starter
with a TigerDrive, and you can use any standard hand held starter to reliably crank the engine.
Constructed of steel gears, bronze and steel bearings and an aluminum frame, TigerDrives are
made to last. There are sizes for nearly all R/C car, truck, heli and boat engines with pull starters.
At your dealer now! (S680 shown). screaming upward and then floating
gracefully high above.
This year many rubber-powered models
seemed to gain as much altitude as the
high-performance Gas models. At one
point Saturday near noon, 14 models were
flying in what appeared to be the same
thermal. There was every color of the
rainbow, with some airplanes flashing in
the bright sunlight as they turned in lazy,
gliding circles.
Most of the models landed less than a
couple hundred yards from their launch
points after their maxes. One flier said that
his airplane landed less than 10 feet from
its starting point! Even the chase bikes
were silent; most modelers just walked to
retrieve their airplanes. However,
sometimes the breezes did come up to
make things challenging.
FFers are great modelers who
understand how to trim and fly their
aircraft. They are also pretty darn good
motorbike riders. A FFer will ride a bike
back to the field one-handed while holding
a model in his or her free hand. Most chase
their airplanes using small dirt bikes, some
of which have been around for quite
awhile. It is worth going to a contest just to
see the many types of bikes the fliers use.
Don DeLoach (Colorado Springs CO)
almost swept the AMA Gas events this
year, with wins in the A, B, and C classes.
Daryl Perkins (Chino Hills CA) won the D
Gas event and is probably happy that Don
didn’t enter it too! Don was busy winning
P-30 and flying Nostalgia Rubber.
The AMA Gas-model fliers are
following the FAI fliers’ technology lead
and are getting some high performance
from their aircraft. Frank Roberge
(Scottsdale AZ) won the 1⁄2A Gas event
with his own-design Foxbat using a Cyclon
engine. The model featured nice
craftsmanship and a winning design. I hope
to see more of this airplane in the future.
Californian Michael Thompson won
Classic AB Power, and Lynn Pulley
(Saugus CA) won Classic CD Power.
These aircraft do not have auto surfaces
but are still modern, high-performance FF
models in every way. Lynn’s Killerbee 750
broke the class D record two years ago at
the Southwest Regionals.
The Nostalgia events (Gas and Rubber)
were well attended, and it took some great
flying to win. It is a treat to see the older
designs still showing that they have “legs.”
Dan Sobala (Tucson AZ), who designed
the GEEF in the 1950s, flew his design to
win several awards, which included a first
in A Nostalgia. Vic Lichtenberg (Tacoma
WA) also flew a GEEF in that category. A
Nostalgia had 13 entrants, so hats off to
Dan for his six maxes!
B Nostalgia was fairly close, with SAM
Speaks Editor Bruce Augustus (Sun Valley
ID) nosing out Dick Nelson (Tucson AZ)
by 30 seconds after five maxes. Dan
Sobala was third. (Guess what he was
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:18 pm Page 34
36 MODEL AVIATION
flying.) Bruce flew a Fox .29X-powered
Ramrod 750.
Gene Smith (Stillwater OK) took the C
Nostalgia win with six maxes, and Archie
Harlan (Phoenix AZ) flew to second place
with his GEEF powered by an O.S. Max
.35.
Gary Sherman (Corona CA) did well in
the Old Timer (OT) Gas categories, taking
first place in OT Gas Pylon with his
Sailplane and a close second in OT Gas
Fuselage behind Ron Thomas (Moreno
Valley CA).
The Rubber events were exciting to
watch. Herb Kothe (Boulder CO), Bud
Romak (Moraga CA), Carl Redlin (Park
City UT), and the great Bob White
(Monrovia CA) were extremely busy all
weekend. The sky was constantly filled by
these silent and elegant models.
Herb Kothe didn’t seem to stop
winding all weekend, and he wound up
(groan!) in first place in two events. He
edged out Al Yuhasz (Denver CO) for a
win in OT Rubber Small Stick by 15
seconds after seven maxes, and he just got
by Carl Redlin in OT Rubber Small
Fuselage with three maxes.
Al did win OT Rubber Large Fuselage
with a strong showing and got by Jim
O’Reilly (Wichita KS). Bob White bested
everyone with 970 seconds, flying his
Torontonian in Nostalgia Wakefield. It had
a strong climb and a flawless glide!
Former FF Indoor World Champ Bud
Romak placed in four Rubber events and
won Nostalgia Rubber with a time of 1,116
seconds. Wow! It seems as though he
enjoys flying in the sunshine.
Kevin Sherman (Corona CA) bested
seven entries in OT Rubber Large Stick
with an incredible 1,604 seconds. That is
almost nine maxes. The Rubber events are
getting more and more popular now that
good rubber is available. The performance
of these aircraft is nothing short of
astounding.
Tim Batiuk (Pacifica CA) dominated
the small Glider events: Catapult and Hand
Launched (HLG). Lee Hines (Costa Mesa
CA) and Lewie Kear (Mesa AZ) couldn’t
catch up in Catapult, and Dallas Parker
(Sepulveda CA) and Norm Smith (Ione
CA) couldn’t do it in HLG. Then Tim
added a few more maxes than he needed
for a time of 1,138 seconds (more than
nine maxes!) in Catapult.
Larry Kruse (Lawton OK) won the
“Hat of the Year” award while flying in
the Jetex/Rapier event to nudge out Frank
Pollard (Port Townsend WA). Ben Nead
(Tucson AZ) finished third. How about
some rocket scientists/chemists out there
coming up with some good fuel?
FAI is contested in one-hour rounds. That
means everyone basically has to fly in
similar air with a one-hour launch window.
With 56 competitors in the various events,
things got really busy on the flightline!
The large FAI events (F1A Glider, F1B
Wakefield, and F1C Power) were flown
Saturday.
The 22 F1A Glider fliers started the
day. After seven rounds, only six
contestants had flown seven straight maxes
to make it to the flyoffs, where the max
flight time increased to 300 seconds in the
eighth round.
The cooler afternoon air cut the field to
three fliers after the first flyoff round, in
which Junior Kyle Jones (Avon Lake OH)
crashed during launch. Jim Parker (North
Hills CA) and Peter Brocks (Scottsdale
AZ) just couldn’t get enough good air.
Hector Diaz, Pierre Brun (Van Nuys CA),
and Ernesto Buselli launched into the
cooling evening air, and Hector got the
best air and a win by more than a minute.
Wakefield F1B had 17 fliers, only five
of which made it to the flyoff rounds. The
max increase to 300 seconds and the late
afternoon air did it again. George Batiuk
(San Luis Obispo CA) launched quickly
and easily maxed, but he had a problem
because he couldn’t retrieve his airplane
and had to go to a backup model.
Bob Tymchek (Nipomo CA) and Allen
Ulm (El Cajon CA) had motor problems,
but they still launched and did not make it
to the final round. The Round Nine launch
Visit the MODEL AVIATION Digital Archives!
Featuring a searchable database of Model
Aviation issues and articles from 1975 to 2000.
This is by far one of the best
efforts AMA has made to
construct something that is for
every member.
—Marco Pinto
Peninsula Channel Commanders
San Francisco CA
Find it at www.modelaircraft.org. On the main page, click
on the “Members Only” section, log in with your last name
and AMA number, then click on the “Visit the Digital
Archive” image.
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:19 pm Page 36
June 2004 39
was into chilly air, with Martin
Schroedter (Morgan Hill CA) winning by
only five seconds over George Batiuk and
Jack Emory (Whitehall MI).
Only six F1C fliers entered this year.
These airplanes are superbly
sophisticated, and their performance is
nothing short of phenomenal! It strains
the imagination to see what a 2.5cc
engine can do!
The competitors who made it to the
flyoffs were Terry Kerger (San Gabriel
CA), Guy Menanno (Granada Hills CA),
and Randy Archer (Scottsdale AZ), and
they maxed out in the eighth round. Terry
and Guy launched into some cooling air,
and Randy waited for a minute or so to
see how their flights looked. Then he felt
something and made a picture-perfect
launch to take first place by more than
two minutes.
The 22 entrants flew F1G Coupe
d’Hiver Sunday with breezy conditions in
the early rounds. The wind had died down
by 10:30, and perfect conditions
dominated the day. Even so, only six
fliers made it to the flyoff round after five
flights.
John Clapp (Sayre PA), Bob White,
Dick Wood (Phoenix AZ), and Eddie
Vanlandingham (Mansfield TX) launched
together, but Hung (the thermal god) was
looking the other way while George
Schroedter watched and waited. The first
four fell out quickly while George waited
awhile and picked good enough air to win
with a 162 flight.
This year four Juniors flew in F1H
Glider and two made it to the flyoff
rounds. Brian VanNest (Bishop CA) won,
with Mike McKeever (Fair Oaks CA) and
Ryan Archer (Scottsdale AZ) following.
Ryan set a Junior record with his
performance. Watch out, Randy!
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With its “mini-rockets,” F1J was
incredibly exciting. John Warren flew
flawlessly to win over Ed Carrol (Newhall
CA) and Guy Menanno. These aircraft are
approaching the F1C models in
performance!
Several AMA record applications were
sent in from this contest. Don DeLoach
filed for records in AB Classic Gas flying
in B Gas with a Shocker 540 and in CD
Classic Gas flying in C Gas with a Pilfered
Pearl. Paul Andrade (Highlands Ranch
CO) filed for a record in Mulvihill with a
time of 22 minutes, 21 seconds.
The Southwest Regionals has been
blessed with some great weather and fine
flying throughout the years, but the best
thing about this contest is the friendship
and camaraderie of the fliers and families.
Thanks to everyone who came and made
this one of the best contests we have had.
Wait until next year!
Special mention has to go to Contest
Manager Al Lidberg (Tempe AZ) and the
three contest directors who made this event
memorable; Greg Tutmark (Seattle WA) at
the AMA table, John Nystedt (Scottsdale
AZ) at the FAI table, and Bob Angus
(Tucson AZ) at the SAM RC event did a
great job.
I hope to see everyone again next year. MA
John Patton
4228 N. 35 Pl.
Phoenix AZ 85018
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06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:19 pm Page 39

2 0 0 4
J o h n P a t t o n
SRoeugitohnwaelsst
THE SOUTHWEST REGIONALS
contest has been held in Arizona
throughout its existence—for 54
years. It has traditionally been a
Free Flight competition, but
through the years Control Line and
Radio Control events have been
added, which has imparted a unique
flavor to this gathering. Each year
the contest is held on Martin Luther
King Jr.-day weekend in January
(17-19) so that many attendees can
make a three-day weekend of it.
The 2004 site was close to Eloy,
midway between Phoenix and
Tucson. This land was formerly
used to grow cotton and is as flat as
a board for miles. There is not much
vegetation there because Arizona
has been enduring a drought for a
few years.
Bruce Augustus launches Super Cyclone .65-
powered Playboy Senior. He finished third in
OT Gas Pylon. Katy Patton photo.
Jean Andrews flew this Jabberwock in Rubber
Small Cabin. He was Nostalgia Rubber
National Cup champ in 2002 and 2003.
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:48 am Page 30
June 2004 31
Bud Romak readies Arlie Armstrong Hurricane for flight. It was
designed in roughly 1940; has Super Cyclone engine.
Jerry Murphy with his new Jayhawk, which he says is a Witch
Hawk with some Pearl influence. He flies it in F1J.
Lynn Pulley shows his Satellite-influenced model. It uses a
Nelson .21 engine and has full auto surfaces.
John Warren lights the fires on his F1C. He finished fourth after
dropping a max by eight seconds in the sixth round.
Dave Shirley’s Verbitsky Reductor F1C model did well with six
straight maxes, but dropped seventh to take sixth place.
Vic Lichtenberg flew his 615-square-inch, Veco .19-powered
GEEF in A Nostalgia. He enjoyed the Arizona sunshine.
Photos by the author except as noted
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:51 am Page 31
32 MODEL AVIATION
The clear “Hat of the Year” award
winner, even though the year just
started, is Larry Kruse.
David Ramsey launches Alert in A Nostalgia. Note wide-open spaces behind him!
Frank Roberge won 1⁄2A Gas with his original-design Foxbat
powered by a Cyclon .049 engine. Katy Patton photo.
Herb Kothe and OT Rubber Small Stick-winning Korda C powered
by 16 strands of 1⁄8-inch rubber twisting 17-inch propeller.
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:53 am Page 32
June 2004 33
Jim O’Reilly shows off his OT Rubber
Large Stick entry: an Ed Lidgard-designed
Hi-Ho. Photo by Katy Patton.
Don DeLoach with Hand-Launched and
Catapult Gliders early in the morning. He
won several Gas events at the contest.
Lewie Kear with his national-recordsetting
Catapult Glider. He captured third
with it at this competition.
Martin Schroedter winds his Vivchar F1B model for his first max
of the day. He won the event in the second flyoff round.
Jean Andrews makes a perfect launch with his Jabberwock in
Rubber Small Cabin. It looks like Jean could fly too!
Timer mechanism on Mike Woodhouse’s F1B Wakefield. There’s
lots of hooking up to do. Notice retrieval radio antenna.
Columnists do “walk the walk”; David Ramsey (Flying Models)
flew Alert he scaled from original plans in A Nostalgia.
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 4:38 pm Page 33
34 MODEL AVIATION
The weather was mild, with
temperatures in the low 70s and light
breezes after 10 a.m. Numerous
participants were reaching for the
sunscreen because there was bright
sunshine all weekend.
Event entries (there were more than
150) reflected the good weather, with
nonstop flying all weekend. People from
across the US, Canada, and even Europe
helped provide the contest with an
international flavor.
For 2004 there were three concurrent
contests at the site: an AMA/Society of
Antique Modelers (SAM)/National Free
Flight Society (NFFS) National Cup
contest, the FAI Free Flight America’s
Cup contest and finals qualifier, and a
SAM RC Old-Timers event. In addition to
the flying, there was a large MECA
(Model Engine Collectors Association)
Collecto in nearby Casa Grande.
“Busy” hardly describes a full-on FF
contest of this scale. There were 34 events
contested at the AMA/SAM/NFFS area
alone. The FAI crowd started flying its
rounds at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and
continued throughout the day. The sky was
usually full of brightly colored models
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This year many rubber-powered models
seemed to gain as much altitude as the
high-performance Gas models. At one
point Saturday near noon, 14 models were
flying in what appeared to be the same
thermal. There was every color of the
rainbow, with some airplanes flashing in
the bright sunlight as they turned in lazy,
gliding circles.
Most of the models landed less than a
couple hundred yards from their launch
points after their maxes. One flier said that
his airplane landed less than 10 feet from
its starting point! Even the chase bikes
were silent; most modelers just walked to
retrieve their airplanes. However,
sometimes the breezes did come up to
make things challenging.
FFers are great modelers who
understand how to trim and fly their
aircraft. They are also pretty darn good
motorbike riders. A FFer will ride a bike
back to the field one-handed while holding
a model in his or her free hand. Most chase
their airplanes using small dirt bikes, some
of which have been around for quite
awhile. It is worth going to a contest just to
see the many types of bikes the fliers use.
Don DeLoach (Colorado Springs CO)
almost swept the AMA Gas events this
year, with wins in the A, B, and C classes.
Daryl Perkins (Chino Hills CA) won the D
Gas event and is probably happy that Don
didn’t enter it too! Don was busy winning
P-30 and flying Nostalgia Rubber.
The AMA Gas-model fliers are
following the FAI fliers’ technology lead
and are getting some high performance
from their aircraft. Frank Roberge
(Scottsdale AZ) won the 1⁄2A Gas event
with his own-design Foxbat using a Cyclon
engine. The model featured nice
craftsmanship and a winning design. I hope
to see more of this airplane in the future.
Californian Michael Thompson won
Classic AB Power, and Lynn Pulley
(Saugus CA) won Classic CD Power.
These aircraft do not have auto surfaces
but are still modern, high-performance FF
models in every way. Lynn’s Killerbee 750
broke the class D record two years ago at
the Southwest Regionals.
The Nostalgia events (Gas and Rubber)
were well attended, and it took some great
flying to win. It is a treat to see the older
designs still showing that they have “legs.”
Dan Sobala (Tucson AZ), who designed
the GEEF in the 1950s, flew his design to
win several awards, which included a first
in A Nostalgia. Vic Lichtenberg (Tacoma
WA) also flew a GEEF in that category. A
Nostalgia had 13 entrants, so hats off to
Dan for his six maxes!
B Nostalgia was fairly close, with SAM
Speaks Editor Bruce Augustus (Sun Valley
ID) nosing out Dick Nelson (Tucson AZ)
by 30 seconds after five maxes. Dan
Sobala was third. (Guess what he was
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:18 pm Page 34
36 MODEL AVIATION
flying.) Bruce flew a Fox .29X-powered
Ramrod 750.
Gene Smith (Stillwater OK) took the C
Nostalgia win with six maxes, and Archie
Harlan (Phoenix AZ) flew to second place
with his GEEF powered by an O.S. Max
.35.
Gary Sherman (Corona CA) did well in
the Old Timer (OT) Gas categories, taking
first place in OT Gas Pylon with his
Sailplane and a close second in OT Gas
Fuselage behind Ron Thomas (Moreno
Valley CA).
The Rubber events were exciting to
watch. Herb Kothe (Boulder CO), Bud
Romak (Moraga CA), Carl Redlin (Park
City UT), and the great Bob White
(Monrovia CA) were extremely busy all
weekend. The sky was constantly filled by
these silent and elegant models.
Herb Kothe didn’t seem to stop
winding all weekend, and he wound up
(groan!) in first place in two events. He
edged out Al Yuhasz (Denver CO) for a
win in OT Rubber Small Stick by 15
seconds after seven maxes, and he just got
by Carl Redlin in OT Rubber Small
Fuselage with three maxes.
Al did win OT Rubber Large Fuselage
with a strong showing and got by Jim
O’Reilly (Wichita KS). Bob White bested
everyone with 970 seconds, flying his
Torontonian in Nostalgia Wakefield. It had
a strong climb and a flawless glide!
Former FF Indoor World Champ Bud
Romak placed in four Rubber events and
won Nostalgia Rubber with a time of 1,116
seconds. Wow! It seems as though he
enjoys flying in the sunshine.
Kevin Sherman (Corona CA) bested
seven entries in OT Rubber Large Stick
with an incredible 1,604 seconds. That is
almost nine maxes. The Rubber events are
getting more and more popular now that
good rubber is available. The performance
of these aircraft is nothing short of
astounding.
Tim Batiuk (Pacifica CA) dominated
the small Glider events: Catapult and Hand
Launched (HLG). Lee Hines (Costa Mesa
CA) and Lewie Kear (Mesa AZ) couldn’t
catch up in Catapult, and Dallas Parker
(Sepulveda CA) and Norm Smith (Ione
CA) couldn’t do it in HLG. Then Tim
added a few more maxes than he needed
for a time of 1,138 seconds (more than
nine maxes!) in Catapult.
Larry Kruse (Lawton OK) won the
“Hat of the Year” award while flying in
the Jetex/Rapier event to nudge out Frank
Pollard (Port Townsend WA). Ben Nead
(Tucson AZ) finished third. How about
some rocket scientists/chemists out there
coming up with some good fuel?
FAI is contested in one-hour rounds. That
means everyone basically has to fly in
similar air with a one-hour launch window.
With 56 competitors in the various events,
things got really busy on the flightline!
The large FAI events (F1A Glider, F1B
Wakefield, and F1C Power) were flown
Saturday.
The 22 F1A Glider fliers started the
day. After seven rounds, only six
contestants had flown seven straight maxes
to make it to the flyoffs, where the max
flight time increased to 300 seconds in the
eighth round.
The cooler afternoon air cut the field to
three fliers after the first flyoff round, in
which Junior Kyle Jones (Avon Lake OH)
crashed during launch. Jim Parker (North
Hills CA) and Peter Brocks (Scottsdale
AZ) just couldn’t get enough good air.
Hector Diaz, Pierre Brun (Van Nuys CA),
and Ernesto Buselli launched into the
cooling evening air, and Hector got the
best air and a win by more than a minute.
Wakefield F1B had 17 fliers, only five
of which made it to the flyoff rounds. The
max increase to 300 seconds and the late
afternoon air did it again. George Batiuk
(San Luis Obispo CA) launched quickly
and easily maxed, but he had a problem
because he couldn’t retrieve his airplane
and had to go to a backup model.
Bob Tymchek (Nipomo CA) and Allen
Ulm (El Cajon CA) had motor problems,
but they still launched and did not make it
to the final round. The Round Nine launch
Visit the MODEL AVIATION Digital Archives!
Featuring a searchable database of Model
Aviation issues and articles from 1975 to 2000.
This is by far one of the best
efforts AMA has made to
construct something that is for
every member.
—Marco Pinto
Peninsula Channel Commanders
San Francisco CA
Find it at www.modelaircraft.org. On the main page, click
on the “Members Only” section, log in with your last name
and AMA number, then click on the “Visit the Digital
Archive” image.
06sig2.QXD 3/24/04 3:19 pm Page 36
June 2004 39
was into chilly air, with Martin
Schroedter (Morgan Hill CA) winning by
only five seconds over George Batiuk and
Jack Emory (Whitehall MI).
Only six F1C fliers entered this year.
These airplanes are superbly
sophisticated, and their performance is
nothing short of phenomenal! It strains
the imagination to see what a 2.5cc
engine can do!
The competitors who made it to the
flyoffs were Terry Kerger (San Gabriel
CA), Guy Menanno (Granada Hills CA),
and Randy Archer (Scottsdale AZ), and
they maxed out in the eighth round. Terry
and Guy launched into some cooling air,
and Randy waited for a minute or so to
see how their flights looked. Then he felt
something and made a picture-perfect
launch to take first place by more than
two minutes.
The 22 entrants flew F1G Coupe
d’Hiver Sunday with breezy conditions in
the early rounds. The wind had died down
by 10:30, and perfect conditions
dominated the day. Even so, only six
fliers made it to the flyoff round after five
flights.
John Clapp (Sayre PA), Bob White,
Dick Wood (Phoenix AZ), and Eddie
Vanlandingham (Mansfield TX) launched
together, but Hung (the thermal god) was
looking the other way while George
Schroedter watched and waited. The first
four fell out quickly while George waited
awhile and picked good enough air to win
with a 162 flight.
This year four Juniors flew in F1H
Glider and two made it to the flyoff
rounds. Brian VanNest (Bishop CA) won,
with Mike McKeever (Fair Oaks CA) and
Ryan Archer (Scottsdale AZ) following.
Ryan set a Junior record with his
performance. Watch out, Randy!
FAST
FREDDIE
The Perfect Aerobatic
Little Electric Airplane.
23 3/4" span for
GWS-A power.
BMJR Model Products
Box 1210
Sharpes, FL 32959-1210
321-537-1159 • www.BMJRModels.com
$4750
+ $500 S/H
With its “mini-rockets,” F1J was
incredibly exciting. John Warren flew
flawlessly to win over Ed Carrol (Newhall
CA) and Guy Menanno. These aircraft are
approaching the F1C models in
performance!
Several AMA record applications were
sent in from this contest. Don DeLoach
filed for records in AB Classic Gas flying
in B Gas with a Shocker 540 and in CD
Classic Gas flying in C Gas with a Pilfered
Pearl. Paul Andrade (Highlands Ranch
CO) filed for a record in Mulvihill with a
time of 22 minutes, 21 seconds.
The Southwest Regionals has been
blessed with some great weather and fine
flying throughout the years, but the best
thing about this contest is the friendship
and camaraderie of the fliers and families.
Thanks to everyone who came and made
this one of the best contests we have had.
Wait until next year!
Special mention has to go to Contest
Manager Al Lidberg (Tempe AZ) and the
three contest directors who made this event
memorable; Greg Tutmark (Seattle WA) at
the AMA table, John Nystedt (Scottsdale
AZ) at the FAI table, and Bob Angus
(Tucson AZ) at the SAM RC event did a
great job.
I hope to see everyone again next year. MA
John Patton
4228 N. 35 Pl.
Phoenix AZ 85018
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