2004 Southwest Regionals
By
John Patton
Overview
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. weekend in January (17–19) so that many attendees can make a three-day weekend of it.
Site and weather
The 2004 site was close to Eloy, midway between Phoenix and Tucson. The land, formerly used to grow cotton, is as flat as a board for miles and has little vegetation because Arizona had been enduring a drought for a few years. The weather was mild, with temperatures in the low 70s and light breezes after 10 a.m. Bright sunshine all weekend meant many participants reached for sunscreen.
Entries numbered more than 150, and people came from across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, giving the contest an international flavor. With good weather, there was nonstop flying all weekend.
Contests and events
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
- 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. The AMA/SAM/NFFS area alone contested 34 events.
FAI rounds began at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and continued throughout the day. The sky was usually full of brightly colored models climbing and then floating gracefully high above. At one point Saturday near noon, 14 models appeared to be flying in the same thermal. Most models landed within a couple hundred yards of launch—some within feet—and many competitors retrieved aircraft on foot rather than by chase bike. When breezes picked up, conditions became more challenging.
FFers are skilled at trimming and flying aircraft and are also adept at retrieval. Many chase their airplanes on small dirt bikes, some of which have been around for quite a while.
AMA / SAM / NFFS (Free Flight) highlights
Notable performances and winners:
- Don DeLoach (Colorado Springs, CO)
- Nearly swept the AMA Gas events with wins in A, B, and C Gas
- Also won P-30 and flew Nostalgia Rubber
- Daryl Perkins (Chino Hills, CA)
- Won D Gas
- Frank Roberge (Scottsdale, AZ)
- Won 1/2A Gas with his own-design Foxbat powered by a Cyclon engine
- Michael Thompson (California)
- Won Classic AB Power
- Lynn Pulley (Saugus, CA)
- Won Classic CD Power; his Killerbee 750 had broken the class D record two years earlier
Nostalgia (Gas and Rubber) was well attended:
- Dan Sobala (Tucson, AZ)
- Designer of the GEEF in the 1950s; flew his design to several awards including first in A Nostalgia (13 entrants; Dan scored six maxes)
- Vic Lichtenberg (Tacoma, WA)
- Also flew a GEEF in A Nostalgia
A Nostalgia:
- 13 entrants; Dan Sobala first.
B Nostalgia:
- Bruce Augustus (Sun Valley, ID) edged Dick Nelson (Tucson, AZ) by 30 seconds after five maxes; Dan Sobala was third.
- Bruce flew a Fox .29X–powered Ramrod 750.
C Nostalgia:
- Gene Smith (Stillwater, OK) won with six maxes.
- Archie Harlan (Phoenix, AZ) second with a GEEF powered by an O.S. Max .35.
Old Timer (OT) Gas:
- Gary Sherman (Corona, CA) won OT Gas Pylon with his Sailplane and placed a close second in OT Gas Fuselage behind Ron Thomas (Moreno Valley, CA).
Rubber events:
- Herb Kothe (Boulder, CO)
- Won OT Rubber Small Stick (edged Al Yuhasz by 15 seconds after seven maxes)
- Won OT Rubber Small Fuselage (three maxes)
- Al Yuhasz (Denver, CO)
- Won OT Rubber Large Fuselage
- Bob White (Monrovia, CA)
- Won Nostalgia Wakefield with 970 seconds flying his Torontonian
- Bud Romak
- Placed in four Rubber events and won Nostalgia Rubber with 1,116 seconds
- Kevin Sherman (Corona, CA)
- Won OT Rubber Large Stick with 1,604 seconds (nearly nine maxes)
- Other active rubber fliers included Bud Romak, Bud Romak, Carl Redlin (Park City, UT), Bud Romak (listed multiple times in original text for emphasis) and Bud Romak—(the contest was full of strong rubber performances)
Small glider events:
- Tim Batiuk (Pacifica, CA)
- Dominated Catapult and Hand Launched Glider (HLG); Catapult time 1,138 seconds (more than nine maxes)
- Lee Hines (Costa Mesa, CA) and Lewie Kear (Mesa, AZ) were strong Catapult contenders
- Dallas Parker (Sepulveda, CA) and Norm Smith (Ione, CA) contended in HLG
Other:
- Larry Kruse (Lawton, OK)
- Won “Hat of the Year” award in the Jetex/Rapier event
- Close competition with Frank Pollard (Port Townsend, WA) and Ben Nead (Tucson, AZ)
FAI contest highlights
FAI events were contested in one-hour rounds so everyone flew in similar air. With 56 competitors across FAI events, the flightline was very busy. The large FAI events (F1A Glider, F1B Wakefield, and F1C Power) were flown Saturday.
F1A Glider (22 fliers):
- After seven rounds, six contestants had seven straight maxes and advanced to flyoffs; the max increased to 300 seconds in the eighth round.
- Cooler afternoon air shortened the field to three after the first flyoff round.
- Hector Diaz launched into the evening air and won by more than a minute. Other top contestants included Pierre Brun (Van Nuys, CA), Ernesto Buselli, Jim Parker (North Hills, CA), Peter Brocks (Scottsdale, AZ), and Junior Kyle Jones (Avon Lake, OH; crashed during a launch).
F1B Wakefield (17 fliers):
- Five made the flyoff rounds; the max increased to 300 seconds.
- George Batiuk (San Luis Obispo, CA) maxed early but had to go to a backup model after launch retrieval issues.
- Martin Schroedter (Morgan Hill, CA) won Round Nine by only five seconds over George Batiuk and Jack Emory (Whitehall, MI).
F1C Power (6 fliers):
- These highly sophisticated 2.5cc-engine models showed phenomenal performance.
- Flyoff competitors included Terry Kerger (San Gabriel, CA), Guy Menanno (Granada Hills, CA), and Randy Archer (Scottsdale, AZ). Randy launched at the right moment to take first place by more than two minutes.
F1G Coupe d’Hiver (22 entrants, flown Sunday):
- Breezy early rounds; wind died down by mid-morning to produce nearly perfect conditions.
- Six fliers made the flyoffs after five flights.
- George Schroedter won with a flight of 162 seconds; other finalists included John Clapp (Sayre, PA), Bob White, Dick Wood (Phoenix, AZ), and Eddie Vanlandingham (Mansfield, TX).
F1H Glider (Juniors):
- Four Juniors competed; Brian VanNest (Bishop, CA) won, followed by Mike McKeever (Fair Oaks, CA) and Ryan Archer (Scottsdale, AZ). Ryan set a Junior record.
F1J (mini-rockets):
- John Warren won, with Ed Carrol (Newhall, CA) and Guy Menanno following. These models are approaching F1C performance.
Records and applications
Several AMA record applications were filed 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 Mulvihill record with a time of 22 minutes, 21 seconds.
Notes on atmosphere and camaraderie
The Southwest Regionals has been blessed with great weather and fine flying through the years, but its best feature remains the friendship and camaraderie of fliers and families. The contest was lively, busy, and fun, with superb performances across many classes.
Acknowledgments
Special mention to Contest Manager Al Lidberg (Tempe, AZ) and the three contest directors:
- Greg Tutmark (Seattle, WA) — AMA table
- John Nystedt (Scottsdale, AZ) — FAI table
- Bob Angus (Tucson, AZ) — SAM RC event
Thanks to everyone who came and made this one of the best contests. See you all next year!
John Patton 4228 N. 35 Pl. Phoenix, AZ 85018
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
