2006 IRCHA Helicopter Jamboree - 2006/12

December 2006 17
BY STEVE KALUF
WHAT HAS MORE than 500 pilots from around the world, a
4,000-foot-long flightline, impounds more than 600 transmitters, is
supposed to start Thursday but normally starts Monday, and logs a
few thousand flights?
It’s the International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association
(IRCHA) Jamboree!
This 14th edition of the huge, annual event took place August 10-
13 at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center. It was so large this
year that all attendance records were broken.
The Jamboree is the largest helicopter event in the world. It is
second in overall fly-in attendance only to the fixed-wing Joe Nall
event by just a few pilots. The two gatherings are superbly run, and
the primary goal is that the participants have a great, safe time. That
certainly happened this year!
The Jamboree is flown at the southernmost part of AMA’s
expansive property in Muncie, Indiana. The east-west road along the
southern property boundary serves as direct access to the event. The
flightline is laid out along the northern edge of this road for more
than 3,600 feet. Sixteen flight stations are set up; each is a 200 x
200-foot box.
Pilots are required to fly within this box to assure safe operation
and not interfere with any other flier. If a pilot decides to fly farther
to each side, he or she must push out past the 200-foot box (away
from the flightline).
The center-most box (stage center) is 400 feet wide to allow for
Pilots flock to the National Flying Site for
theworld’s largest RC helicopter event
Kerry Muncy’s 1/7-scale Indy Heli AH-64A Apache
measures 86 inches long.
Century’s latest helicopter—the
Freestyle—is purpose-built for 3-D
competition. Predator 90 owners can
purchase a conversion kit.
Text continued on page 23
12sig1.QXD 10/24/06 1:31 PM Page 1718 MODEL AVIATION
Greg Alderman’s Bergen Intrepid Turbine is powered with a Wren 54. With 8
horsepower at the ready, the model is capable of 3-D aerobatics.
Mark Fadely, Bert Kammerer, Eric Larson, and Bobby Watts make up the “Four
Caballeros” flying team.
Frank Noll demonstrates mastery of the upright hover with his
favorite helicopter cleverly disguised as a 37% Carden Yak-54.
Kyle Stacy waits his turn to fly a 3-D demonstration. His
Raptor 90SE is one of his favorite freestyle machines.
2006 IRCHA Jamboree
Noon Demos
Friday
Dwight Schilling
Frank Noll
Mark Fadely/Bert Kammerer/Eric
Larson/Bobby Watts
Alex Rodrigues
Nick Maxwell
Matt Botos
Pete Niotis
Eric Larson/Henry Caldwell
Nir Melri
Colin Bell
Andy Rummer/Tim Wendtland
Kyle Stacy
Greg Alderman
Adam Turner
Saturday
Mark Fadely/Bert Kammerer/Eric
Larson/Bobby Watts
Nick Maxwell
Matt Botos
Pete Niotos
Nir Meiri
Colin Bell
Alex Rodriguez
Andy Rummer
Adam Turner/Craig Oku
Malorie Zastrow
Jerry Sudemick
Bobby Watts
Eric Larson/Bert Kammerer
Frank Noll
Marcus Kim
Curtis Youngblood MA
12sig1.QXD 10/24/06 2:06 PM Page 18December 2006 19
Michael George assembles his Synergy N90 kit at a leisurely pace during the four-day
event. Tented close to center stage, he didn’t miss any of the action.
Bobby Watts (L) exercises his Miniature Aircraft Fury during
a noon demo with Beresford “Beast” Davis watching.
Bobby’s high-energy routine brought the crowd to its feet.
The Hirobo Lepton EX is MRC’s latest
offering in a 30-size electric helicopter. It
uses CCPM mixing and single-piece
carbon-fiber side frames.
Andy Rummer aggressively demonstrates Mikado Model Helicopters’ LOGO 10 3D
to prove the stability and agility of the new V-Bar mechanics system.
2006 IRCHA Jamboree
Recognition
Dan Monroe
For all his hard work in developing and
implementing the software used in
registration and radio impound
Ron Lund
For all the support and donations he gives
IRCHA
Steve Kaluf
For all the support and help he gives IRCHA
with the sound system and setup
Registration Staff (All received gift
certificates.)
Kandy Hoffman
Sue Giles
Holly Swartz
Joann Brown
Helen Binkley
Jennifer Jennings MA
Photos by Michael Ramsey
12sig1.QXD 10/24/06 1:41 PM Page 1920 MODEL AVIATION
Darrel Sprayberry competes in the IRCHA Scale competition with his Vario Cobra. It’s
powered with an Actro outrunner electric motor.
Mark Fadely holds his Miniature Aircraft Fury in a rock-steady inverted hover with the
nose in toward the flightline.
Event sponsors give generously to the raffle-prize pool. This is just a portion of what was
left to give away after the first day’s drawing.
Mikado’s virtual flybar (V-Bar) system
utilizes CCPM mixing and gyro sensors to
electronically stabilize the helicopter.
2006 IRCHA
Jamboree Results
T-Rex Pylon
Winner: Scott Fitzgerald (Friday and
Saturday—won T-Rex helicopter kits)
Autorotation
1. Nathan Spencer
2. Kay Thaeh
3. Bill Meador
50 Drag Race
1. Warren French
2. Jeff Borowski
Unlimited Drag Race
1. Ken Jennings
2. Keith Wilson
Class I
1. Tom Dale
2. Michael Ramsey
3. Mark Cox
Scale
1. Boyce Wellimaker
2. Emile Sheriff
3. Darrell Sprayberry
Night-Fly
Winner: Nir Melri MA
12sig1.QXD 10/24/06 2:11 PM Page 2022 MODEL AVIATION
Scale flight judging was the first order of business during Saturday’s busy schedule. From
left to right are Tom Johnson, Steve Kaluf, and Tom Erb.
A herd of pilots gather around the center-stage area for the morning’s safety briefing.
Giant tents in the background housed some of the vendors.
Andy Panoncillo patrolled the nearly half-mile-long flightline to shuttle pilots and aircraft
to and from any of the 14 pilot stations.
2006 IRCHA
Jamboree Prizes
IRCHA Grand Prize
Bergen Intrepid Magnum helicopter with
Futaba 9C radio, Futaba 401 gyro, O.S.
.91 engine, Hatori muffler, V-Blades,
Ricko’s canopy
Winner: Rob Stump
500th Pilot Prize
JR radio
Winner: Chris Bissel
Preregistered Pilot Prize
Century Predator and Hirobo
Evo 50 helicopters
Winners: Mark Spies and Anton Vomfell
Muncie Teamwork Prizes for Sponsors
Tethered Hirobo 2XRB helicopter:
Victor McFall
Tethered Hirobo 2XRB helicopter:
Mercedes Hoover
Hirobo 2XRB helicopter: Stan Johnson
Volunteer Prizes
Align T-Rex 450 ARF helicopter:
Chris Steiberger
Mikado Logo electric helicopter:
Mike Sherman
Futaba 9CA/9CH radio system:
Terry Rowell
JR Blade CP Pro helicopter: Ken Kinman
T-Rex 450 SE helicopter: Brian Rowell
Mikado LOGO: Zach Sparks
Pilot Prizes
Thunder Tiger Raptor helicopter:
Joe Lardino
Miniature Stratus helicopter: James Linder
Fuel: Mike Sherman
Fuel: Eric Brandenberg
Hitec Eclipe radio: Jason Harmon
MS Composit AS 350 B Ecureuil electric
micro helicopter: Robert Currin
Align 450 X/XL helicopter: Ted Richards
Hirobo Lepton EX electric helicopter:
Jeremy Turner
V-Blades: Tuan Nguyen
V-Blades: Ronnie Slaven MA
12sig1.QXD 10/24/06 2:17 PM Page 22factory demonstrations and other organized activities and is
typically closed to normal flying. Along the majority of the access
road, pilots can park their vehicles and/or trailers directly behind
their pit areas. The latecomers may have to park a bit farther away,
but it’s never a very far walk from your vehicle to your pit area.
A 20-foot-wide walkway is maintained so that spectators can
walk directly behind each pit and have a clear view of the machines
so they can ask questions. Even though the pilots line their tents end
to end, there is a temporary fence directly behind the pits to keep
spectators from walking out onto the flightline.
A huge area that is centrally located behind the flightline
contains the main vendor section, transmitter-impound trailer,
registration trailer, audio/music trailer, two food vendors, and
seminar tents. This area is a hotbed of activity every day and late
into the night. Almost everyone calls it the “midway,” and it has
much of the same atmosphere.
This is the place to introduce new helicopter equipment. Forty
vendors displayed their wares this year, and everyone from major
radio manufacturers to local hobby shops attended. Another great
aspect of having so many vendors around is that if you break or
need any part or piece, you can probably obtain it somewhere along
vendor row.
A large public-address (PA) system and enthusiastic announcers
kept things moving throughout the day. It was a treat to have Greg
Poppel and Darrel Bell (Big D) return to fill that role. Bob Sadler,
who is more well known within the fixed-wing ranks, also provided
commentary and seemed to be having fun, and IRCHA Secretary
Brett Walker and I filled in at times.
Music played continuously to keep the mood light, and the same
system provided high-energy music for the noontime
demonstrations and night-fly competition. And on the subject of the
midday demos, wow!
Last year they were changed so that only manufacturers or
invited pilots could fly. This was an excellent decision; it made the
demos interesting, professional, and fun. You not only get to see the
December 2006 23
best fliers put on a show, but you also see some great new products
shown for the first time by the manufacturers.
Past IRCHA president Ron Kummer serves as Jamboree event
director. He and his wife Carol work all year to bring the myriad
details together to make the event happen. As you might expect, this
is a huge undertaking; Ron and Carol typically arrive the Saturday
before the Jamboree to begin setup.
Many volunteers and the IRCHA Board of Directors serve as the
labor to keep the gathering running. These workers willingly handle
registration, impound, flightline control, raffle prizes, vendor row,
and many other details. Several volunteers including John, J.C., and
Dwight Schilling (R), a 2007 F3C team member, demonstrated the
FAI sequence during a noon demo with caller Paul Giles.James Zankle; Craig Bradley; me; and many
others are on-site by Sunday morning to
provide the labor to get things up and
running as quickly as possible.
The AMA grounds crew sets up the
AMA-provided tents, brings in tables, helps
run wiring, and does a thousand other
things. The rest of the IRCHA Board of
Directors is on-site by Monday evening to
help finish up the remainder of the details,
and the Jamboree is typically in full swing
by Tuesday morning. That’s not bad for an
event that does not officially start until
Thursday.
The early arrivals get the choice pit-area
locations; flying buddy Craig Bradley and I
were set up as soon as we could be. We
prefer what I call the “cheap” seats down on
the west end. This location gives us the best
access to our pit area, which is just past
where the vendor line ends.
I’d estimate that by Tuesday night
approximately 100 pilots were flying at the
site. Thursday morning the flightline
extended quite a distance to the east and
west, and by Friday afternoon it was roughly
3,000 feet long, with more than 400 pilots
logged in the registry. By Saturday
afternoon the Jamboree exceeded all
records, with 503 registered pilots.
The Jamboree must have close to the
largest raffle and prize giveaway of any
aeromodeling event. Complete RTF
helicopters, high-end radios, engines, fuel,
and anything else you can think of is
typically included in the raffle. Volunteers
are paid one raffle ticket anytime they work
a shift. IRCHA members are in a special
raffle, and pilots are in another.
The grand-prize winner—Rob Stump—
walked away with a Bergen Intrepid
Magnum helicopter equipped with a Futaba
9C radio system, Futaba GY401 gyro, O.S.
.91 engine, Hatori pipe, servos, V-Blades,
and a custom-painted canopy by Ricko’s
Canopy. The machine had already been
setup and test flown by Malorie Zastrow of
Bergen; all its new owner had to do was
charge, fuel, and start it up.
Manufacturers and distributors
graciously donated all the equipment I just
mentioned. A sidebar features a complete
listing of those who provided contributions
to the Jamboree.
An extra attraction this year was the contest
to determine the US FAI F3C (RC
helicopter) team members who will compete
in the World Championships in 2007. The
Team Selection was held Tuesday and
Wednesday just north of the Jamboree site.
It’s a rare treat to see flying of this
caliber, and many of the Jamboree
participants took the time to watch the Team
Selection. Participants were Cliff Hiatt,
Wayne Mann, Nob Maruki, Rolando Perez,
Dwight Schilling, and Curtis Youngblood.
A few others who normally compete were
unable to attend this year.
When the smoke settled, the US team of
Wayne Mann, Dwight Schilling, and Curtis
Youngblood was announced. Cliff Hiatt is
the alternate; he would step into a teammember
spot if one of the other three were
unable to attend the World Championships.
Congratulations to each team member
and all the participants for the great flying
they did. Thanks also to CD Craig Bradley
for organizing the event.
The World Championships will be held
in Poland next year. The US (AMA) has
placed a bid to host the 2009 F3C World
Championships at the AMA site.
Please help support the US team’s efforts
to win the gold once again. Donations are
gratefully accepted. Contact the
Competitions Department at AMA
Headquarters for more information.
The registration trailer—found at stage
center—is the first stop any pilot makes.
Preregistered fliers enjoy expedited checkin,
where their name tags and pilots’
packages are ready for them as soon as they
show up.
Others go through the short registration
process. Each pilot receives a bag complete
with a T-shirt, program for the event, and
copious information from various
manufacturers. Included are raffle tickets
and a ticket to Saturday night’s cookout.
Pilots are also issued a plastic name tag,
which authorizes them to be on the flying
side of the flightline.
The registration trailer’s computer isnetworked to the impound trailer, and all run
Dan Monroe’s CD Pro software. The
custom program collects each pilot’s
registration information, making it
immediately available at the 32-foot
impound trailer filled with hundreds of
transmitters and transmitter modules.
Two computers running CD Pro manage
the impound operation, which is staffed
with three people most of the time. A person
sits under a tent just outside the trailer; this
is the “In” area and the first stop any pilot
makes when checking in his/her radio gear.
Each transmitter or module is assigned a
number, based on the pilot’s number, and is
stored in the trailer organized by those
numbers. Two other people run the inside
operation.
To check out a transmitter, the pilot
reports to the “Out” window of the trailer
and tells the volunteers what channel he/she
would like to fly on. A quick glance at the
CD Pro data screen tells the staff if the
channel is available. If it is not, it indicates
who is flying on it and how long it has been
checked out.
As each transmitter is checked out, the
pilot is issued a pager. Each channel has a
pager assigned to it, so if the pilot has the
channel out too long (more than 25 minutes)
the impound staff pages him or her to
return.
When the pilot returns his or her radio to
the impound, it goes to the “In” side, the
pager is returned, and the frequency is
punched into the networked computer,
freeing up the channel. The cycle
continues throughout the event.
Next to the impound trailer is the sound
trailer, which is stuffed with high-end
equipment. Two high-power amplifiers
shoot sound to the four huge speakers that
are distributed down the flightline.
Multiple professional-grade CD
players, tape decks, a 16-channel mix
board, and wireless microphones combine
to drive announcements and music up and
down the near-half-mile flightline and
provide the concert-level music for the
demos and night-fly competition.
Continuing down the midway is the
seminar tent. Friday and Saturday it hosted
back-to-back presentations made by
manufacturers and other experts.
Everything from engine setup to 3-D
flying was covered.
Next to the seminar tent were two huge
vendor tents which were able to hold as
many as 24 10-foot booths. Past these tents
(in each direction) were food vendors and
more hobby-related retailers. The hobby
booths extended roughly 800 feet in each
direction down the flightline.
New products were plentiful at the
Jamboree. Mikado Model Helicopters
(www.mikado-heli.de/en) showed one of
the coolest things there: its new V-Bar, or
virtual flybar. This unit allows a helicopter
to operate without a flybar but perform as
if it actually has one. This device can best
be described as a “fly-by-wire” system for
models.
Mikado demonstrated the V-Bar several
times during the week and held an
informative seminar about it. This device
seems to work exceedingly well. Look for
it to be available late this year.
Miniature Aircraft USA (www.miniature
aircraftusa.com) showed its new 50-size
machine now called the Razor. It can
accommodate glow or electric (600 class)
power and looks nice. The parts count is
low and the frames’ stiffness has to be felt
to be believed. The tail rotor is belt driven.
I’ve heard rumors that the Razor’s price
will be extremely attractive. Keep an eye
open for it. The demonstration flight I saw
proved that it is worthy of the Miniature
Aircraft name.
Align (www.align.com.tw) had its new
T-Rex 600 out in force, and several
vendors were even selling them (but not
for very long). I’ve been fortunate to see
this model fly many times, and it can
really perform. It features a CCPM head,
carbon frames, and numerous great details
that pilots have become accustomed to
having with the T-Rex line.
Jason Krause/Todd Bennett had the new
Synergy N9 at the event, and several pilots
were putting it to the test. Wow, can it
perform! I don’t know who one particular
pilot was, but he was doing some low-level
tic-tocs that impressed me; you could see
the precision in the machine’s movements.Perhaps one of the most awaited arrivals
(and man, did we wait) was the new Avant
Aurora. Everyone knew that Alan Jr. and
Danny Szabo were in town, but they had
barely been to the flying site. Even Alan Sr.
was missing in action. The rumors came
back that they were in their hotel room
frantically putting the finishing touches on
their demo Auroras.
This was an appropriately named
machine; it seemed to have much of the
same mystique that the super-secret, fullscale,
fixed-wing Aurora had from the late
1970s to the early 1990s. The Szabos
showed up Saturday afternoon, and Alan Jr.
and Danny brought their models.
I did not get as close as I would have
liked to those machines. The Szabos flew
them hard for new helicopters. The models
seemed to be rock solid and capable of
anything in the air. Both were damaged
during flights, but not bad. My hat is off to
Alan Jr., Danny, and Alan Sr. for taking the
time and going to all the effort to show us
this new machine.
V-Blades by Campbell Manufacturing
had the typical super line of helicopter
blades but also had the new blade set for the
T-Rex 450. I don’t know how many were
sold, but I’ll bet it was a bunch.
I was fortunate to get a set before they
ran out, and they provide awesomeperformance. I have roughly 30% greater
collective authority on my stock T-Rex SE
than I did with the original blades. They are
so stiff that I can pick the entire machine up
by a blade tip and they do not bend at all!
Past vendor row was pit area after pit area
and helicopter after helicopter. Most pilots
put their canopies up so they almost
touched their neighbors’ canopies, which
provided almost continuous shade. The
only gaps in the canopies were the spaces in
the fence to allow walk-throughs.
A pilots’ meeting was held daily at
roughly 9 a.m. to make sure everyone was
up to speed on procedures, including fly
with a spotter, only three people at a flight
station, and impound guidelines. At each
pilots’ meeting Ron Kummer tossed out
some great prizes; it often pays to attend
these.
The transmitter impound is typically
operated from approximately 9 a.m. to at
least 7 p.m. each day at this event, but
flying begins at sunup and ends well after
dark. During these “off” times a frequency
control board is set up outside the impound
trailer. To fly, a pilot inserts his or her
AMA membership card into the appropriate
channel slot on the board.
At least as many flights are put up after
hours as during the times the impound is
open. From Thursday through Sunday the
impound logged roughly 1,500 flights. That
does not include those with mini/micro
helicopters using spread spectrum systems
or any of the after-hours flights. Double
that 1,500 figure and you might have a
realistic number of flights made at the
Jamboree.
IRCHA treats all registered pilots to
dinner Saturday night. This is always a
great time and approximately 500 people
typically stick around to be fed. An IRCHA
membership meeting is held after dinner,
and then the prize-giving begins!
The recipients include the winners of the
various contests that take place during the
Jamboree. Scale, drag racing, Class I,
Autorotation, and T-Rex pylon racing
winners were recognized. The night-fly
winners were given their awards later, at
the conclusion of that night’s competition.
The huge amount of raffle prizes is
distributed to the lucky winners at this time.
(I lost my tickets, so I don’t know if I won
or not!) One of the included pictures shows
the table with some of the raffle prizes on it,
not even including the grand-prize RTF. It’s
incredible, don’t you think? The contest
winners are listed in one of the sidebars.
This year’s level of flying was amazing.
I’ve been attending the Jamboree since
1996 (I think), and this year everyone
seemed to kick it up a notch. Some of this
(if not much of it) is certainly owing to the
machines and electronics that are now
available to the helicopter pilot. However