16 MODEL AVIATION
The entrance to the AMA flying site in Muncie IN. You can see the Academy’s
headquarters in the background.
German competitor Dominik Haegel’s X-Spec freefalls
in a Tailslide. He flew well during the entire
weekend.
Nick Maxwell, 16, finesses his Fury Extreme through a
low Chaos. He is the first pilot to compete in both the
helicopter and airplane competitions.
Yuri Higuchi covers the sky with
his huge Extra. He flew well into
the evening after the show was
over.
BY MARK FADELY
An AMA co-sponsored theatrical
RC experience features the best
international piloting talent
THE FUTABA INTERNATIONAL Extreme Flight Championships (XFC), held
June 15-17 this year, was an awesome experience. This was its inaugural
invitational at the AMA site in Muncie, Indiana. You couldn’t ask for a better
venue at which to fly such a contest; after all, it is the crown jewel aeroplex of our
hobby.
I am so lucky to live only 45 minutes away from this wonderful place. If you
fly model aircraft of any kind, you should make a point to visit this modeling
haven at least once.
I was unsure of what to expect at XFC ’07. I had competed in the three
2007 Futaba Extreme Flight Ch
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October 2007 17
Mark Leseberg
paints the clear,
blue sky with a plume
of smoke while performing
a High Alpha Roll.
Above: Manuel Santos’s 37% Quique Somenzini Yak-54 in a
low knife-edge Harrier.
Team GTO’s Carden
Extra goes vertical,
leaving a brilliant smoke
trail during a morning
flight.
The author gets warm
applause after his flight
from young Bobby Watts.
Below: Kyle Stacy’s JR Vigor is comfortable in any attitude with its young
pilot at the controls. ht Championshipht Championships
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18 MODEL AVIATION
Helicopter judges (L-R) Len Sabato, Don Wade, and Paul
Soha in their storm-ravaged judging box.
Jason Noll’s Desert Aircraft engine-powered model streaks
across the sky during his winning flight.
Below: Yuri Higuchi performs
some rapid rolls during his Known
flight. Notice the aileron trim tabs.
Alan Szabo gets a well-deserved win at a major event. He has been second
several times, but his intense preparation was obvious.
Last-chance qualifier Jared Granzow returns after his first
flight. His team manager, Dino Spadaccini, lets out a “rebel
yell” in appreciation of Jared’s skills.
Photos by the author except as noted
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October 2007 19
Jason Noll shows everyone how it is done. He brings his Yak-54 around for a photo pass
over the pavement at Site 1.
One of several billboards in the Muncie
area announcing the event.
Daniel Jetschin of Germany shows us his electric-powered Logo 14’s incredible power. He
was one of the most technical pilots and finished third overall.
Right: Terry Hahn gives the cheering crowd a sign of love. All the guys from Team GTO
(Go Team Orange) were running and jumping for joy after he flew.
John Glezellis drives his airplane out of a hover with full throttle
and smoke on.
Gernot Bruckman of Austria pulls his Krill Model Katana up to vertical
and shows us how to earn second place. Ben Lanterman photo.
after his first
ts out a “rebel
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22 MODEL AVIATION
Daniel Jetschin’s reverse pirouette moves were
poetry in motion.
Bobby Watts’ Stratus looked like a helicopter on steroids when he busted out his
low-level smack routine. These machines take heaps of punishment.
The Thursday-evening pilots’ meeting under the setting sun. This was one of the
best-organized events the author has attended.
Frank Noll calls for his son Jason, who performed
super-precisely choreographed flying routines.
The 21st spot—last-chance—qualifier judges (L-R): Don Wade, Bill Cline, Frank
Noll, and Wendell Atkins.
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October 2007 23
Jason Krause pushes this Align 600N to the limit.
First-time XFC competitor Buddy Hale hovers his tiger-striped Carden Extra.
He is a pleasant young man.
Scott Gray crashed during his first flight of the
contest and then came back strong to finish fourth.
A flock of fliers (L-R): Alan Szabo Sr., Stephen Bell, Bert Magbanua, Colin
Bell, Jeff Fassbinder, Danny Szabo, Dino Spadaccini, Alan Szabo.
Matt Botos waits his turn to fly. He had some misfortune this year and
didn’t make the finals, but watch out for this hot pilot next year.
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24 MODEL AVIATION
Israeli Ido Segev’s Katana at full throttle down the flightline. He was
cool in front of the huge crowd.
The view from the staging area. Daniel Jetschin flies his Logo 14 as
Bobby Watts and the Szabos look on.
John Glezellis’s model crashed, so Mark Leseberg Jr. let him
borrow his Dalton Extra 260. John flew to a sixth-place finish.
John Glezellis prepares for a flight. He lost his PL Products Extra 330 during an outrageous
low-level rolling Freestyle maneuver.
Buddy Hale concentrates deeply during
his Known sequence.
Ben Parrott—the 21st-spot qualifier—puts his Carbon
Extreme Avant through its paces. He flew magnificently.
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October 2007 25
The Summer Heat hot-air balloon event was held at the AMA site in conjunction with the XFC. The balloonists perform an
“illumination” during the evening.
The National Guard joined in the fun. It
sent its crack skydiving team, whose
members hit their marks while landing at
show center.
Andrew Jesky gives us the photo pass
during a routine with his PL Extra 330.
Inset: Bert Magbanua put in some super
flights for Team Thunder Tiger. Right: He
flies his Raptor 90SE backward while
inverted.
10sig1.QXD 8/23/07 9:08 AM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Airplane
1. Jason Noll
2. Gernot Bruckman
3. Andrew Jesky
4. Mark Leseberg Jr.
5. Ido Segev
6. John Glezellis
7. Mike McConville
8. Jason Danhakl
9. Devon McGrath
10. Carlos Vargas
Hernandez
11. Yuri Higuchi
12. Terry Hahn
13. Manuel Santos
14. Buddy Hale
15. Mitch Buckley
16. Scott Russell
17. Nick Maxwell
18. Mark Trent
2007 XFC
Final Standings
Helicopter
1. Alan Szabo
2. Bobby Watts
3. Daniel Jetschin
4. Scott Gray
5. Dominik Haegel
6. Colin Bell
7. Mark Fadely
8. Danny Szabo
9. Bert Kammerer
10. Jason Krause
11. Matt Botos
12. Jared Granzow
13. Nick Maxwell
14. Bert Magbanua
15. Leon Luke
16. Kyle Stacy
17. Alex Rodriguez
18. Ben Parrott
19. Bryan Regular
20. Zak Johns
21. Andy
Panoncillo MA
There was a great fireworks display on-site. This shot was
taken from the airplane-and-helicopter pit area.
previous XFC competitions in Troy, Ohio; changing to a new site
was going to take some getting used to. The older you get, the harder
it is to change.
I entered this contest fully expecting to be the oldest pilot
competing, at 47. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that one pilot
was even older than me. Mark Trent, the oldest flier entered, was 48.
Way to go, Mark!
I have been to the AMA facility many times, and I go there every
year in August for the IRCHA Helicopter Jamboree. This place is
big—more than 1,000 acres big! Roughly 95% of the property is
covered with a manicured blanket of short, green grass.
There are several designated flying sites on the property, and we
were invited to fly from the best flightline. It included a nice
permanent shelter that would prove to be handy, as you will learn
later.
Event organizers Frank Noll, Bill Cline, and Wendell Atkins
stepped things up this year. The Muncie Summer Heat Festival,
which includes a carnival with amusement rides and hot-air
balloons, was happening at the same time as the XFC. It was just
south of the contest location on the AMA property. If that were not
enough excitement, there was also a full-scale air show and a
skydiving exhibition as daily noontime entertainment at the XFC.
The event officially kicked off Friday and finished Sunday afternoon.
When I drove through the AMA entrance early Thursday morning, the
weather was hot and humid, and thick fog covered the area.
I followed the XFC signs along a winding blacktop road that led
me back and around to Site 1, which features a large asphalt pad and
plenty of parking. The pilot pit area was fenced off to the public. It
was nice this year because the helicopter and airplane pilots pitted
together; we got to know each other better.
The airplane and helicopter competitions had 21 contestants
each, and 18 airplane pilots were confirmed by the day of the event.
The helicopter category was run slightly different. Wendell Atkins,
who headed up that portion of the event, decided to have a flyoff
Thursday to fill all 21 spots.
At midday Thursday only 18 invited helicopter pilots were onsite.
A small group showed up in the hopes of filling spots 19-21.
The committee judged their flights, and three lucky fliers earned
spots in their first XFC: Jared Granzow, Brian Regular, and Ben
Parrott.
Thursday evening each pilot drew his flying order from a hat. I
picked the seventh spot, so I would fly last in the first helicopter
heat. The helicopter competitors were divided into three heats of
seven, and then a heat of helicopters alternated with a heat of
airplanes throughout the day.
First up was the Known flight, which must include the three
mandatory maneuvers designated by the XFC staff. Check out
http://futabarc.com/xfc-rc to see the required skills. The secondround
flight is the Unknown. Judges have no idea what maneuvers
will be flown in it; the pilot makes up a routine.
A big part of a contestant’s score is earned through good
choreography with music. The pilots have to show strong technical
flying in time with their music to do well. Try it the next time you
are at the flying field. Turn on some music and try to keep your
aircraft dancing to the beat; you will quickly see how difficult it is.
The idea behind the XFC is to be an entertaining show for
spectators. Those include RC fliers and those who may never have
been exposed to the hobby. Frank, Bill, and Wendell have put in a
great deal of work to take our hobby to the next level. Holding the
XFC at the AMA site this year went a long way toward reaching
their goals.
There is an open invitation for any pilot who wants to try for a
spot in the XFC. Make a video of your flying and send it in for
consideration. Make sure it has music and is well choreographed,
and you might get to participate next year.
Okay, let’s get to the flying.
If you think you have seen some remarkable flying at an event,
imagine watching the top 40 helicopter and airplane pilots perform
choreographed routines consisting of the latest, lowest, and most
extreme maneuvers they can think of! You really have to be there;
the videos on the Internet do not convey the contest’s “wow factor.”
The helicopter pilots flew first Friday, and Jared Granzow was
the first pilot up. He had to be nervous because Thursday morning
he didn’t even know he was flying in the event. Yikes! Jared is cool,
though. He flew his Raptor 90 through a solid flight, and Dino
Spadaccini (Raptor team manager) gave him a big high five
afterward.
When the helicopter pilots were finished, it was time to bring on
the airplane fliers. And they brought it on! Even though it was only
the first day of the contest, they laid down some terrific 3-D.
Mark Leseberg’s Blender that morphed into a Harrier Rolling
Circle right on the deck really struck me. It was sweet. His model’s
smoke system rocked too! Mark’s Dalton Extra looked fantastic
against the deep-blue skies over Muncie.
Most of the airplane pilots pushed it to the limit, and low flying
was the rule. Jason Noll flew superbly. His precision and
coordination with the custom-mixed music was spectacular.
However, all the low and aggressive flying came with a price.
Several pilots including Jason, who was the eventual winner, ran out
of air and their models met terra firma in an unpleasant way.
Jason was lucky because his aircraft just touched the ground
while pulling out of a high-alpha Loop. The airplane’s airspeed was
slow enough and the impact was slight enough that it essentially just
broke the propeller. There was a bit of cosmetic damage to the
cowling, but that was about it. Jason was able to use the same model
for the rest of the contest.
10sig1.QXD 8/22/07 1:34 PM Page 26
The flying and the temperatures were
super-hot Saturday. Everyone was fighting for
a top-10 finish, to advance to Sunday’s finals.
More airplanes and helicopters bit the dust in
the intense action.
Saturday evening there was a great dinner
sponsored by the organizers and an awards
ceremony for the pilots who did not make it
into the finals. Some were disappointed, but to
fly in the XFC is a great honor regardless of
your final ranking.
Each day at approximately noon all contest
flying would stop. The tandem full-scale
aerobatic air show by Matt Chapman and
Michael Mancuso entertained the crowds, and
they were amazing! Justin Chi—who was 4—
flew his 3-D helicopter routine for us. Yes, 4
years old! He was simply incredible.
Jerry L. Smith was on hand to do his
unreal delta-wing RC exhibition. The
National Guard performed skydiving demos,
and there was a hot-air balloon launch
everyday. What a show! It was fantastic in
every way.
There was an interesting atmospheric
phenomenon at Muncie this year. It was the
first time I had experienced it. I mentioned
that the weather was hot and humid, and the
blacktop surface we were flying from added
even more heat to the already boiling air
around Stage Center. This significantly raised
the density altitude of the air surrounding the
pilots.
That means there were fewer air molecules
for a given space, which was bad for
propellers, wings, and rotors. Anything trying
to fly through that air would be doing so with
much less efficiency.
The layer of air from the asphalt to
approximately 10 feet high was some of the
worst in which I had ever flown. That is why
my flying was so bad! Just kidding, but that
layer of air did take out a few pilots this year.
Everyone wanted to fly low, and that dirty
air close to the ground was a challenge for
fixed or rotary wings to bite into. Things were
okay if you flew out away from the blacktop
pad, but coming in close for the low centerstage
stuff was challenging to say the least.
Whether it was an airplane or a helicopter,
it would want to sink into the ground in that
area. You just did not have the extra pull to
get your aircraft back up if you went too low.
The flying conditions were difficult and, just
to put some icing on the cake, the wind was in
our faces during most of the event.
Manuel Santos’s model’s wingtip touched
the ground on knife-edge just after passing
show center. Matt Botos had an inverted blade
scrape on the runway after pulling out of a
low Tailslide. Neither aircraft was flyable
after the incident.
I bounced my helicopter off the tarmac in
an inverted Pogo. It hit hard enough to break
gears in the throttle servo, but, amazingly, the
rest of it was fine.
Meanwhile, airplane pilots such as Gernot
Bruckman and Ido Segev of Team Krill were
seemingly unaffected by anything. They put
in some fantastic flights with their 39%
Katanas.
Gernot did have a hard landing that damaged his airplane. In an act of true
sportsmanship, several other pilots came to
his rescue with parts and labor to fix his
model. The same help was given to Jason
Noll and a couple others after mishaps.
Gernot flew to a well-deserved second place.
There were some exciting things to
watch in the helicopter competition this
year. Alan Szabo flew at a level I had never
seen. He has always been thrilling to watch,
but this year his precision and perfection in
the Known maneuvers were astounding.
Bobby Watts, who claimed second place,
was so much fun to watch! His low smack
routine at Stage Center with nothing higher
than 10 feet was sensational. Way to go,
Bobby!
Daniel Jetschin, the third-place pilot, was
also extraordinarily impressive. His piroreversing
stuff is setting a new flying
standard for the rest of us.
No Indiana event would be complete
without thunderstorm activity. We had to
wait until Sunday afternoon for it, but when
it came it did more than just put a damper on
things.
There was 20 minutes of 70 mph winds
and rain that destroyed any pop-up tent
canopies that were left up. Everyone was
under the permanent shelter or in cars.
Afterward the flightline looked like a
war zone. The judges’ chairs were strewn all
around, and speakers as well as portable
toilets were knocked down. But it cleared up
beautifully, and the contest was finished
under sunny skies with light winds.
I was extremely impressed by how this
XFC was orchestrated, and from a pilot’s
point of view it was a pleasure to attend. It
was a great move to bring the event to
Muncie, where you have the space for
expansion and availability for years to
come.
I recommend this contest to spectators
and pilots alike. Make plans to be there next
year. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]