Author: Jim T. Graham
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/01
Page Numbers: 76,77,78
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Born to Fly

Jim T. Graham | [email protected]

I have to admit that until this past Labor Day weekend I had never been to an International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) competition. Then I was invited to cover the Clover Creek Invitational for Flying Giants.

The contest venue—the Clover Creek Aerodrome in Toone, Tennessee—is not only an amazing flying facility, but it is also home to John and Tina Schroder. The two of them and everyone I encountered at the site made me feel at home and welcomed at my first IMAC event.

I also enjoyed the pool with wireless Internet, where I sat after the activities ended each day to upload photo coverage. Clover Creek is amazingly pretty, and the fact that an RC event takes place there is icing on the cake.

John Schroder inherited his love of RC from his dad, Walt, who was once editor of Model Airplane News. When John retired in 2007, he started his search for the ultimate RC site. He found that new home in Toone.

The location started out as a 200-acre sod farm and was a perfect beginning for John's vision. He laid out a facility where the sun and prevailing winds wouldn't limit pilots.

I spent much of my time at the contest with RC tip master George Hicks. He is an old friend of mine and a fun guy to hang out with at any aeromodeling event. He has designed many RC models throughout the years and has an impressive aerospace pedigree. George has been flying RC for more than 20 years and has been competing since 1994. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering. He was a judge at the Clover Creek Invitational this year and currently works for Gulfstream Aerospace in the areas of aerodynamics, stability, and control flight tests. Every time I walked up on George at the event, he was answering an RC question. I would tape his answers if I was fast enough. Look for the website addresses at the end of this column.

Since George knew much more than I did about what was going on at Clover Creek, I asked for his opinions about the contest and IMAC in general.

JTG: What are your thoughts on Clover Creek?

GH: The facility is beautiful. I would say it rivals Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina. It is not as big, but it is really nice out here. John and Tina have done a great job.

JTG: This is my first IMAC event and it's like a golf tournament out here. Everyone talks in low tones, and the pilots are standing around with their stick airplanes.

GH: I would say at the invitational level it is a lot of stress. They are flying six rounds: two Knowns, two Unknowns, and two Freestyles. They have to know a lot. The winner will have earned his money.

JTG: Last night at the banquet, the support shown for last place to first was equal. Do most of these IMAC pilots know and support each other that way all the time?

GH: They are a tight-knit community. They are a giving group. It's not the kind of competition that is cutthroat. If your plane crashes or you need a part, they will help you out. They all want to win, but they also want to help each other. They want to keep the spirit of IMAC positive. When you walk down the flightline, you don't see upset pilots. It's a great thing.

JTG: What are some of the highlights of this year's invitational? One performance I noticed was that of Extreme Flight RC pilot Donatas Pauzevicius of Lithuania. He was coming in for a landing after his Freestyle while doing this insane maneuver and ended up tearing the nose off of his model. He didn't look upset, and it seemed like everyone around just smiled. It was a killer move that he just barely missed.

GH: Donatas is my new Freestyle favorite; it is some of the most aggressive flying I have seen.

JTG: I was judging that round, and they called time right before he crashed. We scored the flight. I think it is the first time we had an incident and still scored the flight because time was called before he crashed. It was one of the best flights I have seen—if not this weekend, then ever.

JTG: Wow! Are there highlights at a show such as this for a judge?

GH: Yes. Jason Noll is such a great flier. Jason typically ends up 80%–90% perfect. His consistency is spooky.

JTG: Do you think that has more to do with success, talent, or practice?

GH: I'm not a firm believer in natural talent, because I know it only gets you so far. Guys that are at the top of this game have both. But if they didn't put in the hard work and dedication, you would not see the level of performance that you see here.

JTG: I saw guys last night ranking in the top 10 whose names I had never heard. Is this where you go in the hobby to become known as a great pilot?

GH: Before this there was the TOC and the Don Lowe Masters. If you are going to make a name for yourself in IMAC and Freestyle, it's going to be here or Tucson at the Tucson Aerobatic Shootout. But you're right; I didn't know some of the guys on the podium either.

I also talked with John Schroder about his facility and event.

JTG: How did you get into RC?

JS: I was born into it. My father was the publisher of Model Airplane News for 20 years. I always built model airplanes, and we built our first RC plane in the late 1950s.

JTG: Have you always been into IMAC?

JS: I got started in IMAC in 1997.

JTG: So you are not from Tennessee, but you decided to find a piece of property and build an RC site?

JS: A dream I always had was to have my own airstrip in my backyard. I worked hard my whole life to get a little piece of heaven, and we found it here in Tennessee.

JTG: Did you know you had found the right spot when you walked out onto the property?

JS: Yes sir, we did. We looked at this land in the middle of February; it was freezing cold. We did some research on the property—looking at aerial photos and drawings. We wanted to make sure we had enough room. We fell in love with the place. We have improved it a little bit and it's working out great.

JTG: Did you always have the idea that you would have your own invitational event?

JS: That came after the fact. We knew we wanted to have contests here and continue my IMAC school. When I found out the Masters wasn't going to happen anymore, I decided to step up and get a TOC-type competition going.

JTG: This is your second Clover Creek Invitational. What did you learn from the first one?

JS: Pick a good crew to run the show; that makes it easy for you. I just sit back and do a little maintenance once in a while.

JTG: Were there any highlights from this year's invitational that you want to mention for the readers?

JS: I'm enjoying watching the high-quality flying from these great pilots from all around the world. It never ceases to amaze me how much better they get each year. It's incredible, and I just want to keep this going and watch these pilots get better each year.

JTG: Is there any advice you would give young pilots who are coming up in the hobby?

JS: You have to practice a lot. You need a good mentor or coach. You need to find a club with IMAC pilots. Go to contests and introduce yourself. Most IMAC pilots are willing to help the younger generation. IMAC now has an online flying guide that anyone can access.

I learned a lot at the Clover Creek Invitational. It was great to see pilots I have been around for years making great flights, but even better was having my hat blown off by up-and-coming pilots I wasn't aware of before. I'm a 3-D flier, so naturally the Freestyle routines had my attention.

Two pilots I had never seen fly before the event were Gabriel Altuz of Puerto Rico and, as I mentioned, Donatas Pauzevicius. Lucky for you I videotaped their Freestyles, because they are taking the hobby to a new level.

Seeing the flights that all of the pilots put in made me feel good about the hobby and the future of RC in general. MJ

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Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.