CL COMBAT 2013/07 March Madness, shutoff devices, and physical fitness

Team Spain at the 2012 World
Championships (L-R): Mario Rioja,
Francisco Mons, Raul Mateo, and
Manuel Mateo.
Team Australia at
the 2012 World
Championships
(L-R): Tim Linwood,
Richard Bellis,
Michael Comiskey,
Tom Linwood,
Bruce Bellis, and
Mike Comiskey Jr.
March Madness, shutoff devices,
and physical fitness
by Rich Lopez
[email protected]
This year’s March Madness Contest
kicked off the weekend of March
15 in Phoenix. Its main organizer
was Lance Matassa, who got a great
deal of help from Jeff Hanauer, Leonard
Rennick, Sergio Garza, and several other
Central Arizona Control Line Club
members.
At one time, 1/2A High Performance
Combat was held on Friday, followed by
F2D on Saturday and Sunday. In recent
years, the 1/2A event has given way to
F2D/Fast. Judging by this year’s entries,
pilots in North America must have been
suffering from cabin fever. Twenty pilots
entered F2D/Fast on Friday and 25
entered F2D on Saturday and Sunday.
Leonardo Silva and Arnulfo Delgado,
of the Mexican national team, traveled
north to spar with US pilots. Several
East Coast pilots traveled across the
country to get out of frigid temperatures
and to renew friendships.
Bob Burch is from Chicago, Andrey
Nadien is from Philadelphia, and Latvian
team member, Alex Prokofiev, lives
on the East Coast. The Texans present
included Richard Stubblefield, Howard
Williams, Allen Deveuve, Lester Haury,
and Andy and Bobby Mears.
Louisiana was represented by the
Miniature Aircraft Combat Association
(MACA) president, James McKinney,
and George Cleveland. The California
contingent included Don Jensen, Rich
Lopez, Bill Maywald, Chuck Rudner,
and Russ Willcox. The Arizona group
consisted of Jeff Hanauer, Kevin
Hebestreit, Alex Rennick, and Steve
Stewart. Kansas was represented by
Andy and Cary Minor. My apologies to
anyone I left off.
F2D/Fast is an easy, fast-paced event.
With the kill rule in place, there is no
arguing about cuts and time scores.
There is no way of protesting a kill. If
your string gets cut, you lose. If you cut
your opponent’s string, you win. There is
no need for a two-man pit crew because
the local rules require the pilot to start
his or her own engine.
This contest started midday and ran
quickly. It was obvious that some of
the pilots had been doing plenty of
flying in the winter months. Bobby and
Andy Mears were at the flying site on
Thursday to test propellers and sort out
their models.
Andy won
the contest, so
it pays to be
prepared.
Andy Minor
finished in
second place. I managed
to finish in third after my
opponent, Greg Hill, had a
streamer-handling error and
elected not to continue the
bout. I am still amazed to
watch Richard Stubblefield
fly at his age without glasses.
He can still put a good kill
on the best of them. George
Cleveland has been on the
USA Combat team several
times and continues to show
his flying skills.
Several pilots tried out their
new shutoff devices that feature an ondemand
engine shutdown.
Alex Prokofiev is the brain behind
the electronic devices and he appears
to have worked out the bugs. He uses
the device to land his model when
he is ahead on points and there is no
possibility of his opponent making up
the difference without taking a cut.
Some would say that this is not
demonstrating good sportsmanship;
however, until the contest organizers
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USA team member Allen Deveuve is dueling with Johan
Schwartz of Germany.
(either in the US or anywhere else in
the world) call this a sportsmanship
violation, we will see this tactic used
more often as shutoff devices improve.
Yuvenko Models now offers a twostage
plastic shutoff device that appears
to work well. I report this after observing
Russ Willcox using them at my home
field in Los Angeles. A couple
of them worked right out of the
package, but others required some
sorting.
The magnetic devices that
I have mentioned in previous
columns require extensive testing
to work well. You must be patient
and methodical with your testing
and adjustments.
The new F2D rules from
the FAI state that the circle
marshal can ask the pilots to
land on demand after the match
is deemed to be over. This rule
was not applied in Phoenix and
appears to be under discussion as
to when and where it should be
used. Stay tuned while this sorts
itself out.
Alex Prokofiev again proved that
he was the best pilot on that given
weekend. His tactics and flying skills
were flawless. Lester Haury came out
of his year-long hibernation to finish in
second place. Lester makes laser-cut pit
box kits and F2D model kits.
Andy Minor finished in third place.
Bill Maywald practices at random
intervals and yet managed to give a good
account on contest days. Russ Willcox
has his “mojo” back and has posted
five wins since coming out of Combat
retirement.
Andrey Nadien used his AKM engines
effectively to finish high in the standings.
Andrey makes high-quality mufflers
for AKM and Fora engines. He also
makes good replacement needle-valve
assemblies for Fora engines.
Fitness and Pitting
The FAI rules seem to be evolving
and some changes affect who the winner
will be. At one time, the pit men could
have the engine running on the spare
model and they could actually run with
it toward where the primary model had
crashed or landed.
This was deemed unsafe, so now
rules require the mechanic to not move
from where the spare model is located.
The other mechanic must run to the
downed primary model, drag it to the
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pitting lane, remove the streamer, run
back to the spare model, and then attach
the remaining streamer so it can be
launched. If the primary model is still
operable, both mechanics must run back
to its downed position, taking pit boxes
with them.
Given the median age of our active
Combat pilots, the mechanics’ job can
be stressful, especially if the model
happens to crash on the opposite side
of where the original pitting area was
located. I never had an Olympic runner’s
speed, and become slightly winded with
half a lap around the circle.
In Phoenix, the 90°-plus heat only
made the running portion more
exhausting. The only options are to find
young, fast mechanics, use old, tired
“Louisiana racing mule” mechanics, or
work on your own fitness. I have been
doing a lot of bicycle riding in an effort
to stay somewhat fit.
Anyone who is going to seriously
participate in F2D must make it a
priority to regularly exercise. I turned 65
and can still wiggle the handle, so I want
to continue to fly and compete. I would,
however, recommend that your doctor
have a say in your exercise program.
Find out what low-stress activities would
be best for you.
MACA Membership
James McKinney spoke at the March
Madness pilots’ meeting about keeping
the membership in MACA up and using
some of the treasury to help defray the
cost of having officials at the AMA Nats.
Lance Matassa will travel to Muncie,
Indiana, to run the team trials and will
receive a small stipend from MACA.
SOURCES:
MACA
www.maca.hobby-site.com:3535/
Yuvenko Models
[email protected]
http://yuvenko-f2d.com
Andrey Nadein
[email protected]
Lester Haury
[email protected]
FAI
www.fai.org
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