CL Speed
Dave Mark, Box 773, Fenton MI 48430; E-mail: [email protected]
Scott Newkirk had to cancel attending the 75th running of the Nationals (Nats), so I was asked to step in and supply a report of the competition.
Advanced registration for this year's Speed events was quite low, but the numbers picked up during the week, with many fliers registering on site.
Monday, July 9 was Nats day, and 34 fliers completed official flights in these events. At times during the day, the waiting list was so long that there was a one-hour wait between pull-testing and flight time on the circle.
First place in Open 1/2A Profile Proto went to Jerry Rocha with a speed of 112.31. Jerry used a CS engine with a Hazel propeller.
Second place went to Charlie Lee with a speed of 111.54. His model was powered with his home-built engine and propeller.
Warren Kurth took third place. His CS-powered model had a speed of 110.72. There were six fliers who exceeded 100 mph.
There were six Junior/Senior fliers in 1/2A Profile Proto. Scott Matson took first place with a speed of 96.57, Krystal King took second at 73.95, and James Vannant was right behind at 73.56 for third.
Charlie Lee won Open 1/2A Speed with a time of 151.75. His model is his overdesign sidewinder powered with his home-built, tuned-pipe-equipped .049 turning a one-blade propeller, also of his design.
Second place went to the Dominic Mancini/Brown team with a speed of 150.19. They used a sidewinder that Bob Foos built from carbon fiber. The engine was an Atwood using a minipipe.
Jerry Rocha earned third place with 146.51 mph. His model departs from the sidewinder layout; it is an upright, with a minipipe using a bladder fuel system.
Former Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Champion Carl Dodge placed fourth with a sidewinder model powered by a CS .049 on a tuned pipe.
First place in Junior/Senior 1/2A Speed went to Scott Matson with a speed of 98.70. Zach Schoonover was second with 82.66, and Krystal King was third at 71.40. James Vannant was fourth at 66.42.
Tuesday, July 11 was .21 Sport Speed and FAI .21/1/2A day.
Fourteen fliers completed official flights in Open .21 Sport Speed. First place went to Tim Brown/Mancini with 158.64. They flew a model that Carlo Auber built powered with one of the ACE .21 engines.
John Newton took second place at 155.04 with a model he sells as a kit. Third place went to previous record-holder Frank Puleo, flying a Tim Gillott Racsi .21 to a speed of 153.52.
Billy Hughes finished in fourth place at 151.96. He was flying a new .21 Sport model by Newton, powered with a Nova Rossi .21 engine. Fifth place went to Glenn Lee with a 150.81.
There were three Junior/Senior competitors in .21 Sport Speed. Scott Matson won the class with 132.20, James Vannant was second at 102.81, and third place went to Zach Schoonover at 81.67.
All the contestants used symmetrical-design models in FAI. Fuel for the event is restricted to 80% methanol and 20% castor-oil mix.
Chris Montagnino took first place at 174.05 with a Profi-powered model. Chris returned to speed after a two-year absence.
He is a relatively new FAI competitor, and he gave an impressive performance in this complicated event.
Past US FAI team member Billy Hughes took second place with a Profi engine and a speed of 175.49.
Team Brown took third place at 170.76 using Tommy Brown's Infern-powered model. Past World Champion Carl Dodge placed fourth at 168.44 with his home-built Dodge .15. Glenn Vannant placed fifth with an Irvine .15 at 168.25.
A cold front moved through the area Tuesday night, and contestants arriving at the circles Wednesday morning were greeted by temperatures in the high 50s.
It was quite a contrast to the contestants from Florida and California wearing coats, and even several layers of plastic bags, to keep warm. The Midwesterners were dressed in shorts and T-shirts.
Wednesday, July 11 were the A Speed and B Speed events.
Many of the A Speed models are symmetrical FAI models converted to on-line.
A Speed record-holder Jerry Roach took first with his Profi-powered model at 188.80 mph. Team Brown used an Irvine .15 to post 187.62 and second place. The third spot went to Glen Vannant, also with an Irvine .15-powered model, at 187.42.
The Nelson .29 is the power plant for B Speed, and seven of eight modders who completed official flights in Open competition used it. Billy Hughes was the exception; he used a much modified R&B engine.
Way ahead of the pack for first place was Brown/Maclin, setting a B Speed record at 187.28. The team used a beautiful canopied model that Bob Fogg built.
The aircraft was powered with a Nelson .29 that Slugger Brown said was stock except for a hand button that Bob Fogg made. The model used a chicken-hopper-type tank that worked flawlessly.
Billy Hughes finished in second place at 180.46, and Glenn Lee was right behind in third at 180.10. Fourth-place finisher James Vannant had 179.74, and fifth place finisher Glen Vannant had 179.21.
Competition stopped just before noon Wednesday for an announcement by AMA that George Brown had been nominated to the Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
There were only two Junior/Senior fliers in B Speed. Scott Matson took first at 132.06 and young James Vannant had 102.81.
Thursday, July 12 started with the best air-density reading recorded during the week: 101. Fifteen fliers made official flights in Formula 40, and eight of the pilots hit speeds faster than 150 mph.
Glenn Lee finished in first place at 161.44. That time put him within four-tenths mph of the record.
Team Brown was second at 159.00, Barry Tippett took third place with a time of 157.32, and I finished fourth with a personal best time of 156.95. Fifth place went to former Nitro Formula 40 winner Frank Puleo with a time of 154.97.
The high-speed times were achieved early in the morning. Many attempts were made to better existing times as the day progressed, but the good air left. Many fliers came close to times posted in the morning, but they could not better them.
Neb on front-intake .40 engines were used in the first through fourth-prop models. Frank Puleo used a rear-intake Nelson.
This was the first year that .21 Pro was an official event, and it was also held Thursday.
Glenn Lee put up a flight in the morning for a speed of 139.29. Bobby White was second at 134.55, and Wayne Trivino took third at 125.91.
Late in the day, Glenn realized that his proto flight was a record run and that the event was official.
Zach Schoonover was the only Junior .21 Proto entrant, and he had a time of 80.43.
Friday, July 13 was D Speed and Jet day. Asymmetrical models are becoming the rule in events that allow them, but Ned Morris showed the crowd that there are exceptions to the rule. Ned put up one flight in D Speed with his Indy 600 diesel upright model and set a speed of 197.28 for first place.
Glenn Lee took second place and was the best example of a true competitor I have ever seen.
Glenn took his model to the circle for his first flight. He put the spinner in the starter, the spinner and propeller came off, and he had a shaft run. Before he could shut it off, the rod seized and spread bronze throughout the engine.
He took it back to the pits, took the engine apart, and started cleaning the bronze out of the engine. The rod and crankpin were ruined.
Glenn borrowed parts from other fliers, put the engine back together, and test ran it. He took it back on the circle and put up a flight of 194.30 for second place. What a competitor!
Brown/Mancini came in at 190.80 for third using the Fogg-built, carbon-fiber, asymmetrical, record-holding model. Glen Vannant took fourth at 189.00 with a Nelson .65-powered airplane.
Thursday night, Lenny Walshemaf test-flew his jet and was clocked at 201.00 with Billy Hughes on the handle. Lenny could not get a time on Jet day.
First place in Jet went to the Earl Bailey/Michael Fiske team at 188.20. Bill Caspiro took second at 186.06, and Dimmitt Perkins was third at 183.97.
North American Speed Society (NASS) trophies were handed out at the banquet Friday night, and the winners were as follows.
- High Speed: Brown/Mancini, 1027.8 Record
- High Point Junior: Scott Matson, 400
- Open High Point: Glenn Lee, 396.16
- Doc Davis Memorial Jet: Bailey/Fiske, 188.20
An election was also held Friday evening, and Billy Hughes was chosen as the new NASS president.
Steve O’Donnell of Pro-Bond Fuels donated the fuel used in the Speed circles at the Nats. It worked very well, and no one had any problems running it.
NASS thanks Steve for his generous support of our hobby.
The past five has been difficult to find enough volunteers to work at the Speed circles. This year Barry Tippett, NASS vice president, arranged for the Municipal Boy Scout Troop 25 to supply several members each day to help with pit-testing, line measuring, and paperwork.
This worked very well, and NASS made a cash donation to the troop in appreciation of its members’ efforts.
Others who helped with timing and paperwork during the competition were Frank Garzon, Ken Barthel, Mike Hazel, Gary Andrews, Jerry Ralph, Marty Schoenheiter, Jim Rhodes, Bob Toaple, Tom Harrington, Warren Kurth, A.T. Wright, Nancy Benson, Bill Capinjola, Al Sergue, Chris Mongonio, John Camp, Santo Rizzotto, John Newton, James Vannant, Gordon Kent, Dan Hull, and me.
If anyone is interested in joining NASS, or wants information about Control Line Speed in general, contact Barry Tippett at 31052 Mason, Livonia MI 48153; Tel.: (734) 266-7290.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
