CONTROL LINE COMBAT - 2003/12

December 2003 97
IT’S NATIONALS (Nats)-coverage time
again! The thing most people will
remember about this event is that it rained,
and rained, and rained. I have only missed
one Muncie Nats, and I can’t remember
there being weather like this.
In the past I have set my tent up on the
first day and taken it down the last day.
This year it was up and down three or four
times a day. Then on top of the rain there
was lightning and static electricity in the
air, and the wind howled. Stub and George
(Richard Stubblefield and George
Cleveland) lost their tent on Monday.
But enough about the weather; let’s get
into the competition, held July 7-10.
The first thing I want to mention are four
young fliers: Tom Skinner, Holden Hill,
Alex Kopka, and Nick Mears. I met Tom
and Holden at this Nats. I did not get a
chance to fly against them, but I watched
some of their matches, and they are good!
In 75 mph, one of the best matches was
between Alex and Bob Mears. They flew
the full five minutes with many cuts, no
line tangles, and no collisions. Nick is the
young gun of the Mears gang. I have
known him for a number of years; in fact,
I was at the first contest he flew in, and I
beat him. I haven’t beaten him since!
All four young men are courteous,
respectful, and outstanding competitors. I
hope they will be the future of Control
Line Combat in years to come.
Congratulations to Holden Hill on being
the Junior member of our F2D (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Combat)
world team.
75 MPH Combat: This doubleelimination
event had 36 entries.
Equipment used was varied, but it
included F2D models with .25 engines,
F2D models with detuned F2D .15s,
special-built airplanes such as the Roy
Glenn and Louis Lopez special, Alex
Kopka’s Big Hacker, Glenn and Neil
Simpson with their models—which were
probably the best-looking ones there—
other combinations of Fast airplanes with
detuned .36s, and I believe somebody even
flew a Voodoo.
This class was flown first this year
because the F2D Team Trials was held the
weekend before the Nats started, and it
was thought that we would have a
carryover from that event to 75 mph.
Judging by the number of entries, it
worked. This is the only event in which
there is an Open and a Sportsman class.
The best match of the day that I saw
C o m b a t
Wayne Mc Daniel, 5009 W. Preakness Ct., Muncie IN 47304; E-mail: [email protected]
The 75 mph Open winners (L-R): Richard Stubblefield, Ivan McKenzie, Andy Mears,
George Cleveland, Nick Mears. Sportsman (L-R): Alex Kopka, Joe Duda.
The 1⁄2A Combat winners (left to right): Roy Glenn, Richard Stubblefield, Don Cranfill,
Darrin Albert, and Bob Mears.
Nick Mears launches an airplane for his dad Andy, who won the Fast competition.
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was between Richard Stubblefield and Ivan Mc Kenzie, which
happened to be the battle for first and second places in Open.
Richard used an F2D airplane with a .15 engine, and Ivan used an
F2D model with a .25. Richard emerged the winner.
Third place went to Bob Mears, fourth place went to George
Cleveland, and Nick Mears finished in fifth place. First place in
Sportsman went to Alex Kopka, second place went to Joe Duda,
and third place went to Tom Skinner.
1⁄2A Combat: There were 26 entries in this event. We were
running a day behind because of the weather, so in the pilots’
meeting it was decided that there would be a double-elimination
first round because of the large number of contestants. Following
is how that format works. The first round is flown, then all of the
losers go into a losers’ bracket. A losers’ round is flown, and after
that there is a normal draw. That way everybody gets to fly at
least twice.
A wide variety of equipment was used in 1⁄2A. The airplanes
were roughly half foamies and half store-bought. Most of the
foamies were based on Larry Driskill, Don Cranfill, or Lee Liddle
designs. The store-bought models were a number of designs
purchased through George Cleveland and Aleksey Topunov.
Cyclon, GRS, and VA engines were used.
Roy Glenn and Darrin Albert flew extremely well early in the
contest. There was one big surprise: Larry Driskill (Mr. 1⁄2A) did
not win, place, or show, but his equipment did. Roy won using
Larry’s gear, on loan for the Nats, so technically he was a ringer.
Second place went to Richard Stubblefield, Don Cranfill was
third, Darrin Albert was fourth, and Bobby Mears placed fifth.
Fast Combat: There were 20 entrants in this double-elimination
event. James Mears volunteered to be the Fast Combat event
director the night before it was to be contested. We were running
a full day behind at that point, and he was going to whip us into
shape.
It was decided in the pilots’ meeting to run this event in a
double-elimination format. It is normally run at the Nats as a
triple-elimination event, but there are usually two days with
which to work.
The only pilot who seemed to be against this was Bill
Maywald. He traveled from California to the Nats just to fly Fast
Combat. However, with the trophy in his hand at the end of the
day, he was extremely happy knowing that his picture would be
98 MODEL AVIATION
The Fast Combat winners (left to right): Andy Mears, Roy Krupa,
Will Rogers, Bill Maywald, and Greg Hill.
Holden Hill and his dad Greg. Holden will be the Junior member
of the US F2D team at next year’s CL World Championships.
George Cleveland (L) and Jeff Rein fly out of a line tangle. Neil Simpson, on the left, and Joe Duda mix it up.
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December 2003 99
Tom Skinner (L) and Alex Kopka do a little repair work. Howard Rush makes an adjustment on his H&R fuel shutoff.
Larry Driskill (L) and Bob Mears in hand-to-hand combat.
Where is Henry Nelson? The first to E-mail me the right answer
will get a free Muncie Frozen Custard—cone or cup!
Roy Glenn (L)—the 1⁄2A Combat winner—with Larry Driskill, who
supplied 1⁄2A equipment: a Light Hawk and a VA engine.
From left to right are the Simpson boys: Glen and Neil.
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