Control Line Combat - 2004/02

152 MODEL AVIATION
THIS PAST SUMMER was busy for me because of a number of
consecutive contests that I attended and in which I participated.
This year the Riverside Combat Challenge was moved to the last
weekend in June to get some slightly cooler weather.
The number of participants dropped, not because of the date
change but because the F2D Combat Team Trials was the
following weekend. Most pilots have to be selective when
scheduling vacation time and buying airline tickets.
Bill Maywald puts in a great deal of effort to make certain that
the Riverside, California, contest is a pleasant experience so that
pilots will return the following year. The American Youth Soccer
Organization fields in Riverside provide one of the finest sites for
Combat in the United States.
This seventh year of the contest, Frank Tomicich of San
Diego, California, pulled all of his skill and luck together to take
his first major win ever. The caliber of flying was high throughout
the weekend. Greg Hill, also of San Diego, finished the contest in
second place. Steve Stewart of Arizona was third, and contest
organizer Bill Maywald finished a respectable fourth.
Immediately after the contest I began packing my bags for the
USA F2D Team Trials in Muncie, Indiana, during the Fourth of
July weekend. These trials drew roughly 41 entries from across
the United States.
This was my first trip to Muncie for a competition or to visit
AMA Headquarters. I will no doubt return in the future. If you
have never been there, I suggest that you make it a priority on
your list of spots to visit. I have seen photographs and read
articles about the AMA museum, but it is a much better
experience to be there in person. I went back two or three times
during my short stay in Muncie.
I found it best to ship my models to Muncie ahead of time to
CONTROL LINE COMBAT
Rich von Lopez, 8334 Colegio Dr., Los Angeles CA 90045
Ladies of Combat at the European Championships (L-R): Olga
Soshnina, Laura Leino, Monique Wakkerman, Anja Mobius.
Cesar Picardo of Spain does battle with Russian Junior Alexandre
Shalaev. Cesar won the Junior European Champion title.
US F2D team (L-R): Mike Willcox, David Owen, Mark Rudner, Ron
Colombo, Holden Hill, Event Director Pat Willcox (in front).
02sig5.QXD 11/25/03 9:56 am Page 152
avoid any oversize-luggage charges. The
airlines are extremely careful these days
and will hit the big boxes with a charge of
$75. On the other hand, the post office
will charge anywhere from $15 to $34 per
box, depending on the weight and
insurance, which is optional.
I arrived in Muncie Friday morning,
rented an all-wheel-drive Subaru, and
drove straight to the motel. The
management was kind enough to get me
into my room well ahead of the check-in
time. This made it easy to set up the
models, find fellow Californians, and go
out to the field for some test-flying.
The wind was blowing strong, causing
extra-fast flying downwind. Only those
pilots who had their models fully trimmed
dared fly upwind. Andrew Nadein, Mack
Henry, and David Owen used the AKM
engines, which seemed to have a slight
advantage over all of the other brands.
The pilots who used Zorro engines also
looked good. Almost every make of
engine was used. The new Cyclon PC6
proved that it had plenty of steam to stay
in contention.
The Team Trials traditionally has a
pilots’ meeting Friday night, and Event
Director Pat Willcox had one scheduled.
The thunderstorm and tornado warnings
changed all of that; it hit the area really
hard.
Saturday morning was wet, with a
great deal of standing water. The pilots
decided to fly in the rain. For those of us
who have to wear corrective lenses, it
makes visibility quite a task. Rain makes
something as simple as filling a bladder an
adventure. The castor oil in the fuel mixed
with water makes fuel fitting and tubing
difficult to hold onto. Pilots and
mechanics were slipping and sliding on
the wet grass.
A couple of hours into the contest we
got a bit of a break in the weather. I was
fortunate not to have to fly in the driving
rain, although I did have to pit during a
downpour.
Sunday proved to be quite a bit better,
with all but the last couple of matches
flown before it got dark. Driving off of the
field was difficult for all who were in twowheel-
drive vehicles. Many were stuck
axle-deep in mud. We saw many good
matches and no one pilot could say that he
was a shoe-in to make the team.
One of the best matches had to have
been between Chuck Rudner and Andrew
Nadein. Andrew had a slight advantage
over Chuck with approximately three
minutes to go in the match and still
towing a knot. These guys fought it out
until Chuck got the knot just seconds
before the end of the match.
Ron Colombo looked calm and relaxed
in the circle, taking cuts almost at will to
get the job done. Andy Minor flew well
all weekend and earned the right to be the
first alternate. It is quite an honor to make
the US team, given the high caliber of
flying.
When all was said and done, the
results determined that former Junior
World Champion Mark Rudner and
former team members David Owen and
Ron Colombo, along with Junior Holden
Hill, will join defending World Champion
Mike Willcox in Muncie in 2004 to
represent the United States at the Control
Line World Championships. I wish these
guys well.
I only stayed in Muncie through
Monday; I had another airline ticket to go
to the European Championships in
Rouille, France, that Thursday. I had
never been to a Euro Champs, but I
decided to go to one because it is the
biggest Control Line contest in Europe
besides the World Championships.
I had a nice flight from Los Angeles to
Paris and arrived in the late afternoon. I
had no problem getting through customs
and finding the car-rental place; the
problem was heavy traffic that Friday
afternoon because for the French that was
the start of the longest holiday of the year;
Bastille Day was the following week.
My original plan was to drive a couple
hundred kilometers, find a hotel, sleep,
and continue on my way Saturday
morning. It took me several hours to get
from the airport to just south of Paris; the
bumper-to-bumper traffic caused a slight
change in plans.
I found a road that was not too
congested, took it not knowing what
direction it was headed, and stopped at the
first exit where there was a hotel sign. The
place I found was next door to the Renault
Formula I Racing operations building.
Being tired after a long flight and in a
country where you do not speak the
language, it is best not to push your luck.
Saturday morning I got an early start,
or so I thought, at 6:30. Once I was headed
in the right direction toward Orleans, I
encountered the same traffic as Friday
night. Cars were loaded with dogs, kids,
bicycles, trailers, windsurf boards,
motorcycles, you name it; the French were
taking it on holiday.
Roughly an hour from my destination, I
saw a 427 Cobra exiting the highway. It
belonged to Reine Bernard, who was part
of the French F2D team, and she was on
her way to the contest.
Once I arrived at the site, I was greeted
by many of my old friends from many of
the European countries. Since he was there
by himself, Hakan Ostman of Sweden
talked me into being one of his mechanics
for the competition. Hakan’s second
mechanic was Englishman Stuart Vickers,
who was unaffiliated with a team. Because
Hakan did so well in the competition by
finishing eighth, Stuart and I ended up
working until the last day of the contest.
The Europeans have no reservations
about drinking beer or wine during the
competitions. Because the weather was so
hot, the beer stand was always busy. I
don’t know how the Europeans will adapt
to AMA’s no-alcoholic-beverage rules
when they travel to the United States this
July.
Lithuanian pilot Andrius Rastenis won
the F2D event. This was the first time he
did so well in a competition of this
importance. Russian Boris Faizov was
second, and Stanislas Culachinin of
Moldavia was third.
The only new piece of equipment used
at this contest was Ukrainian flier
Vladimir Vesich’s molded-fiberglassleading-
edge model. George Cleveland
had one at the US Team Trials, but he did
not use it at the European Championships.
This model also featured stationary
carbon-fiber engine mounts. There was
not much in the way of engines for sale at
this contest; however, models, lines, and
propellers were for sale everywhere.
There were four women from four
different countries in the competition.
Monique Wakkerman of the Netherlands,
Laura Leino of Finland, Olga Soshnina of
Ukraine, and Anja Mobius of Germany
proved that they could wiggle the handle
with the best of their male counterparts.
Junior Cesar Picardo of Spain looked
exceptionally good on his run to the title
of Junior European Champion. He
finished in the fifth overall position. If
you ever get a chance to attend a
European Championships, take the
opportunity to make some good friends
and witness some fantastic flying.
No sooner had I returned to the United
States when I was off again to Seattle,
Washington, for the Bladder Grabber. It
was a good thing I had sent my models to
Howard Rush well in advance. It was
easy to just take the toolbox and fresh
clothes for a weekend Fast Combat
contest.
David Owen was still on a roll and
won the Bladder Grabber for the second
year in a row. He used the Louisiana
Barracuda design that he had never flown
before this contest. Mike Willcox was
second, followed by John Salvin. MA