The Fédération Intérnationale Aeronautique (FAI) Control Line World Championships are held every two years. It is an honor for competitors to represent their countries in a competition that brings together the best.
The venue for the 2014 World Championships was in Wloclawek, Poland. The Team USA Combat pilots Mark Rudner, Josh Ellison, Richard Stubblefield, and Junior member Sasha Nadein, worked diligently for more than a year to prepare equipment and polish their flying skills before embarking on their overseas trip.
An illness struck Josh Ellison a few days before his scheduled departure, so he was unable to make the trip. Chuck Rudner, one of the Combat team’s alternates, was already in Europe and was a registered mechanic for his son, Mark. Alan DeVeuve, Josh’s mechanic, traveled to Poland with Josh’s equipment and made it available for Chuck to use.
The team members were encouraged to travel to the venue several days early to recover from jetlag. Poland is 6 to 9 hours ahead of US time zones. Once settled into their rooms at the Hotel Myln in the center of town, the competitors unpacked and set up their equipment then were off to find the flying field. The hotel had maps to guide everyone to the site and the organizers had posted signs to guide the way.
The site was an active full-scale airfield used for sailplanes and parachutists. The Speed and Team Race circles were located on the side of the runway closest to the control tower and hangars, while the Aerobatics and Combat circles were farther out across the runway. The Combat fliers had a generous practice area.
The building next to the hangars housed a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating that served hot food throughout the competition days. Tents sold food and beverages on both sides of the runway.
As a Team USA supporter and a mechanic for Team New Zealand, I had time to wander around and check out equipment and chat with old friends that I had made throughout the 32 years since my first World Championships. Most of the equipment has remained unchanged in the past few years.
The most popular engine was the FORA, with only a handful of pilots using AKMs. A couple of the pilots from the Hungarian team used radial motor mounts on Bulat-type models that featured a molded, fiberglass-reinforced Kevlar leading edge. The solid radial mount seemed to give a slight speed advantage to these models. The Bulat also had a carbon/Kevlar elevator and an extra rib on both the inboard and outboard wings. The 2014 version of the Bulat is available from Yuvenko (see “Sources”).
Propellers can make a huge difference in how a model performs, but most of the propellers do not have readily identifiable manufacturers’ names. Some only have small letters or numbers scratched on near the hub—for example, NN, A, TS, or 160. The only way to know how they fly is to test them. Most of the top pilots modify their propellers with a little sanding and filing. Propellers are made in so many colors and shades that it doesn’t help to describe one by color.
I like to measure propellers and look at them carefully to get an idea of what I want to buy. This method works especially well if you take measurements immediately after you have seen an impressive flight. In the past I have purchased propellers from Stas Chornyy of Ukraine that were the same as he used.
Viktor Nekhai, from Belarus, was there offering his magnetic-type shutoffs. This type of shutoff must be tested before purchase because not all of them shut off the fuel flow. Viktor’s quality control needs some improvement. There is no room for error in a safety device.
Much can be learned from observing the actions of various countries’ supporters and team members. Several of the Americans were seated next to the United Kingdom’s tent and preparation area.
That country’s supporters, wives, and non-involved team members all had stopwatches and specific tasks while their pilots were flying. Some would time the opponents and others would keep track of the down time. Some—if not all—counted cuts.
The British team manager, John James, was always present to oversee the operation of the mechanics and pilots. The British group knew the exact points count throughout the match and knew when to relay that information. In a contest where every second counts, this information is critical.
As for Team USA’s performance, they all came away disappointed. Chuck Rudner flew a very good match against a former world champion, Igor Trifanov, but ended up losing. Mark Rudner won one match, as did Sasha Nadein and Richard Stubblefield. We still need more overseas experience, and perhaps a little luck, to make it deeper into the contest.
Leonard Silva, from Mexico, was the lone participant from his country during this World Championship. He hired Vasyl and Yuri Yuvenko as his mechanics. Rudi Koenigshofer, from Austria, needed a good mechanic and enlisted the service of Aleksey Topunov from Wheeling, Illinois. Aleksey did a fabulous job helping Rudi place third. Henning Forbech, of Denmark, won second place.
The top honors went to Stanislav Chornyy from Ukraine. Stas deserved the win. He flew well throughout the contest and was on top of his game. Former World Champion, Igor Trifanov, from Russia, finished fourth, while the defending World Champion Andrius Rastenis, from Lithuania, finished in a four-way tie for fifth place.
Richard Madi, of Hungary, was the Junior winner, followed by Lucas Ostman of Sweden and Ivan Boroda of Russia. Thirteen countries were represented by Junior pilots.
As for my adopted New Zealand team, Doug Palmer finished with three wins and two losses, while his son, James, managed one win.
The 2016 World Championships will be held in Australia, so start saving now. That will be a long flight.
Phoenix Red Flag
I was unable to make it to the November Phoenix Red Flag contest, but I heard that it was good and that the field was in great condition. In F2D/Fast, Alan DeVeuve placed first while Bill Maywald, of California, was second, and Richard Stubblefield, from Houston, was third.
Arnie Delgado, of Mexico, posted his first-ever FAI win at the Red Flag and a number of his family members were there to celebrate. James McKinney, from Louisiana, was second and Richard Stubblefield was third.
Lance Matassa and his helpers did a great job organizing and running the contest.
SOURCES:
Yuvenko-F2D Models
www.yuvenko-f2d.com
Miniature Aircraft Combat Association (MACA)
www.maca.hobby-site.com:3535
2016 Control Line World Championships
www.cl-wch2016per.org
