District X - 2012/02

170 MODEL AVIATION
District X
Lawrence Tougas, District X Vice President; [email protected]
Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
THIS MONTH your San Diego area
Associate Vice President (AVP) Tim
Attaway has hot news from Arizona. Tim is
the Southwest Regional Director of the
International Miniature Aerobatic Club
(IMAC), an AMA special interest group
dedicated to the sport of Scale Aerobatics.
Check out IMAC at www.mini-iac.com.
Take it away, Tim.
Deep in the heart of District X is one of two
premiere Scale Aerobatics events in the
United States. The Tucson Aerobatic
Shootout (TAS) was held again this year in
early October.
The TAS began in 2002 when Dave
Johnson, of Desert Aircraft, saw the end of
an era with the death of Bill Bennett, the
founder of the Tournament of Champions
(TOC). The TOC was always a fabulous
event held in Las Vegas and celebrated the
best pilots in the world by inviting roughly
20 of the best to compete for prize money.
IMAC in the Southwest was growing
because of these two events. IMAC now has
more than 1,000 members nationwide and
many more pilots in a dozen or more
countries, with many competitors striving
for excellence in Aerobatics on a regular
basis. IMAC is the modeling equivalent of
the full-scale International Aerobatic Club
and follows many of the rules and
procedures of this organization. Now, in the
Southwest United States, more than 200
members fly in the District X area at 20
different venues in five states. As regional
director it is my pleasure to help this along
in any way possible.
The 2011 TAS had nearly 70 pilots from
places including Australia, Austria, France,
Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The typical
aircraft flown at this competition are 40%
Scale airplanes powered by 15-20 hp
gasoline engines, many supplied by Desert
Aircraft.
You must qualify in some way to be
invited to compete in the five-day event.
Preliminary flying for Sportsman,
Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited are
Wednesday through Friday, and Saturday is
the final day. Prizes and money topped
$140,000 in total value.
The invitational (professional) class had
the top 13 pilots flying for a $12,000 firstplace
prize. Andrew Jesky, Gernot
Bruckmann, and Mark Leseberg finished
first, second, and third. The Freestyle event
was separate and Gernot took first. Close
behind were Gabrial Altuz from Puerto Rico
and Ryan Archer of Arizona.
The top four Sportsman this year were
Geoffrey Donati, Ohio, in first, followed by
Victor Lysakowski, John Pomroy, and 11-
year-old Parker Rathbun. Oliver Soto won
Intermediate, followed by Randy Dreyer,
Rusty Fried, and John Eells. Bill Adams
topped the Advanced Class, and was
followed by Bryant Mack, Cameron Irwin,
and Andrew Taylor.
In Unlimited, Matthew Szueber took the
top spot and was followed by Todd Bridges,
Matthew Stringer, and Brian Sanik. The
majority of these top spots were won by
pilots younger than 20. Several older
competitors did the older generation proud
though, and we applaud them, too. Each
competitor got to visit the prize table, and
more than 30 sponsors, led by Desert
Aircraft, ensured that each pilot got a prize
with a minimum value of $300.
The weather for the five-day 2011 TAS
was marvelous. The event’s organization
and execution—led by Dave Johnson’s
Desert Aircraft team of Tony Russo, Steve
Richardson, Brian Howard, Anna Woods,
and Bob Sadler “Mouth of the South”—was
outstanding.
Fred Midget from Higher Plane
Productions recorded the highlights, which
can be viewed with FlightPass. Many
dedicated judges traveled across the country,
led by IMAC President Wayne Matthews.
The Tuscan International Modelplex Park
Association was the host club. This was the
best Tucson Aerobatic Shootout I have ever
been to. Thanks, everyone.
Go to the IMAC website for more
information about the organization and the
20 contests held in our District X area.
Complete schedules, sequences, and
instructions are available.
Aaron Garles from Australia.
Andrew Jesky took first place in the
invitational (professional) class.
David Moser flies Freestyle.
Gernot Bruckmann placed first in Freestyle.
Lawrence Tougas
Vice President
1827 Santa Monica St.,
Fairfield CA 94533
Tel.: (707) 480-2053
[email protected]
www.ama10.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Tim Attaway, Chula Vista CA
(619) 427-6392; [email protected]
Denny Baker, Brentwood CA
(925) 513-1224; [email protected]
Duke Chung, Honolulu HI
(808) 421-1094;
[email protected]
Greg Clemensen, Las Vegas NV
(702) 870-6242;
[email protected]
Kevin Houser, Oro Valley AZ
(520) 490-7657;
[email protected]
Tim Johnson, Downey CA.
(562) 965-4288;
[email protected]
Rick Maida, Morgan Hill CA
(408) 778-6885; [email protected]
Scott Malta, Merced CA
(209) 723-4202;
[email protected]
Todd Sheridan, Pleasant Grove UT
(801) 358-8345;
[email protected]
Roger Willis, Buckeye AZ.
(760) 604-6773;
[email protected]
Contest Coordinators
Ellis Hall, Fair Oaks CA (North);
(916) 217-6302;
[email protected]
Tim Attaway, Chula Vista CA;
(619) 427-6392; [email protected]
District X Volunteers
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