FF Indoor - 2012/10

The 2012 Indoor FF season is in full swing, and we’ve
already had a number of of great flying events across the
country.
I attended the July 4 contest at historic Hangar 1 in
Lakehurst, New Jersey, where the Junior and Senior F1D
teams got in some last-minute practice for the World
Championships that were held August 8-13, 2012, in Belgrade,
Serbia.
The World Championships will be completed by the time
you read this; use the link in the “Sources” list to find out the
individual and team results.
Senior team member, Brett Sanborn, has been working
hard on his program, reworking nearly every aspect with
exceptional results. He has combined key elements from other
successful designs and added his own twists.
Most striking are his sparless, carbon outline propellers,
pioneered by German Lutz Schramm, and combined with the
composite construction that reigning world champion Ivan
Treger applied to Bernard Hunt’s variable-pitch hub design.
Brett’s propellers are on the heavier end of the spectrum, but
he’s put other parts of the model on a diet to keep the overall
weight reasonable.
The propellers and the model’s other improvements look
great and perform even better. How much better?
Brett won the team selection contest with a national
record of 38:36, bumped it up to 39:15 a couple of weeks
ago, and then blew it out of the water at this contest with a
national and world record of 42:03!
Brett’s success has prompted me to examine my own
program, and I realized that I was flying 10-year-old models
that were exhausted. The sturdier, plastic-covered models
resulting from the 2000 rule change certainly last longer than
their microfilm predecessors, but I’m finding that they can last
too long.
As the second Senior team member, I’m taking the role
seriously and have begun refurbishing my top models. There is
much work to do and little time to do it.
Senior team member Nick Ray and Junior team members
Parker and Spencer Tyson attended and worked hard on their
preparations. Wish our team luck!
F1D Team Sponsorship
I want to offer a special thank-you and extend a welcome
to Cooper Tires, new sponsors of the US F1D Team. The
company’s generous support will help keep the team
competitive.
Our new team jerseys will feature the Cooper Tires logo
prominently displayed, along with a nifty new team logo
designed by Brett Sanborn and me.
Indoor FF Nats/USIC
We had a great 2012 Indoor FF Nats/USIC at the Mini-
Dome in Johnson City, Tennessee. Fifty-one competitors,
plus approximately 20 kids from the Smyrna, Georgia, Flying
Aces Club (FAC) battled it out in the
complete suite of AMA, FAI, FAC, and
National Free Flight Society (NFFS)
events. Check out a daily play-by-play
online in AMA’s NatsNews.
The Mini-Dome is better than ever.
It received well-deserved ceiling repairs
and some great-looking basketball
murals at the entrances. The netting
at the ends of the dome that proved
troublesome to errant models has also
been removed.
I was happy to see the East Tennessee
State University Bucs basketball team
in this year’s March Madness. It looks as
though the Mini-Dome and surrounding
area is benefitting from the team’s
success.
On the subject of of improvements,
Johnson City itself is on an upswing,
with a new set of interesting restaurants
and attractions to enjoy when we
aren’t flying. Cootie Brown’s, an
eclectic family-owned eatery down the
street from the Mini-Dome, gets my
recommendation.
The 2013 competition is being
scheduled, and we could use some new
faces to join the festivities. The rest of us
will continue to have fun and cover the
costs, but it only gets better when there
are more people involved.
Next year’s theme is “bring a buddy to
USIC.” Even if you’ve never been before,
grab a friend and start working on some
models now. Find a local gym in which
to fly. Information is being compiled on
the NFFS website to help you learn how
to get it done.
Scheduling sessions once a month
is reasonable. As you get local people
involved, you can plan road trips to
the larger regional and national meets.
Strong local activity is the key to Indoor
FF’s success.
2013 will see the return of the
Limited Penny Plane (LPP) Pro/Am
contest at the Indoor Nats. This is a great
way to get the Indoor FF experience
firsthand, without having to first cross
the various barriers to entry. It is an
excellent opportunity to learn from
experienced Indoor competitors. Be sure
to take advantage of it.
The Smyrna FAC group has issued
an open invitation to all other FAC
squadrons to come join the fun. Battle
hard and earn coveted Kanones.
Do you and your model have what
it takes to outlast Indoor expert Larry
Loucka’s Peanut in World War I
Combat? Can you build a No-Cal Profile
Scale model that will take advantage of
Indoor weather conditions and deal with
the ceiling-height restrictions? Do you
enjoy helping kids get the most out of
a model they built themselves? Trek to
USIC 2013 and find out.
The banner problem is a thing of the
past. The removal and replacement cost
was generously funded by the AMA for
2012. Donations have already covered
the cost for 2013, and subsequent years
will be covered by proceeds from the
raffle and other donations.
The contest runs for five days, so you
can enjoy as much or as little flying
as you like. Many contestants stay the
entire time and fl y a variety of events.
Some stay only a day or two and hit
their favorites.
The dates aren’t fi rm yet, but it will
be near Memorial Day. If you live within
driving distance—which is practically
anywhere east of Kansas—start planning
your trip now!
Kibbie Dome
For those in the northwest part of
the country, the Kibbie Dome event
in Moscow, Idaho, is considered the
sister contest to the Johnson City
Nats. The site received its own set of
improvements and the two ends of the
building were rebuilt. This year’s event
was the fi rst after the full renovation,
and the results are positive.
John Sayre won Hand-Launched
Glider with two 90-second fl ights. It was
an outstanding performance. Legendary
fl ier, Larry Coslick, took fi rst in EZB
with 29:12, and also in the prototype 0.6
gram EZB event inspired by his Hobby
Shopper construction article. (Get your
copy of the excellent treatise using the
link in the “Sources” list.)
Former Junior F1D team member
and Junior World Championships silver
medalist, Tim Chang, returned to win
Intermediate Stick over Coslick.
Rising star Royce Chung, a Junior,
beat everyone in LPP with a 13:42.
Word has it that Royce will be
competing for a Junior F1D Team spot
in 2013. Keep an eye out.
This year’s event roughly broke even,
but it is in dire need of more participants
to join in the fun. A group from Britain
has announced its intention to attend in
2013, and the US F1D team selection
contest is slated to be held during the
event. If you’ve been thinking about
checking out the Kibbie Dome, 2013
will be a great year to do it.
Indoor Flying
The Detroit Balsa Bugs and
Cloudbusters Model Airplane Club
joined forces and gained access to a 70-
foot site at the Ultimate Indoor Soccer
Arenas in Pontiac, Michigan. Members
are able to fl y a few hours every
Thursday. This past spring, the clubs
hosted an Indoor contest featuring AMA
and FAC events, with a large number of
enthusiastic attendees.
It is hard enough to fi nd an affordable,
decent-size site with reasonable air.
These fl iers won the Indoor lottery. The
full-size indoor soccer fi elds are gigantic.
AMA events ran at one end and the
faster FAC events fl ew at the other, with
plenty of space in between. The air is
superb. I made a 28-minute F1D fl ight
that did not require a single steer.
This contest is worth traveling for.
Watch for the 2013 edition.
Glastonbury Aeromodelers
In my last column I called for “leader”
personalities to step up and organize
local Indoor activity, a key ingredient
for the overall health of the Indoor
community. John Koptonak is one of
these leaders.
John organized Indoor endeavors in
Norwich, Connecticut, when I was just
getting started, and was instrumental in
getting me hooked on what has become
a lifelong pursuit.
John now runs the Glastonbury,
Connecticut, Indoor scene. He wrote:
“Since returning to Connecticut
61/2 years ago, I have been the Indoor
flying leader for flying activities at
Glastonbury High School. I have
maintained the same schedule of
sessions that George [Armstead] had
and act as CD for the two full-day
contests each season.
“The club maintains a mailing list of
over 120 members and continues to
promote Indoor flying on a local level.
“We have new faces flying with us
and our contests continue to draw at
least 20 contestants. We have a good
mix of events, both AMA and FAC.
P-24 continues to be a popular and
competitive event, along with LPP.
We’ve even added Manhattan Cabin
to the agenda hoping some of the FAC
guys might give that a try.
“We have a great group of fliers who
are enthusiastic and have lots of fun.
I actually consider the Glastonbury
Aeromodelers one of the more active,
strictly FF Indoor groups in the US.”
I’ve asked John to join the NFFS
Indoor Committee so that he can
share his successes with a wider
audience. We need people such as
John organizing Indoor activity in local
groups across the country.
The more people flying, the more
fun we’ll all have. Plus, it will be easier
to afford the national-level sites.