F1D World Championship funding policy explanation
John Kagan [[email protected]]
THE AMA FAI team-funding policy has changed recently. (Refer to the publication World Championship Teams—Procedures Governing the Academy’s Sponsorship of FAI Teams.) A team must now earn funding and support through participation levels or performance at the World Championships.
Participation is measured by the number of program members and Team Selection Finals entrants. Performance is judged by team or individual placings.
- Teams at the highest level will receive 100% of the newly adjusted funds.
- Lower-level teams will receive partial funding.
- Teams at the lowest level will be pulled from the World Championships until their participation levels increase.
I am happy to say that the US Indoor FF program is, at least for now, doing great. We are just under the top level for participation, so it would be great to boost those numbers a bit.
But judging by the latest World Championships, our team’s performance level secures us top funding! Read on for the great news.
Americans Win 2006 F1D World Championships
The FAI FF Indoor World Championships for Juniors and Seniors (which is the FAI equivalent of the AMA Open category) was held, once again, in the majestic salt mines in Slanic Prahova, Romania.
After four long days in the legendarily trying conditions, American Larry Cailliau emerged victorious. He added a long-sought-after World Champion title to his extended list of achievements and kept the Rushbrooke Individual World Champion trophy on US soil. (It hasn't left since 1992!) The US team finished second behind the hard-charging Romanian squad.
American Justin Young kept the US Juniors' winning streak going for the third consecutive cycle, with a gold-medal performance. His teammate Ethan Aaron took silver. The US Junior team avenged the Seniors, securing first place with the Romanians close behind.
Larry Cailliau did things right, putting up two flights exceeding 35 minutes in the first rounds. He wasn't a shoo-in, though; Romanian Aurel Popa pulled to within 10 seconds by the third round.
It was a nail-biter until the end. Several flights on both sides looked as though they might record even bigger times, but none topped their early marks. Popa's final flight was threatening but contacted the wall during the descent. The Romanians aren't traditionally steering fans, but I have the feeling that is going to change soon.
Returning Junior World Champion Doug Schaefer, who competed with the Seniors this time, overcame a model lost to the catwalk and showed his prowess with two 34-plus rounds that had him in podium position until one of the last flights of the contest.
On his final attempt German Lutz Schramm edged into third place and bumped Doug to fourth. Doug had an exemplary showing, especially for his first Senior World Championships.
Brett Sanborn—last cycle's Junior silver medalist who earned a place with the Senior squad on his first try—was determined not to be the weak link on the team. That kind of attitude is motivating, but in the end he had nothing to worry about. Brett posted a 34 and a high 33 for a solid seventh place and a great team time. He was remarkably consistent, with all six official flights between 32 and 34 minutes. Young Doug and Brett definitely have more F1D greatness to come, which is good news for our program and bad news for anyone vying for a spot on the team!
My experience was at least good for some entertainment value. The airline was kind enough to ship me all the way through to Romania, but they left my luggage (including all my tools and equipment) in Amsterdam!
It took several days and a missed practice to collect them all, but no real harm was done. The bad karma carried into the competition, though. Two flights took to the ceiling in record time, bumped around for a while, and hung on the catwalk. The others didn’t get up quite high enough. With time running out I shifted my focus to putting in safe team flights, but even then only managed two 32-minute flights that left us in second place. It turns out I was the weakest link!
Justin Young started his week with similar tribulations. He sprained his ankle badly on arrival day and wasn’t positive he was going to be able to compete. However, a few ace bandages, ice packs, and a dose of youthful vigor later, he was mobile enough to fly.
He had his share of challenges in the competition too. His model climbed out beautifully, with none of the high-torque shenanigans that afflicted so many competitors’ airplanes. But then, just when it looked like things were perfect, it began stalling two-thirds of the way up and lost most of its altitude.
Justin spent a bunch of time in the difficult practice area, sorting things out with valuable input from Junior Team Manager Tom Sova and eventual World Champ Larry Cailliau. On his last official attempt, Justin put up a 30-minute backup flight to his earlier 31-minute flight that secured the win.
Ethan Aaron’s mentor is renowned indoorist Ray Harlan, and he certainly picked up some solid skills. Ethan tested the waters on the first day of competition with a couple of safe flights and then put in a few rounds of approximately 28 minutes.
With solid times on the board Ethan searched for a way to pick up a couple extra minutes, but he eventually had to “settle” for second. He has that quiet F1D determination, and I’m sure he’ll be back to try for the top spot in future meets.
Nick Ray jumped off to a great start, topping the leaderboard with a 27-minute flight in the first round. Early fame can be fleeting, though; a series of component failures derailed his efforts to produce a matching backup time. With few parts remaining Nick hobbled together a 25-minute flight on the last day that, at the very least, secured the all-important team win.
Ray Harlan did another great job as team manager. A great deal of work goes on behind the scenes (down to making sure everyone gets on the bus to the airport), but it is almost invisible when everything works right. Thanks for making the trip fun, Ray!
Former team member Tom Sova kept the kids in line as the Junior team manager. His previous experience in the mine was invaluable, and the team’s results speak for themselves. Great work, Tom!
So ends another World Championships in the challenging salt mine of Slanic Prahova. Start tuning your variable-geometry propellers; 2008 is going to find the F1D World Championships at a new 90-foot site in Serbia.
This is a welcome change (even to the Romanians, who have graciously hosted so many events) and the first time variable-geometry propellers will be a factor with the new-rules models at a World Championships. The next US Team Selection will likely be held at a site close to the size of the Serbian venue to help choose a team that is best suited for this new challenge.
If you know any local Science Olympiad (SO) stars (or are one), get them into this year's Team Selection Program quickly! SO graduates have produced full three-person Junior F1D teams, individual Junior World Champs, team World Champs, and even silver medalists for the last three consecutive cycles.
SO fliers have then gone on to other great accomplishments in the Indoor FF world and beyond. Keep the streak alive!
Glastonbury Is Back
It can be depressing when news rolls around of yet another lost Indoor FF flying site. If one didn't know better, he or she would get the impression that our distinctive corner of the model-airplane hobby was withering away.
An example of this was when I heard that the Glastonbury, Connecticut, Indoor FF activities were on indefinite hold. It was at this site where I first witnessed the late Jim Grant's miraculous EZB floating around. These people were founders of the Flying Aces Club movement, for heaven's sake.
George Armstead tirelessly kept the show running for many years, and Tony Lincoln took over when George passed away. But flying was put on hold because of construction at the high school and some very burnt-out volunteers.
That's why I was so thrilled when I recently received a flyer announcing that the Indoor FF sessions are back after a year's hiatus. Things are right with the universe once again.
John Koptonak—a previous longtime leader of the Norwich Flying Aces—has returned to Connecticut and graciously taken the reins. He is one of those high-voltage, positive-energy people who keep our activity afloat.
John's time was recently consumed by full-scale sailplane racing and outdoor FF out West, among other things, but he's back energizing the Glastonbury activities. That kind of thing is good for all of us. As long as we have people such as John to keep things hopping, Indoor FF will be fine.
USIC/Nats and Kibbie Dome 2007
Since this column is published just four times a year, it seems as though almost every other installment refers to the two biggest US Indoor FF events: the Kibbie Dome Annual and US Indoor Championships (USIC)/AMA Nats.
Well, it's already time again to make your annual plans to enjoy and support Indoor FF at its best. And if you are new to this part of the hobby, you owe it to yourself to see how much fun it is to fly at one or both of these sites.
The 2007 USIC/AMA Nats is being held at the usual spot—the East Tennessee State University Mini-Dome in Johnson City, Tennessee—May 30–June 3. You can find all the info and registration material on the AMA website. Come share a great week of flying in a spacious, weather-immune 115-foot site.
You can test your mettle against the country's best, but don't let the competition scare you off; there is plenty of room and support for beginners too. This is one of the largest annual gatherings of Indoor FFers, flying the complete gamut of events.
The Kibbie Dome Annual runs July 6–10. It is held at an expansive 145-foot sports facility in Moscow, Idaho. The dome's layout allows heavy and light Indoor FF models to fly concurrently, providing a relaxed contest atmosphere where you can fly whatever you like, whenever you want.
You'll find a great group of people, a world-class site, and more airtime than at anywhere else in the world. For registration or more information, contact Andrew Tagliafierro at [email protected] or (503) 452-0546.
And don't forget the other great contests scattered throughout the country!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
