WELCOME TO THE 2003 Radio Control Helicopter Nationals
(Nats) contest coverage. As I have done in all of my past reports,
I’ll leave out the statistics (those are someplace else in this issue).
I’ll cover some of the highlights, but this year I’m going to add a
twist.
For the first time in my years of working at the Nats (10, but
who keeps track?), I finally took everyone’s suggestions and
entered Class I. I’m going to pass along a few notes, thoughts, etc.
about my first Nats as a competitor.
Wow! Talk about rain! In all the years I’ve been event director for
the Helicopter portion of the Nats, I don’t ever remember having
this much. It rained every day that we were there. And it was not a
small amount, mind you, but enough that I seriously thought all of
the competitors would need floats to compete. From Friday, July 4,
till Monday, July 7 (the competition was July 5-9), there was
approximately 12 inches of rainfall. We were doin’ the backstroke!
It is hard to describe the feeling you get when you pull into the
front drive at AMA Headquarters and have to watch where you are
driving because fish are swimming across the road. That’s right,
fish!
Fortunately we didn’t miss a round of flying, so I guess our
record of never being rained out is still intact, technically. Without
all of the volunteers’ hard work, we couldn’t have pulled it off. They
worked between the raindrops and did whatever needed to be done
to ensure that every contestant got to fly every round.
The total pilot count was 49, which was up from last year. The
biggest news was the number of entrants in Class I. Normally we get
five or six—maybe seven if we’re lucky. Not this year; 16 pilots
registered for Class I. (I sure picked a tough year to fly in my first
Nats.)
The breakdown was Class I, 16 pilots; Class II, nine pilots; Class
III, nine pilots; Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) F3C,
15 pilots; and Scale, five pilots. That included one Junior competitor
(15 years or younger) and four Seniors (16-19 years old). At least
one Junior and/or Senior entered each class, including Scale.
The Class I pilots came from across the country. The largest
contingent was from Alabama, and they can really fly. Bruce Eddy
led this all-star cast when he finished in first place, and Ron
Cummins came in a not-too-distant second.
Jeff Fassbinder traveled from California and placed third, and
Jhon Russell, also from Alabama, rounded out the top four. Robin
Jackson, up from North Carolina, was the only female pilot this
year, and she finished fifth.
It’s interesting that three of the top five pilots were not originally
going to enter this year. Steve Kaluf and I had gone down to fly in a
Nashville, Tennessee, contest, and we invited them to come up to
the Nats and fly. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea on our part.
Seriously, as pilots/contestants, these people probably did more
to help my contest flying in the few days that they were at the Nats
than I could have accomplished in a whole summer of practice.
Even though I was competing against them, they took the time to
show me ways that I could improve my flying. I guess that’s part of
what the Nats is all about. Thanks to everyone for your help. I’ll
keep practicing, and, as Arnold Schwarzenegger says, “I’ll be back.”
Rolando Perez came back this year from Florida to conquer Class
II, finishing in first place. Class II included a couple pilots who
moved up from Class I last year. Danny Szabo of Nevada finished
December 2003 61
H e l i c o p t e r
Craig Bradley, 12400 Burlingame Dr., Dewitt MI 48820
Curtis Youngblood’s (Austin TX) Vigors at rest between rounds
of F3C competition. He finished in second place.
Scott Gray shows F3C winner’s plaque with Assistant Event
Director David Harkey (L), Event Director Craig Bradley.
Scale competitor Alan Szabo Jr. (Las Vegas NV), on the left, and
Alan Szabo Sr. prepare for Alan Jr.’s flight.
RADIO CONTROL
second in Class I last year and second in Class II this year.
Tony Wade came up from Alabama with his dad Don, an F3C
contestant, to finish in third place. Dan Willis of Mississippi, who
was a recruit from the Nashville contest, rounded out the top four
places.
These Class II pilots got the “opportunity” to judge those of us
who competed in Class I. After they finished judging a round, they
would often give those of us who flew a few suggestions on how to
improve our flying. All of their input was greatly appreciated.
Thanks goes out to them for their help.
Ben Minor of Virginia took top honors in Class III this year,
finishing with a perfect score of 6,000. Those of you who fly FAI
need to watch out next year; Ben is on his way. Good luck, Ben!
Dennis Purduski of Mississippi finished in second place. I believe
he is also moving to FAI next season
Kentuckian Doug Trent and Ohioan Tom Erb came in third and
fourth respectively. Senior competitor John Zankl of Indiana moved
up from Class II this year to finish fifth.
These pilots helped out in the judging chairs when it was their
turn, not only for Class II but for Class I when it was necessary. You
guys are great!
FAI F3C underwent some changes this year. This year’s champion
is Scott Gray, of Canada, with a perfect score of 3,000. Curtis
Youngblood of Texas finished close behind in second, and the 2003
US FAI F3C team of Wayne Mann of North Carolina, Len Sabato,
who came over from Illinois, and Dwight Shilling, also of Illinois,
finished in third, fourth, and fifth. Senior Alan Szabo Jr. moved up
from Class III this year to finish sixth.
Noticeably absent this year were the contestants from the United
Kingdom: Mark Tilbury and Mark Christy. Come on back next year,
guys.
IRCHA (International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association)
President Ron Kummer directed the Scale portion of the Nats again
this year. The quantity of pilots may not have been there, but the
quality certainly was.
For the second year in a row, Peter Wales brought his
Aérospatiale Lama from Florida to take first place. Tim Dawson
made the long trip from California with his Airwolf model to take
second place. Third place went to Alan Szabo Jr. flying a Bell 222.
Bob Harris brought a beautiful model of a Dauphine from Virginia
and won the static portion of the contest; however, he had some
problems with the model and elected not to fly.
Paul Strobel was signed up to attend, but I heard that he crashed
his Scale model the week before the contest. I hope you get it
fixed, Paul. See you next year.
62 MODEL AVIATION
Dan Willis (Baldwyn MS) shows us his Miniature Aircraft Fury
helicopter. He finished fourth in Class II.
Peter Wales (Longwood FL) makes his Scale flight while Tim
Dawson calls for him. Peter was victorious in this event.
Bruce Eddy (Brilliant AL) won the Class I competition.
Tom Erb (Alliance OH), left, gets ready for a Class III flight with
J.C. Zankl ready to call. “Lake Kaluf” is behind them.
RADIO CONTROL
We still need more contestants in this class. With all of the
beautiful helicopters out there, it’s a real shame that we can’t get
more of them entered in the Nats.
Again I let the people who really make the contest work get away
without thanking them properly. Thank you for giving so graciously
of your time so that others were able to compete and enjoy flying.
My two assistant event directors—Kevin Cordell and David
Harkey—helped keep things rolling. Kevin pulled some extra duty
this year, serving as an FAI judge and covering Class I so I could fly
in it. FAI judges Carey Shurley, Mike Fortune, and Kevin put in
long hours and did a great job of scoring. Carey came all the way up
from Florida just to judge.
Tom Johnson and Sean Bradley were the flightline directors
again this year. They kept the flow of pilots moving. Tom offered to
help last year, and he did such a great job that I asked him to come
back this year. Don and Naomi Griffin covered the radio impound;
the Nats wouldn’t be the Nats without them. Thank you both for all
you do.
In charge of scoring was Dan Monroe, whose program (CD Pro)
continues to improve with each contest. This year he added a radioimpound
section to the program, making it even more versatile. The
preceding are just some of the people who made the Helicopter Nats
December 2003 63
The well-shaded FAI F3C judges check out one of Marty Kuhns’
(San Pedro CA) flights. He finished in seventh place.
Jhon Russell’s (Mount Olive AL) X-Cell is at rest between rounds
of Class I. He finished fourth in the category.
Robin Jackson (Greensboro NC) was the only female helicopter
pilot this year, and she finished fifth in Class I. Fearless AMA Technical Director Steve Kaluf flies maneuvers.
Tim Dawson (Ridgecrest CA) makes low pass with Scale Airwolf.
things and get the credit for doing a good
job.
Last, I need to thank the competitors
and spectators. They all stepped up to help
when necessary to make sure that the
contest went smoothly. It couldn’t have
taken place without everyone’s help.
The Nats continues to be more than
competition and flying; it’s a chance to
spend time with good friends at the field
and after hours. It also gives us an
opportunity to make new friends.
If you haven’t competed at the Nats,
you owe it to yourself to give it a try. If for
some reason you have dropped out of Nats
competition, come back and give it another
effort. You don’t know what you’re
missing.
As the person who had the dubious honor
of being the first pilot to fly in Class I and
the last pilot to fly in the contest (if I knew
everyone was watching, I would have
flown better!), it has been a real privilege
to fly with all of you. I learned a lot about
how to compete and how to set up my
machine to fly better. All of the help I
received from the competitors was greatly
appreciated. Let’s come back next year and
do it again!
That’s all I have for this year. I’m sure I
have missed someone or something; if so, I
truly apologize. I’ll try again next year. MA
