IRCHA 2013
Helicopter pilots unite for the largest-ever IRCHA Jamboree
by John Kauk
Imagine throwing an entertaining party that more than a thousand people would want to travel from around the world to attend. Now imagine that the party in question would be restricted to those who were interested in flying RC helicopters. That's exactly what an AMA SIG has been doing for years.
The International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association (IRCHA) hosted its annual IRCHA Jamboree at the AMA's International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. Running from July 31 to August 4, 2013, the event set an attendance record of 1,132 registered pilots to continue as the largest single-venue RC event in the world.
IRCHA president, Dave Millner, and the hard-working staff and volunteers did a commendable job coordinating this huge event. Pilot registration moved smoothly and efficiently and the events and demonstrations were well organized.
Saturday evening's catered dinner for registered pilots was well executed, feeding hundreds of people. The lines moved quickly and efficiently with smiling volunteer servers keeping up the friendly tradition.
The party mostly ran along a 1/2-mile flightline on the southern end of the facility, and extended to a couple of other sites as well. The north side of the main flightline featured plenty of flying stations and room for pilots to set up canopies and pit areas. The vendor area stretched along the southern side of the flightline, and there was room for parking and camping around the perimeter of the area.
Show Center was near the middle of the long flightline, where the large public-address system thumped out a driving beat for the competitive events and demonstrations. Brett Walker handled much of the public-address duties, keeping the crowd informed about what was going on throughout each day.
Every hour there was a different manufacturer or vendor that took over Show Center and demonstrated its latest and greatest products. This was also the time for the talented team pilots to show off their 3-D aerobatic skills as well as the capabilities of the newest helicopters and equipment.
In addition to the flying activities, two tents on either side of the IRCHA registration trailer offered educational seminars throughout the day. Hourly topics included turbine engine basics, aerial photography using multirotor aircraft, heli tuning and setup, gas engines, and more.
The Jamboree officially ran from 9 a.m. until 5 or 6 p.m. each day, but the fun didn't stop at the end of the day's schedule. Flying continued well into the evening, and when it got too dark for flying regular helicopters, pilots broke out their LED-encrusted night fliers. These helicopters were so well lit and decorated that they could be seen from far away. Some lit up the ground for yards as they flew.
The party time continued after show hours as well. Empire Hobby converted its product display tent into a party tent, serving drinks and snacks to those who stopped by.
Farther down the flightline, a large group from Wisconsin put on quite a shindig. A large tent featuring Tiki lamps and its own sound system and music, members of the Southeast Wisconsin Area Rotary Modelers welcomed all visitors to a well-prepared buffet featuring barbecue buffalo-style wings and more. Nearby, entertaining night flying made for a fun nighttime experience.
In addition to the nearly nonstop flying up and down the flightline, the IRCHA Jamboree hosted a number of competitive events. Pilots from 21 countries came to compete and enjoy the experience, emphasizing the international nature of the organization.
The One Competition, sponsored by Gaui, Scorpion Motors, and Empire Hobby, is an invitational aerobatic event. Seven pilots competed for the title and a briefcase carrying $7,000. Six top 3-D pilots were invited to compete and one pilot, the Lucky 7, was chosen on the basis of a video submitted to the organizers. This year the competition consisted of two compulsory maneuvers that were judged for precision, and a 7-minute freestyle 3-D performance.
After the flying part of the competition ended, the spectators were asked to cheer and make noise for the pilot whom they thought was the best, and the noise the crowd generated was measured. These results were added to the pilot's scores to determine the winner. Kyle Dahl flew a creative portion of his 3-D routine with long, colorful ribbons attached to his heli and aggressively finished his routine to win this year's event.
The Scale competition, directed by Darrell Sprayberry, took place along the flightline, east of Show Center. Many world-class Scale models were displayed and flown throughout the show, and it was worth a trip to see them. The pilots were easily approachable and happy to answer questions about their models and to discuss the details.
The Scale competition was hampered by occasional heavy crosswinds, which made the highly detailed models more difficult to handle while performing the required maneuvers. This year's first- and second-place winners came with an enthusiastic group of heli fliers from Switzerland. Roland Kaufmann flew a nice Aérospatiale Alouette III to first place. Marcel Germann took second place flying a 500-size Westland Sea King in Royal Navy colors. Third place was awarded to Emile Sheriff, who flew a Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk.
The Speed Cup competition was run on a 200-meter course, and speeds for upwind and downwind passes over the course were averaged for the final score. Oliver Jellen of Germany won the Unlimited class, flying a Henseleit TDR, with a speed of 152.7 mph. The Open class was taken by Robert Sixt of Germany with a speed of slightly more than 145 mph. Pavel Bozdech of the Czech Republic won the Stock class flying 111 mph.
The Auto-Rotation contest is all about spot-landing accuracy, after an unpowered descent from altitude. The results of three attempts are combined for a final score. This year's rules were changed so that the first contact point was where the measurement was taken, which made the contest more difficult and competitive. Raja Bortcosh won the contest, with three autorotation landings within roughly 8.5 inches of the target.
At Saturday's Night Fly competition, innovation and creativity were the rule. Robert Sixt flew an interesting routine highlighted by a rotor illumination system that allowed full-span graphics to be displayed inside a white light ring. Cartoon characters, graphics, and text flashed across the rotor hub disk, synchronized with the accompanying music in an eye-catching display.
Bobby Watts won the event with a creative narrative routine that involved the mating habits of 3-D helicopters and the "birth" of an illuminated quadcopter offspring.
Multicopters
Multirotor helicopters comprise a segment of the hobby that has continued to grow at a brisk pace, and there was a noticeable increase in their numbers at this year's IRCHA Jamboree. Whether they were the tiny micro quads flying around the pit areas or 1-meter span camera-bearing hexacopters making videos of the event, they were everywhere.
Many of the manufacturers and vendors displayed and demonstrated multirotor aircraft during the Jamboree. Designs from DJI Innovations, Gaui, Agile Helicopters, and others demonstrated the rapidly changing state-of-the-art technology. A well-attended seminar hosted by Empire and Sony discussed aerial photography and emerging technologies for shooting, stabilizing, and streaming photos and videos.
Curtis Youngblood unveiled an innovative design for a new quadcopter. With rotors in an H configuration and a hybrid shaft and belt-drive system powered by a single electric motor, his Stingray is a full, collective-pitch machine that allows for aerobatic 3-D flights.
Snowball Express
Snowball Express is a charity organization. Its mission is to provide hope and new memories to the children of military service personnel who have died while on active duty since the September 11 attacks. Jack Burnside of Empire Hobby and the AMA worked together to bring 11 children to the event for a fun day. The group started with a tour of the AMA Headquarters and the National Model Aviation Museum, and then moved out to a remote flying site. There they got some stick time on simulators before moving to the nearby runway for some hands-on buddy-box flying on a fixed-wing trainer.
At noon, the youngsters settled into front-row seats to enjoy the exciting One Competition, and in the evening they had an equally good view of the Night Fly competition and fireworks display.
Jack Burnside also enthusiastically worked to organize and promote a live auction on Saturday evening, as well as a text-message auction that ran all weekend. Proceeds from both were donated to Snowball Express.
Conclusion
For anyone who is interested in RC helicopters, the IRCHA Jamboree is a must-see event. With such a variety of offerings—from competition to fun-flying to just sitting and watching the amazingly skilled 3-D pilots—there’s something for everyone.
Put August 6-10, 2014, on your calendar and be a part of setting a new record at the next Jamboree!
—John Kauk [email protected]
SOURCES: IRCHA www.IRCHA.org
Snowball Express www.snowballexpress.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
