IRCHA Helicopter Jamboree
By Mark Fadely
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the flying field (I am referring to the helicopter pilot). Not long ago helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields. When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally extended to the helicopter pilots. People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a flightline full of hovering without causing a riot.
At roughly the time that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly battery–powered electric helicopters came to the market in force. What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done. That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this record-setting phenomenon.
Arrival and conditions
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday morning. The official kickoff to start the event is always on Thursday—August 9 this year—and it runs until Sunday evening. We did not have the storms of past years, but the heat set records. It was in the 90s with high humidity. Fortunately there was a breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time, so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA site is big, and the flightline was already full with pilots and vendor tent areas when I arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far as I could see. The flight area was to the north, so the sun was never in the pilots’ eyes while they flew.
In past Jamborees you had to plan on flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday that it became a chore to get your frequency and find a spot to fly. That all changed this year with digital spread‑spectrum radios. For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72 MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first to jump on any new product or idea. That was certainly proven at this year's IRCHA event. It was cool to have so many more pilots and so much less waiting to fly. In years past there have been long lines of pilots waiting for their radios at the impound trailer. I never saw more than three people in line this year.
Flying and demonstrations
If you want to see great pilots from around the world lay down the best in RC aviation, this is the place to be. I don't mean just radical 3-D, either; there was a scale contest, drag races, and even a 400-size electric pylon race.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the field this year. They flew so hard that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-D demonstrations were the best I can remember.
One difference this year was the number of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon Hobby included at least five pilots with mini electrics. It was wild, and all five helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed like the motto for the demos was “anything for the show,” and why not? The crowd loved it.
Notable pilots and performances
- Bobby Watts was officially crowned the "King of Smack" for his throw-down style of flying. He placed second at this year's XFC and third at the 3D Masters. He tosses his Miniature Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a rabid bulldog's mouth.
- Daniel Jetschin (Germany) impressed with smooth, precise, hard-core flying. He is versed in reversing—he can reverse his pirouette direction at any time, even during a pirouetting flip on the deck—and keep going.
- Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another standout pilot. His flying keeps getting better all the time; he is actually a veteran despite his young age and has a unique style that includes a lot of smack.
- Jason Krause flew a wicked flight with his T-Rex 600 Nitro, flying rapidly the length of the field approximately 5 inches off the deck. He ended his demo by ripping the guts out of the machine doing a ripper.
- Alan and Danny Szabo, with their team-manager father, headed up the Avant Inc. team flying Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry Caldwell also flew Auroras.
- Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave a heaping helping of the ATL Smackdown.
- Scott Gray mixed things up by flying his FAI helicopter during the noon hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a full fuselage that made the model extremely slippery. He made several high-speed flybys that had to be close to 100 mph.
Competitive events and winners
Competitive events at the Jamboree included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and autorotation.
- Drag races: Ken Jennings won all three classes of drag racing. He always modifies his machines and has a super flying technique that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
- Scale: Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale competition with a beautiful Huey Cobra that performed great in all maneuvers.
- Autorotation: Nathan Spencer of Rick's R/C won the autorotation contest again—a familiar name at the top of this event.
- Electric-powered pylon racing: Very entertaining with a lot of carnage and laughs; the little EP helicopters are fun because you can push them hard without breaking the bank.
- Night-fly: Andy Rummer won the night-fly competition again. His aircraft had special lighting that scored high points with the crowd.
Organization and volunteers
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of organizing and running a meet this large. Let's face it: the average helicopter pilot's disposition makes such an event a "mecca of eccentrics." Fortunately all the IRCHA brass are well suited to understand our needs and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA president, could be seen working hard all week to make sure everything was running smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of prizes was given away. The grand prize was a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all the volunteers deserve a big thank you from all of us.
Conclusion and contact
I think there is going to be a great deal of reflection on how this fun-fly has affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to be a part of it.
Mark Fadely [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
