Midwest Slope Challenge - 2012/02

THE 2011 MIDWEST Slope Challenge (MWSC) was one of the
best in its 18-year history. Held annually since 1994, the MWSC
breaks some stereotypes about flatland Slope flying, provides a
destination vacation, and a terrific bunch of Glider fliers from across
the country, and even overseas, return.
In case you never thought about flying Slope in the Great Plains,
remember that it’s windy there—really windy. It’s been called “The
Saudi Arabia of Wind Energy,” and each year we go, we see more
and more wind turbines spinning and generating electricity. Clean
energy: a view of the future on the Kansas prairie.
Because the prairie is treeless in its natural state, the trees you see
were planted in valleys by settlers. The rolling hills in central Kansas
feature ridgelines with grass, but without trees to block an RC pilot’s
view of the sky or restrict the places to land an RC Sailplane. This is
amazing to Slope fliers from forested parts of the country. It makes
for many Slope flying sites, paying strict attention to land ownership
and having permission to be on a ridgeline.
The MWSC event location, Wilson Lake in Russell County, gives
us five or more prime flying sites overlooking water, supporting ridge
lift in five wind directions. Flying sites on public land are accessible,
thanks to the support of the US Army Corps of Engineers. There are
even more flying sites away from the lake itself. Local ranchers
generously allow us to use their land for flying, sometimes even
including working pastures.
The 18thMidwest Slope Challenge was held May 12-15, 2011,
by the Wings Over Wilson (WOW) Soaring club, based in Lucas,
Kansas. The four-day event schedule includes a practice day and
pilot registration on Thursday. Four competitive Slope events are
scheduled for Friday and Saturday, if we have suitable wind, and
Sunday is held in reserve if we have to wait for wind.
We got to fly Thursday in 20-mph southwesterly winds at the
German Caves flying site, located west of Wilson Lake. We tried a
new restaurant—a New York-type Irish pub transplanted to the
neighboring town of Luray. (In my observation, Slope pilots like bar
food.) In the early evening we completed the event registration in a
barn on the cattle ranch of Kent and Anne Palmer, and greeted the
arriving old flying buddies.
Friday dawned with heavy, overcast skies and light rain, which
stopped by 10 a.m. The overcast was with us most of the day and
with temperatures in lower 50s and a gusty 20-mph north wind, we
headed to Jim and Marge Lawson’s pasture for the first day of
competition flying.
18 MODEL AVIATION
All four Midwest Slope Challenge events, including the Foam Combat match, were flown in Jim Lawson’s pasture. In Foam
Combat, pilots fly “bounceable” foam Sailplanes and try to knock opponents out of the air.
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 10:56 AM Page 18by Dave Garwood
Midwest
Slope
Challenge
by Dave Garwood
Eighteen years of
Slope Soaring in Kansas
February 2012 19
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 10:57 AM Page 19Michael Gartner (Cleveland) flies a
Leading Edge Gliders EPP foam
Messerschmitt Bf-109 and Joe
Chovan (North Syracuse NY) flies
a Leading Edge Gliders EPP foam
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
during practice for the Foam
Warbird Race.
One Design Race competitors Andrew
Williams (Denver), flying a Magnum
Models Bad Voodoo, and Chance Cooper
(McPherson KS), flying a CR Aircraft Fun-1.
Cows in the flying field? No, pilots in the cow field. From the left
are Larry Blevins, Erik Eaton, Justin Ammon, Darren Ammon,
and AMA District IX Associate Vice President Mike Tallman,
who worked as a race official.
20 MODEL AVIATION
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 10:59 AM Page 20Photos by Alex Paul and Dave Garwood
A Magnum RC Models Mikoyan-
Gurevich MiG-3, built and flown by
Larry Blevins (Knoxville TN), and a
Leading Edge Gliders Lockheed P-80
Shooting Star, built and flown by Joe
Chovan, pull the near turn together in
the Foam Warbird race.
Many thanks to our turn judges, who
spent hours in cool weather to make
the race work smoothly. The ODR
race far-turn crew includes rancher
Kent Palmer, pilot Wayne Rigby,
photographer Mark Weaver, visitor
Richard Phinney, and WOW club
vice president Larry Purdy.
Sign my card ... Foam Combat
pilots Greg Hine (Boulder CO) and
David Day (Houston) exchange a
signature to record a kill.
Scorecards are turned in at the
end of the match to the CD, who
tallies the results.
Mike Bailey (Wichita KS) launches during
the Foam Warbird Race.
Ten-year-old Darren Ammon (Lucas KS) flew to second
place in the One Design Race, beating roughly 20 highly
experienced Slope Race pilots. His spotter is Thane
Kirchoff (Lincoln NE).
February 2012 21
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 11:09 AM Page 2122 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Unlimited Race at the Midwest Slope Challenge at Wilson
Lake in Lucas, Kansas. The V-tail Sailplane is an MDS 100
designed and flown by Mike Bailey, and the other racer is an
RCRCM Strega flown by Andrew Williams. Alex Paul photo.
Right: A Magnum Models Duster, designed by Erik Eaton, turns
and burns on the course in Lawson’s Pasture during the One
Design Race. The Duster, with a balsa-sheeted wing and a carbonstiffened
EPP fuselage, will be the subject of a kit review in the
RC Soaring Digest online magazine.
Fred Maier (Akron NY) launches Michael Gantner’s Leading Edge
Gliders 60-inch span, EPP foam Messerschmitt Bf-109 during the
Warbird Race.
Model Designers and Makers at MWSC 2011
Justin Ammon Edge RC www.edgerc.com
Mike Bailey Fancy Foam Models www.fancyfoam.com
Larry Blevins Magnum Models www.magnumrcmodels.com
Joe Chovan TufFlight www.tufflight.com
Erik Eaton Eaton Air RC www.eatonairrc.com
Michael Gantner G.E.M.S. (440) 759-7144
Cory Schanz Got Gas RC www.gotgasradiocontrol.com
Andrew Williams Canuck Engineering www.canuckengineering.com
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 11:12 AM Page 22February 2012 23
Left: A 60-inch wingspan Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star in Air
Force Thunderbird colors, built from Leading Edge Gliders kits by
Joe Chovan, cruises across the Kansas prairie. The pilot and the
model took first in the Foam Warbird Race at Midwest Slope
Challenge 2011.
Below: Andrew Williams’ Strega makes a tight pylon turn during
the Unlimited Race.
Midwest
Slope
Challenge
Pilots Michael Gartner, Mike Bailey, and Joe Chovan
practice for the Foam Warbird race. This game is
sometimes referred to as the “Pole Dance.”
One Design Race
1. Andrew Williams Denver CO Bad Voodoo
2. Darren Ammon Lucas KS Tornado
3. Erik Eaton Hayes KS Bad Voodoo
Unlimited Race
1. Thane Kirchoff Lincoln NE Trinity
2. Chance Cooper McPherson KS Tragi
3. Justin Ammon Lucas KS DS Tool
Foam Combat Match
1. David Day Houston TX Cyclone
2. Greg Hine Boulder CO Predator Bee
3. Fred Maier Akron NY Windrider Bee
Foam Warbird Race
1. Joe Chovan Syracuse NY P-80 Shooting Star
2. Erik Eaton Hayes KS Magnum Models MiG-3
3. Mike Bailey Wichita KS P-80 Shooting Star
Sponsors
Academy of Model Aeronautics
AeroWorks
Castle Creations
Dymond Modelsport LTD
Eaton Air RC
Fancy Foam Models
Great Planes Model Manufacturing
Hobby Horse
Magnum Models
Nanoplanes
Sig Manufacturing
Windrider Aviation
Wyoming Wind Works
Canuck Engineering
Local Business Sponsors
Bob Smith
Eric Abraham Porcelain
Gantner Engineering
Home Oil
Leache and Naegele Hardware Store
Leon’s Welding and Fabrication
Pro-Tech, Inc.
Radio Controlled Models
Troy’s Grocery
Rodrick and Minear Funeral Homes
Competition Results
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 11:15 AM Page 23One Design Race: The WOW crew set up the
markers, while the pilots tested the lift. The
One Design Race (ODR) is exciting to watch
and heart-pounding to fly. There are four
airplanes in each heat.
The One Design class, with specifications
developed by the Torrey Pines Gulls Soaring
club, provides a lower-cost class for Slope
Racing. The specification seeks to keep aircraft
performance equalized, inexpensive to build,
and suitable to fly in a variety of wind
conditions.
ODR airplanes have two servos controlling
ailerons and elevator and 60-inch wingspans.
See the MWSC website for class specifications
and suppliers of kits that meet the
specifications.
A course is set up along the ridge with turn
points at each end. Turn markers are sighting
devices which “define a plane” perpendicular
to the length of the race course. To complete a
lap, the nose of the aircraft must “cross the
plane” at both ends of the race course. Far
turns are called by a group of four turn judges
or “flaggers.” Near turns are self-called and
verified by near-turn judges, who also keep the
official lap count.
With each pilot is a caller who launches the
airplane, watches for traffic in the air, and
notifies him or her of the far-turn flag signal.
At the start of a race, callers hold up the
Sailplanes individually to identify them to the
far-turn judges. Then the airplanes are
launched and given roughly 20 seconds to gain
altitude.
With an audible signal, four airplanes dive
onto the course and start the race. Five laps are
flown, and points in each heat are awarded
according to the finishing order. Race winners
are determined by the finishing order in the
final round.
For many years, the Charlie Richardson
Fun-1 was the racer to beat, but this year, no
Fun-1s were in the top three. Those honors
went to Magnum Models Bad Voodoos and an
Edge RC Tornado.
The top three pilots included veterans
Andrew Williams from Denver, Erik Eaton
from Hays, Kansas, and 10-year-old Darren
Ammon from Lucas, Kansas. The ages of
MWSC-2011 ODR pilots ranged from 10 to
62.
Unlimited Race: The Unlimited race was run
on the same course. The Sailplanes are similar
in configuration to ODR airplanes, but are
bigger, heavier, and faster. We flew two
airplanes in each Unlimited heat, which were
run in a double-elimination format. This event
brings out Slope Soaring’s big guns, the sixservo
“full house” models that would also fit in
at an F3B or an F3F race. They are truly
exciting to watch, streaking along the straights
or pulling through the turns.
This year’s top Unlimited class pilots were
Thane Kirchoff of Lincoln, Nebraska, flying a
Trinity; Chance Cooper of McPherson,
Kansas, flying a Tragi; and Justin Ammon of
Lucas, Kansas, flying a DS Tool.
Event management called for open fun
flying (with frequency board in use) for the
remainder of the afternoon and evening.
Foam Combat Match: Saturday’s skies
started mostly cloudy and became mostly
sunny. We had the same wind as Friday, now
with gusts to 25 mph, and the temperature was
slightly warmer in the upper 50s. With more
sunshine, it felt warmer. For a second day we
flew in the Lawson Farm pasture. At 10 a.m.
the Foam Combat Match started.
This is full-contact air Combat, flown with
specialized “bounceable” sailplanes. The
gliders are made from tough EPP foam, which
quickly returns to its original size and shape
after it’s struck or crushed. Usually you can
crash a Combat foamie, pick it up, launch it,
and it will fly fine.
Combatants score on opponents by striking
an opposing aircraft hard enough to cause it to
“depart from controlled flight.” The attacker
must then fly a loop or a roll to demonstrate
that he’s still in control before the next
encounter. Sometimes two or more airplanes
become entangled and go down, but generally
no serious damage results and the airplanes are
launched again to rejoin the fray. The pilot with
the most “kills” wins the heat.
Contest director Andrew Williams, from
Denver, ran the match using the “Colorado
format” of one long match where victorious
pilots kept track of their own “kills” and had to
get their scorecard signed by the “killed” pilot.
This format greatly reduces the contest
management tasks associated with starting and
stopping heats, although there is some
calculation work to be done at the end. Andrew
pointed out a match can last from two hours to
two days.
After two hours of Combat flying at
MWSC-2011, the top Foam Combat pilots
were David Day from Houston, flying a
Combat Gliders Cyclone; Greg Hine of
Boulder, Colorado, flying a Predator Bee; and
Fred Maier of Akron, New York, who
campaigned his Windrider Bee.
Foam Warbird Race: The Foam Warbird
Race was held on the same course as the
Friday races with two gliders flying in each
heat. The specifications for MWSC Foam
Warbird racers are models of Combat aircraft
produced or in service between 1935 and 1955.
Under these rules maximum wingspan is 60
inches, with no minimum span. Except for
control surfaces, airframes must be constructed
of plastic foam material.
For many, this race is a must-see event. The
airplanes look great in the air battling it out for
race leader. The airplanes are fast and the heats
competitive. Early entries in this event were
often 48-inch span World War II propellerdriven
airplanes from Dave’s Aircraft Works.
These have given way to 60-inch span
propeller-driven fighters and Slope jets from
Leading Edge Gliders.
Top Warbird race finishers in 2011 were
Joe Chovan from North Syracuse, New York,
Erik Eaton from Hayes, Kansas, and Mike
Bailey from Wichita, Kansas. Each man flew a
Leading Edge Gliders 60-inch, P-80 Shooting
Star.
We finished the afternoon with more fun
flying. At 7 p.m., the awards banquet began,
which featured a memorable catered meal,
awarding of trophies, and a raffle. We had
generous prize support from our contest
sponsors and each registered pilot won a prize.
Please support the sponsors who support us
when you can.
At the banquet and throughout the event,
we got to rub elbows and swap stories with
eight model designers and kit manufacturers
present at MWSC-2011. The designers and
their companies are listed.
For photos and more detailed information
about this year’s MWSC and on the 2012
event when it is announced, see the official
website. MA
Sources:
Midwest Slope Challenge
www.midwestslopechallenge.com

THE 2011 MIDWEST Slope Challenge (MWSC) was one of the
best in its 18-year history. Held annually since 1994, the MWSC
breaks some stereotypes about flatland Slope flying, provides a
destination vacation, and a terrific bunch of Glider fliers from across
the country, and even overseas, return.
In case you never thought about flying Slope in the Great Plains,
remember that it’s windy there—really windy. It’s been called “The
Saudi Arabia of Wind Energy,” and each year we go, we see more
and more wind turbines spinning and generating electricity. Clean
energy: a view of the future on the Kansas prairie.
Because the prairie is treeless in its natural state, the trees you see
were planted in valleys by settlers. The rolling hills in central Kansas
feature ridgelines with grass, but without trees to block an RC pilot’s
view of the sky or restrict the places to land an RC Sailplane. This is
amazing to Slope fliers from forested parts of the country. It makes
for many Slope flying sites, paying strict attention to land ownership
and having permission to be on a ridgeline.
The MWSC event location, Wilson Lake in Russell County, gives
us five or more prime flying sites overlooking water, supporting ridge
lift in five wind directions. Flying sites on public land are accessible,
thanks to the support of the US Army Corps of Engineers. There are
even more flying sites away from the lake itself. Local ranchers
generously allow us to use their land for flying, sometimes even
including working pastures.
The 18thMidwest Slope Challenge was held May 12-15, 2011,
by the Wings Over Wilson (WOW) Soaring club, based in Lucas,
Kansas. The four-day event schedule includes a practice day and
pilot registration on Thursday. Four competitive Slope events are
scheduled for Friday and Saturday, if we have suitable wind, and
Sunday is held in reserve if we have to wait for wind.
We got to fly Thursday in 20-mph southwesterly winds at the
German Caves flying site, located west of Wilson Lake. We tried a
new restaurant—a New York-type Irish pub transplanted to the
neighboring town of Luray. (In my observation, Slope pilots like bar
food.) In the early evening we completed the event registration in a
barn on the cattle ranch of Kent and Anne Palmer, and greeted the
arriving old flying buddies.
Friday dawned with heavy, overcast skies and light rain, which
stopped by 10 a.m. The overcast was with us most of the day and
with temperatures in lower 50s and a gusty 20-mph north wind, we
headed to Jim and Marge Lawson’s pasture for the first day of
competition flying.
18 MODEL AVIATION
All four Midwest Slope Challenge events, including the Foam Combat match, were flown in Jim Lawson’s pasture. In Foam
Combat, pilots fly “bounceable” foam Sailplanes and try to knock opponents out of the air.
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 10:56 AM Page 18by Dave Garwood
Midwest
Slope
Challenge
by Dave Garwood
Eighteen years of
Slope Soaring in Kansas
February 2012 19
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 10:57 AM Page 19Michael Gartner (Cleveland) flies a
Leading Edge Gliders EPP foam
Messerschmitt Bf-109 and Joe
Chovan (North Syracuse NY) flies
a Leading Edge Gliders EPP foam
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
during practice for the Foam
Warbird Race.
One Design Race competitors Andrew
Williams (Denver), flying a Magnum
Models Bad Voodoo, and Chance Cooper
(McPherson KS), flying a CR Aircraft Fun-1.
Cows in the flying field? No, pilots in the cow field. From the left
are Larry Blevins, Erik Eaton, Justin Ammon, Darren Ammon,
and AMA District IX Associate Vice President Mike Tallman,
who worked as a race official.
20 MODEL AVIATION
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 10:59 AM Page 20Photos by Alex Paul and Dave Garwood
A Magnum RC Models Mikoyan-
Gurevich MiG-3, built and flown by
Larry Blevins (Knoxville TN), and a
Leading Edge Gliders Lockheed P-80
Shooting Star, built and flown by Joe
Chovan, pull the near turn together in
the Foam Warbird race.
Many thanks to our turn judges, who
spent hours in cool weather to make
the race work smoothly. The ODR
race far-turn crew includes rancher
Kent Palmer, pilot Wayne Rigby,
photographer Mark Weaver, visitor
Richard Phinney, and WOW club
vice president Larry Purdy.
Sign my card ... Foam Combat
pilots Greg Hine (Boulder CO) and
David Day (Houston) exchange a
signature to record a kill.
Scorecards are turned in at the
end of the match to the CD, who
tallies the results.
Mike Bailey (Wichita KS) launches during
the Foam Warbird Race.
Ten-year-old Darren Ammon (Lucas KS) flew to second
place in the One Design Race, beating roughly 20 highly
experienced Slope Race pilots. His spotter is Thane
Kirchoff (Lincoln NE).
February 2012 21
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 11:09 AM Page 2122 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Unlimited Race at the Midwest Slope Challenge at Wilson
Lake in Lucas, Kansas. The V-tail Sailplane is an MDS 100
designed and flown by Mike Bailey, and the other racer is an
RCRCM Strega flown by Andrew Williams. Alex Paul photo.
Right: A Magnum Models Duster, designed by Erik Eaton, turns
and burns on the course in Lawson’s Pasture during the One
Design Race. The Duster, with a balsa-sheeted wing and a carbonstiffened
EPP fuselage, will be the subject of a kit review in the
RC Soaring Digest online magazine.
Fred Maier (Akron NY) launches Michael Gantner’s Leading Edge
Gliders 60-inch span, EPP foam Messerschmitt Bf-109 during the
Warbird Race.
Model Designers and Makers at MWSC 2011
Justin Ammon Edge RC www.edgerc.com
Mike Bailey Fancy Foam Models www.fancyfoam.com
Larry Blevins Magnum Models www.magnumrcmodels.com
Joe Chovan TufFlight www.tufflight.com
Erik Eaton Eaton Air RC www.eatonairrc.com
Michael Gantner G.E.M.S. (440) 759-7144
Cory Schanz Got Gas RC www.gotgasradiocontrol.com
Andrew Williams Canuck Engineering www.canuckengineering.com
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 11:12 AM Page 22February 2012 23
Left: A 60-inch wingspan Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star in Air
Force Thunderbird colors, built from Leading Edge Gliders kits by
Joe Chovan, cruises across the Kansas prairie. The pilot and the
model took first in the Foam Warbird Race at Midwest Slope
Challenge 2011.
Below: Andrew Williams’ Strega makes a tight pylon turn during
the Unlimited Race.
Midwest
Slope
Challenge
Pilots Michael Gartner, Mike Bailey, and Joe Chovan
practice for the Foam Warbird race. This game is
sometimes referred to as the “Pole Dance.”
One Design Race
1. Andrew Williams Denver CO Bad Voodoo
2. Darren Ammon Lucas KS Tornado
3. Erik Eaton Hayes KS Bad Voodoo
Unlimited Race
1. Thane Kirchoff Lincoln NE Trinity
2. Chance Cooper McPherson KS Tragi
3. Justin Ammon Lucas KS DS Tool
Foam Combat Match
1. David Day Houston TX Cyclone
2. Greg Hine Boulder CO Predator Bee
3. Fred Maier Akron NY Windrider Bee
Foam Warbird Race
1. Joe Chovan Syracuse NY P-80 Shooting Star
2. Erik Eaton Hayes KS Magnum Models MiG-3
3. Mike Bailey Wichita KS P-80 Shooting Star
Sponsors
Academy of Model Aeronautics
AeroWorks
Castle Creations
Dymond Modelsport LTD
Eaton Air RC
Fancy Foam Models
Great Planes Model Manufacturing
Hobby Horse
Magnum Models
Nanoplanes
Sig Manufacturing
Windrider Aviation
Wyoming Wind Works
Canuck Engineering
Local Business Sponsors
Bob Smith
Eric Abraham Porcelain
Gantner Engineering
Home Oil
Leache and Naegele Hardware Store
Leon’s Welding and Fabrication
Pro-Tech, Inc.
Radio Controlled Models
Troy’s Grocery
Rodrick and Minear Funeral Homes
Competition Results
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 11:15 AM Page 23One Design Race: The WOW crew set up the
markers, while the pilots tested the lift. The
One Design Race (ODR) is exciting to watch
and heart-pounding to fly. There are four
airplanes in each heat.
The One Design class, with specifications
developed by the Torrey Pines Gulls Soaring
club, provides a lower-cost class for Slope
Racing. The specification seeks to keep aircraft
performance equalized, inexpensive to build,
and suitable to fly in a variety of wind
conditions.
ODR airplanes have two servos controlling
ailerons and elevator and 60-inch wingspans.
See the MWSC website for class specifications
and suppliers of kits that meet the
specifications.
A course is set up along the ridge with turn
points at each end. Turn markers are sighting
devices which “define a plane” perpendicular
to the length of the race course. To complete a
lap, the nose of the aircraft must “cross the
plane” at both ends of the race course. Far
turns are called by a group of four turn judges
or “flaggers.” Near turns are self-called and
verified by near-turn judges, who also keep the
official lap count.
With each pilot is a caller who launches the
airplane, watches for traffic in the air, and
notifies him or her of the far-turn flag signal.
At the start of a race, callers hold up the
Sailplanes individually to identify them to the
far-turn judges. Then the airplanes are
launched and given roughly 20 seconds to gain
altitude.
With an audible signal, four airplanes dive
onto the course and start the race. Five laps are
flown, and points in each heat are awarded
according to the finishing order. Race winners
are determined by the finishing order in the
final round.
For many years, the Charlie Richardson
Fun-1 was the racer to beat, but this year, no
Fun-1s were in the top three. Those honors
went to Magnum Models Bad Voodoos and an
Edge RC Tornado.
The top three pilots included veterans
Andrew Williams from Denver, Erik Eaton
from Hays, Kansas, and 10-year-old Darren
Ammon from Lucas, Kansas. The ages of
MWSC-2011 ODR pilots ranged from 10 to
62.
Unlimited Race: The Unlimited race was run
on the same course. The Sailplanes are similar
in configuration to ODR airplanes, but are
bigger, heavier, and faster. We flew two
airplanes in each Unlimited heat, which were
run in a double-elimination format. This event
brings out Slope Soaring’s big guns, the sixservo
“full house” models that would also fit in
at an F3B or an F3F race. They are truly
exciting to watch, streaking along the straights
or pulling through the turns.
This year’s top Unlimited class pilots were
Thane Kirchoff of Lincoln, Nebraska, flying a
Trinity; Chance Cooper of McPherson,
Kansas, flying a Tragi; and Justin Ammon of
Lucas, Kansas, flying a DS Tool.
Event management called for open fun
flying (with frequency board in use) for the
remainder of the afternoon and evening.
Foam Combat Match: Saturday’s skies
started mostly cloudy and became mostly
sunny. We had the same wind as Friday, now
with gusts to 25 mph, and the temperature was
slightly warmer in the upper 50s. With more
sunshine, it felt warmer. For a second day we
flew in the Lawson Farm pasture. At 10 a.m.
the Foam Combat Match started.
This is full-contact air Combat, flown with
specialized “bounceable” sailplanes. The
gliders are made from tough EPP foam, which
quickly returns to its original size and shape
after it’s struck or crushed. Usually you can
crash a Combat foamie, pick it up, launch it,
and it will fly fine.
Combatants score on opponents by striking
an opposing aircraft hard enough to cause it to
“depart from controlled flight.” The attacker
must then fly a loop or a roll to demonstrate
that he’s still in control before the next
encounter. Sometimes two or more airplanes
become entangled and go down, but generally
no serious damage results and the airplanes are
launched again to rejoin the fray. The pilot with
the most “kills” wins the heat.
Contest director Andrew Williams, from
Denver, ran the match using the “Colorado
format” of one long match where victorious
pilots kept track of their own “kills” and had to
get their scorecard signed by the “killed” pilot.
This format greatly reduces the contest
management tasks associated with starting and
stopping heats, although there is some
calculation work to be done at the end. Andrew
pointed out a match can last from two hours to
two days.
After two hours of Combat flying at
MWSC-2011, the top Foam Combat pilots
were David Day from Houston, flying a
Combat Gliders Cyclone; Greg Hine of
Boulder, Colorado, flying a Predator Bee; and
Fred Maier of Akron, New York, who
campaigned his Windrider Bee.
Foam Warbird Race: The Foam Warbird
Race was held on the same course as the
Friday races with two gliders flying in each
heat. The specifications for MWSC Foam
Warbird racers are models of Combat aircraft
produced or in service between 1935 and 1955.
Under these rules maximum wingspan is 60
inches, with no minimum span. Except for
control surfaces, airframes must be constructed
of plastic foam material.
For many, this race is a must-see event. The
airplanes look great in the air battling it out for
race leader. The airplanes are fast and the heats
competitive. Early entries in this event were
often 48-inch span World War II propellerdriven
airplanes from Dave’s Aircraft Works.
These have given way to 60-inch span
propeller-driven fighters and Slope jets from
Leading Edge Gliders.
Top Warbird race finishers in 2011 were
Joe Chovan from North Syracuse, New York,
Erik Eaton from Hayes, Kansas, and Mike
Bailey from Wichita, Kansas. Each man flew a
Leading Edge Gliders 60-inch, P-80 Shooting
Star.
We finished the afternoon with more fun
flying. At 7 p.m., the awards banquet began,
which featured a memorable catered meal,
awarding of trophies, and a raffle. We had
generous prize support from our contest
sponsors and each registered pilot won a prize.
Please support the sponsors who support us
when you can.
At the banquet and throughout the event,
we got to rub elbows and swap stories with
eight model designers and kit manufacturers
present at MWSC-2011. The designers and
their companies are listed.
For photos and more detailed information
about this year’s MWSC and on the 2012
event when it is announced, see the official
website. MA
Sources:
Midwest Slope Challenge
www.midwestslopechallenge.com

THE 2011 MIDWEST Slope Challenge (MWSC) was one of the
best in its 18-year history. Held annually since 1994, the MWSC
breaks some stereotypes about flatland Slope flying, provides a
destination vacation, and a terrific bunch of Glider fliers from across
the country, and even overseas, return.
In case you never thought about flying Slope in the Great Plains,
remember that it’s windy there—really windy. It’s been called “The
Saudi Arabia of Wind Energy,” and each year we go, we see more
and more wind turbines spinning and generating electricity. Clean
energy: a view of the future on the Kansas prairie.
Because the prairie is treeless in its natural state, the trees you see
were planted in valleys by settlers. The rolling hills in central Kansas
feature ridgelines with grass, but without trees to block an RC pilot’s
view of the sky or restrict the places to land an RC Sailplane. This is
amazing to Slope fliers from forested parts of the country. It makes
for many Slope flying sites, paying strict attention to land ownership
and having permission to be on a ridgeline.
The MWSC event location, Wilson Lake in Russell County, gives
us five or more prime flying sites overlooking water, supporting ridge
lift in five wind directions. Flying sites on public land are accessible,
thanks to the support of the US Army Corps of Engineers. There are
even more flying sites away from the lake itself. Local ranchers
generously allow us to use their land for flying, sometimes even
including working pastures.
The 18thMidwest Slope Challenge was held May 12-15, 2011,
by the Wings Over Wilson (WOW) Soaring club, based in Lucas,
Kansas. The four-day event schedule includes a practice day and
pilot registration on Thursday. Four competitive Slope events are
scheduled for Friday and Saturday, if we have suitable wind, and
Sunday is held in reserve if we have to wait for wind.
We got to fly Thursday in 20-mph southwesterly winds at the
German Caves flying site, located west of Wilson Lake. We tried a
new restaurant—a New York-type Irish pub transplanted to the
neighboring town of Luray. (In my observation, Slope pilots like bar
food.) In the early evening we completed the event registration in a
barn on the cattle ranch of Kent and Anne Palmer, and greeted the
arriving old flying buddies.
Friday dawned with heavy, overcast skies and light rain, which
stopped by 10 a.m. The overcast was with us most of the day and
with temperatures in lower 50s and a gusty 20-mph north wind, we
headed to Jim and Marge Lawson’s pasture for the first day of
competition flying.
18 MODEL AVIATION
All four Midwest Slope Challenge events, including the Foam Combat match, were flown in Jim Lawson’s pasture. In Foam
Combat, pilots fly “bounceable” foam Sailplanes and try to knock opponents out of the air.
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 10:56 AM Page 18by Dave Garwood
Midwest
Slope
Challenge
by Dave Garwood
Eighteen years of
Slope Soaring in Kansas
February 2012 19
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 10:57 AM Page 19Michael Gartner (Cleveland) flies a
Leading Edge Gliders EPP foam
Messerschmitt Bf-109 and Joe
Chovan (North Syracuse NY) flies
a Leading Edge Gliders EPP foam
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
during practice for the Foam
Warbird Race.
One Design Race competitors Andrew
Williams (Denver), flying a Magnum
Models Bad Voodoo, and Chance Cooper
(McPherson KS), flying a CR Aircraft Fun-1.
Cows in the flying field? No, pilots in the cow field. From the left
are Larry Blevins, Erik Eaton, Justin Ammon, Darren Ammon,
and AMA District IX Associate Vice President Mike Tallman,
who worked as a race official.
20 MODEL AVIATION
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 10:59 AM Page 20Photos by Alex Paul and Dave Garwood
A Magnum RC Models Mikoyan-
Gurevich MiG-3, built and flown by
Larry Blevins (Knoxville TN), and a
Leading Edge Gliders Lockheed P-80
Shooting Star, built and flown by Joe
Chovan, pull the near turn together in
the Foam Warbird race.
Many thanks to our turn judges, who
spent hours in cool weather to make
the race work smoothly. The ODR
race far-turn crew includes rancher
Kent Palmer, pilot Wayne Rigby,
photographer Mark Weaver, visitor
Richard Phinney, and WOW club
vice president Larry Purdy.
Sign my card ... Foam Combat
pilots Greg Hine (Boulder CO) and
David Day (Houston) exchange a
signature to record a kill.
Scorecards are turned in at the
end of the match to the CD, who
tallies the results.
Mike Bailey (Wichita KS) launches during
the Foam Warbird Race.
Ten-year-old Darren Ammon (Lucas KS) flew to second
place in the One Design Race, beating roughly 20 highly
experienced Slope Race pilots. His spotter is Thane
Kirchoff (Lincoln NE).
February 2012 21
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 11:09 AM Page 2122 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Unlimited Race at the Midwest Slope Challenge at Wilson
Lake in Lucas, Kansas. The V-tail Sailplane is an MDS 100
designed and flown by Mike Bailey, and the other racer is an
RCRCM Strega flown by Andrew Williams. Alex Paul photo.
Right: A Magnum Models Duster, designed by Erik Eaton, turns
and burns on the course in Lawson’s Pasture during the One
Design Race. The Duster, with a balsa-sheeted wing and a carbonstiffened
EPP fuselage, will be the subject of a kit review in the
RC Soaring Digest online magazine.
Fred Maier (Akron NY) launches Michael Gantner’s Leading Edge
Gliders 60-inch span, EPP foam Messerschmitt Bf-109 during the
Warbird Race.
Model Designers and Makers at MWSC 2011
Justin Ammon Edge RC www.edgerc.com
Mike Bailey Fancy Foam Models www.fancyfoam.com
Larry Blevins Magnum Models www.magnumrcmodels.com
Joe Chovan TufFlight www.tufflight.com
Erik Eaton Eaton Air RC www.eatonairrc.com
Michael Gantner G.E.M.S. (440) 759-7144
Cory Schanz Got Gas RC www.gotgasradiocontrol.com
Andrew Williams Canuck Engineering www.canuckengineering.com
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 11:12 AM Page 22February 2012 23
Left: A 60-inch wingspan Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star in Air
Force Thunderbird colors, built from Leading Edge Gliders kits by
Joe Chovan, cruises across the Kansas prairie. The pilot and the
model took first in the Foam Warbird Race at Midwest Slope
Challenge 2011.
Below: Andrew Williams’ Strega makes a tight pylon turn during
the Unlimited Race.
Midwest
Slope
Challenge
Pilots Michael Gartner, Mike Bailey, and Joe Chovan
practice for the Foam Warbird race. This game is
sometimes referred to as the “Pole Dance.”
One Design Race
1. Andrew Williams Denver CO Bad Voodoo
2. Darren Ammon Lucas KS Tornado
3. Erik Eaton Hayes KS Bad Voodoo
Unlimited Race
1. Thane Kirchoff Lincoln NE Trinity
2. Chance Cooper McPherson KS Tragi
3. Justin Ammon Lucas KS DS Tool
Foam Combat Match
1. David Day Houston TX Cyclone
2. Greg Hine Boulder CO Predator Bee
3. Fred Maier Akron NY Windrider Bee
Foam Warbird Race
1. Joe Chovan Syracuse NY P-80 Shooting Star
2. Erik Eaton Hayes KS Magnum Models MiG-3
3. Mike Bailey Wichita KS P-80 Shooting Star
Sponsors
Academy of Model Aeronautics
AeroWorks
Castle Creations
Dymond Modelsport LTD
Eaton Air RC
Fancy Foam Models
Great Planes Model Manufacturing
Hobby Horse
Magnum Models
Nanoplanes
Sig Manufacturing
Windrider Aviation
Wyoming Wind Works
Canuck Engineering
Local Business Sponsors
Bob Smith
Eric Abraham Porcelain
Gantner Engineering
Home Oil
Leache and Naegele Hardware Store
Leon’s Welding and Fabrication
Pro-Tech, Inc.
Radio Controlled Models
Troy’s Grocery
Rodrick and Minear Funeral Homes
Competition Results
02sig1.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/16/11 11:15 AM Page 23One Design Race: The WOW crew set up the
markers, while the pilots tested the lift. The
One Design Race (ODR) is exciting to watch
and heart-pounding to fly. There are four
airplanes in each heat.
The One Design class, with specifications
developed by the Torrey Pines Gulls Soaring
club, provides a lower-cost class for Slope
Racing. The specification seeks to keep aircraft
performance equalized, inexpensive to build,
and suitable to fly in a variety of wind
conditions.
ODR airplanes have two servos controlling
ailerons and elevator and 60-inch wingspans.
See the MWSC website for class specifications
and suppliers of kits that meet the
specifications.
A course is set up along the ridge with turn
points at each end. Turn markers are sighting
devices which “define a plane” perpendicular
to the length of the race course. To complete a
lap, the nose of the aircraft must “cross the
plane” at both ends of the race course. Far
turns are called by a group of four turn judges
or “flaggers.” Near turns are self-called and
verified by near-turn judges, who also keep the
official lap count.
With each pilot is a caller who launches the
airplane, watches for traffic in the air, and
notifies him or her of the far-turn flag signal.
At the start of a race, callers hold up the
Sailplanes individually to identify them to the
far-turn judges. Then the airplanes are
launched and given roughly 20 seconds to gain
altitude.
With an audible signal, four airplanes dive
onto the course and start the race. Five laps are
flown, and points in each heat are awarded
according to the finishing order. Race winners
are determined by the finishing order in the
final round.
For many years, the Charlie Richardson
Fun-1 was the racer to beat, but this year, no
Fun-1s were in the top three. Those honors
went to Magnum Models Bad Voodoos and an
Edge RC Tornado.
The top three pilots included veterans
Andrew Williams from Denver, Erik Eaton
from Hays, Kansas, and 10-year-old Darren
Ammon from Lucas, Kansas. The ages of
MWSC-2011 ODR pilots ranged from 10 to
62.
Unlimited Race: The Unlimited race was run
on the same course. The Sailplanes are similar
in configuration to ODR airplanes, but are
bigger, heavier, and faster. We flew two
airplanes in each Unlimited heat, which were
run in a double-elimination format. This event
brings out Slope Soaring’s big guns, the sixservo
“full house” models that would also fit in
at an F3B or an F3F race. They are truly
exciting to watch, streaking along the straights
or pulling through the turns.
This year’s top Unlimited class pilots were
Thane Kirchoff of Lincoln, Nebraska, flying a
Trinity; Chance Cooper of McPherson,
Kansas, flying a Tragi; and Justin Ammon of
Lucas, Kansas, flying a DS Tool.
Event management called for open fun
flying (with frequency board in use) for the
remainder of the afternoon and evening.
Foam Combat Match: Saturday’s skies
started mostly cloudy and became mostly
sunny. We had the same wind as Friday, now
with gusts to 25 mph, and the temperature was
slightly warmer in the upper 50s. With more
sunshine, it felt warmer. For a second day we
flew in the Lawson Farm pasture. At 10 a.m.
the Foam Combat Match started.
This is full-contact air Combat, flown with
specialized “bounceable” sailplanes. The
gliders are made from tough EPP foam, which
quickly returns to its original size and shape
after it’s struck or crushed. Usually you can
crash a Combat foamie, pick it up, launch it,
and it will fly fine.
Combatants score on opponents by striking
an opposing aircraft hard enough to cause it to
“depart from controlled flight.” The attacker
must then fly a loop or a roll to demonstrate
that he’s still in control before the next
encounter. Sometimes two or more airplanes
become entangled and go down, but generally
no serious damage results and the airplanes are
launched again to rejoin the fray. The pilot with
the most “kills” wins the heat.
Contest director Andrew Williams, from
Denver, ran the match using the “Colorado
format” of one long match where victorious
pilots kept track of their own “kills” and had to
get their scorecard signed by the “killed” pilot.
This format greatly reduces the contest
management tasks associated with starting and
stopping heats, although there is some
calculation work to be done at the end. Andrew
pointed out a match can last from two hours to
two days.
After two hours of Combat flying at
MWSC-2011, the top Foam Combat pilots
were David Day from Houston, flying a
Combat Gliders Cyclone; Greg Hine of
Boulder, Colorado, flying a Predator Bee; and
Fred Maier of Akron, New York, who
campaigned his Windrider Bee.
Foam Warbird Race: The Foam Warbird
Race was held on the same course as the
Friday races with two gliders flying in each
heat. The specifications for MWSC Foam
Warbird racers are models of Combat aircraft
produced or in service between 1935 and 1955.
Under these rules maximum wingspan is 60
inches, with no minimum span. Except for
control surfaces, airframes must be constructed
of plastic foam material.
For many, this race is a must-see event. The
airplanes look great in the air battling it out for
race leader. The airplanes are fast and the heats
competitive. Early entries in this event were
often 48-inch span World War II propellerdriven
airplanes from Dave’s Aircraft Works.
These have given way to 60-inch span
propeller-driven fighters and Slope jets from
Leading Edge Gliders.
Top Warbird race finishers in 2011 were
Joe Chovan from North Syracuse, New York,
Erik Eaton from Hayes, Kansas, and Mike
Bailey from Wichita, Kansas. Each man flew a
Leading Edge Gliders 60-inch, P-80 Shooting
Star.
We finished the afternoon with more fun
flying. At 7 p.m., the awards banquet began,
which featured a memorable catered meal,
awarding of trophies, and a raffle. We had
generous prize support from our contest
sponsors and each registered pilot won a prize.
Please support the sponsors who support us
when you can.
At the banquet and throughout the event,
we got to rub elbows and swap stories with
eight model designers and kit manufacturers
present at MWSC-2011. The designers and
their companies are listed.
For photos and more detailed information
about this year’s MWSC and on the 2012
event when it is announced, see the official
website. MA
Sources:
Midwest Slope Challenge
www.midwestslopechallenge.com