Modeling Spoken Here
Bob Hunt — Aeromodelling Editor
We are part of a larger modeling family that encompasses the world.
2004 FAI CL World Championships (Muncie)
In this issue you will find coverage of the 2004 FAI CL World Championships (WC), contested at our Muncie site in July. This WC was a “category” competition, with several events being contested at the same time. In this case there were four FAI CL events:
- Speed
- Aerobatics (F2B / Stunt)
- Team Race
- Combat
Category-format WCs take up more space, are better attended, and have the feeling of a multiple-ring circus. It’s hard to know which venue to go to and what to watch at any given time. The reports by our regular CL-discipline columnists give the rundown on the action and the results, so I won’t repeat those here. What I want to convey is the human side of a WC meet — the many great stories that come out of these gatherings, some humorous and some inspirational.
A personal World Championship story
When I was a young man, I read every model-airplane magazine cover to cover. Among my favorite articles were reports on modeling overseas. The great Peter Chinn often wrote about the Criterium of Aces contests in his Model Airplane News column “Foreign Notes.” Those meets were essentially European championships.
One of the most successful and well-known European fliers in the late 1950s and 1960s was Dr. Geza Egervary. In those days he was a dentist in Hungary, which was under Soviet control. Because of his station as a dentist, Dr. Egervary had a bit more freedom to travel than the average citizen, so he attended many European contests. I enjoyed reading about him and his models. At one point he and his wife were allowed to leave Hungary on holiday by automobile and decided not to return — in effect, they defected to escape communism. They initially went to Great Britain and soon settled in West Germany. There, with government financial help, Dr. Egervary started another dental practice, returned to CL Stunt flying, and, after gaining German citizenship, became eligible for the FAI team.
In 1978 I made my first U.S. F2B (CL Aerobatics/Stunt) world-team appearance. The WC that year was held in Great Britain at Woodvale Royal Air Force base near Manchester. Before the contest began I went into Manchester to do some sightseeing and found a hobby shop. I remember vividly when a distinguished-looking man walked up to the counter and began speaking with the proprietor — I instantly recognized him as Dr. Egervary, the man I had seen in the magazines as a youngster. It was an almost surreal moment, as if an old photo had come to life.
Dr. Egervary was asking the shop owner (in excellent English) if he had any Pylon brand flying lines. The only brand in stock was not to his liking, and he seemed disturbed. I had brought several sets of Pylon lines with me. I gathered my courage, introduced myself, and offered him a set. He said he had read about me in the European modeling magazines and at first offered to pay; I told him I would be honored if he accepted them as a gift from a longtime fan.
All teams were billeted at the Carnatic Halls of Liverpool University that year, and we met each day at the university canteen. I delivered the lines at lunch that same day. That evening I heard a knock on my dorm-room door and found the entire West German team, with Dr. Egervary at the front holding a large platter of cheese and crackers and a huge bottle of expensive wine. They had come to thank me for the simple gift. We had a great party, exchanging modeling ideas and stories until the wee hours. I knew then that we were all brothers in this sport.
Geza has retired from competition as a pilot, but he was at Muncie this year acting as coach for the German F2B team. His guiding hand was evident in the performance of his protégé Richie Kornmeier, who qualified for the finals and placed a credible 13th in his first Senior WC appearance.
This is but one of many stories I could relate about my extended modeling family. Whether we compete or not, we are part of a larger modeling family that encompasses the world.
Results and congratulations
I take this opportunity to personally congratulate longtime buddy and fellow competitor Bill Werwage for his outstanding Gold Medal performance at the 2004 WC. Bill won Gold for the first time in 1970 as a member of his first U.S. F2B team, defended that title in 1972, and has been trying to regain the World Champion title since. He has been on 15 world teams in total. His 32-year span between Gold Medals is an AMA record. I was honored to be one of Bill’s pit crew (along with Bob McDonald and my son Robby) and the launcher for his official flights.
More congratulations:
- Robby Gruber — Winner, Junior division of F2B.
- U.S. F2B team — Paul Walker, Ted Fancher, Robby Gruber, and Bill Werwage: Team Gold Medal. This is the first time since 1992 that the U.S. F2B team has won both the individual championship and the team trophy.
- Speed team — Third place: Todd Ryan, Jim Booker, Will Naemura, and Junior member Scott Mattson.
Facilities and closing
The last time a CL World Championship was contested in the U.S. was 1984 — 20 years ago. Many who attended this year’s WC commented on how beautiful and well thought out our International Aeromodeling Center facility is. In light of that, I hope we won’t have to wait another 20 years to host it here again.
When I’m not out practicing to make the next F2B team, I can be reached at:
- Phone: (610) 614-1747
- E-mail: [email protected]
- Snail mail: Box 68, Stockertown PA 18083
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
