IN THIS ISSUE you will find coverage of
the 2004 FAI CL World Championships
(WC) that was contested at our Muncie site in
July. This particular WC was a “category”-
type competition; there were several events
being contested at one time. In this case there
were four FAI CL events: Speed, Aerobatics,
Team Race, and Combat.
In many—maybe even most—cases, only
one event is contested at a WC. The category
types, therefore, take up more space, are
better attended, and most certainly have the
feeling of a multiple-ring circus. It’s hard to
know what venue to go to and what to watch
at any given time!
The reports by our regular CL-discipline
columnists will give you the rundown on the
action and the results, so I’ll not go into that
here. What I do want to try to convey is the
human side of a WC meet. There are many
great stories that come out of these
gatherings, and many are never passed on.
Some of these are humorous and some are
inspirational. I have a personal WC story that
I would like to share, so please indulge me for
a few paragraphs.
When I was a young man, I read every
model-airplane magazine cover to cover.
Among my favorite articles were those that
reported on what was happening in modeling
overseas. The great Peter Chinn often had
reports on the Criterium of Aces contests in
his very popular Model Airplane News
column, “Foreign Notes.” These meets were
essentially European championships.
Among the most successful and wellknown
European fliers in the late 1950s and
1960s was Dr. Geza Egervary. In those days
he was a dentist in his native Hungary.
Hungary was under Soviet control in those
days.
Because of his station in life as a dentist,
Dr. Egervary had a bit more freedom to come
and go than did the normal citizen of that
country, so he could make it to many of the
European contests. I really enjoyed reading
about him and his models.
He and his wife were allowed to leave
Hungary on holiday by automobile at one
point, and they decided not to return! In
effect, they defected to get away from
communism. Initially they went to Great
Britain, but soon after, they decided to settle
in West Germany.
There, Dr. Egervary started another dental
practice with the financial help of the
government. He also returned to CL Stunt
flying, and when he gained German
citizenship, he was eligible to try out for the
FAI team.
In 1978 I made my first US F2B (CL
Aerobatics, or Stunt) world-team appearance.
The WC that year was held in Great Britain at
Woodvale Royal Air Force base near
Manchester. Before the contest started, I went
into Manchester to do some sightseeing. I saw
the sign for a hobby shop and went in to look
around to see what type of merchandise they
had for sale.
I vividly remember being in that shop
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 and read about
in the magazines so many times as a
youngster! It was an almost surreal moment,
as if an old photo had come to life before me.
Dr. Egervary was asking the owner of the
shop (in excellent English, by the way) if he
had any Pylon brand flying lines. The only
brand they had in stock was not to his liking,
and he seemed disturbed by not being able to
get what he wanted.
I had brought several sets of Pylon brand
lines with me. I gathered all my courage and
introduced myself to Dr. Egervary. To my
great and pleasant surprise, he said that he had
read about me in the European modeling
magazines! I told him that I had many spare
sets of lines with me and offered him a set. He
said that he’d gladly pay me for them, but I
told him I would consider it an honor if he
would accept them as a gift from a longtime
fan.
All of the teams were billeted at the
Carnatic Halls of Liverpool University that
year, and we met each day at the university
canteen for meals. I delivered the lines to him
there at lunch that same day. He again offered
to pay me, but I declined.
Later that evening, I was resting in my
dorm room when I heard a knock at the door.
I opened the door to find the entire West
German Stunt team there. Dr. Egervary was at
the front of the group holding a large platter of
cheese and crackers and a huge bottle of
expensive wine. They had come to thank me
for the simple gesture of the gift of the lines!
We had a great party that evening and
exchanged modeling ideas and stories until
the wee hours. I knew at that point that we
were all brothers in this sport. And that’s how
I have come to feel about all world-class
competitors. It is a family that gathers every
two years to celebrate competition and
development and to spend some time
together in great harmony. I count myself
lucky and blessed to have those associations.
Geza has retired from competition as a
pilot, but he was at Muncie this year acting as
the coach for the German F2B team, and we
once again had a great visit. His guiding hand
was evident in the performance of his protégé
Richie Kornmeier, who qualified for the
finals this year and placed a credible 13th in
his first Senior WC appearance.
The preceding is but one of many stories I
could have related about my extended family.
Hopefully it gets the point across that the
flying is not the only thing that is important
about this hobby/sport. Whether we compete
or not, we are part of a larger modeling
family that encompasses the world.
I take this opportunity to personally
congratulate longtime buddy and fellow
competitor Bill Werwage for his outstanding
Gold Medal performance at the 2004 WC.
He won Gold the first time in 1970 as a
member of his first US F2B team. He
defended that title successfully in 1972. Since
that time, Bill has been trying to regain the
World Champion title in Stunt flying and has
been on 15 world teams in total! His 32-year
span between Gold Medals is an AMA
record.
I was most honored to have been one of
Bill’s pit crew (along with Bob McDonald
and my son Robby) and the launcher for his
official flights.
Congrats also to Robby Gruber for his
win in the Junior division of F2B, and to the
entire F2B team—which also included Paul
Walker and Ted Fancher—for their team
Gold Medal-winning performance. This is
the first time since 1992 that the US F2B
team has won the individual championship
and the team trophy.
Our Speed team did extremely well this
year, placing third. Congrats to Todd Ryan,
Jim Booker, Will Naemura, and Junior
member Scott Matson for a job well done.
The last time a CLWC was contested in
the US was 1984. That’s 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 have it here again.
When I’m not out practicing to make the
next F2B team, I can be reached at (610)
614-1747, by E-mail at bobhunt@mapisp.
com, or even by snail mail at Box 68,
Stockertown PA 18083. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/11
Page Numbers: 7,183
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/11
Page Numbers: 7,183
IN THIS ISSUE you will find coverage of
the 2004 FAI CL World Championships
(WC) that was contested at our Muncie site in
July. This particular WC was a “category”-
type competition; there were several events
being contested at one time. In this case there
were four FAI CL events: Speed, Aerobatics,
Team Race, and Combat.
In many—maybe even most—cases, only
one event is contested at a WC. The category
types, therefore, take up more space, are
better attended, and most certainly have the
feeling of a multiple-ring circus. It’s hard to
know what venue to go to and what to watch
at any given time!
The reports by our regular CL-discipline
columnists will give you the rundown on the
action and the results, so I’ll not go into that
here. What I do want to try to convey is the
human side of a WC meet. There are many
great stories that come out of these
gatherings, and many are never passed on.
Some of these are humorous and some are
inspirational. I have a personal WC story that
I would like to share, so please indulge me for
a few paragraphs.
When I was a young man, I read every
model-airplane magazine cover to cover.
Among my favorite articles were those that
reported on what was happening in modeling
overseas. The great Peter Chinn often had
reports on the Criterium of Aces contests in
his very popular Model Airplane News
column, “Foreign Notes.” These meets were
essentially European championships.
Among the most successful and wellknown
European fliers in the late 1950s and
1960s was Dr. Geza Egervary. In those days
he was a dentist in his native Hungary.
Hungary was under Soviet control in those
days.
Because of his station in life as a dentist,
Dr. Egervary had a bit more freedom to come
and go than did the normal citizen of that
country, so he could make it to many of the
European contests. I really enjoyed reading
about him and his models.
He and his wife were allowed to leave
Hungary on holiday by automobile at one
point, and they decided not to return! In
effect, they defected to get away from
communism. Initially they went to Great
Britain, but soon after, they decided to settle
in West Germany.
There, Dr. Egervary started another dental
practice with the financial help of the
government. He also returned to CL Stunt
flying, and when he gained German
citizenship, he was eligible to try out for the
FAI team.
In 1978 I made my first US F2B (CL
Aerobatics, or Stunt) world-team appearance.
The WC that year was held in Great Britain at
Woodvale Royal Air Force base near
Manchester. Before the contest started, I went
into Manchester to do some sightseeing. I saw
the sign for a hobby shop and went in to look
around to see what type of merchandise they
had for sale.
I vividly remember being in that shop
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 and read about
in the magazines so many times as a
youngster! It was an almost surreal moment,
as if an old photo had come to life before me.
Dr. Egervary was asking the owner of the
shop (in excellent English, by the way) if he
had any Pylon brand flying lines. The only
brand they had in stock was not to his liking,
and he seemed disturbed by not being able to
get what he wanted.
I had brought several sets of Pylon brand
lines with me. I gathered all my courage and
introduced myself to Dr. Egervary. To my
great and pleasant surprise, he said that he had
read about me in the European modeling
magazines! I told him that I had many spare
sets of lines with me and offered him a set. He
said that he’d gladly pay me for them, but I
told him I would consider it an honor if he
would accept them as a gift from a longtime
fan.
All of the teams were billeted at the
Carnatic Halls of Liverpool University that
year, and we met each day at the university
canteen for meals. I delivered the lines to him
there at lunch that same day. He again offered
to pay me, but I declined.
Later that evening, I was resting in my
dorm room when I heard a knock at the door.
I opened the door to find the entire West
German Stunt team there. Dr. Egervary was at
the front of the group holding a large platter of
cheese and crackers and a huge bottle of
expensive wine. They had come to thank me
for the simple gesture of the gift of the lines!
We had a great party that evening and
exchanged modeling ideas and stories until
the wee hours. I knew at that point that we
were all brothers in this sport. And that’s how
I have come to feel about all world-class
competitors. It is a family that gathers every
two years to celebrate competition and
development and to spend some time
together in great harmony. I count myself
lucky and blessed to have those associations.
Geza has retired from competition as a
pilot, but he was at Muncie this year acting as
the coach for the German F2B team, and we
once again had a great visit. His guiding hand
was evident in the performance of his protégé
Richie Kornmeier, who qualified for the
finals this year and placed a credible 13th in
his first Senior WC appearance.
The preceding is but one of many stories I
could have related about my extended family.
Hopefully it gets the point across that the
flying is not the only thing that is important
about this hobby/sport. Whether we compete
or not, we are part of a larger modeling
family that encompasses the world.
I take this opportunity to personally
congratulate longtime buddy and fellow
competitor Bill Werwage for his outstanding
Gold Medal performance at the 2004 WC.
He won Gold the first time in 1970 as a
member of his first US F2B team. He
defended that title successfully in 1972. Since
that time, Bill has been trying to regain the
World Champion title in Stunt flying and has
been on 15 world teams in total! His 32-year
span between Gold Medals is an AMA
record.
I was most honored to have been one of
Bill’s pit crew (along with Bob McDonald
and my son Robby) and the launcher for his
official flights.
Congrats also to Robby Gruber for his
win in the Junior division of F2B, and to the
entire F2B team—which also included Paul
Walker and Ted Fancher—for their team
Gold Medal-winning performance. This is
the first time since 1992 that the US F2B
team has won the individual championship
and the team trophy.
Our Speed team did extremely well this
year, placing third. Congrats to Todd Ryan,
Jim Booker, Will Naemura, and Junior
member Scott Matson for a job well done.
The last time a CLWC was contested in
the US was 1984. That’s 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 have it here again.
When I’m not out practicing to make the
next F2B team, I can be reached at (610)
614-1747, by E-mail at bobhunt@mapisp.
com, or even by snail mail at Box 68,
Stockertown PA 18083. MA