RADIO CONTROL COMBAT
Byline
Greg Rose, 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond OK 73003
Overview
The RC Combat Nationals held in Muncie, Indiana, is in the record book, and we are approximately halfway through the 2004 RC Combat Championship Series. The idea for an RC Combat series was the brainchild of Lou Melancon, president of the Radio Control Combat Association (RCCA) SIG.
The Championship events scheduled for the 2004 season include:
- Lone Star State Championship in Paris, Texas
- Havoc Over Hamilton in Hamilton, Ohio
- Dixie Southern Fried Combat in Atlanta, Georgia
- Great Lakes Combat Championship in Lennox, Michigan
At the time of writing, the Slow Survivable Combat (SSC) extravaganza marathon in Richmond, Indiana, and the RC Combat Nationals were just completed, so now is a good time to see where we stand in the events.
Lone Star State Championship (Paris, Texas)
The opening event in Paris was huge, with 69 pilots attending.
- Open B (53 pilots):
- 1st: Lee Liddle (Texas)
- 2nd: Eric Wenger (Oklahoma)
- 3rd: Mike Fuller (Indiana)
- Scale Combat (20 pilots):
- 1st: Kirk Adams (Maryland)
- 2nd: Don Howard (Oklahoma)
- 3rd: Mike Fredricks (Wisconsin)
- SSC (62 pilots, provisional):
- 1st: Eric Wenger
- 2nd: Lee Liddle
- 3rd: Danny Vaught (Arkansas) — narrowly beat Mike Fredricks by 10 of 2,324 points
Havoc Over Hamilton (Hamilton, Ohio)
Thirty-two combat fliers battled high winds over both days.
- Open B (21 pilots):
- 1st: Mike Fredricks
- 2nd: Brian Gilkey (Michigan)
- 3rd: Don Veres II
- Scale Combat (14 pilots):
- 1st: Kirk Adams
- 2nd: Brian Gilkey
- 3rd: Don Veres II
- SSC (24 pilots):
- 1st: Chris Quinn (Tennessee)
- 2nd: Kirk Adams
- 3rd: Brian Gilkey
Dixie Southern Fried Combat (Atlanta, Georgia)
The meet drew 34 fliers; SSC was the most popular event.
- Open B (23 pilots):
- 1st: Michael Willcox (California)
- 2nd: Lee Liddle (Texas)
- 3rd: Larry Killingsworth (Georgia)
- Scale Combat (10 pilots):
- 1st: Andy Panoncillo (Indiana)
- 2nd: Mike Willcox
- 3rd: Kirk Adams
Great Lakes Combat Championship (Lennox, Michigan)
Michigan’s tricky June weather smiled on the event. Only 10 pilots attended, but almost every pilot flew in all three classes.
- Open B (8 pilots):
- 1st: Brian Gilkey
- 2nd: Scott Gilkey
- 3rd: Rick Wise
- Scale (7 pilots):
- 1st: Brian Gilkey
- 2nd: Scott Gilkey
- 3rd: Don Veres II
- SSC (9 pilots):
- 1st: Brian Gilkey (swept the Great Lakes event with first place in all three classes)
- 2nd: Jay Fromm (Ohio)
- 3rd: Rick Wise
SSC Special Event (Richmond, Indiana)
SSC was still provisional and required a special one-day event coordinated with the Nats. The Richmond Probusters hosted the contest the day before the Nationals; 28 fliers participated.
- 1st: Chris Quinn — 3,540 points
- 2nd: Kirk Adams — only 48 points behind Chris (less than half a cut)
- 3rd: Lee Liddle — three cuts behind Kirk
RC Combat Nationals (Muncie, Indiana)
Less than 24 hours and 70 miles from Richmond, the RC Combat Nationals began.
- Open B (33 competitors):
- 1st: Eric Wenger
- 2nd: A.J. Seaholm (Missouri)
- 3rd: Mike Fredricks
- Scale Combat (17 fliers):
- 1st: Lee Liddle
- 2nd: Brian Gilkey — exactly 100 points (one cut) behind Lee
- 3rd: Don Howard — less than one cut behind the leaders
Remaining 2004 Events
Three more events remain in the 2004 Championship Series:
- Midwest Championships — Waverly, Nebraska (famous for Lake Fredricks that dominates the flying field)
- Jetero Field near Houston, Texas — second Texas meet (no water hazard; noted for bees on the field; sticky substances are banned)
- Pearl Harbor Classic — Palomar, California
In all, the 2004 Championship Series is shaping up to be a great success.
That's all for this issue. Until next time, build straight, fly Combat, and be sure to check your six!
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
