HI EVERYONE. I hope many of you were able to make it to the
IRCHA [International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association]
Jamboree in Muncie, Indiana, this year. It is the largest gathering of
helicopter fanatics in the world and is held at AMA’s National
Flying Site. If you did not make it, plan to attend next time. Make
sure to visit the National Model Aviation Museum while you are
there.
I am writing this before this year’s event, so I assume that it has
been a great show, as was the 2008 Jamboree. When you put 700 of
the world’s craziest RC fliers on one flightline for several days,
things can get extreme.
I have written about how rapidly
the helicopter hobby is changing
and how good the pilots are
becoming. Have you ever wondered
what it was like to fly some of the
first RC helicopters? You have to
admire the pilots who flew back
then, because there were no gyros,
governors, or other high-tech
electronics to make the pilot’s job
easier.
Helicopters had wooden blades
that were stressed to the max doing
a simple loop. Loops, rolls, and
some inverted flight were the only
3-D maneuvers in the 1980s.
In the early 1990s, RC helicopter
aerobatics began to progress at a
slow rate. New plastic and carbon
materials were utilized in
manufacturing for the first time. The
machines were gradually becoming
lighter and stronger.
I received an e-mail awhile back
from John D’arcangelo. His career
in helicopters goes way back. He
was one of the organizers of the first 3-D helicopter contest. I will
let John explain the rest.
“I have been flying model helis since 1990 or ’91. My main
interest through the ’90s was competition-style flying. My friends
and I all belonged to a club called The Hudson Valley Airscrews
founded by Chuck Wildey. At our peak we had close to 70 members
and two flying fields.
“Enough about our background. The reason I wrote in to MA was
because I was reading the heli column in this month’s AMA
magazine [October 2008] and I found the comments on the XFC
very interesting. At one point Wendell Atkins was quoted regarding
how talented and young the pilots have gotten. This got me thinking
about the first-ever-recognized 3-D contest.
“The contest was the brainchild of Chuck Wildey. He was the
CD and the founder of The Hudson Valley Airscrews. The name
of the contest was ‘The Gauntlet’ and it took place in 1992 with
the second one in 1994. The contest was a three-day event
(invitational only) with a different format on each day.
“The first day was the F3C competition. The second day was a
program designed by the pilots themselves, and on the second day
the format allowed each pilot to show their talent and creativity by
incorporating 3-D moves into their flights. It was during this
phase of the contest that we saw a death spiral and knife-edged
pirouettes for the first time!
“The third day’s schedule was made up of 3-D style
maneuvers designed by the contest board. Some of the maneuvers
are used today in the F3C schedule, such as the pushover with a
pirouette, pirouetting circle, stall turn with pull back and so on.
“We invited pilots from all over the US and overseas. In the
end only US pilots accepted. Some notable pilots at that event
were Cliff Hiatt, Curtis Youngblood, Wayne Mann, Ray St. Onge,
Stan Ozlowski, and Wendell Atkins. During the second Gauntlet
the pilots flew to music, which was also a first.
“I was one of the organizers, along with Chuck Wildey, Tom
Unger, Tom McAteer, Mike Benjoya and Bob Campbell. All were
members of the Hudson Valley Airscrews. It took us several
months to organize, write the rules, decide who we wanted to
invite, and create new maneuvers.
“Some of the maneuvers were the Tsunami (which is actually a
stall turn with pull back in the FAI schedule), the Ying Yang,
which was an inside loop from the top followed by an outside
loop and back to upright flight (easily the hardest in the schedule),
opposing rolls (also in the FAI schedule), and so on.
“I was also one of the judges along with Tom Unger, Tom
McAteer, Barry Wehrung, and the late Jeff Baker. One of the
issues we had during the judging process was the actual 3-D
portion because we had no criteria to go from. We were all
veteran FAI judges, so there was no problem there. We came up
with a list that we judged each pilot on the pilot’s 3-D
performance.
“1. Originality
“2. Length of performance (did it meet the time line required?)
“3. Difficulty of maneuvers
“4. Execution of maneuvers
“5. Overall performance (did the program flow well?)
“The 3-D schedule that we laid out was judged in FAI style for
execution, smoothness, accuracy, and overall performance
including the auto. All in all, the judging was good but the 3-D was
very difficult. The contest went off without a hitch. Remember, the
pilots did all this with .60-size machines, rate gyros, and aluminum
frames.
“In closing, I just want to say, I guess the contest was ahead of
its time because it never really took off, mostly due to the fact that
there were not enough pilots who were able to fly the tougher
maneuvers. Thanks for letting everyone know about The Gauntlet
along with the beginning of 3-D heli flight.”
Thank you, John. That interesting information illustrates the
history and evolution of RC helicopter 3-D contests. In a couple of
years we will pass the 20-year anniversary of that first Gauntlet
contest.
There was strong adversity toward 3-D flying by some of the
old-time helicopter pilots when I entered the hobby, but it caught on
quickly and is vibrant today. 3-D flying involves more crashing than
Scale or sport flying, and that equals more parts sales for the
manufacturers. It drives the market.
There has been a recent resurgence in Scale helicopter interest.
During the IRCHA Jamboree, there is even a dedicated “vintage”
tent on the flightline near Center Stage. It seems that as our hobby
grows, pilots of all genres are sharing in each other’s excitement, as
opposed to pushing people away. That is fun to see!
On the topic of Scale and 3-D, the upcoming Lexington Model
Airplane Club’s fun-fly will be held September 12-13 in Kentucky.
Bill Pirschell is the event’s CD, and he has the most decked-out
Scale machine on the planet.
Look at the picture of his turbine-powered Huey in this column
and you will get the idea. Bill and many others at the Lexington
club are avid 3-Ders as well.
We discussed doing a mini-3-D flying school during the event. If
you would have an interest in attending this free school, let me
know by e-mail and we will set you up.
My time is up for this month. Please keep in touch. E-mail me with
any ideas or information you would like to see in your magazine. See
you back here next month. MA
Sources:
IRCHA
www.ircha.org
Lexington Model Airplane Club
www.lmacky.org
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/09
Page Numbers: 110,111
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/09
Page Numbers: 110,111
HI EVERYONE. I hope many of you were able to make it to the
IRCHA [International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association]
Jamboree in Muncie, Indiana, this year. It is the largest gathering of
helicopter fanatics in the world and is held at AMA’s National
Flying Site. If you did not make it, plan to attend next time. Make
sure to visit the National Model Aviation Museum while you are
there.
I am writing this before this year’s event, so I assume that it has
been a great show, as was the 2008 Jamboree. When you put 700 of
the world’s craziest RC fliers on one flightline for several days,
things can get extreme.
I have written about how rapidly
the helicopter hobby is changing
and how good the pilots are
becoming. Have you ever wondered
what it was like to fly some of the
first RC helicopters? You have to
admire the pilots who flew back
then, because there were no gyros,
governors, or other high-tech
electronics to make the pilot’s job
easier.
Helicopters had wooden blades
that were stressed to the max doing
a simple loop. Loops, rolls, and
some inverted flight were the only
3-D maneuvers in the 1980s.
In the early 1990s, RC helicopter
aerobatics began to progress at a
slow rate. New plastic and carbon
materials were utilized in
manufacturing for the first time. The
machines were gradually becoming
lighter and stronger.
I received an e-mail awhile back
from John D’arcangelo. His career
in helicopters goes way back. He
was one of the organizers of the first 3-D helicopter contest. I will
let John explain the rest.
“I have been flying model helis since 1990 or ’91. My main
interest through the ’90s was competition-style flying. My friends
and I all belonged to a club called The Hudson Valley Airscrews
founded by Chuck Wildey. At our peak we had close to 70 members
and two flying fields.
“Enough about our background. The reason I wrote in to MA was
because I was reading the heli column in this month’s AMA
magazine [October 2008] and I found the comments on the XFC
very interesting. At one point Wendell Atkins was quoted regarding
how talented and young the pilots have gotten. This got me thinking
about the first-ever-recognized 3-D contest.
“The contest was the brainchild of Chuck Wildey. He was the
CD and the founder of The Hudson Valley Airscrews. The name
of the contest was ‘The Gauntlet’ and it took place in 1992 with
the second one in 1994. The contest was a three-day event
(invitational only) with a different format on each day.
“The first day was the F3C competition. The second day was a
program designed by the pilots themselves, and on the second day
the format allowed each pilot to show their talent and creativity by
incorporating 3-D moves into their flights. It was during this
phase of the contest that we saw a death spiral and knife-edged
pirouettes for the first time!
“The third day’s schedule was made up of 3-D style
maneuvers designed by the contest board. Some of the maneuvers
are used today in the F3C schedule, such as the pushover with a
pirouette, pirouetting circle, stall turn with pull back and so on.
“We invited pilots from all over the US and overseas. In the
end only US pilots accepted. Some notable pilots at that event
were Cliff Hiatt, Curtis Youngblood, Wayne Mann, Ray St. Onge,
Stan Ozlowski, and Wendell Atkins. During the second Gauntlet
the pilots flew to music, which was also a first.
“I was one of the organizers, along with Chuck Wildey, Tom
Unger, Tom McAteer, Mike Benjoya and Bob Campbell. All were
members of the Hudson Valley Airscrews. It took us several
months to organize, write the rules, decide who we wanted to
invite, and create new maneuvers.
“Some of the maneuvers were the Tsunami (which is actually a
stall turn with pull back in the FAI schedule), the Ying Yang,
which was an inside loop from the top followed by an outside
loop and back to upright flight (easily the hardest in the schedule),
opposing rolls (also in the FAI schedule), and so on.
“I was also one of the judges along with Tom Unger, Tom
McAteer, Barry Wehrung, and the late Jeff Baker. One of the
issues we had during the judging process was the actual 3-D
portion because we had no criteria to go from. We were all
veteran FAI judges, so there was no problem there. We came up
with a list that we judged each pilot on the pilot’s 3-D
performance.
“1. Originality
“2. Length of performance (did it meet the time line required?)
“3. Difficulty of maneuvers
“4. Execution of maneuvers
“5. Overall performance (did the program flow well?)
“The 3-D schedule that we laid out was judged in FAI style for
execution, smoothness, accuracy, and overall performance
including the auto. All in all, the judging was good but the 3-D was
very difficult. The contest went off without a hitch. Remember, the
pilots did all this with .60-size machines, rate gyros, and aluminum
frames.
“In closing, I just want to say, I guess the contest was ahead of
its time because it never really took off, mostly due to the fact that
there were not enough pilots who were able to fly the tougher
maneuvers. Thanks for letting everyone know about The Gauntlet
along with the beginning of 3-D heli flight.”
Thank you, John. That interesting information illustrates the
history and evolution of RC helicopter 3-D contests. In a couple of
years we will pass the 20-year anniversary of that first Gauntlet
contest.
There was strong adversity toward 3-D flying by some of the
old-time helicopter pilots when I entered the hobby, but it caught on
quickly and is vibrant today. 3-D flying involves more crashing than
Scale or sport flying, and that equals more parts sales for the
manufacturers. It drives the market.
There has been a recent resurgence in Scale helicopter interest.
During the IRCHA Jamboree, there is even a dedicated “vintage”
tent on the flightline near Center Stage. It seems that as our hobby
grows, pilots of all genres are sharing in each other’s excitement, as
opposed to pushing people away. That is fun to see!
On the topic of Scale and 3-D, the upcoming Lexington Model
Airplane Club’s fun-fly will be held September 12-13 in Kentucky.
Bill Pirschell is the event’s CD, and he has the most decked-out
Scale machine on the planet.
Look at the picture of his turbine-powered Huey in this column
and you will get the idea. Bill and many others at the Lexington
club are avid 3-Ders as well.
We discussed doing a mini-3-D flying school during the event. If
you would have an interest in attending this free school, let me
know by e-mail and we will set you up.
My time is up for this month. Please keep in touch. E-mail me with
any ideas or information you would like to see in your magazine. See
you back here next month. MA
Sources:
IRCHA
www.ircha.org
Lexington Model Airplane Club
www.lmacky.org
