Radio Control Helicopters
Mark Fadely [[email protected]]
Don't miss out on the IRCHA Jamboree!
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 the AMA 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.
Early RC helicopters and the rise of 3-D
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 used in manufacturing for the first time. The machines were gradually becoming lighter and stronger.
I received an e-mail a while 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.
John D'Arcangelo — The Gauntlet (first 3-D contest)
"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.
Scale flying and community
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 one of the most decked-out scale machines 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 are interested 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
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
