Radio Control Soaring - 209/09

HI. MY NAME is Lee. Welcome to
another meeting of Glider Hoarders
Anonymous. I’m sorry to admit that I fell
off the wagon and bought a few more
really cool pieces of fiberglass.
I had abstained for nearly six months. I
was privileged to spend some time with
Soaring Guru Skip Miller, doing research
for this column, of course, and I was
powerless over my need to take home
some of his exotica.
RC Soaring as an art, science, and sport
has come a long way in the last 30 years,
and Skip has been there for most of it. He
was the first World Champion of our sport,
winning Gold at Pretoria, South Africa, in
1977.
He has been on six US teams, including
the first US Gold Medal team in F3B (FAI
Multi Task Thermal Soaring) and the first
US Gold Medal team in F3J (FAI RC
Thermal Duration). He was the first pilot
to complete the Great Race Course,
approximately 76 kilometers, in one
launch—something that had eluded the
country’s best for more than seven years.
Skip has won numerous national
championship titles in many of Soaring’s
independent venues and the overall AMA
National Championships. He was also the
prestigious LSF (League of Silent Flight)
Grand Champion and overall winner. His
World Championships-winning Airtronics
Aquila was on display for years at the
Smithsonian National Air and Space
Museum in Washington DC.
Perhaps an even better measure of
Skip’s skills is his ability to teach and
my short hi-start in a 45-second drill. If I
don’t hit within a second or two of the
time and within a foot of the spot, I reset
until I hit five in a row. Sometimes I can
go out and nail it, and other times I have to
reset and shoot a lot of landings.
Then I switch and force myself to
thermal out from the 75-foot launch and
get five minutes. I also know when I am
wasting time; some days the “putts” just
don’t drop. Pick it up another day.
LE: How did you learn the art of RC
Soaring? Did you have a mentor?
SM: I never really had a mentor, but my
dad certainly encouraged me in the
aviation/engineering direction.
I was being groomed to be an
aeronautical engineer, and he and his close
friend from American Airlines were
building scratch-built radios and trying to
get models to successfully fly. You know,
escapement Live Wire trainers, etc. I was
the official “chaser” of the models. They
were kind of Free Flight with intermittent
success of Radio Control.
I was building simple balsa-and-tissue
models with limited success. I started very
young, 4 years old, but by 7 I was flying
my U-Control Firecat at the school yard by
myself. That really got my dad’s attention.
After I graduated high school, I
attended Northrop Institute of Technology
in Los Angeles. I had so many models that
I had built, I couldn’t move in our
basement. Yet I still never had a
successful radio-controlled model. I think
I had a Goldberg Falcon that I still
couldn’t get the radio to work right.
Then fast-forward and I saw a Hobie
Hawk in the local hobby shop. All that
pent-up, no-success RC stuff surfaced and
I bought it, taught myself how to fly it,
and at the same time hooked up with a
club being formed in Denver: the Rocky
Mountain Soaring Association.
I then came
across an Aquila kit
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Skip Miller earned the first FAI F3B RC Soaring Gold Medal. The
competition was held in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1977.
Skip during his first evaluation flights of the new 2-meter Jaro
Muller Espadita. The only way to get to know an airplane is to fly
it! It’s tough duty, but Skip is happy to sacrifice.
coach. He is now mentoring Cody
Remington, who was crowned FAI F3J
Junior World Champion two-and-a-half
years ago in Martin, Slovakia. Cody is one
of the top Senior pilots in the US.
Skip was kind to sit still long enough to
answer a few questions for me.
LE: How have you maintained your
intensity for RC Soaring over three
decades?
SM: I have always been very fascinated by
flight. I share in the magic and amazement
of it all and think that is what has held my
interest keen for such a long a time.
Back in 1977 [in the December issue], I
wrote an article for MA titled “The Long,
Long Trail,” which documented my rise to
World Champion status. Little did I know
that my trail had just begun.
Now as I look back 32 years,
immersing myself in the high-levelcompetition
environment, I am amazed
that I still have held my “competitive
edge” for such a period. I have always
approached RC Soaring as a sport, and this
approach has kept me excited.
LE: I’ve spent enough time with you fliers
to know that you fly at a level that we
duffers can only dream of attaining. What
does it take to get to your level? How
much is equipment and how much is
simply skill?
SM: That is a pretty deep question that has
a somewhat complex answer. And there
are no duffers in our sport; we all enjoy
the same thing!
In the simplest form, those that prepare
most always seem to get “luckier” than
those that don’t. Certainly, training is a big
factor, and when I head out to practice, I
have a fairly specific agenda. I try to stick
to a regimen.
I’ll set out to shoot five landings from
and the rest was history. I never looked
back! I was very fortunate to make the
USA team then and have the success I’ve
had. [An article has been published about
the Miller Mod on the Aquila.]
I was quite fortunate to become close
personal friends with the genius designer,
Lee Renaud, founder of Airtronics, and his
very good friend, Dan Pruss. We were
quite a trio. Those two really were the
closest I came to true mentors.
It was more like Lee picking my brain
for info then saying, “Skip, here is the
model I designed for you, the Sagitta, it
will fit your style. Go fly it.” And boy did
I! What a breakthrough model and what an
honor for me.
And Dan was the most excited person
ever on any new model technology. We
were right in the middle of a huge amount
of technology growth then. It was so
fitting that I won the Worlds with Lee’s
Aquila and the Sanwa/Airtronics radio,
and that Dan was the US team manager
that brought home the Gold for the USA.
What a proud moment in Soaring history,
both personally and for the USA Soaring
fraternity!
LE: You are an excellent coach. What are
your top three suggestions for being a
competitive Soaring pilot?
SM: Find a good competitive model:
something that does everything well, that
suits your style. Don’t worry about what’s
hip or latest and greatest. If your style is to
poke and float, race around, launch the
highest, move on until you find it.
In golf, there are thousands of 9 irons
to choose from. They all do exactly the
same thing at exactly the same club head
angle, yet each one is subtly different.
Find the one you like (not what your
buddy likes) and stick with it.
Develop a relationship with a friend/
caller, and develop communication that
lets you fly your style in the air. Talk
through what you want, and after the flight
talk about what you didn’t like. This part
takes work but is extremely rewarding.
Do other cross-training activities; fly
hand launch, Aerobatics, indoor, Cross
Country, aerotow, etc. Try to do other
physical sports to keep your mind and
body in shape. It really helps in the
competition environment!
LE: What are the three biggest traps for
pilots caught at Thermal Duration/F3J
contests?
SM: Always have a plan before you step
up to the launch line. Observe what’s going
on in the air all around. The plan may
change while on tow. That’s okay, but
have it before you hook up and your scores
will improve.
Field distractions for you or your caller
are always a big trap lurking. Something
may happen on the field; a pop off, line
break, someone having some form of
disturbance, even a conversation with a
competitor in the launch line, but stay
centered and try to stick to your
predetermined plan.
Check out Paul Naton’s Soaring Master
Class 2 video. Cody [Remington] and I go
through this exact situation at the
Southwest Classic—live!
It is very important to remember you
are competing against yourself—a very
cunning adversary, I might add. That’s
something many competition pilots lose
track of. Don’t worry about who is in your
flight group; instead, focus on a visual of
reading the air, getting your time and
hitting your landing.
LE: You are an ardent competitor in FAI
F3J events. Could you briefly explain F3J
and why you love it?
SM: F3J is basically high-performance
thermal flying—something most
competition Soaring pilots have the skill
for. I personally like the broad base of
pilots you can draw from, because
everyone is a potential team player. Also,
the pilots are responsible for their launch
equipment and the hand tow is the essence
of simplicity—150 meters of monofilament
line and off you go!
F3B is more refined, so you must have
the right models, equipment, team, etc.
Don’t get me wrong; I love F3B, but the
complexity makes it more difficult for the
average competitor to gain success. F3J is
an easy transition to make; show up with
your thermal airplane and have fun.
It has also become very precise with the
fast tow times and pushing the clock at the
end of working time. I don’t like this as
much, because it’s kinda like a downhill
ski racer that’s a half second off and not
even in the hunt. I must be getting too old.
Ha! Ha!
LE: What airplane do you take out when
you just want to have fun? What are you
flying in contests these days? Do you fly
anything besides sailplanes?
SM: If I had to pick one sailplane to do it
all, it would be the Espada R by Jaro
Muller. You can fly thermal, slope, light
DS [Dynamic Soaring], sport F3B, ballast
it, etc. Jaro is the master of technology,
and it shows. Its flying weight is 61 ounces
and it’s super strong.
As far as just a true Soaring experience,
I like my 6.3-meter Nimbus 4. It feels like
flying a full-size glider. I also like to
amuse myself flying aerobatics with fuel
and electric models up to my 35% Yak. I
also enjoy flying state-of-the art indoor
foamies. They are impressive in the
perfect, windless environment of a gym!
In competition, I align with the rest of
the world and fly the Samba Perfect—
arguably the most popular model currently
produced, and for good reason. It does
everything well, has been proven over and
over, and is designed by a good friend of
mine, Philip Kolb, another of the
“Masters” I have come to know.
LE: What, in your mind, was the biggest
leap in the evolution of RC sailplanes over
the past 40 years?
SM: Are your questions getting tougher or
is it just me? I have seen the transition
from Ambroid, balsa, and dope to
MonoKote, then to forms of bagged, to
molded bagged, to molded, to CNC
molded technology.
Ralf Decker and Dieter Pfefferkorn
played the largest part, having molded
models at the World Championships in
1977. The Sitar brothers stood the world
on end in 1979 with the Dassel and Phile,
with a 229 mph world record that was
never recognized as official.
Pagliano of Italy was also pushing the
envelope with his noseless, fully molded
Allure. Then there was Airtronics, who
introduced us all to a radio line with
computer technology that could actually
control all these high-zoot models.
LE: You’ve also started a sailplane
boutique, so to speak. What made you
cross that line and how are things going?
SM: I started Skip Miller Models when I
realized I had strong relationships,
worldwide, with Soaring friends who were
developing, engineering, and selling
competition sailplanes. I had a major
change in career path when my company,
Wood Logic, was forced out of business
by overseas knockoffs after 20 years of
success.
Skip Miller Models was born, and I
focus on state-of-the-art sailplanes,
equipment, tow planes, Scale sailplanes,
and foamie indoor models. I do this for the
love of the sport. You can actually call us
and get a model shipped that same day;
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that tried from a European distributor
would often take a year, and it would be
more expensive.
There are a number of good retailers
out there, but we stock only the best
products available. This is proven time
and again in competition.
LE: Do you have any suggestions on how
we can attract new and younger
participants to the sport?
SM: It’s our responsibility to keep an eye
out for any youth who has even the
slightest interest in model aircraft.
Encourage them to come out and visit
your club and go flying with you. I met
Cody on the slope, flying Combat. He
was 12 and had to deal with all the jeering
from his slope peers to go and see what
the thermal pilots were doing.
Joseph Newcomb, another shining
star, learned to fly on a Boomerang wing
on a short hi-start in the park. He made
the USA Junior team with Cody from our
area.
Grab those young ones, be creative,
and fan the flame! My oldest, Dusty, is
26, and became quite a formidable
competition pilot. I also have three
children under 9.
I visit their school annually for a
flying demonstration that really gets them
excited and anxious to begin. Nothing
quite like an electric foamie hovering in
the parking lot in front of 60 screaming 5-
to 8-year-olds, and then to have it “Blast
off!” They go crazy; they, too, love flight.
LE: What is your favorite sailplane of all
time—your Rosebud?
SM: I guess it would have to be the Aquila
with the “Miller Mod.” I won everything
with it—even did my Level V goal and
return in 1977 with my little 100-inch
model, and no sniffer—we were hooked
up, kinda like Cody and his Espada RL.
Thanks so much for asking me to do
this—I love this sport! See you at a
competition somewhere! MA
Sources:
League of Silent Flight
www.silentflight.org
Skip Miller Models
(303) 442-6454
www.skipmillermodels.com