Soaring
Jim Bacus, 4324 Stonewall Ave., Downers Grove IL 60515; E-mail: [email protected]
SOARING ENTHUSIASTS prepare for months, sometimes even the entire year in advance, to compete in all eight days of the AMA/League of Silent Flight (LSF) Soaring Nationals (Nats). This year's contest was held the week of Saturday, July 19, to Saturday, July 26, with a slight adjustment to the schedule of events.
New for this year, F3J and Scale were run simultaneously on Saturday and Sunday. That was the biggest difference in this year's agenda. Next year F3B and Cross Country (XC) will occupy these two days.
For the rest of the week the schedule was similar to the way it has always been. Hand-Launched Glider (HLG) was held on Monday, and there were two days of Two Meter competition: Tuesday and Wednesday. The popular Hand-Launch Golf event was held Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Thursday and Friday the Unlimited-class competition was flown, and Nostalgia and Rudder-Elevator-Spoiler (RES) were contested on Saturday.
Saturday, July 19 — F3J and Scale
I am used to the Nats beginning with XC, which is typically a relaxing start to a long week of competition, but this year F3J and Scale were first. Maybe Scale had a relaxing start, but with F3J Contest Director (CD) Phil Renaud at the helm, this competition was going to start early and roll steadily ahead on a proper course. I am also used to cramming F3J into one day at the Nats, which makes it long and grueling, with little time for breaks. Having two days of F3J was wonderful; we were able to fly at a reasonable pace on Saturday and still get in plenty of rounds. On Sunday we flew in the morning, and in the afternoon there was plenty of time for the flyoffs.
The other synergistic thing about two days of F3J is that it makes great practice for the US team-selection contest later this season, and hopefully it will have the same effect next year for F3B. The weather was a bit overcast in the morning and unusually cool for this time of year. It was just enough to keep the pilots on their toes and make the first round or two interesting. Many pilots had their eyes on Joe Wurts and Larry Jolly; both have been on US F3J teams, and Joe is a former F3J World Champion. They were flying solid, both joining teams with which they don’t usually fly.
We flew three rounds, enjoyed a break for lunch, and flew three more rounds after lunch. During the break many of us enjoyed watching some of the Scale models being aerotowed overhead. Antonio Quesada’s large orange Sroka was particularly pleasing to observe. The wind calmed in the afternoon, which resulted in almost dead air.
In Round Five I did something that probably hasn't been done in F3J in years: I used a three-channel RES polyhedral model—a 39-ounce AVA—against the six-channel hollow molded models that are typical of this class and weigh approximately 30 ounces more. It was interesting enough that Joe Wurts came down to our lane and offered to help tow. I asked Steve Meyer and Joe to be gentle; this was the AVA’s first F3J tow. They were easy on me with quite a docile launch, and I still ended up winning that round. Looking at the scores, it was the only 1,000 I had in the entire contest. I flew the model again in Round Six and took a full two-man tow—this time in a round against Joe and his Icon Lite. I did not win the round, but the AVA didn’t get damaged either.
We wrapped up the day with a great barbecue and bonfire in the camping area. Joe Dirr was camping at the AMA site; he likes to impress with his cooking skills and is a wonderful host. The food was deluxe—the best of everything you could have at a barbecue was laid out in quantity.
Scale highlights:
- 1st: Antonio Quesada — Polish Sroka (large orange scratch-built model)
- 2nd: Terry Edmonds — TG-3
Sunday, July 20 — F3J and Scale
It was bright and sunny, but a bit of dew on the ground early in the morning took a while to burn off. The air was challenging at times, but at other times it was easy; the cycles were long and the wind varied in speed. The plan was to get four more rounds as qualifiers, take a lunch break, then use the rest of the day for the flyoff rounds.
There was some gutsy flying going on, and some pilots were not making it back to the landing zone; even worse, some landed out. Larry Jolly, who was strong up to that point, took two zeros in the difficult morning air; both were excellent flights, just not quite enough to make it back. Dan Williams, who was also flying strong, lost his F3J Icon out in the corn.
I watched Joe Wurts fly fast through sink downwind, way out over the cornfields that other guys were bailing out of and limping home from. Instead of turning back, he went faster and farther downwind—way past the point of no return. Then, just at the far end of the field, probably less than 100 feet in altitude, he found a thermal and screwed his Icon into the sky at an alarming rate of ascent.
We took a lunch break, and scoring figured out who the top 10 fliers were going to be in the flyoff. The plan was for five 15-minute rounds so that there could be one to throw out. The qualifying scores were not carried through; all of the flyoff pilots started with a clean slate.
The air continued to be unpredictable, and some incredible flying was going on. The turning point in the flyoffs was in Round Four, with the weather conditions getting even trickier in Round Five. There was one good thermal cycle moving downwind fast just before the launch horn; it was going to be the ride, hero or zero.
Immediately after a launch I saw David McCarthy and Joe Wurts go for it. I was towing for David, and after running back from towing I saw Larry Jolly on one knee next to David, looking toward the horizon.
"Do you have David's airplane?" Larry asked.
I quickly scanned the sky and didn't see it. "Downwind," said Larry, and I spotted it—just a little cross of a dust speck on the horizon. I tried not to say anything to alarm David, but an "Oh my!" spurted out. Larry and I kept an eye on it for more than a minute. It was silent between us all, but David was squirming and leaning the transmitter around. Only Joe and David were left flying, but Joe was getting closer to making it back and David had made little progress in getting back.
"You are flying toward us aren't you?" asked Larry.
David mumbled something at Larry, probably appropriate at the time, then Larry said, "You don't have camber on do you?" David made a groaning noise and cleaned up the wing. The model started getting closer, but it was clear that it was going to be in the corn. Several of us got a good spot on it as it went in.
"That was farther out than last year, baby!" proclaimed David. He's got a good attitude, but that flight scored a zero. Unfortunately the model was never found.
Joe didn't quite make it back either, zeroing the round. Since he had only dropped one point in the first four flyoff rounds, the fifth round was his throwout, thus he took the F3J national championship.
F3J top finishers:
- 1st: Joe Wurts — Icon/ Icon Lite (designer: Joe Wurts; made by Maple Leaf Designs)
- 2nd: Paul Siegel — Icon Lite
- 3rd: James McCarthy — Eraser crosstail
Scale champion:
- Antonio Quesada — Polish Sroka (third year in a row National Champion in Scale)
Monday, July 21 — HLG
The weather did not cooperate for the HLG competitors again this year. It was overcast, cold, and windy, but there were thermals moving through, sometimes rather quickly.
Marc Gellart returned as CD and used appropriate predetermined tasks for the weather at hand. There were six rounds flown with a lunch break mid-competition. The pace was relaxed, but the flying was intense once on the field. At times many strong, small thermals rapidly passed through the flying area, and it was always a judgment call on how far you could take a model up before getting too far downwind.
Steve Siebenaler, with his XP-3, and Larry Jolly flew strong contests. Joe Wurts flew a Taboo designed by Oleg Golovidov with 5½ ounces of ballast in it, and he won every round except his first.
HLG top finishers:
- 1st: Joe Wurts
- 2nd: Larry Jolly
- 3rd: Steve Siebenaler
Tuesday and Wednesday, July 22–23 — Two Meter Thermal Duration
Mike McGowan was CD and wanted to make it a "kinder, gentler" contest this year. All task times both days were in the seven- to nine-minute range, and for the first time in my memory at the Nats, we were going to get a throw-out round in a Thermal Duration event. This produced a relaxed contest; Mike's recipe worked.
This was the first event flown on the new landing zones and tapes, and they improved the system from last year. These are challenging landings for pilots, but quick and easy to score, so the zones cleared quickly.
The weather both days was pleasant; thermals were available if you could get a big launch and make the right decisions. After the first day, it was apparent that Joe Wurts was flying strong again. He was using a molded V-tail Image from Maple Leaf Designs that he had had in a box for more than three years and built just before coming to the Nats. Its first flights were made after the HLG contest on Monday, but you couldn't tell by the way Joe was flying it.
Wednesday was a Joe show; he won every round he flew and scored landing points in each. Final standings:
- 1st: Joe Wurts — molded V-tail Image
- 2nd: Oleg Golovidov — model of his own design
- 3rd: Larry Jolly — Organic
Thursday and Friday, July 24–25 — Unlimited Thermal Duration
The good weather continued but was somewhat cooler than is typical for Muncie this time of year. Ed Wilson was CD and ran an extremely smooth contest. Although rumors floated around the pits both days, there was no throw-out round for Unlimited.
By this time all eyes were on Joe Wurts; he had won every contest he had entered so far. He chose his Icon Lite to fly these two days. I noticed he always carried a pipe or two of ballast in his cargo shorts and frequently changed ballast up to the point of launch.
The air both days was typical Muncie: ever changing, sometimes great and sometimes downright awful. Man-on-man flying with pilots of this caliber means minimizing or making no mistakes for two days. One little bobble can send you tumbling down the score sheets.
Early on Friday I saw Larry Jolly pop off on launch and instantly fly downwind rapidly toward the new Control Line tarmac. He thermaled out from low altitude and made one of the best contest saves of the week.
Although the top-10 scores were tight, by the last round Larry was keeping the pressure on. As contest luck would have it, Larry and Joe were lined up to fly in the last round against each other. After what seemed like it was going to be a nonevent when all pilots easily found air and achieved the task times, Joe missed his first landing in four days—and Larry missed his too.
Unlimited final standings:
- 1st: Joe Wurts — Icon Lite (National Champion)
- 2nd: Larry Jolly — Hera crosstail
- 3rd: Dan Williams — F3J Icon
Saturday, July 26 — Nostalgia and RES
The last day of the Soaring Nats, with Nostalgia and RES, can be a great way to spend it if the weather cooperates. It was overcast and windy, which makes it difficult to fly some of the older wooden Nostalgia models. Jack Iafret returned as Nostalgia CD, and Mike Fritz was the RES CD. Both did an excellent job.
Nostalgia brings out some of the most beautiful models in our hobby, and the pilots who brought them out this year were determined to fly them. The wind was so strong at times that models were launched without tapping the winch pedal more than once or twice—barely spooling out line as they climbed out on a successful launch. Sometimes we were on the line as long as 20 seconds. We parked our gas bags in the wind and brought them down as safely as we could, hoping on a landing tape.
Steve Siebenaler, with Rob Glover's help, launched Steve's Windfree in what seemed like it was going to be a disaster, but they didn't press the winch pedal. The model came around in downwind lift and got away for him. Tom Scully popped off with his Challenger, hooking it up from low level in a thermal and maxing the round. It got so hooked up that his talking timer beeped for more than 40 seconds after the model was supposed to be on the ground. It just didn't want to come down!
The last flight memory I can share was that Jim Deck got to compete in his first Nats in several years. The flightline broke out in applause after Jim landed his 3-meter Gnome in the last round. It's moments such as these that make coming to the Nats so special.
Nostalgia top finishers:
- 1st: James Vanderzyl — Challenger
- 2nd: Ryan Woebkenberg
- 3rd: Tom Scully — Challenger
RES top finishers:
- 1st: Troy Lawicki — RES National Champion
- 2nd: Mike Fritz
- 3rd: Don Richmond
Closing thanks and notes
It seems like a long trek to finally arrive at the Nats, then once in Muncie it all happens too quickly. This was the best Nats I have ever attended. It was professionally run; the AMA staff keeps improving the flying facilities year after year, which are awesome at this point; and sportsmanship with a smile was the constant gesture. Seeing old friends and making new friends, and soaring in the company of the best pilots in the country— it doesn't get better than that.
There is not enough space in this column for the complete scores or all of the pictures or the video that was taken at this event. You can see more pictures and get the complete scores at the LSF Web site—www.silentflight.org—or at my Web site: www.jimbacus.net. I have posted a collection of photos from several photographers who were at the Nats.
It is always a pleasure to observe the all-volunteer crew—veterans and new people—working together as a team to produce one of the best Soaring contests year after year. Not enough can be said about volunteers who travel there just to help make this event happen and do nothing but work all week.
Special acknowledgements:
- Marna Jeffery — impound run
- Larry Jeffery — winches and launch equipment
- Sheldon Smith — winch turnarounds and organizing line retrievers
- Event Director Jack Strother and his wife Karen — countless hours on small details
To all who give time to pull this week of prime contesting off, thank you.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
