Soaring 2003/12

24 MODEL AVIATION
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
S o a r i n g
Jim Bacus, 4324 Stonewall Ave., Downers Grove IL 60515; E-mail: [email protected]
Dan Williams holds the Icon model he lost in the cornfields a day earlier as the search
team brings him back in a truck.
L-R: Steve Siebenaler, Joe Wurts, Paul Siegel, Karl Miller, and Mike Lachowski with their
trophies and models after the F3J contest.
HLG winner Joe Wurts about to release a
high-velocity discus launch with his
Taboo designed by Oleg Golovidov.
RADIO CONTROL
December 2003 25
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.
I did something in Round Five that
probably hasn’t been done in F3J in years.
I used a three-channel RES polyhedral
model—a 39-ounce AVA—against the sixchannel
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. After the first day, Joe had
only dropped 8.7 points in six rounds. I
think everyone expected that he would be
good in F3J, but that was really impressive.
We wrapped up the day with a great
barbecue and bonfire in the camping area.
Jim Bacus and Joe Dirr perform a two-man tow in F3J.
Soaring Event Director Jack Strother reflects on a good
Unlimited contest directed by Ed Wilson (in background).
Robin Meek, with his Organic 2m, hopes to pick up some tips
from Larry Jolly, who will time for him in the next round.
Tom Tock, who placed seventh in Unlimited, works his
transmitter like a fishing pole while working a tough thermal.
RADIO CONTROL
26 MODEL AVIATION
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.
Sunday, July 20—F3J and Scale: It was
bright and sunny, but a bit of dew on the
ground early in the morning took awhile 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 poor pilots were not making it
back to the landing zone; even worse,
some even 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 guys were bailing out of
and limping home. 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.
A shot of the landing zone taken while standing out on one of the tapes looking at the pilots.
The author flew his 39-ounce AVA in RES and a little bit in F3J.
Packing up in front of Hotel Roberts in Muncie after a week of Soaring fun.
RADIO CONTROLDecember 2003 27
Sheldon Smith distributes prizes to all of the young people who
Marc Gellart awards Kevin Steen first-place Junior trophy. helped retrieve winch lines during the week of Soaring.
The winning F3J models, including variations of the Icon in the
foreground, a Pike Superior, and a Sharon 3.7.
Don Smith pilots his Eraser up the winch during a launch in
Unlimited class; Steve Meyer throws the model.
Father-and-son F3J team of David McCarthy with his NYX and
Jim McCarthy with his Tragi 705X. Both made the flyoffs.
Jim Vanderzyl’s beautiful Challenger was back again this year for
the Nostalgia competition.
RADIO CONTROL
Immediately after the 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, and I said no. “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 I
couldn’t hold back and an “Oh my!”
spurted out.
So 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.
I was biting my lips trying not to laugh.
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.
For the most part, Joe flew a green Icon
Lite fuselage mated to a white F3J Icon
wing that he called “Stiffy.” Occasionally
he flew an all-green Icon Lite in calmer
conditions. Joe designed the Icon, and it is
made by Maple Leaf Designs.
Paul Siegel placed second flying an
Icon Lite, and James McCarthy finished
third flying an Eraser crosstail.
For the third year in a row, Antonio
Quesada was the deserving National
Champion in the Scale event. This year
Antonio modeled the Polish Sroka, which
is a magnificent orange sailplane that is
one of the most impressive, eye-catching
Scale gliders I have seen in years—not
only on the ground, but in tow and soaring
in the sky it looked full-scale. Antonio
spent more than a year researching and
scratch building this model.
In second place was Terry Edmonds
with a gorgeous TG-3. Terry’s model was
also impressive in flight.
Monday, July 21—HLG: I don’t know
why these competitors have all the bad
luck, but the weather did not cooperate for
them again this year. At least the rain
missed them for the most part. It was
overcast, cold, and windy, but there were
thermals moving through, sometimes
rather quickly.
Marc Gellart was back again this year
to CD the HLG contest, and his experience
showed when he started the contest at the
right time after the front moved through
and used the appropriate predetermined
tasks for the weather at hand.
There were six rounds flown, with a
lunch break midway through the
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 one up before you got 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 51⁄2 ounces of ballast in it, and he
won every round except his first. Joe is the
new HLG National Champion, Larry
placed second, and Steve placed third.
Tuesday and Wednesday, July 22, 23—
Two Meter Thermal Duration: Mike
McGowan was CD, and he wanted to
make it a “kinder, gentler” contest this
year. All of the task times both days were
in the seven- to nine-minute range, and for
the first time I can remember in the years I
have been attending the Nats, we were
going to get a throw-out round in a
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relaxed contest; Mike’s recipe worked.
This was the first event we got to fly on
the new landing zones and tapes, and I
think they improved the system from last
year. If there is anything left to iron out, it
could only be minor. These are
challenging landings to make as a pilot,
but quick and easy to score, so the zones
are cleared quickly.
The weather both days was pleasant;
the thermals were there 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
he came 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 in and scored landing
points in each of those rounds. Joe is the
new National Champion, Oleg Golovidov
placed second with a model of his own
design, and Larry Jolly placed third flying
an Organic.
Thursday and Friday, July 24, 25—
Unlimited Thermal Duration: The good
weather continued, but it was somewhat
cooler than is typical for Muncie this time
of year. Ed Wilson was CD, and he ran an
extremely smooth contest. Although
rumors were floating 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 up to this point. He chose his Icon
Lite to fly these two days. I noticed that he
always carried a pipe or two of ballast in
his cargo shorts, and he frequently
changed the amount he carried in his
model up to the point at which he had to
launch.
The air both days was typical Muncie:
ever changing, sometimes great and
sometimes downright awful. At least when
you fly man-on-man, as we do at the Nats,
all of the pilots are scored in the same air,
good or bad.
Man-on-man flying with pilots of this
caliber means minimizing or making no
mistakes for two days. The flying is solid
and skills are honed at this point in the
season. One little bobble can send you
tumbling down the score sheets that are
prominently displayed on the blue box by
the “white whale” scoring trailer.
Early on Friday I saw Larry Jolly pop
off on launch; that would not normally
happen to him. He instantly flew
downwind rapidly toward the new Control
Line tarmac, and guess what was waiting
for him? He thermaled out from low
altitude and made one of the best contest
saves of the week that I witnessed.
Although the scores in the top 10 were
tight, by the last round in the contest Larry
was keeping the pressure on. As contest
luck would have it, Larry and Joe Wurts
were lined up in the matrix to fly in the
last round of the contest against each
other. After what seemed like it was going
to be a nonevent when all of the pilots
easily found air and achieved the task
times, Joe missed his first landing in four
days! And Larry missed his too.
Joe is the new Unlimited-class National
Champion. He swept every event he
entered at the Nats with some impressive
flying. Larry placed second flying a Hera
crosstail, and Dan Williams placed third
flying an 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. Back this year was
Nostalgia CD Jack Iafret, 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.
Steve Siebenaler, with Rob Glover’s
help, launched Steve’s Windfree in what
seemed was going to be a disaster, but they
didn’t press the winch pedal. The model
RADIO CONTROL
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barely spooled out line as it 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,
we hoped on a landing tape.
Tom Scully popped off with his
Challenger, hooking it up from low level in
30 MODEL AVIATION
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 of the contest on
Saturday. It’s moments such as these that
make coming to the Nats so special.
In Nostalgia, James Vanderzyl placed
first flying his Challenger, Ryan
Woebkenberg finished second, and Tom
Scully placed third, also flying a
Challenger.
Troy Lawicki is the new RES National
Champion, Mike Fritz placed second, and
Don Richmond placed third.
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 allvolunteer
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.
Marna Jeffery makes the impound run
like clockwork, which dictates the flow of a
contest, and Larry Jeffery keeps all of the
winches and launch equipment running all
week, which is not an easy task. Sheldon
Smith works the winch turnarounds and
organizes the kids who retrieve lines, and
he makes sure everyone has fun.
Thanks to Event Director Jack Strother
and his wife Karen, who I know put
countless hours into the small details that
needed to be completed on schedule with
an event of this magnitude.
To all of the people who give time to
pull this week of premiere contesting off,
thank you. The work you do makes this
event so special to so many people each
year, whether they had the opportunity to
attend or not. MA
RADIO CONTROL

24 MODEL AVIATION
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
S o a r i n g
Jim Bacus, 4324 Stonewall Ave., Downers Grove IL 60515; E-mail: [email protected]
Dan Williams holds the Icon model he lost in the cornfields a day earlier as the search
team brings him back in a truck.
L-R: Steve Siebenaler, Joe Wurts, Paul Siegel, Karl Miller, and Mike Lachowski with their
trophies and models after the F3J contest.
HLG winner Joe Wurts about to release a
high-velocity discus launch with his
Taboo designed by Oleg Golovidov.
RADIO CONTROL
December 2003 25
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.
I did something in Round Five that
probably hasn’t been done in F3J in years.
I used a three-channel RES polyhedral
model—a 39-ounce AVA—against the sixchannel
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. After the first day, Joe had
only dropped 8.7 points in six rounds. I
think everyone expected that he would be
good in F3J, but that was really impressive.
We wrapped up the day with a great
barbecue and bonfire in the camping area.
Jim Bacus and Joe Dirr perform a two-man tow in F3J.
Soaring Event Director Jack Strother reflects on a good
Unlimited contest directed by Ed Wilson (in background).
Robin Meek, with his Organic 2m, hopes to pick up some tips
from Larry Jolly, who will time for him in the next round.
Tom Tock, who placed seventh in Unlimited, works his
transmitter like a fishing pole while working a tough thermal.
RADIO CONTROL
26 MODEL AVIATION
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.
Sunday, July 20—F3J and Scale: It was
bright and sunny, but a bit of dew on the
ground early in the morning took awhile 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 poor pilots were not making it
back to the landing zone; even worse,
some even 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 guys were bailing out of
and limping home. 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.
A shot of the landing zone taken while standing out on one of the tapes looking at the pilots.
The author flew his 39-ounce AVA in RES and a little bit in F3J.
Packing up in front of Hotel Roberts in Muncie after a week of Soaring fun.
RADIO CONTROLDecember 2003 27
Sheldon Smith distributes prizes to all of the young people who
Marc Gellart awards Kevin Steen first-place Junior trophy. helped retrieve winch lines during the week of Soaring.
The winning F3J models, including variations of the Icon in the
foreground, a Pike Superior, and a Sharon 3.7.
Don Smith pilots his Eraser up the winch during a launch in
Unlimited class; Steve Meyer throws the model.
Father-and-son F3J team of David McCarthy with his NYX and
Jim McCarthy with his Tragi 705X. Both made the flyoffs.
Jim Vanderzyl’s beautiful Challenger was back again this year for
the Nostalgia competition.
RADIO CONTROL
Immediately after the 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, and I said no. “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 I
couldn’t hold back and an “Oh my!”
spurted out.
So 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.
I was biting my lips trying not to laugh.
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.
For the most part, Joe flew a green Icon
Lite fuselage mated to a white F3J Icon
wing that he called “Stiffy.” Occasionally
he flew an all-green Icon Lite in calmer
conditions. Joe designed the Icon, and it is
made by Maple Leaf Designs.
Paul Siegel placed second flying an
Icon Lite, and James McCarthy finished
third flying an Eraser crosstail.
For the third year in a row, Antonio
Quesada was the deserving National
Champion in the Scale event. This year
Antonio modeled the Polish Sroka, which
is a magnificent orange sailplane that is
one of the most impressive, eye-catching
Scale gliders I have seen in years—not
only on the ground, but in tow and soaring
in the sky it looked full-scale. Antonio
spent more than a year researching and
scratch building this model.
In second place was Terry Edmonds
with a gorgeous TG-3. Terry’s model was
also impressive in flight.
Monday, July 21—HLG: I don’t know
why these competitors have all the bad
luck, but the weather did not cooperate for
them again this year. At least the rain
missed them for the most part. It was
overcast, cold, and windy, but there were
thermals moving through, sometimes
rather quickly.
Marc Gellart was back again this year
to CD the HLG contest, and his experience
showed when he started the contest at the
right time after the front moved through
and used the appropriate predetermined
tasks for the weather at hand.
There were six rounds flown, with a
lunch break midway through the
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 one up before you got 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 51⁄2 ounces of ballast in it, and he
won every round except his first. Joe is the
new HLG National Champion, Larry
placed second, and Steve placed third.
Tuesday and Wednesday, July 22, 23—
Two Meter Thermal Duration: Mike
McGowan was CD, and he wanted to
make it a “kinder, gentler” contest this
year. All of the task times both days were
in the seven- to nine-minute range, and for
the first time I can remember in the years I
have been attending the Nats, we were
going to get a throw-out round in a
Thermal Duration event. This was a
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relaxed contest; Mike’s recipe worked.
This was the first event we got to fly on
the new landing zones and tapes, and I
think they improved the system from last
year. If there is anything left to iron out, it
could only be minor. These are
challenging landings to make as a pilot,
but quick and easy to score, so the zones
are cleared quickly.
The weather both days was pleasant;
the thermals were there 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
he came 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 in and scored landing
points in each of those rounds. Joe is the
new National Champion, Oleg Golovidov
placed second with a model of his own
design, and Larry Jolly placed third flying
an Organic.
Thursday and Friday, July 24, 25—
Unlimited Thermal Duration: The good
weather continued, but it was somewhat
cooler than is typical for Muncie this time
of year. Ed Wilson was CD, and he ran an
extremely smooth contest. Although
rumors were floating 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 up to this point. He chose his Icon
Lite to fly these two days. I noticed that he
always carried a pipe or two of ballast in
his cargo shorts, and he frequently
changed the amount he carried in his
model up to the point at which he had to
launch.
The air both days was typical Muncie:
ever changing, sometimes great and
sometimes downright awful. At least when
you fly man-on-man, as we do at the Nats,
all of the pilots are scored in the same air,
good or bad.
Man-on-man flying with pilots of this
caliber means minimizing or making no
mistakes for two days. The flying is solid
and skills are honed at this point in the
season. One little bobble can send you
tumbling down the score sheets that are
prominently displayed on the blue box by
the “white whale” scoring trailer.
Early on Friday I saw Larry Jolly pop
off on launch; that would not normally
happen to him. He instantly flew
downwind rapidly toward the new Control
Line tarmac, and guess what was waiting
for him? He thermaled out from low
altitude and made one of the best contest
saves of the week that I witnessed.
Although the scores in the top 10 were
tight, by the last round in the contest Larry
was keeping the pressure on. As contest
luck would have it, Larry and Joe Wurts
were lined up in the matrix to fly in the
last round of the contest against each
other. After what seemed like it was going
to be a nonevent when all of the pilots
easily found air and achieved the task
times, Joe missed his first landing in four
days! And Larry missed his too.
Joe is the new Unlimited-class National
Champion. He swept every event he
entered at the Nats with some impressive
flying. Larry placed second flying a Hera
crosstail, and Dan Williams placed third
flying an 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. Back this year was
Nostalgia CD Jack Iafret, 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.
Steve Siebenaler, with Rob Glover’s
help, launched Steve’s Windfree in what
seemed was going to be a disaster, but they
didn’t press the winch pedal. The model
RADIO CONTROL
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barely spooled out line as it 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,
we hoped on a landing tape.
Tom Scully popped off with his
Challenger, hooking it up from low level in
30 MODEL AVIATION
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 of the contest on
Saturday. It’s moments such as these that
make coming to the Nats so special.
In Nostalgia, James Vanderzyl placed
first flying his Challenger, Ryan
Woebkenberg finished second, and Tom
Scully placed third, also flying a
Challenger.
Troy Lawicki is the new RES National
Champion, Mike Fritz placed second, and
Don Richmond placed third.
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 allvolunteer
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.
Marna Jeffery makes the impound run
like clockwork, which dictates the flow of a
contest, and Larry Jeffery keeps all of the
winches and launch equipment running all
week, which is not an easy task. Sheldon
Smith works the winch turnarounds and
organizes the kids who retrieve lines, and
he makes sure everyone has fun.
Thanks to Event Director Jack Strother
and his wife Karen, who I know put
countless hours into the small details that
needed to be completed on schedule with
an event of this magnitude.
To all of the people who give time to
pull this week of premiere contesting off,
thank you. The work you do makes this
event so special to so many people each
year, whether they had the opportunity to
attend or not. MA
RADIO CONTROL

24 MODEL AVIATION
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
S o a r i n g
Jim Bacus, 4324 Stonewall Ave., Downers Grove IL 60515; E-mail: [email protected]
Dan Williams holds the Icon model he lost in the cornfields a day earlier as the search
team brings him back in a truck.
L-R: Steve Siebenaler, Joe Wurts, Paul Siegel, Karl Miller, and Mike Lachowski with their
trophies and models after the F3J contest.
HLG winner Joe Wurts about to release a
high-velocity discus launch with his
Taboo designed by Oleg Golovidov.
RADIO CONTROL
December 2003 25
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.
I did something in Round Five that
probably hasn’t been done in F3J in years.
I used a three-channel RES polyhedral
model—a 39-ounce AVA—against the sixchannel
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. After the first day, Joe had
only dropped 8.7 points in six rounds. I
think everyone expected that he would be
good in F3J, but that was really impressive.
We wrapped up the day with a great
barbecue and bonfire in the camping area.
Jim Bacus and Joe Dirr perform a two-man tow in F3J.
Soaring Event Director Jack Strother reflects on a good
Unlimited contest directed by Ed Wilson (in background).
Robin Meek, with his Organic 2m, hopes to pick up some tips
from Larry Jolly, who will time for him in the next round.
Tom Tock, who placed seventh in Unlimited, works his
transmitter like a fishing pole while working a tough thermal.
RADIO CONTROL
26 MODEL AVIATION
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.
Sunday, July 20—F3J and Scale: It was
bright and sunny, but a bit of dew on the
ground early in the morning took awhile 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 poor pilots were not making it
back to the landing zone; even worse,
some even 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 guys were bailing out of
and limping home. 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.
A shot of the landing zone taken while standing out on one of the tapes looking at the pilots.
The author flew his 39-ounce AVA in RES and a little bit in F3J.
Packing up in front of Hotel Roberts in Muncie after a week of Soaring fun.
RADIO CONTROLDecember 2003 27
Sheldon Smith distributes prizes to all of the young people who
Marc Gellart awards Kevin Steen first-place Junior trophy. helped retrieve winch lines during the week of Soaring.
The winning F3J models, including variations of the Icon in the
foreground, a Pike Superior, and a Sharon 3.7.
Don Smith pilots his Eraser up the winch during a launch in
Unlimited class; Steve Meyer throws the model.
Father-and-son F3J team of David McCarthy with his NYX and
Jim McCarthy with his Tragi 705X. Both made the flyoffs.
Jim Vanderzyl’s beautiful Challenger was back again this year for
the Nostalgia competition.
RADIO CONTROL
Immediately after the 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, and I said no. “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 I
couldn’t hold back and an “Oh my!”
spurted out.
So 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.
I was biting my lips trying not to laugh.
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.
For the most part, Joe flew a green Icon
Lite fuselage mated to a white F3J Icon
wing that he called “Stiffy.” Occasionally
he flew an all-green Icon Lite in calmer
conditions. Joe designed the Icon, and it is
made by Maple Leaf Designs.
Paul Siegel placed second flying an
Icon Lite, and James McCarthy finished
third flying an Eraser crosstail.
For the third year in a row, Antonio
Quesada was the deserving National
Champion in the Scale event. This year
Antonio modeled the Polish Sroka, which
is a magnificent orange sailplane that is
one of the most impressive, eye-catching
Scale gliders I have seen in years—not
only on the ground, but in tow and soaring
in the sky it looked full-scale. Antonio
spent more than a year researching and
scratch building this model.
In second place was Terry Edmonds
with a gorgeous TG-3. Terry’s model was
also impressive in flight.
Monday, July 21—HLG: I don’t know
why these competitors have all the bad
luck, but the weather did not cooperate for
them again this year. At least the rain
missed them for the most part. It was
overcast, cold, and windy, but there were
thermals moving through, sometimes
rather quickly.
Marc Gellart was back again this year
to CD the HLG contest, and his experience
showed when he started the contest at the
right time after the front moved through
and used the appropriate predetermined
tasks for the weather at hand.
There were six rounds flown, with a
lunch break midway through the
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 one up before you got 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 51⁄2 ounces of ballast in it, and he
won every round except his first. Joe is the
new HLG National Champion, Larry
placed second, and Steve placed third.
Tuesday and Wednesday, July 22, 23—
Two Meter Thermal Duration: Mike
McGowan was CD, and he wanted to
make it a “kinder, gentler” contest this
year. All of the task times both days were
in the seven- to nine-minute range, and for
the first time I can remember in the years I
have been attending the Nats, we were
going to get a throw-out round in a
Thermal Duration event. This was a
Have you seen some of the park flyers on the market? Looks like some sticks
collided with plastic wrap. Just because you want to fly electric doesn’t mean you
have to sacrifice good looks and performance.
Check out these contest winners. From the diminutive BeBe Jordel to the
unique Sky Arrow, each Hacker Models ARF airplane is meticulously developed
from full size aircraft designs that catch the eye, and the heart, like no other.
Assembly time is kept to a minimum with beautifully handcrafted parts
covered with premium covering material by old world European craftsmen.
Planes like the Sky Arrow and Lucky Boy feature a beautiful lightweight fiberglass
fuselage capturing all the graceful lines of its full size counterpart without you
having you to do the work. A complete hardware package and diagrammed
assembly instructions help get you to the back yard fast.
And with Hacker, beauty is more than skin deep. If you think these planes
look great, you should see them fly. Performance not usually thought of for
planes of this size. Hacker sets the bar.
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Item #HCK1201
Wing Span: 35.75 inches
For Speed 600 motors
Henri Mignet ARF
Item #HCK1213
Wing Span: 37 inches
For Speed 280 motors
Sky Arrow ARF
Item #HCK1210
Wing Span: 41.75 inches
For Speed 400 motors
Lucky Boy ARF
Item #HCK1251
Wing Span: 41.75 inches
For Speed 280 motors
Bolkow Jr. ARF
Item #HCK1250
Wing Span: 41.75 inches
For Speed 600 motors
BeBe Jodel ARF
Item #HCK1209
Wing Span: 31.5 inches
For Speed 280 motors
Small Airplanes Don’t Have To Be Ugly
Web Site: www.sigmfg.com Phone: (641)623-5154 RADIO CONTROL
relaxed contest; Mike’s recipe worked.
This was the first event we got to fly on
the new landing zones and tapes, and I
think they improved the system from last
year. If there is anything left to iron out, it
could only be minor. These are
challenging landings to make as a pilot,
but quick and easy to score, so the zones
are cleared quickly.
The weather both days was pleasant;
the thermals were there 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
he came 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 in and scored landing
points in each of those rounds. Joe is the
new National Champion, Oleg Golovidov
placed second with a model of his own
design, and Larry Jolly placed third flying
an Organic.
Thursday and Friday, July 24, 25—
Unlimited Thermal Duration: The good
weather continued, but it was somewhat
cooler than is typical for Muncie this time
of year. Ed Wilson was CD, and he ran an
extremely smooth contest. Although
rumors were floating 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 up to this point. He chose his Icon
Lite to fly these two days. I noticed that he
always carried a pipe or two of ballast in
his cargo shorts, and he frequently
changed the amount he carried in his
model up to the point at which he had to
launch.
The air both days was typical Muncie:
ever changing, sometimes great and
sometimes downright awful. At least when
you fly man-on-man, as we do at the Nats,
all of the pilots are scored in the same air,
good or bad.
Man-on-man flying with pilots of this
caliber means minimizing or making no
mistakes for two days. The flying is solid
and skills are honed at this point in the
season. One little bobble can send you
tumbling down the score sheets that are
prominently displayed on the blue box by
the “white whale” scoring trailer.
Early on Friday I saw Larry Jolly pop
off on launch; that would not normally
happen to him. He instantly flew
downwind rapidly toward the new Control
Line tarmac, and guess what was waiting
for him? He thermaled out from low
altitude and made one of the best contest
saves of the week that I witnessed.
Although the scores in the top 10 were
tight, by the last round in the contest Larry
was keeping the pressure on. As contest
luck would have it, Larry and Joe Wurts
were lined up in the matrix to fly in the
last round of the contest against each
other. After what seemed like it was going
to be a nonevent when all of the pilots
easily found air and achieved the task
times, Joe missed his first landing in four
days! And Larry missed his too.
Joe is the new Unlimited-class National
Champion. He swept every event he
entered at the Nats with some impressive
flying. Larry placed second flying a Hera
crosstail, and Dan Williams placed third
flying an 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. Back this year was
Nostalgia CD Jack Iafret, 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.
Steve Siebenaler, with Rob Glover’s
help, launched Steve’s Windfree in what
seemed was going to be a disaster, but they
didn’t press the winch pedal. The model
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barely spooled out line as it 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,
we hoped on a landing tape.
Tom Scully popped off with his
Challenger, hooking it up from low level in
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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 of the contest on
Saturday. It’s moments such as these that
make coming to the Nats so special.
In Nostalgia, James Vanderzyl placed
first flying his Challenger, Ryan
Woebkenberg finished second, and Tom
Scully placed third, also flying a
Challenger.
Troy Lawicki is the new RES National
Champion, Mike Fritz placed second, and
Don Richmond placed third.
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 allvolunteer
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.
Marna Jeffery makes the impound run
like clockwork, which dictates the flow of a
contest, and Larry Jeffery keeps all of the
winches and launch equipment running all
week, which is not an easy task. Sheldon
Smith works the winch turnarounds and
organizes the kids who retrieve lines, and
he makes sure everyone has fun.
Thanks to Event Director Jack Strother
and his wife Karen, who I know put
countless hours into the small details that
needed to be completed on schedule with
an event of this magnitude.
To all of the people who give time to
pull this week of premiere contesting off,
thank you. The work you do makes this
event so special to so many people each
year, whether they had the opportunity to
attend or not. MA
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