The Wonderful World of West FAC-2012/04

The lineup of happy contestants taking part in the Grumman
Combat Mass Launch. Photo by Chris Starleaf.
The winning Peanut Scale model, Mike Isermann’s Boeing 306B, is nearly upstaged by its
trophy. Pennsylvania FACer Keith Sterner donated the beautiful handmade Walt Mooney
trophy to WestFAC. Isermann photo.
Duke Horn (L) of Dallas, and Jerry Murphy of
Manitou Springs CO share a moment during the
official flying. The pair grew up together and have
been modeling buddies for 50 years.
Chris Starleaf lofts his huge rubber-powered B-24
for a 54-second flight in Giant Scale. It was good
enough for the win.
In this modern age of faster, bigger, and
louder, the Flying Aces Club (FAC) is,
well, out of place. FAC is a refuge for
devotees of classic stick-and-tissue FF—a
throwback club where the provincial charm
of the golden age of simple model aviation—
and aviation in general—is forever alive.
FAC competitors know how to fly. These
modern models may look like hangar queens,
but looks are deceiving. Modern power
systems and flight-trimming techniques have
launched a new era in FF Scale excellence in
the last couple of decades, and FAC is at the
forefront.
Photos by the author except as noted
To win at the Western FAC
Championships (WestFAC) requires
flights in excess of 100 seconds in
all but a few events. The expanse
of the WestFAC III flying site—the
27,000-acre Former Lowry Bombing
and Gunnery Range east of Denver—
provides welcome elbow room.
Wednesday, June 22
Wednesday kicked off the WestFAC
weekend in grand style with static
judging in the lovely Hampton Inn
ballroom in Parker, Colorado. Judging
day is part reunion and part celebration
of achievements during the building
season. Think newborn babies being
shown off to proud family members.
A number of new “babies” were
unveiled for the first time on this day,
including Chris Starleaf’s immaculate
Breda 88 rubber twin and Mike
Isermann’s flawless Grumman Martlet
among others. Judging day whetted
appetites for the ensuing three days of
official flying.
Ed DeLoach (L) receives his sponsor poster
at the awards banquet from WestFAC
founder Roger Willis.
Chris Starleaf launches his magnificent Breda 88
on its winning flight in FAC Rubber Scale.
Thursday, June 23
Thursday dawned cool and mostly
clear, with a southwest breeze blowing
5 to 8 mph. As is normal for the Denver
area in summertime, this morning breeze
steadily decreased until roughly 10 a.m.,
at which time ideal breezes—0 to 3
mph—arrived under sunny skies and over
green grass. Thursday’s regular noontime
“lull” started slightly early and lasted well
into the afternoon, making for heavenly FF
conditions.
A highlight of Thursday’s flying was the
Low Wing Trainer Mass Launch under
bright blue skies and nearly calm winds.
AMA and FF Hall of Famer, Herb Kothe,
won it over a stacked field, flying a veteran
Miles Magister from Earl Stahl plans.
I was eliminated early in Low Wing
Trainer with a bent propeller shaft, but
this presented an opportunity. I quickly
wound my Vought F4U Corsair for an
official flight in FAC Rubber Scale and
launched into a stunning calm-air thermal.
The gently rising air carried the bentwing
model to more than a 300-foot
altitude and 3-plus-minutes duration. It
glided in softly less than 200 yards from
the launch point. I love this hobby!
This great flight was quickly upstaged
by Chris Starleaf’s gorgeous Breda 88
twin. On its maiden flight, Chris coaxed
the big 88 to a nearly 3-minute flight in
soft lift to the southeast.
The lightweight model seemed to
hover at a low forward speed—a product
of its extremely light wing loading. This
max flight, plus the 30 bonus points (25
for a twin and 5 for a midwing aircraft),
combined with a nearly perfect static
score of 61.5 out of a possible 62.5, put
Chris in first place in FAC Scale by a wide
margin. His winning total of 174.0 points
is the highest final score I’ve seen in FAC
Rubber Scale in more than 25 years.
Friday, June 24
The next day’s weather was nearly
a carbon copy of Thursday’s. By the
first scheduled mass launch at 10 a.m.,
early morning winds had lightened to
approximately 3 mph and competitors
busily put up official flights.
One of FAC’s premier events, the
Greve Race, is a mass launch for the sleek
inline racing airplanes of the 1920s and
’30s. Timeless prewar aircraft such as the
Chambermaid, Goon, Brown B-2, and Mr.
Smoothie are iconic in this event, staging
Mike Isermann releases his amazing Peanut
Scale-winning Boeing 306B flying wing.
Orv Olm (L) from Saskatoon, Canada, was
an event sponsor as well as a competitor.
WestFAC founder, Roger Willis, presents him
with a sponsor poster.
miniature rematches of the races of
yesteryear.
The weather was ideal for the three
rounds of flying in this event and John
Donelson’s excellent Goon emerged the
winner in the final heat.
Flying Aces is not just about Scale
modeling. The most popular nonscale
event is Old-Time Rubber Cabin. This
category is for wheeled designs with
windshields that were published before
1946. Scaling is allowed and wingspans
may not exceed 36 inches.
Against a crowded field that included
some of the best Cabin modelers in
the country, Mike Isermann posted a
maxout and three flyoff flights to win,
flying a new Korda Victory finished
resplendently in blue and checkerboard
tissue.
World War I Combat is another masslaunch
event that garners much interest
from fliers and spectators. There’s just
something about biplanes! The threeheat
event kicked off as scheduled
despite a stiff breeze intermixed with
calm spots between thermals.
Two of the favorites were eliminated
early and the second heat was flown in
a nice thermal. The top three (including
me) wound for the final heat with high
hopes, but the launch signal came during
a period of turbulent, sinking air!
Keith Sterner’s Albatros hit hard in
less than 10 seconds. Meanwhile Mike
Midkiff’s S.E.5 climbed out well, while
my Martinsyde F.4 dipped low and failed
to climb, holding for a while at roughly
20 feet.
It was looking like another win for
“Iron” Mike, an FAC Hall of Famer and
one of my modeling heroes, but the
Martinsyde still had some fight in it.
Struggling below 15 feet and then down
to only 10, the Martinsyde then began
climbing just as Mike’s S.E.5 began its
descent.
My model momentarily hit some
good air after struggling for so long
in the muck, and although I probably
didn’t deserve it, I won the event by a
slim margin with plenty of turns still
left in the motor. A round of applause
from spectators and timers back in the
trenches topped off this memorable
experience.
Saturday, June 25
Saturday featured an unusual
beginning for the Denver site: cloudy
skies and calm winds. This caught
a number of competitors off guard
because they had grown accustomed to
sleeping in a little and arriving in time
for the expected late-morning lull. Not
so on this day.
Early risers were rewarded with
stunning conditions for the first three
hours of the day. One of the first to
become officially airborne was Herb
Kothe with his beautiful Taylorcraft for
Golden Age Scale. He finished in second
place because of a bad third flight;
otherwise he would have easily won.
The showcase event for WestFAC was
the Grumman Military Mass Launch,
which drew a large cadre of enthusiastic
fliers. John Donelson’s outstanding
Guardian, Thursday’s breakaway winner
of Modern Military Scale, would have
been a big favorite in this event had he
not left it in the hotel room by mistake!
Five Hellcats, two Avengers, and two
Wildcats showed up to fly, and the
weather was nearly perfect for the
These contestants, moments before the Grumman Combat Mass Launch, include (L-R) Bob Hodes, Phil Thomas, John Hutchison, Tom Arnold,
Don DeLoach, Mike Isermann, Mike Midkiff, Pat Murray, and Orv Olm. Chris Starleaf photo.
three mass-launch rounds.
World War II Combat is FAC’s
premier mass-launch event, usually
drawing the most fliers and stiffest
competition. At WestFAC III, this was
absolutely the case, with several of FAC’s
top aces in the fray.
Held in the afternoon in 5 mph
breezes, the wind was not ideal but pilots
still flew well. Experienced fliers Tom
Arnold, Duke Horn, and Mike Isermann
flew splendidly in the first round (with
flights of 73, 64, and 125 seconds
respectively), only to be eliminated with
sudden crashes in round two. It must
have been the turbulence.
The final round was a showdown
between Chris Starleaf’s Fairey
Barracuda (a past FAC Nationals winner)
and Herb Kothe’s outstanding Yak-3.
They ended in first and third; my F4U
Corsair sneaked into second place a scant
2 seconds ahead of Kothe.
Wrap-up
Saturday night’s awards banquet was
Keith Sterner from Pennsylvania flew to Denver
with this immaculate Focke-Wulf flying wing.
well attended by the fliers and their
wives, and was enjoyed by all. Two of
FAC’s greatest luminaries attended and
gave short speeches about their Hall of
Fame careers in Scale FF.
Fernando Ramos is an FAC Hall of
Fame member who has attended every
FAC Nationals since the first one in
1978. He wrote the FF Scale columns
for Model Builder and MA for many
years. Fernando is a top competitor
and craftsman who brought the FAC
tradition west to California
more than 35 years ago.
Mike Midkiff was involved in FAC
from the beginning as a 20-something
kid in 1960s Erie, Pennsylvania. He
carried the FAC movement south and
west to Texas in the 1970s, where it
still flourishes. The WestFAC Grand
Champion trophy is named the Midkiff
Cup in appreciation of Mike’s decades of
devotion to the hobby.
Roger Willis, chairman of the
WestFAC Committee and a District IX
AMA associate vice president, is the
Iron Kreuz Model Plans
(Mike Isermann)
Ed DeLoach
Fernando Ramos
Alamo Escadrille FAC
Ross Mayo, CinC FAC
Rich Adams
Gizmo Geezer Products
Black Sheep Squadron
Scale Staffel FAC
Vegas Vultures Squadron FAC
Lone Star Squadron FAC
Rio Grande Squadron FAC
WestFA C III Results
www.westernfac.com
visionary who founded WestFAC in
2006. Roger addressed the crowd. “I had
been to the FAC Nationals in New York,
which was a lot of effort to get to from
my home in California.” He added “I saw
the strength of FAC clubs in the West
and thought we should hold our own
major FAC meet out here on a two-year
rotation similar to the Nationals.”
Roger continued, “My squadron hosted
the first WestFAC in Perris, California,
in 2007. Then WestFAC II went off in
Gainesville, Texas, in 2009. WestFAC
III in Denver this year completed the
circuit. We plan to rotate among three
sites again over the next six years.”
As a proud and loyal attendee of all
three WestFACs, here’s hoping there are
many more to come.
—Don DeLoach
[email protected]
Sources :
WestFAC
www.westernfac.com

The lineup of happy contestants taking part in the Grumman
Combat Mass Launch. Photo by Chris Starleaf.
The winning Peanut Scale model, Mike Isermann’s Boeing 306B, is nearly upstaged by its
trophy. Pennsylvania FACer Keith Sterner donated the beautiful handmade Walt Mooney
trophy to WestFAC. Isermann photo.
Duke Horn (L) of Dallas, and Jerry Murphy of
Manitou Springs CO share a moment during the
official flying. The pair grew up together and have
been modeling buddies for 50 years.
Chris Starleaf lofts his huge rubber-powered B-24
for a 54-second flight in Giant Scale. It was good
enough for the win.
In this modern age of faster, bigger, and
louder, the Flying Aces Club (FAC) is,
well, out of place. FAC is a refuge for
devotees of classic stick-and-tissue FF—a
throwback club where the provincial charm
of the golden age of simple model aviation—
and aviation in general—is forever alive.
FAC competitors know how to fly. These
modern models may look like hangar queens,
but looks are deceiving. Modern power
systems and flight-trimming techniques have
launched a new era in FF Scale excellence in
the last couple of decades, and FAC is at the
forefront.
Photos by the author except as noted
To win at the Western FAC
Championships (WestFAC) requires
flights in excess of 100 seconds in
all but a few events. The expanse
of the WestFAC III flying site—the
27,000-acre Former Lowry Bombing
and Gunnery Range east of Denver—
provides welcome elbow room.
Wednesday, June 22
Wednesday kicked off the WestFAC
weekend in grand style with static
judging in the lovely Hampton Inn
ballroom in Parker, Colorado. Judging
day is part reunion and part celebration
of achievements during the building
season. Think newborn babies being
shown off to proud family members.
A number of new “babies” were
unveiled for the first time on this day,
including Chris Starleaf’s immaculate
Breda 88 rubber twin and Mike
Isermann’s flawless Grumman Martlet
among others. Judging day whetted
appetites for the ensuing three days of
official flying.
Ed DeLoach (L) receives his sponsor poster
at the awards banquet from WestFAC
founder Roger Willis.
Chris Starleaf launches his magnificent Breda 88
on its winning flight in FAC Rubber Scale.
Thursday, June 23
Thursday dawned cool and mostly
clear, with a southwest breeze blowing
5 to 8 mph. As is normal for the Denver
area in summertime, this morning breeze
steadily decreased until roughly 10 a.m.,
at which time ideal breezes—0 to 3
mph—arrived under sunny skies and over
green grass. Thursday’s regular noontime
“lull” started slightly early and lasted well
into the afternoon, making for heavenly FF
conditions.
A highlight of Thursday’s flying was the
Low Wing Trainer Mass Launch under
bright blue skies and nearly calm winds.
AMA and FF Hall of Famer, Herb Kothe,
won it over a stacked field, flying a veteran
Miles Magister from Earl Stahl plans.
I was eliminated early in Low Wing
Trainer with a bent propeller shaft, but
this presented an opportunity. I quickly
wound my Vought F4U Corsair for an
official flight in FAC Rubber Scale and
launched into a stunning calm-air thermal.
The gently rising air carried the bentwing
model to more than a 300-foot
altitude and 3-plus-minutes duration. It
glided in softly less than 200 yards from
the launch point. I love this hobby!
This great flight was quickly upstaged
by Chris Starleaf’s gorgeous Breda 88
twin. On its maiden flight, Chris coaxed
the big 88 to a nearly 3-minute flight in
soft lift to the southeast.
The lightweight model seemed to
hover at a low forward speed—a product
of its extremely light wing loading. This
max flight, plus the 30 bonus points (25
for a twin and 5 for a midwing aircraft),
combined with a nearly perfect static
score of 61.5 out of a possible 62.5, put
Chris in first place in FAC Scale by a wide
margin. His winning total of 174.0 points
is the highest final score I’ve seen in FAC
Rubber Scale in more than 25 years.
Friday, June 24
The next day’s weather was nearly
a carbon copy of Thursday’s. By the
first scheduled mass launch at 10 a.m.,
early morning winds had lightened to
approximately 3 mph and competitors
busily put up official flights.
One of FAC’s premier events, the
Greve Race, is a mass launch for the sleek
inline racing airplanes of the 1920s and
’30s. Timeless prewar aircraft such as the
Chambermaid, Goon, Brown B-2, and Mr.
Smoothie are iconic in this event, staging
Mike Isermann releases his amazing Peanut
Scale-winning Boeing 306B flying wing.
Orv Olm (L) from Saskatoon, Canada, was
an event sponsor as well as a competitor.
WestFAC founder, Roger Willis, presents him
with a sponsor poster.
miniature rematches of the races of
yesteryear.
The weather was ideal for the three
rounds of flying in this event and John
Donelson’s excellent Goon emerged the
winner in the final heat.
Flying Aces is not just about Scale
modeling. The most popular nonscale
event is Old-Time Rubber Cabin. This
category is for wheeled designs with
windshields that were published before
1946. Scaling is allowed and wingspans
may not exceed 36 inches.
Against a crowded field that included
some of the best Cabin modelers in
the country, Mike Isermann posted a
maxout and three flyoff flights to win,
flying a new Korda Victory finished
resplendently in blue and checkerboard
tissue.
World War I Combat is another masslaunch
event that garners much interest
from fliers and spectators. There’s just
something about biplanes! The threeheat
event kicked off as scheduled
despite a stiff breeze intermixed with
calm spots between thermals.
Two of the favorites were eliminated
early and the second heat was flown in
a nice thermal. The top three (including
me) wound for the final heat with high
hopes, but the launch signal came during
a period of turbulent, sinking air!
Keith Sterner’s Albatros hit hard in
less than 10 seconds. Meanwhile Mike
Midkiff’s S.E.5 climbed out well, while
my Martinsyde F.4 dipped low and failed
to climb, holding for a while at roughly
20 feet.
It was looking like another win for
“Iron” Mike, an FAC Hall of Famer and
one of my modeling heroes, but the
Martinsyde still had some fight in it.
Struggling below 15 feet and then down
to only 10, the Martinsyde then began
climbing just as Mike’s S.E.5 began its
descent.
My model momentarily hit some
good air after struggling for so long
in the muck, and although I probably
didn’t deserve it, I won the event by a
slim margin with plenty of turns still
left in the motor. A round of applause
from spectators and timers back in the
trenches topped off this memorable
experience.
Saturday, June 25
Saturday featured an unusual
beginning for the Denver site: cloudy
skies and calm winds. This caught
a number of competitors off guard
because they had grown accustomed to
sleeping in a little and arriving in time
for the expected late-morning lull. Not
so on this day.
Early risers were rewarded with
stunning conditions for the first three
hours of the day. One of the first to
become officially airborne was Herb
Kothe with his beautiful Taylorcraft for
Golden Age Scale. He finished in second
place because of a bad third flight;
otherwise he would have easily won.
The showcase event for WestFAC was
the Grumman Military Mass Launch,
which drew a large cadre of enthusiastic
fliers. John Donelson’s outstanding
Guardian, Thursday’s breakaway winner
of Modern Military Scale, would have
been a big favorite in this event had he
not left it in the hotel room by mistake!
Five Hellcats, two Avengers, and two
Wildcats showed up to fly, and the
weather was nearly perfect for the
These contestants, moments before the Grumman Combat Mass Launch, include (L-R) Bob Hodes, Phil Thomas, John Hutchison, Tom Arnold,
Don DeLoach, Mike Isermann, Mike Midkiff, Pat Murray, and Orv Olm. Chris Starleaf photo.
three mass-launch rounds.
World War II Combat is FAC’s
premier mass-launch event, usually
drawing the most fliers and stiffest
competition. At WestFAC III, this was
absolutely the case, with several of FAC’s
top aces in the fray.
Held in the afternoon in 5 mph
breezes, the wind was not ideal but pilots
still flew well. Experienced fliers Tom
Arnold, Duke Horn, and Mike Isermann
flew splendidly in the first round (with
flights of 73, 64, and 125 seconds
respectively), only to be eliminated with
sudden crashes in round two. It must
have been the turbulence.
The final round was a showdown
between Chris Starleaf’s Fairey
Barracuda (a past FAC Nationals winner)
and Herb Kothe’s outstanding Yak-3.
They ended in first and third; my F4U
Corsair sneaked into second place a scant
2 seconds ahead of Kothe.
Wrap-up
Saturday night’s awards banquet was
Keith Sterner from Pennsylvania flew to Denver
with this immaculate Focke-Wulf flying wing.
well attended by the fliers and their
wives, and was enjoyed by all. Two of
FAC’s greatest luminaries attended and
gave short speeches about their Hall of
Fame careers in Scale FF.
Fernando Ramos is an FAC Hall of
Fame member who has attended every
FAC Nationals since the first one in
1978. He wrote the FF Scale columns
for Model Builder and MA for many
years. Fernando is a top competitor
and craftsman who brought the FAC
tradition west to California
more than 35 years ago.
Mike Midkiff was involved in FAC
from the beginning as a 20-something
kid in 1960s Erie, Pennsylvania. He
carried the FAC movement south and
west to Texas in the 1970s, where it
still flourishes. The WestFAC Grand
Champion trophy is named the Midkiff
Cup in appreciation of Mike’s decades of
devotion to the hobby.
Roger Willis, chairman of the
WestFAC Committee and a District IX
AMA associate vice president, is the
Iron Kreuz Model Plans
(Mike Isermann)
Ed DeLoach
Fernando Ramos
Alamo Escadrille FAC
Ross Mayo, CinC FAC
Rich Adams
Gizmo Geezer Products
Black Sheep Squadron
Scale Staffel FAC
Vegas Vultures Squadron FAC
Lone Star Squadron FAC
Rio Grande Squadron FAC
WestFA C III Results
www.westernfac.com
visionary who founded WestFAC in
2006. Roger addressed the crowd. “I had
been to the FAC Nationals in New York,
which was a lot of effort to get to from
my home in California.” He added “I saw
the strength of FAC clubs in the West
and thought we should hold our own
major FAC meet out here on a two-year
rotation similar to the Nationals.”
Roger continued, “My squadron hosted
the first WestFAC in Perris, California,
in 2007. Then WestFAC II went off in
Gainesville, Texas, in 2009. WestFAC
III in Denver this year completed the
circuit. We plan to rotate among three
sites again over the next six years.”
As a proud and loyal attendee of all
three WestFACs, here’s hoping there are
many more to come.
—Don DeLoach
[email protected]
Sources :
WestFAC
www.westernfac.com