2008 Control Line World Championships
The 2008 Control Line World Championships in Landres, France, featured top teams competing in Speed, Aerobatics, Team Race, and Combat categories. The event highlighted impressive performances, with Spain's Luis Parramon winning F2A Speed, the US team excelling in F2B Aerobatics, and Moldova's Stanislav Culacichin claiming the F2D Combat title. Despite some organizational challenges, the championships were well-received, showcasing skill and sportsmanship among competitors from around the globe.
CL Combat
WHAT might have been a low-key Nats in a sleepy part of Washington State turned out to be one of the most fun and exciting Nationals in memory. It was quite a drive for Jim Gall coming all the way from New Jersey, as it was for John Kupinski who drove solo from Michigan. Many others took the easy way out and let a jet do the hard work. The Combat flying site was probably the best we've had in the past decade with beautiful grass, good parking, and stores and restaurants just a few blocks away. The weather started off rather cool and drizzly during the air show on Sunday. It was hot on Tuesday and hotter on Wednesday, followed by lots of wind Thursday-and nice weather for Fast Combat on Friday and Saturday.
Control Line: Combat
TOP 20: The Miniature Aircraft Combat Association (MACA) announced its official Top 20 for 1988. My last column had a sneak preview of the top few places, but now it's official, and we have the entire list. The number following the flier's name (and state) is his season point total: 1) Michael Willcox (TX)-152, 2) Paul Smith (MI)-135, 3) Richard Stubblefield (TX)-127, 4) John Stubblefield (TX)-113, 5) Don Cranfill (TX)-96, 6) Ed Brzys (MI)-90, 7) Mike Thiessen (Canada)-80, 8) R. Zeidenthius (OK)-79, 9) Alan Deveuve (TX)-74, 10) Steve Kott (MI)-59, 11) Tom Fluker (TX)-56, 12) Mike Palermo (IL)-56, 13) Dave Stewart (AZ)-56, 14) Jerry Sabin (IL)-52, 15) D. Morris (IA)-50, 16) Pete Plunkett (MN)-49, 17) Bob Nick (NC)-48, 18) Luis Lopez (DE)-47, 19) W. Underwood (MD)-47, 20) Jeff Johnson (KS)-42.
Control Line: Combat
COMBAT's third annual Money Nats was held in Los Angeles, CA during April. Mark Smith ended up the big winner, pocketing $1,000 in cash for his nine-win and two-loss record. Once again, as he'd done in winning the last AMA Lincoln Nationals, he flew some solid matches, losing one to Norm McFadden (who was third) and the other to Dos Porter. Mike Petri took home the Carver stereo for his second-place effort. Norm received a K&B 5.8 along with the plaques that all winners were awarded for his third-place finish.
Control Line: Combat
TUCSON's Top Gun Combat Tournament turned out very well with 26 entrants and nice, sunny weather. John Stubblefield walked off with top honors and the $1,000 prize money. Alan Deveuve took second, followed by Eric Tomchik in third and Mark Smith in fourth. The top four all live in Texas, and amazingly Eric, Mark, and Alan are on the same team. As you may recall my mentioning in my March column, the Combat Classic was rained out in Houston. Well, the Arizona meet was within four days of being snowed out. The following Thursday found the flying site covered with a nice layer of snow. It probably would have been an advantage for Kott and Burch, who are used to cold conditions.
