Control Line: Combat
THIS year Neal Rose got the honor of compiling the results of all WAM and AMA sanctioned contests into the Miniature Aircraft Combat Association (MACA) Top Twenty. This is no easy task, paging through the results of hundreds of contests that featured Combat events in order to pick not only the Top Twenty, but also the Top Ten in Fast Combat, FAI Combat, and Slow Combat. The Top 20 Combat Fliers in the U.S.A. 1. Dick Stubblefield, 11. Dick Imhoff 2. George Cleveland, 12. Steve Sacco 3. Tom Fluker, 13. Mack Henry 4. Marvin Denny, 14. Paul Curtis 5. Jordan Segal, 15. Phil Cartier 6. Bob Burch, 16. Greg Strombeck 7. Paul Smith, 17. Gary Frost 8. Bud Bodzioch, 18. Joe Ambrose 9. Lloyd Seymour, 19. Ed Brzys 10. Gary Fentress, 20. John Frank
CL Combat
THIS is the first time I've ever come back from a contest and had a week or two to think about what happened before writing up the report. Sometimes, you look back on things a bit differently after having a few good nights' rest at home. The Nationals is a real ordeal. The time there is just too precious to waste by sleeping or going out to the local theater to take in a movie. From the time I arrived on Sunday until the following Sunday, when Paul Curtis dropped me off at the airport, I did nothing but talk about airplanes, fly a little, and watch a lot. The preceding mix of activities is common to all the modelers at the Nationals, but in different proportions. There are a very few minor complaints about this year's Nats, and they are overshadowed by all the good points.
Control Line: Combat
THE NEW super adhesives have really made an impact in Combat-both in construction techniques and in posing new problems in rules interpretations. So what difference could these quick-set adhesives make in an event where cuts and airtime reign (and balsa rains)? I draw your attention to section 33.9.3, 33.9.3.1 and 33.9.3.2 of the 1980-81 AMA rule book. What this explaines is the procedure to follow if there is a mid-air, and one or both of the planes are damaged. An unflyable aircraft is described in 33.12.d. as. . ."one that does not have a strong and workable control mechanism and/or does not have a secure engine attachment. . .A half wing shall be allowed if the above conditions are met." Examples of minor repairs are given, such as pinning the stab to the fuselage. With the
Control Line: Combat
BIG MONEY winner for 1980 turned out to be Howard Rush with his win at the Bladder Grabber in Washington. Howard rounded up about $2,000 in prizes in the 5th Annual Fast Combat Meet. Previous big bucks winners were Dan Rutherford in 1976, Howard Rush in 1977, Rich Brasher in 1978 and Mike Petri in 1979. The Carver Corporation stereo system that Howard won is reported to be so powerful that it drowned out the sound of his 28,000 rpm Fox. And now a word about another "different" contest, the Buckeye Regionals held in, you guessed it, Buckeye, AZ. Since there is only desert sand and asphalt at the flying site, the contest management rounded up rolls of old carpet and will carpet the entire flying circle!
Control Line: Combat
THE SOUTHWEST REGIONALS in Buckeye, AZ have been going on for over three decades, but for about the last three or four years there has been no Combat. The main reason has been the choice of flying surface: sand or asphalt. The last meet before this one featured Combat over asphalt, with the expected results. People were spooked by the hard stuff, and when they didn't hit the other plane in the air, they punched into the ground for some instant rekitting. The Phoenix area club decided that carpet over sand would be a suitable remedy, so they set about rounding up several trailers' worth of used carpet.
