A Retrospective

HERE ARE MANY CLASSY Electric meets around the country, but only one National Championship. The 1993 Nats was a gas-a bunch of guys missed out by not attending. Flood waters and July temperatures contributed to some terrifically hot days at the Electric sites. Contest Director Frank Korman-taskmaster that he is-kept fliers going. Half the fliers gave him a hard time and the other half made his life miserable. Fortunately, he had a super crew in Mike Ettel and his dad Cal. The site of the Nats-Vincennes, Indiana's Lincoln High School-is in the "heart of the heart of the country," and as such seems to induce a nostalgia for older, simpler times when the pace of life was slower and people took more time to be together. Evidence of this abounded at the Electric soaring events.

Weight Reduction for Duration Models

Electric duration models thrive on lightness. I go to great lengths so that my models will be lighter. I was a duration runner, and now I'm a duration flier. I've been competing since 1947. There followed a forty-one-year career as a long-distance runner. Many of those years were at the national/international level. Weight reduction was important during my running years. Commercial track shoes came with four or six spikes. I had my shoes made with three spikes each; they were lighter. I replaced the laces with ones of smaller diameter, and made them just long enough to tie. I removed anything that was stitched onto the shoe, such as logos, stripes, etc. Mine were lighter. Running singlets and shorts were always the briefest possible, made from the lightest materials.

Radio Control: Electrics

AT THE HEIGHT of the Vietnam war protest, posters appeared containing the question "What if they held a war and nobody came?" No one expected that this would ever happen, but at least the idea raised the possibility. "What if they held Electric events at the Nats and nobody came?" Unlike the war-protest question, this one may actually become reality, if the turnout at the 1994 Nats is an indicator.