July 8, 2007 Inside today s issue CL Stunt begins Outdoor Events July 9 RC Helicopter and Control Line events begin Sunday Hi 93 F Lo 67 F Clear Monday Hi 93 F Lo 68 F Partly Cloudy Weather Tuesday Hi 90 F Lo 72 F T-storms Wednesday Hi 84 F Lo 69 F T-Storms Weather courtesy of WTHR s Skytrack Weather at www.wthr.com. Cammack Station or Pete s Place in Cammack is a nice spot to eat and enjoy the atmosphere. Academy of Model Aeronautics International Aeromodeling Center, Muncie IN Web site: www.modelaircraft.org E-mail: nats@modelaircraft.org Copyright Academy of Model Aeronautics 2007 Three times a year, I get to see the largest number of my best friends. The AMA Control Line Precision Aerobatics competition in Muncie, Indiana, is one of those times. The drive is always quick, and this year s journey was no exception. Only a wreck on one portion of the interstate caused any delay in my goal of a week of work and fellowship in the middle of Indiana. Goal-oriented CLPA fliers converge in Muncie and prepare to do battle with their shiny and well-tested stunters. After registering the first order of business is to be present at the appearance points location. Pilots are assessed a 0-20 point score for their model s finish. Although only a small portion of the final score, all points are needed to win their respective categories or skill class at this year s Nats. This session is for Advanced and Open pilots only. The One-Eighty building is the RC Scale Aerobatics The AMA is allowing Digital Spread Spectrum radio systems to fly at all Nats events. All radios, even DSS radios, have to be logged into the impound. CL Stunt Set to Begin 1 center for the pretty-points. Allen Goff and his church donate the use of their recreation building for this purpose. Thanks to Allen and his congregation for their time and effort in this endeavor. The modelers must assemble by 1 p.m. for the judging. The One-Eighty building is a wonderful place to see all the models in one location. Constant hangar talk is heard as the pilots await the final tabulation from the judges. Thomas Case Sr. is again sponsoring a gazillion of Brazilians as Pat Johnston stated in the Lee s Inn hotel parking lot. Mr. Thomas is an American living in Brazil, loves CL Stunt, and loves to help modelers from all over Brazil. He sponsored about 30 pilots last year and they all brought the same style P-51 designed by Bene Rodrigues of Brazil. The Brazilian Air Force used P-47s in World War II and Mr. Case s Brazilian contingent will use the venerable fighter in this year s competition. Reminiscing... If you looking for a lunch snack or a light evening meal, the city of Cammack has reopened Pete s Place to a revitalized 1950s gas station look. There is plenty of great food at Cammack Station. The restaurant is reminiscent of the gas stations of old with refurbished gas pumps, air dispensers, and plenty of restored signs. Seating inside and out is available. Take McGalliard west toward I- 69 and look for County Road 600W. Take 600 left or south, cross the railroad tracks, and turn left or east at the first road on the left. Cammack Station or Pete s Place is a nice spot to gather with the gang and take in a light meal.
Because of other flying events held this week, safety concerns dictated that the L pad area and all paved circles be closed for the overflight needs of the large Scale Aerobatic models. Starting on Sunday afternoon, all equipment should be moved into place, the RC Aerobatic competition will be completed, and all grass and hard surface circles should be covered with beautiful CL Stunt models. If you missed the appearance points judging, come by the circles on Sunday evening and watch with amazement, the patterns flown over a variety of ground surfaces and with all maneuvers attuned to a five-foot bottom. Monday will open the competition with the Open Beginners, Junior/Senior Beginners, and Intermediate pilots vying for their own John Hill (L) of Houston, Texas, and Frank McMillan of San Antonio were two of the championships. The specified events are first pilots to hit town. John brought his wife Stella and the three expect more unofficial, but the heat of battle has the same southerners to arrive soon. adrenalin rush as the Advanced and Open Stunt pilots. The Beginner and Intermediate events will take place on the northern edge of the 660 x 600-foot grass square starting at 8 a.m. Monday. Mechanic s badges and a $10 registration fee will allow you to participate in either event. The patterns are different; the Intermediate pilots fly the same set of maneuvers as the Advanced and Open pilots. Muncie has a parked established since 1947 for the goal of CL flying. If you are looking for another place to practice, take Memorial directly west out of the AMA site and within 4.9 miles you will get to a T in the road: the Tillotson Bypass. Turn north (right). You will come to a stop light where you turn left on Tillotson and within a tenth of a mile the next stop light is White River Blvd. Turn right or east and you will immediately see the two asphalt donuts and the grass area used for Combat. Check out the wind conditions before practicing, but this might allow you one more place to fly. Allen Brickhaus John Hill burps his Caudron model and readies it for a first flight. His Stunter is around 670 square inches and weighs a svelte 57 ounces. Power is a PA-65 and pipe. Frank McMillan takes the time to prep his own Caudron for its first flight. West Side Park on White River Blvd. is a fine location to test props, tank locations, and Patterns when the air is right. 2
RC Scale Aerobatics Semifinals Down Time s fun while you re flying (aka time flies when you re having fun ). It s hard to believe that just three days ago it was the 4 th of July and IMAC members from around the country had just arrived in Muncie to put on the best Scale Aerobatics Nats anyone has ever seen. Over at the grass field, 32 pilots were able to fly four rounds two out of the three days, and the 34 pilots on the paved runway fit in three rounds daily. Those line bosses must be cracking the whip hard! Now that the shouting match is over it s time to get to some serious flying done on the final day of competition. The top 50% of each class will move into the finals. They will carry with them one Known round score from the preliminaries and fly one Known and one Unknown round starting at 7 a.m. Sunday. The winners total score was based on 75% of their Knowns and 25% of their Unknown rounds. The judging will be stepped up with four judging seats at the Unlimited line and three judges for the other classes. In an effort to offer the most dynamic scoring evaluation possible, Don Hamilton said that he d do his best to make sure that the judges hadn t seeing those pilots fly before at this competition. The banquet Saturday night was held at the Horizon Center the best place in town to cater a formal party. That just goes to show how concerned the IMAC Nats team is about making a good impression and rewarding the participants. These are memories that will last a lifetime; a nice dinner and fun night out is icing on the cake! The nail-biting pilots at the banquet had to wait until after dinner to receive the semifinal results. As a reward for their participation, the pilot one away from the cut point was asked to be the Unknown demo pilot for his class. That s a nice courtesy. The Freestyle event will conclude the IMAC Nats. At the start of the event 15 pilots were registered, but I ve heard that there have been some dropouts. What the heck is that? Freestyle is fun and flying to music is the best. Heck, when I hear a good song on the radio I imagine flying to it. Flying on my own I ll open up all the doors on my 4Runner and crank up the tunes while I fly. I m my own air show! If the compulsory part of the contest is everything that s serious about Scale Aerobatic flying, then the Freestyle event is everything that s fun about it and why pilots choose to fly these airplanes. I won t argue: flying Precision is fun, too, but it s not as crowd pleasing. IMAC airplanes are versatile! Not only can they snap to attention, they can also flip and summersault like nothing else. I m looking forward to it! Michael Ramsey Thank you to the judges who gave up their vacation and free time to make the 2007 IMAC Nationals the best possible. Don Hamilton Don Hamilton is the Co-Event Director of the 2007 IMAC Nationals. He was recruited by Phil Vance for his determination and attitude about judging and its serious reflection of how it makes IMAC an extraordinary Special Interest Group. Because the Nats is an event that reflects the six regions of IMAC competition, it was paramount to Don that he recruit a broad spectrum of qualified judges from around the nation. The judging system is designed so that no matter what region of the country a pilot chooses to fly, whether that person is at home or six states away, that pilot will be judged under the same criteria. Just as the Nats is a rewarding experience to the pilots, it s also a valuable experience to the judges. They bring home just as many important lessons as the pilots do. Don s plan was able to show and test how well the Judging Certification Program was working. In return, the pilots performance was graded more accurately at this IMAC Nationals than at any other event in the country. Besides the full-scale aerobatic association, the International Aerobatic Club (IAC), few other aviation groups have shown the level of commitment to betterment of the sport than the International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC). As shown by the level of flying witnessed, the proof is that model pilots today are better than ever before, and it s the tools such as those that IMAC provides that made it possible. Michael Ramsey Judges: Wayne Geffon, Mike Roxberry, MaryAnn Berninger, Bob Hudson, Brian Sounik, Cam McCausey, Tom Wheeler, Ed Kincer, Fred Johnson, Julie Johnson, Carlos Paez, Monty Huff, Ernie Meredith, Gerry Dale, Bobby Folsom, Dan Powell, and Dean Bird. 3
Baron Johnson, with his caller Fred Johnson, waits at the ready line to fly his final preliminary round of Known maneuvers. After hours at the flying site, just about every kind of RC model is enjoyed including this Discus Launch Glider that Baron Johnson, Jason and Frank Noll are having giggles flying. IMAC regional groups at Saturday night s banquet The Florida IMAC Group and members of the IMAC Summer Camp. North Central IMAC Region, Club NCFR! South Central IMAC Region. Southeast IMAC Region. Southwest IMAC Region. 4
The Finalists Sportsman Finalists: Back to front, counter clockwise 10th through 1st: Jamie Hicks, Daniel Powell, Ted Barrette, Anthony Gorgone, Cody McLean, Nicholas Burik, Curtis Cozier, Ryan Martin, Oscar Cespedes, and Brendan Jones. 11th place finisher, Andy Thomas (in the green shirt), will be the Sportsman Unknown demo pilot. Intermediate Finalists: Back to front, counter clockwise 7th through 1st: Michael Bargman, Jim Fowler, Matthew Laine, Seth Arnold, Bradley Petty, Ben Selock, and Brian Luckett. 8th place finisher, Josh Jordon (on the far right), will be the Intermediate Unknown demo pilot. Advanced Finalists: Back to front, counter clockwise 6th through 1st: Brent Billmamn, Larry Arseneau, Stacy Lloyd, Shawn Best, James Woodward, and Ryan Gonsoulin. 7th place finisher, Bret Rodgers (on the far right), will be the Advanced Unknown demo pilot. Unlimited Finalists: Back to front, counter clockwise 11th through 1st: Ty Lyman, Stephen Hamilton, Will Berninger (not available), Rick Byrd, Jeff Szueber, Ken McGuire, Frank Noll, Ivan Kristensen, David Moser, Baron Johnson, Kurt Koelling, and Jason Noll. 13th place finisher, Adam Bry (far right, yellow shirt), will be the Unlimited Unknown demo pilot. Rhonda and Phil Vance are recognized by Nats Event Director Ron Morgan with a Certificate of Appreciation Award. 2007 IMAC Nationals co-event directors Phil Vance and Don Hamilton. 5
Steven Hamilton tows his friend s aircraft back to the trailer parking area. Inside the fuselage of Jason Noll s AeroWorks 42% Extra 260 shows the JR DSS receiver system and ganged up rudder servos. Their QB series models really are quick to build! A great sea of IMAC aircraft at the Site 3 flightline. Ken McGuire finished his Carden Extra 260 in the color scheme of Mike Goullian s latest aircraft. Gorgeous MonoKote finish! Father and son, Frank and Jason Noll are competing in Unlimited but also working as a team calling for each other. Steven Hamilton s Dalton Extra 260 is brought in for a landing. 6
Scores and Standings Sportsman Please note that all scores posted in this edition of NatsNews 2007 are unofficial until final tabulation has been made. 7
Intermediate 3] - Pilot was assessed a "missing pilot/panel" penalty [4] - Unknown rounds were scaled to ~2000 points each, or 25% of the final score 8
Advanced [3] - Pilot was assessed a "missing pilot/panel" penalty [4] - Unknown rounds were scaled to ~1666 points each, or 25% of the final score 9
Unlimited The scores in Unlimited ranged from a low of 5,369.9 to a high of 7,950.5 (a range of 2,580.6 points)