by George Dawe
On August 9, 1998, Palomar R/C Flyers had their third combat event. "Event" might not be the best term to describe this phenomenon. It was an all out war! In the 704 event, 28 pilots paid the price of admission to participate. In the "open" class competition nine participants volunteered to risk their fine aircraft to be sacrificed to the "combat gods".
I counted over 55 spectators, many of whom showed up to witness the anticipated carnage associated with the inevitable midair collision. They were not disappointed, young Kevin Crandall, of Orange County, California, treated the crowd to three mid-airs. Kevin's aggressive flying took him to the semi-finals. The only reason, I think, why he did not make the finals was he ran out of airplanes. That was not the case with Jeff Wise of Sacramento, California and Air Kill Products. Jeff brought over fifteen 704 combat ships with him and positively promoted the event as both a sponsor and a source of information. He wowed spectators with his flying abilities and in the end, he was victorious in the 704 event.
You might remember from the last news letter, that I thought Gary Thompson was secretly practicing for this event. I was right! Gary's combat technique has vastly improved. His new 0.21 powered AT-6 turned out to be everything it appeared. Gary was able to place second as a result of skillful flying, thorough preparation and well thought out game plan. Younger flyers should watch Gary very closely and they might pick up a point or two!
Speaking of somewhat younger flyers, Jose Navarro, finished third flying his slow but sure Zigg Hellcat. While this airplane was some what touchy on take-off, it turned on a dime allowing Jose to cruise to a third place finish. Scott Bilinski and Jim Bodnar also made the finals. This was Scott's first competition and he did quite well while learning the ropes from the more seasoned pilots. Jim Bodnar flew his Nakajima with impeccable skill. Unfortunately, he like Scott, found himself on the wrong end of a streamer cut late in the finals.
On the open event, the excitement was just as intense! Raphael Houri won the event with his brand new Wonder. Frank Schultz finished second by flying the tightest circles I have ever seen! I managed to squeak out third place flying a trainer, which I affectionately refer to as a squint Scale L-5.
The author wants to thank the Palomar R/C flyers who graciously donated their time to help out with the actual running of the event. As usual, CD Bob Lang did a fantastic job at scoring and officiating the contest. When I was looking over at the scoring table, I thought Bob was actually practicing accounting because there was so much activity! I also want to thank club members young Dennis Stephens and Mike Stephens for acting as Line Marshals.
A hearty "thank you" goes out to all the sponsors, particularly Jeff Weiss, and Air Kill Products. I also want to thank Bob Lang for his generous donation of an airplane kit. The next combat event has been rescheduled and will now be held on the second Sunday in October. See the club calendar for details. The first Sunday of October will have a demonstration combat event at the Fallbrook Air Fair, so please try to attend! Finally, I would like to see as many of you in Sacramento as possible for the 704 Pacific National Combat event. Please contact Jeff Weiss for details at (916) 425-9933. Until next time, be aggressive but please fly safely!
George Dawe