We could almost hear the theme song to the TV show Airwolf!
Tuesday arrived way too early for many helicopter pilots (including me!). Today, the day before the final day, recorded the largest number of competition flights—50 formal flights!
Tuesday, August 6, was the start of the official flying of the 2024 AMA Control Line (CL) Navy Carrier Nats events. Both Profile (powered by internal combustion engines) and Electric Profile (powered by electric motors) classes were flown.
On day three of the Control Line (CL) Speed Nats, we flew A Speed, B Speed, and Sport Jet. A Speed is flown on 65-foot lines using a .15-size motor. There are six laps that are timed for speed. Chris Montagino took first place with a fast speed of 185.61 mph. I told you yesterday that things were going to go faster! Glen VanSant came very close behind in second place with a speed of 183.23 mph. James VanSant took third place with a speed of 174.08 mph.
Famed engine builder Henry Nelson (L) mixes it up with Brian Stas. Henry's model got slightly clipped in the match, putting him out.
There were 25 entries in the Control Line (CL) Combat Speed Limit event, and it was flown as a double elimination event in the first round, rather than a full double event. Those with a loss in the first round flew another match, and if they won, they moved on.
As the sun rises and illuminates the words on the pages for August 5, I see a very busy schedule today.
The day starts out at 7 a.m. with practice on the L-pad. The L-pad will be open for most of the day for practice. However, on the grass circles, there are several unofficial events starting up. Today, we have Old-Time Stunt (OTS), Classic, and Nostalgia 30 events being run.
Bill Bischoff's lovely Miss Min incurred this fuselage fracture during a pit stop, forcing him to use his backup model. Bill's pit man, Mike Greb, "had a hand in it."
Good morning, Control Line (CL) Racing fans!
Day two of official CL Racing again greeted the racers with perfect weather.
The second day of Control Line (CL) Speed had the threat of rain, but everyone still got their flights in. They even flew through lunchtime, just in case. We flew Formula 40, 21 Sport Speed, 21 Profile Proto, and Fox 35 Speed.