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."
By Paul Gibeault
Good morning, Control Line (CL) Racing fans!
Day two of official CL Racing again greeted the racers with perfect weather. This report will be short on words due to this scribe running his index finger into the running motor of his Goodyear racer. After a 5-hour stay in Ball Memorial Hospital, I was released on good behavior with my left fingers numb and swollen with anesthetic. It's tough to type with just one hand! On to the racing.
First off was Open Slow Rat Race, and it was slow getting going with four entries. Contest Director Bill Bischoff allowed lots of leeway for the contestants to get their equipment sorted. Bill set the pace with an excellent 3:16 heat, followed by Bob Oge who experienced problems and did not finish. In their second heat, Bill improved his time to 3:14, and Bob posted a 3:59 with some difficulties. Bob's modified GO 25 motor had flashes of great speed, but Bill's consistency with his O.S .25 F/X saw him ahead.
In the second heat pairing, the first heat saw a very close race. Chuck Barnes Jr. won with a 3:35.90, just pipping Doug Mayer from Hawthorne, California, by half of a second, who had a 3: 36.45. In their second heat, neither managed to improve. Doug Mayer won with a slower 3:41 and Chuck Barnes Jr. retired after 27 laps.
Standing on their heat times, Bill was way out front in first place, followed by Chuck in second, Doug closely in third, and Bob in fourth.
After lunch was Dallas Model Aircraft Association's (DMAA) pride and joy event and Bill’s legacy brainchild, the DMAA Sport Goodyear Race. This well-attended event came into being to offer a slower, simpler, lower-cost engine event than Open Goodyear. With 11 entries, it was the most popular event at this year’s Nats. The pièce de résistance awards are given out for first through third place (Gold event), fourth through sixth place (Silver event), seventh through ninth place (Bronze event), and 10th and11th place in the new "Aluminum Class."
In the DMAA Sport Goodyear Race, there's something for everyone. Notable were our two Junior fliers from Hawthorne, California, brothers Tristan and Mason Mayer, who both flew very well.
The scoreboard shows the results. Bill has a healthy lead, and the rest of the field is close behind. Only one bird belonging to Doug Mayer was lost; he broke a line while shutting off just after he finished his last heat. That concludes day two!
Note from AMA: Do you have photos from the Nats that you’d like to share? If so, email them to Clarissa Poston at clarissap@modelaircraft.org. Please include a brief description in your email, naming any individuals pictured in the photo(s), the name of the event that the photo(s) were taken during, and the name of the individual who took the photo(s). Your submission(s) might be posted on AMA’s Flickr page, which can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/modelaircraft/albums!
