July 10, 2023: CL Racing

By Charlie Johnson

Control Line (CL) Racing started off with the two juniors, Mason and Tristan Mayer, flying some practice heats and then a 100-lap final. Doug Mayer pitted for Tristan and Richard Kucejko was enlisted to pit for Mason. Mason and Richard were declared official winners with a 6:47.37 time compared to Tristan’s 7:27.97.

Open Mouse Race was next, with some reasonable times posted in the 50-lap qualifying heats but a disastrous final where only one team finished. The posted times are below:

• Bill Bischoff and Bill Lee (mechanic): 2:30.78 heat and 4:46.60 final.
• Patrick Hempel and Doug Mayer (mechanic): 2:58.29 heat and 47 laps in final.
• Tom Fluker and Melvin Schuette (mechanic): 2:46.86 heat and 24 laps in final.

The F2C Team Trials were held later in the afternoon. Since there were only three teams entered, this turned out to be more of a practice session. Since the team didn’t compete in Poland last year, this is the first time they’ve been together for serious practice. The official 2024 F2C team is listed below, but keep in mind that these are friendly practice times and the potential for each team is 20-30 seconds faster.

• Alex Topunov (pilot) and Alexander Elbert (mechanic): 3:37.88
• Tom Fluker (pilot) and Dick Lambert (mechanic): 3:43.46
• Dave Fischer (pilot) and Steve Wilk (mechanic): 3:45.71

B-Team Race was flown in the late afternoon. The field of five had now become a shootout between Bill Bischoff (piloting), Bill Lee (pitting), Richard Kucejko (pitting his own model), and Doug Mayer (piloting).

The models flew well, and they were loud! Profile models have the exhaust pointing downward, while these built-up body models have the exhaust aimed to the side. Fuel in this event is unrestricted, but the supplied Ritch’s Brew was a safe choice.

The best heat times are listed below, but like the results in F2C, the potential is of a much faster time. Richard’s time includes a leisurely walk to the opposite side of the circle to retrieve the model when it quit on takeoff.

• Bill Bischoff (pilot) and Bill Lee (mechanic): 5:10.33—70-lap heat
• Doug Mayer (pilot) and Richard Kucejko: 6:31.81—70-lap heat