63rd Australian Nationals 2009-2010

Albury N.S.W.
28th December 2009  - 5th January 2010
 

The event was CD'd by Doug Grinham and judged by Alan Matthieson-Harrison and Herb Hanna.

Placings were determined by taking the higher of the two flight scores.

Although the breeze was fairly constant there were no surprises for anyone and happily, no casualties.

The eights were flown "lazy" style but with vertical intersections in the horizontals as opposed to the usual 45` intersections .... some found this uncomfortable to do at first.

Seven of the models flown this year had appeared at previous Nats - Dave Lacey's immaculately finished Pow Wow with an OS 40FP, Doug Grinham's aging but well kept '51 Nobler with a Double Star 40, Frank Battam's "Green Box" Nobler/ST46 combination, Peter Anglberger's dark green Grondal Nobler/AMA Special with an OS 35S for power, PJ Rowland's colourful red, white and blue Stalker 61 powered Nobler, Reg Towell's familiar black and orange Mk11 Thunderbird/ST46 combination and Steve Masterton's aging and battle scarred Chizler with a reliable ST46 up front.

The remaining seven new models, although not necessarily recently built, included Don Keyssecker's two tone blue Kismet. This Ken Taylor design from the late 50s was powered with a happy sounding OS 35FP which hauled it around with ease.

Benalla's John Floate produced a very neat late 50s Ramrod running a Brodak 40 that put out ample power for the job. John's 40 started well and ran sweetly at all times while the model turned well and appeared to be quite stable in flight.

Jon Witzke's Nobler, although on the heavy side, was hauled around quite well with a Fox 35. Jon's tank was marginal in capacity which meant that he had to tune the Fox with little four cycle and fly the pattern with the minimum required laps to complete the pattern.

Mark Gordon flew a nicely built All Australian with an Enya 35 111B through some quite respectable manoeuvres. The Enya performed well, producing plenty of power and switching cleanly in the right places.

Peter Rowland's reasonably new Nobler with a vivid blue and red colour scheme on a white background really stood out on the ground and in the air. Peter's well used OS 35FP is still giving reliable service after more than a decade's running.

Tony Clifford's Phoenician, built early in 2009 and powered with a Tower 40, handled quite well despite needing a little further trimming. Flying in his first serious comp in many years and first ever Nationals aerobatics comp, Tony acquitted himself very well.

My five year old Rondinelli Venus handled the conditions pleasingly with the HP40 Gold Cup running well. Up until early in 2009 I had been flying it quite slowly at 5.4-5.5 second laps and was never happy with it. Around that time I accidently set it leaner, giving a 5 second lap which completely changed (and improved) the flight characteristics and the feel. Now flying at 5.1-5.2 seconds per lap it will definitely see a lot more air time.

Peter White
AUS 8765

CD: Ken Hunting

The 63rd Australian Nationals were held in Albury, NSW, from December 28th 2009 to January 5th 2010.

The aerobatics events were run on grassed surface at Alexander Park where there was sufficient room for up to seven circles, allowing for plenty of practice flying. The entire area was well mown for our purposes.

Weather was very warm throughout with light breezes that constantly changed direction accompanied by the occasional thermals. Rounds One and Two of F2B saw most fliers chasing the ever-changing breeze while for Rounds Three and Four the wind was up a little more, bringing with it some turbulence from nearby trees and a factory building across the road. These conditions continued on into Classic and Vintage days causing the occasional minor surprises.

The format was for four rounds to be flown and the best three round scores to be averaged to give a final placing score.

Thanks must go to all who officiated or helped in any way - CDs Doug Grinham and Paul Turner, - judges Joan McIntyre, Alan Matthieson-Harrison, Frank Battam, Russell Bond, Herb Hanna, Peter Koch, Peter White, - tabulators Sue Hegarty, Steve Vallve, - various score sheet runners - line pull tester Don Keyssecker. To all other helpers and gophers whose names I cannot recall, please consider yourselves thanked for your efforts.

Winding up the presentations, Murray Howell, on behalf of the contestants, presented Paul with two bottles of his favourite beverages in appreciation of his efforts in organising and running F2B.

EXPERT

Brian Eather competed with his familiar Stalker 61 powered Firecracker, putting in good open shapes with consistent bottoms. In Round Three he encountered some weird turbulence causing him to battle for three laps to get his model up to 45 degrees for the outside squares. An omitted set of manoeuvres in his Round Three flight may have changed the possible outcome for Brian.

Flying a quite new slightly modified Firecracker/Stalker 61LS combination, Bruce Hoffman put in some quite good manoeuvres although bottoms tended to vary. Bruce had the misfortune to flame out in the wingover in Round Two but managed to land inverted with virtually no damage.

Dallas (Herb) Hanna reverted to his familiar red and blue enlarged Grondal Nobler, aka as AMA Special, after a mishap with his new model in pre-Nats practice. His MVVS 51 ran flawlessly at quite high revs while the model sat well in the air and flew crisp corners.

Flying his O/D Firefly, Doug Grinham ran a side mounted Stalker 66 in a solid four cycle through all manoeuvres. The side mount arrangement totally eliminated the quirky behaviour shown by most .66s when mounted inverted. Although he tended to miss some of his intersections, Doug flew the Russian influenced profile model through some precise squares with neat pullouts.

Eventual second placegetter, Joe Parisi, powered his Hot Pursuit, a slightly modified Trivial Pursuit, with a superbly running piped PA 75. Joe, as usual, put in countless practice flights over the duration of the Nats capping off his efforts with four very sharp competition flights.

Western Australia's John Quinlan flew Round One with his Score powered by a Stalker 61LS. Arriving on the death knock and having too little time to really zero in on a needle setting, he battled through his only flight with slightly rich motor.

Later that day John was called back to Perth with business matters thereby having to forfeit his remaining three flights.

Mark Ellins again slotted in some good flying between his various racing events. The Stalker 61LT EX in his ex-Doug Grinham Jazzer started and ran excellently. Mark is capable of putting in a reasonably neat pattern despite competing in other pressure events at the same time.

Eventual winner by a narrow margin, NSW's Murray Howell is, like Joe, an intense competitor who puts in the time in the practice circle with appropriate results. Murray flew a Yatsenko Shark, barely putting a foot wrong while the Retro 60 produced power to spare irrespective of the heat, humidity or wind .... an impressive combination.

Queensland's Noel Corney returned to Nats competition with a Stalker 76 powered Trivial Pursuit. Some on-going run problems with the 76 caused Noel to pull out after flying two rounds.

Having improved the control geometry on his Wind Wonder, Paul Turner was able to put in some good patterns aided by a much more consistently running Stalker 61LT EX. This motor had been causing Paul some grief for the last year or so with erratic running but appears to have settled in at last to do the right thing.

Peter Anglberger from South Australia showed up with a nice flying Vector 40/OS LA46 setup. He had a few problems keeping the model on track when the wind came up but in general the model performed well. Peter this year stepped up to Expert class where his improved skills can be put to the test.

Seasoned campaigner, Reg Towell joined the fray with his Sea Fury derivative built around a Berringer wing with a swept forward hinge line giving more flap area. Reg's Saito 72 put out plenty of power to haul the 67oz model around with ease.

Making a return to the Nationals scene after a twenty-five year absence was SA's Russell Bond. Russell flew his O/D Bandolero 7 with an impressive PA 75 on muffler providing the urge. Despite weighing in the low 70ozs the Bandolero is quite snappy with no obvious stalling tendencies. For his first major comp in a long time, Russell handled the pressures well.

NSW flyer, Steve Masterton has been showing steady improvement for some time. Pullouts tend to vary in height but generally are neat. In an early practice session Steve seized a bearing in his Stalker 61 Pro Series. His replacement motor, a retimed Stalker, ran in a strong deep sounding four cycle with a gentle break up top to haul his Firecracker easily through the pattern.

Tony Bonello's Enigma 111 with its smooth running ST60 put up a good showing, its attractive green, red and white colour scheme standing out in the air and on the ground. While bottom heights varied a little Tony's manoeuvres were generally well shaped and smooth.

I flew my last year's model, a GEO XL with a Stalker 61LS. The package worked well with good power from the Stalker while the GEO felt comfortable and positive in the square and triangular manoeuvres.

The event was CD'd by Paul Turner and judged by Joan McIntyre, Alan Matthieson-Harrison and Frank Battam.

Peter White
AUS 8765

ADVANCED.

Seven flyers competed for the honours with last year's winner, Andrew Heath, again coming out on top with his ST60 powered Enigma flying well. Andrew's intersections and bottoms moved around a little while shapes were generally quite good. He also has a fine running .60 to make the job easier.

Col Collyer tended to fly high and large in Round One but improved on this in Round Two. He passed on the last two rounds due to commitments in other events

Perennial Denver Harvison flew his familiar derivative of Reg Towell's Caudron with an ST51 that started and ran flawlessly. Denver, whose heights and shapes, particularly squares, varied somewhat passed on Round Four.

Don Keyssecker's Vector/OS LA46 combination appeared to handle well. Don, whose flying has improved over the last year or so, was caught by some surprise wind direction changes that blew him around.

Jon Witzke put in a reasonably good Round One with his LA46 powered Tutor looking quite steady. Unfortunately, during practice prior to Round Two the model was wrecked, putting an end to Jon's part in the competition.

Mike Davie, also flying a Tutor/LA46 acquitted himself very well in his first Nats aerobatics competition to take out second spot. Mike is a combat flyer who shows a lot of promise in the aerobatics circle.

Peter Koch took out third place with a Vector/LA46 setup that performed quite well. Peter's heights and sizes improved as the event wore on and he settled in to the competition. As with many, his loops and intersections tended to wander.

CD for the event was Paul Turner and judges were Russell Bond and myself.

Peter White
AUS 8765

Vintage aerobatics was run as the last of the aerobatics events. As for all of the previous aerobatics rounds, the breeze, although generally not uncomfortable, was ever-present and at times turbulent.

The event was CD'd by Dave Lacey and judged by Alan Matthieson-Harrison and Peter Koch while static judging duties were handled by Ken Taylor.

Of the eleven models entered, six were on their first Nationals outing. Dave Lacey's Jamison Special/K&B Stallion 35 setup handled well in the conditions as did Frank Battam's Jamison Special with its healthy sounding Atwood 49.

Don Keyssecker flew his last year's Lil Duper Zilch again powered with the teardrop exhaust Torpedo 29 that runs so well.

Eventual winner, Doug Grinham, produced a beautifully built Hearns Hobbies All Australian with an early model Sabre 49 in the nose. Doug had the motor cut early in Round One but he rallied in Round Two with the highest flight score for the event.

Jon Witzke this time had no worries with the tank range in his Nobler/Fox 35 setup. Jon was more confident in Round Two where he was able to settle and slightly improve his score.

The Gordon Burford designed Wombat flown by Maris Dislers performed well aided by a sweetly running CS 2.5 diesel. A nose-over on his Round One landing was of no help to his score. The Wombat was built to Maris's usual high standards with neat workmanship visible through dyed orange tissue.

Mick Lewis, flying last year's Viking/OS 40LA, had the misfortune to destroy the model in Round Two during the horizontal eights when he mistimed the change of direction into the outside part of the manoeuvre.

Paul Turner's faithful old Sabre 29 powered Wombat found the going a little tough in the breeze. It too suffered the indignity of a nose-over on the completion of its Round One flight. Paul has been flying this model and motor setup for many years ... I first saw it in 1997 ... and getting good service from it in that time.

Peter Anglberger's tidy little Ambassador appears to handle well with a Sabre 2.5 providing the urge. Peter knows this model well as he has been flying it regularly for three or four years.

Tony Clifford entered the event with a recently completed Zilch X using an early Fox 29 for power. The model was attractively finished in purple dyed tissue with yellow and white trimming.

Once again I flew my All American/Fox 29 combination which worked quite well. The Fox 29 is an excellent little stunt motor that rarely gives trouble.

Thanks goes to those who took on official duties and to all others who gave any assistance to help with the running of the competition.

Peter White
AUS 8765