Nats-2010

64th Australian Nationals 2010-2011

Dalby Qld.
29th December 2010 - 7th January 2011

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	\| Classic Stunt \| Combined & Jet Speed \| F2A \| F2B \| F2C \| F2D \| F2F \| Goodyear T/R \| Junior 2.5 Combat \|
	\| Mini Goodyear \| Open Combat \| Open R/R \| Slow Goodyear \| Vintage A T/R \| Vintage Combat \| Vintage Stunt \|

1/2 A Combat

No competition due to weather.

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2.5 Rat Race

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final
1	G.Wilson/M.Wilson	292 laps		544 laps
2	M.McDermott/T.McDermott	232 laps		341 laps
3	R.Justic/R.Owen	287 laps		6 laps
4	C.Leknys/R.Hoogencamp	198 laps
5	S.Leknys/K.Nash	101 laps

2.5cc Rat Race finalists: R.Justic/R.Owen - 3rd | G.Wilson/M.Wilson - 1st | M.McDermott/T.McDermott - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Harry Bailey

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2.5 Junior Rat Race

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final
1	Callum Dillon	?		?
2	Tom Linwood	?		?
3	Rory Dillon	?		?

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Bendix

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final Score
1	G.Wilson/R.Bellis	3.53.13	4.12.97	8.05.78
2	Fry/Taylor	35 laps	4.23.19	8.12.66
3	R.Justic/R.Owen	3.20.10	48 laps	8.32.81
4	J.Hallowell/M.Wilson	4.44.78	5.21.18
5	M.McDermott/T.McDermott	21 laps	33 laps

Bendix Team Race finalists: R.Justic/R.Owen - 3rd | G.Wilson/R.Bellis - 1st | Fry/Taylor - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Harry Bailey

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Burford Vintage A Team Race

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final Score
1	H.Bailey/M.Wilson	3.50.97		7.54.87
2	R.Justic/A.Kerr	5.59.4		10.19.68
3	Patten/Egyed		7.15.4	DNF 1
4	M.McDermott/T.McDermott		DNF 44

Burford A Team Race finalists: A.Kerr/R.Justic - 2nd | M.Wilson/H.Bailey - 1st | R.Patten - 3rd
Photo courtesy of Harry Bailey

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Class 2 Team Race

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final
1	J.Hallowell/M.Wilson	3.00.78	-	6.19.34
2	M.McDermott/T.McDermott	3.04.56	-	6.29.09
3	H.Bailey/Leknys	61 laps	-	8.12.93

Class 2 Team Race finalists: Leknys/Bailey - 3rd | Hallowell/M.Wilson - 1st | McDermott/McDermott - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Mark Godfrey

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Classic B Team Race

64th NATS CLASSIC B T/R

Tradition says a CLASSIC B Nats event is always going to be a very close race. The past Nationals have proved this beyond doubt with mere seconds between the top ten and fractions of a second between finalists.

This time, the flood disaster had taken its toll on entries and only 7 teams fronted up for this much anticipated event. Reigning National Champ Paul Stein got within a few hundred miles of Dalby and then turned back after receiving advice that roads were flooded. Some Queensland teams pulled out because the race was transferred to the hard stand as the grass surface was too spongy even for B Class models. Flying on it was simply not worth the risk of damaged racers. I believe if other teams had a fly on the smooth Cotton Gin surface, they would have been surprised how easy it was to take off and land. The only potential problem with the Cotton Gin site was the amount of super fine bits of cotton floating about in the wind. Sometimes they would wrap around the lines and would be hard to remove. And maybe, just maybe, some of these fine cotton strands contributed to the abnormal amount of engine problems at this meet.

Graeme Wilson and Harry Bailey set the ball rolling in the first 70 lap heat with a very credible 3.00.63 using the Irvine .25 and Galaxie combination. These guys were looking good but there’s always danger in sitting on your time at a Nats! As it turned out, they snuck into third fastest position by a mere .74 of a second from the Classic B surprise packet of the Nats, Steve Rothwell and Chris Sculley.

It was as if the job wasn’t finished for the Vintage A and Slow Goodyear winners. They had their eyes on yet another prize… the coveted Classic B one! So Steve and Chris rolled of a smokin’ 3.01.37 in their very first race in this popular and highly competitive class. The Rocket they flew was built by Chris in just 2 weeks and is an absolute credit to him. The engine is a Lance Smith prepared OS 25FX. These superb engines come fully worked and ‘ready to rumble’, just fill, flick and race! Contact Lance for fast delivery of an OS FX and also the new ABC ASP 25.

Chris and Steve were in the final until a record breaking flight by Hallowell/M.Wilson in round two tipped them out. Sorry guys! Murray and John were on their last chance as the Irvine .25 Rocket refused to slow on a hot landing in Round 1 resulting in a 3.08. That’s the great uncertainty about Vintage A and Classic B. You never know where the engine is going to stop. Wherever it does, a split second decision has to be made about landing. Bring it down or take it around again. In round 2, the engine thankfully stopped in the right place so Murray executed a very fast stop. It brought about a new Nationals heat record of 2.56.91, just under the old 2.57.5 record of Rob Fitzgerald and Paul Stein.

The Supermacs were keen to do well in their favourite event. Their first heat tune was hard and returned a 3.14.09 throwaway time. The pressure was now squarely on Trent and Mark to perform. They responded in a way you would expect of a family with fine sporting traditions. They rolled out an easy 2.58.57 to make second fastest time. This makes them the first team to go under 3 minutes, two Nats in a row.

Mark Godfrey had Richard Justic in the middle and good things were expected with the OS25FX Swooper after it showed such good speed at Albury last October. However, a good setting was proving hard to obtain and the model was often running too lean. Once the engine run is sorted, this model will also be down around the 3 minute bracket.

Unfortunately the WA teams did not have the best of days. Rob Fry and Alasdair Taylor had good speed but not the instant restarts with the Brodak powered Galaxie. So two times in the 3.30’s resulted. Colin and Shane Leknys decided not to start after they deemed the Blista too touchy to fly safely in the 5 minute practice that was allotted to all teams in Round one.

The 140 lap final consisted of two Victorian teams with the Queenslanders the meat in the sandwich. A Galaxie, A Rocket and a Long Gone. Two Irvines and an American modified OS 25 FP. All were away at the CD’s command. There was nothing between the airspeed of all three racers and none was comfortable with achieving 50 lap range, so all teams were prepared for a 3 stop race.

However, the McDermott model began to get hot again and slowed noticeably on the second tank. They then did the only decent thing for the engine and shut it off. So now it was a two up, but not without its dramas! John and Murray were again on blistering pace. According to Timekeeper Andy Kerr they were again on 2.56 at the 70 lap mark. Then disaster struck at the next stop. The model was released and then stopped with a fuel blockage. Valuable time was lost as Murray fixed the problem. Meanwhile on the other side of the circle Harry was coping with a fire! This also took precious time to bring under control. So in the end, Harry and Graeme lost a little less time and went on to their first Classic B win with a near 10 second margin in hand. It was Irvines first and second. Congratulations to the winners.

Harry’s winning Galaxie is his standard Barton B model, the one he recently campaigned in England and Portugal. For this Classic B event he fitted 60’ x .015 lines, a smaller APC 7x7 prop, went to 20% nitro and fitted a 4.7 mm venturi. Let’s hope this encourages a few British teams to come to Perth in April, 2012. Come on guys, it’s not that far to Western Australia in a big jet!

John Hallowell
VH 1984

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final Score
1	G.Wilson/H.Bailey	3.00.63	DNS	6.33.22
2	J.Hallowell/M.Wilson	3.08.60	2.56.91 (rec.)	6.43.06
3	T. McDermott/M. McDermott	3.14.09	2.58.57	DNF 50
4	S.Rothwell/C.Sculley	3.01.37	DNS
5	R.Justic/M.Godfrey	3.16.16	3.24.75
6	Fry/Taylor	3.31.94	3.35.25
7	S.Leknys/C.Leknys	DNS	DNS

Classic B Team Race finalists: Trent/Mark McDermott - 3rd | Harry Bailey/Graeme Wilson - 1st | John Hallowell/Murray Wilson - 2nd
Photo courtesy of John Hallowell

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Classic Stunt

64th NATS CLASSIC STUNT

Five models lined up on Sunday morning and what a great cross-section of classic design - Thunderbird, Skyscraper, Nobler, Grondal Nobler, Kismet. Most were powered by reasonably modern motors except for Warren Leadbeater's Fox .35 Nobler.

Conditions were excellent, light breeze, sun at your back, light overcast and a good grass surface.

Round 1 saw Reg Towell zoom into the lead with a flight that showed the “Thunderbird” is still a great weapon.

Peter Anglberger and Warren Leadbeater suffered memory lapses with the Classic pattern which gave Reg an even bigger lead.

The “Pachyderm Award” would have to go to Barry Frederickson flying a Skyscraper, who butchered the pattern to the extent he received 0 for 4 manoeuvres.

Don Keyssecker with the Kismet put in a smooth flight but as in F2B his heights let him down.

Round 2 once again saw Reg put in a super flight and surge further ahead.

The pattern butchers, Frederickson, Anglberger and Leadbeater must have done some homework with the Rules Book as they all managed to get a complete flight in, well almost all, Warren’s motor cut early and he missed his Clover and Landing.

Peter Anglberger’s flight put him into 2nd. with Barry Frederickson only 9 points behind in 3rd. That early cut probably cost Warren a 3rd. place.

Don Keyssecker , who got it right in the first round, suffered brain fade in the second round with the result 0 for 2 manoeuvres.

Congratulations to Reg Towell for 1st. place, Peter Anglberger for 2nd. and Barry Frederickson 3rd.

Compiled by HeHoo Wazthere.

CD: Paul Turner Judge: Paul Turner		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final Score
1	Reg Towell Thunderbird Mk II / ST 46	544	567	567
2	Peter Anglberger Grondal Nobler / ST 46	463	485	485
3	Barry Frederickson Skyscraper / ST 60	321	476	476
4	Warren Leadbeatter Nobler / Fox 35	461	425	461
5	Don Keyssecker Kismet / OS 46 LA	456	422	456

Classic Stunt finalists: Barry Frederickson - 3rd | Reg Towell - 1st | Peter Anglberger - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Warren Leadbeatter

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Combined Speed & Jet Speed

Combined Speed		Class	Engine	FL 1	FL 2	FL 3	Fastest	KPH	%
1	R.Justic	Class 2	Nelson 29	10.08	10.33	D.N.S	10.08	287.38	99.21%
2	P.Gibeault (Canada)	Class 4	-	14.84	16.32	13.66	13.66	263.54	91.14%
3	H.Bailey	Proto	Novarossi 21	30.87	30.95	D.N.S	30.87	187.68	78.15%
4	H.Bailey	Class 1	Asp 12	19.38	NT	-	19.38	185.76	70.38%
5	J.Jacobson	Proto		N.E.L	-	-

Sport Jet		Class	Engine	FL 1	FL 2	FL 3	Fastest	KPH	%
1	R.Fry	S JET		12.11	12.35	-	12.11	239.21	94.63%
2	D.Axon	S JET		14.75	N/T	ATT	14.75	196.39	77.69%
3	J.Walker	S JET		ATT	-	-

Open Jet		Class	Engine	FL1	FL 2	FL 3	Fastest	KPH	%
1	R.Fry	Jet		12.29	13.04	-	12.29	235.71	83.97%
2	J.Walker	Jet		ATT	ATT	-

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F2A

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	KPH
1	Richard Justic	13.17	13.27	13.08	275.23
2	Paul Gibeault	13.97	14.31	14.69	257.70
3	Andy Kerr	-	14.45	14.11	255.14

F2A placegetters: Paul Gibeault - 2nd | Richard Justic - 1st | Andy Kerr - 3rd
Photo courtesy of Warren Leadbeatter

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F2B Expert

64th NATS F2B

Controversy was never far away in the days leading up to and during the Nats. Reports of flooding in the area were on the radio and television, while the people in Dalby were saying that things were wet but the Nats would be O.K.

As it turned out Dalby was wet (Myall Creek which runs through town was flooded and cut Dalby in half) but fields and flying sites were above the floods and just needed an extra day to to dry out. (flying started one day late.)

Quite a number of entrants were unable to reach Dalby because of flooding and road closures around the area. (Like Goondiwindi, Toowoomba, Warwick.) They were held up at places like Tenterfield, Glen Innes, Surfers Paradise for days until they had no option but to return home. Those that made it to Dalby were maybe lucky to be travelling earlier or in the right place at the right time. Of 17 entered in Expert 8 flew and of 6 entered in Advanced 5 flew.

On briefing night, control line aerobatic entrants were greeted with the words, “there are no Judges and no C.D.”, Noel Corney stepped up to C.D. whilst it was decided that 3 Advanced flyers would judge Expert and 3 expert flyers would judge Advanced. As it turned out we had 3 advanced but only two experts took on the job.

Dalby Nats Committee have to be congratulated for their efforts in looking after the competitors, with all fields being supplied with cold water, sunscreen and First Aid kits, all set up under large marquees. Sandwiches and soft drinks were available for lunch. There were also several Dalby Club members who did nothing else but run around making sure everything ran smoothly. Thanks fellas.

Aerobatics was to be flown on the super thick turf of the Touch Football Club. The grass needed two mowings before a reasonable take-off could be achieved, even then care had to be exercised if the model had small wheels.

As we were a day late starting and there were weather reports of more rain in the days ahead, it was decided to run two rounds of F2B Exp. and Adv. each day so as to beat any rain that may be coming.

Day 1, the weather was fine with a moderate wind blowing, enough to cause problems but not impossible. A good point being that the wind was blowing away from the sun.

Round 1 - Experts were away first and right from the start competition was hot, Mark Batty led round 1 flying a Yatsenko Shark powered by a Retro .76. Mark has had some problems converting to the Shark from the old Sukhoi profile which he flew with great precision, but is now putting a very good pattern together.

Reg Towell was hot on his heels only 12 points behind flying his Saito .56 four stroke powered O.D. Sea Fury which is based on Berringer's Sukhoi. 31 points behind Reg was Joe Parisi flying his O.D. Hot Pursuit powered by a P.A. .76 on Pipe. The P.A. .76 seems to have power to burn and will bore through wind and turbulence with ease. Poor intersections on the horizontal and vertical eights cost him points on this flight.

The surprise of the round was James Batty flying his new Strega powered by a Rojet .76. He displayed some excellent square manoeuvres with bottoms spot on.

Paul Turners Wind Wonder powered by a Stalker .61 found the going tough as its excess weight at Dalby’s altitude and hot weather combined had it struggling for lift causing poor square manoeuvres.

Noel Corney flew his new electric powered SV 11 into sixth place. It’s been a while since Noel flew competitively and it showed; a bit more practice would improve him a lot.

Peter Anglberger travelled all the way from Adelaide to compete with his O.S. .46 LA powered Vector. Peter is seriously keen and has improved considerably over the last couple of years as his scores indicate and will be a serious threat very soon.

Wayne Jackson flew his very battered Nobler with Fox .35 in both Exp. and Adv. (also Vintage Stunt ) but was hobbled by a disobedient Fox that refused to obey the needle valve, He certainly earned 10 out of 10 for determination.

Round 1 of Advanced saw Warren Leadbeater leading by 57 points. Warren was flying an electric powered Pathfinder. Electric is fast becoming an alternative to I.C. with almost silent flight, super consistent power and plenty of it, and most important, no oil to wipe off. (I wonder if a flat battery is lighter than a charged one.)

Don Keyssecker was showing potential with a Ken Taylor designed Kismet powered by an O.S. .46 LA which flies very nicely. Don has to get his heights down a bit to be a top contender.

Barry Frederickson, flying a big T-Max powered by a Stalker .66 was only 2 points behind Don. It was a matter of who got his heights down best, prevailing.

Returning to F2B after many years was Len Surtees flying an old Veco Chief with Fox .35. Len had turned his attention to Hand Launched gliders but this year returned to C/L for some fun. Alas the old Fox refused to run well on any plug inserted causing fast runs slow runs short runs and much grief (I think his fuel was 10 years old as well.)

Wayne Jackson kept persevering and was getting closer to a good engine run. Even with a lousy setting he attempted every manoeuvre causing some hairy moments.

Frank Edyed would be the hard luck story of the Nats. He put his hand up to judge Exp. which meant he was pushed for time to trial his new electric powered T-Rex. A flight between Exp. and Adv. was all he wanted but during this flight he ran out of air and re-kitted the T-Rex – end flying for Frank.

As a sideline to this Frank was told (tongue in cheek) that Mathew Spencer (repairer extraordinaire) wouldn’t let a broken model stop him and would sit down and fix it overnight. Surprisingly, Frank had a chance meeting with Mathew and when the subject of repairs came up Mathew went into full flight on the T-Rex and in a session that lasted till 4am. managed to get the model back together again but not re-covered, a pity. Thanks Frank for continuing to judge.

Round 2 Exp. fired up after an early lunch with the wind dropping slightly. Joe Parisi led this round comfortably with Reg and James only .17 points apart. Mark Batty made a few mistakes and dropped points.

Round 2 Adv. saw Warren Leadbeater retain top spot but Don and Barry move to within 9 and 20 points respectively.

Day 2. Saturday morning saw a much calmer day wind wise, but now we had thermals to contend with.

Round 3 Adv. The Advanced flyers were off first today with Warren Leadbeater suffering a wind shift and dropping points.

Don Keyssecker rose to the challenge with better heights and a smooth pattern.

Barry Frederickson was also improving his heights and scored well.

Round 3 Exp. Joe Parisi was proving his dominance by winning the round by 21 points from James Batty who was flying the Strega very well with great pull-outs.

Mark Batty was putting some great manoeuvres together but could not close on the top two.

Reg Towell was flying well but lacked the precision to score well.

Round 4 Adv. Weather good, sun behind, everything to fly for.

Under pressure, Don Keyssecker put in a top flight nailing heights which impressed the judges and topped the round.

Warren Leadbeater came back with better air and flew himself into second spot on the round.

Barry Frederickson put in a flight that looked very good but the score didn’t reflect this.

Round 4 Exp. With superb conditions the Experts should really show us something, and Joe Parisi certainly did, with heights, corners, shapes all spot on, it was a super flight and the score proved it.

Mark had to fly well to beat James and he did, he started with a superb reverse wing-over that had immaculate pull-outs with flat bottoms and then went on to post his best score.

Only trouble was James was up to the task and posted a score that was enough to beat DAD! (ouch)

Congratulations to Don Keyssecker for a well earned win in Advanced with Warren Leadbeater 2nd. and Barry Frederickson 3rd.

Congratulations to Joe Parisi for taking out top spot in Expert with superb displays on both days. Maybe a sign of the times and a changing of the guard with James Batty taking 2nd. and Mark Batty 3rd.

Report compiled by Hehoo Wazthere.

CD: Noel Corney Judges: Frank Edyed, Don Keyssecker, Warren Leadbeatter		Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Final Score Total of best 3
1	Joe Parisi Hot Pursuit / PA 76 (Pipe)	1053.17	1121.83	1181.17	1226.00	3529.00
2	James Batty Strega / RoJett 76	967.50	1085.00	1159.00	1137.00	3381.00
3	Mark Batty Yatsenko Shark / Retro 76	1096.17	1003.50	1107.33	1159.00	3362.50
4	Reg Towell Sea Fury / Saito 72	1084.50	1085.17	1082.75	1173.50	3343.17
5	Paul Turner Wind Wonder / Stalker 61	910.83	972.17	1079.00	1109.50	3160.67
6	Noel Corney SV 11 / Electric	923.33	913.17	920.83	938.00	2782.16
7	Peter Anglberger Vector / OS 46 LA	837.17	849.17	909.67	896.50	2655.34
8	Wayne Jackson Nobler / Fox 35	237.27	307.67	355.83	459.33	1122.83

F2B Advanced

CD: Noel Corney Judges: Reg Towell, Paul Turner		Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Final Score Total of best 3
1	Don Keyssecker Kismet / OS 46	731.50	772.00	837.25	828.75	2438.00
2	Warren Leadbeatter Pathfinder / Electric	788.00	781.50	766.00	819.75	2389.25
3	Barry Frederickson T-Max / Stalker 66	729.50	761.68	777.25	765.00	2303.93
4	Len Surtees Veco Chief / Fox 35	548.50	535.00	660.75	716.50	1925.75
5	Wayne Jackson Nobler / Fox 35	479.50	430.25	520.50	173.00	1430.25
6	Frank Edyed T-Rex / Electric	0	0	0	0	DNF

F2B Expert placegetters: Mark Batty - 3rd | Joe Parisil - 1st | James Batty - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Warren Leadbeatter

F2B Advanced placegetters: Warren Leadbeatter - 2nd | Don Keyssecker - 1st | Barry Frederickson - 3rd
Photo courtesy of Warren Leadbeatter

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F2C

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Final
1	R Justic/M Wilson	3:58.58				7:19.07
2	C Leknys/R Hoogencamp	4:49.46				8:02.88
3	K.Nash/S Leknys	47 laps				DNF 0 laps

F2C finalists: Leknys/Rich - 3rd | Justic /Wilson - 1st | Hoogenkamp/Leknys - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Mark Godfrey

8:56 Video courtesy of Mark Godfrey

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F2D

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6
1	P Dillon	W	L	W	W	W	W
2	T Linwood	W	W	L	W	W	L
3	R Bellis	L	W	W	W	L	W
4	M Wilson	W	W	W	L	L	L
5	T McDermott	W	L	W	L
5	P Mills	L	W	W	L
7	G Wilson	L	W	L
7	B Bellis	L	W	L
7	M Dillon	W	L	L
7	M Comiskey	W	L	L
11	M Crawley	L	L
11	R Owen	L	L

F2Dfinalists: Richard Bellis - 3rd | P. Dillon - 1st | Tom Linwood - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Harry Bailey

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F2F

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final
1	G.Wilson/M.Wilson	4:23.10		8:34.85
2	K.Nash/S.Leknys	1 lap		9:04.72
3	T.McDermott/M.McDermott	Re-fly	4:14.87	9:05.43
4	R.Hoogencamp/C.Leknys		36 laps (damaged model)

F2F Team Race finalists: T.McDermott/M.McDermott - 3rd | G.Wilson/M.Wilson - 1st | K.Nash/S.Leknys- 2nd
Photo courtesy of Harry Bailey

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Goodyear

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final Score
1	R.Owen/R.Justic	6:14.50	4:01.97	7:40.18
2	M.McDermott/T.McDermott	4:53.06	4:14.88	10:07.81
3	Fry/Taylor	4:15.38	DNS	136 laps
4	G.Wilson/M.Wilson	4:29.90	5:12.18
5	T.Linwood/R.Bellis	4:42.56	33 laps
6	S.Rothwell/C.Sculley	4:59.94	-
7	Nash/Leknys	6:10.28	5:24.53
8	Hoogencamp/Leknys	DNS	DNS

Goodyear finalists: Fry/Taylor - 3rd | R.Owen/R.Justic - 1st | T.McDermott/M.McDermott - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Harry Bailey

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Junior 2.5 Combat

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6
1	Rory Dillon	W	W	W	B	L	W
2	Callum Dillon	W	W	L	W	W	L
3	Tom Linwood	L	W	W	L

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Mini Goodyear

*CD: Brian Burke*		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final Score
1	M.McDermott/T.McDermott	4:10.66		8:48.25
2	H.Bailey/M.Wilson	5:30.06		13:29.00
3	J. Taylor /	-		-
Held immediately after Goodyear, this event attracted two teams. John Taylor was probably blitzed by the Nats organisational duties and in the absence of his pilot, decided it would be wiser to conserve what little energy he had left. A heat and a final were held with the above outcome. It was also quite satisfying to see a model I built around 10 years ago actually win the first ever time I saw it fly! Brian Burke C.D.

Mini Goodyear finalists: H.Bailey/M.Wilson - 2nd | M.McDermott/T.McDermott - 1st
Photo courtesy of Harry Bailey

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Open Combat

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6
1	R.Bellis	W	W	W	B	L	W
2	T.Linwood	W	W	L	W	W	L
3	T.McDermott	L	W	W	L
4	M.Wilson	W	L	L
5	M.Comiskey	L	L
5	M.Dillon	L	L

Open Combat finalists: Trent McDermott - 3rd | Richard Bellis - 1st | Tom Linwood - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Warren Leadbeatter

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Open Rat Race

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final Score
1	P.Gibeault/M.Wilson/R.Justic	3:25.03	2:22.07	5:38.03
2	G.Wilson/M.Wilson	4:30.63	3:10.35	7:56.03
3	R.Justic/R.Owen	2:33.9	18 laps	8:01.94
4	Fry/Taylor	39 laps	2:54.94	46 laps
5	H.Bailey/J.Hallowell	3:10.62	4:07.93
6	Linwood/Linwood	15 Laps	4:40.66
7	Leknys/Hoogencamp	9:36.44	0 laps

Open Rat Race finalists: R.Justic/R.Owen - 3rd | P.Gibeault/M.Wilson/R.Justic - 1st | G.Wilson/M.Wilson - 2nd | Fry/Taylor - 4th
Photo courtesy of Warren Leadbeatter

4:57 Video courtesy of Mark Godfrey

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Slow Goodyear

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final Score
1	S.Rothwell/C.Sculley	5:11.84	5:20.09	10:38.75
2	R.Justic/A.Kerr	5:40.56	D.Q.	10:50.85
3	M.McDermott/T.McDermott	DNF	5:13.38	10:58.35
4	P.Gibeault/R.Owen	6:32.72	5:43.78
5	P.Dillon/C.Dillon	DNS	DNS
6	M.Dillon/R.Dillon	DNS	DNS

Slow Goodyear finalists: R.Justic/A.Kerr - 2nd | S.Rothwell/C.Sculley | M.McDermott/T.McDermott - 3rd
Photo courtesy of Warren Leadbeatter

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Vintage A Team Race

64th NATS VINTAGE A T/R

It was truly awesome to be at the Dalby Nats. Despite the horrendous floods all around the town, aeromodellers were able to complete flying on 7 out of the 8 scheduled days. Only 1/2A and Vintage Combat remained unflown on the last day when the anticipated heavy rain finally arrived.

The warmth and friendliness of the Queensland locals had to be experienced to be believed. The amount of preparation and sheer hard work of the Dalby organizers like Ross Milne, Dale Jeude and Chairman John Taylor was simply amazing. There was a seemingly endless supply of fresh sandwiches and cold water for everyone. Yes, it was an adventure getting up to the Nats and back, but those who decided to go will look back and say, “Wow… what a memorable time we had in Dalby!”

Vintage as usual promised to be a closely contested race. The event was transferred to the Cotton Gin’s hard surface, as the grass was too bouncy at the Touch Footy ground. Eleven teams was a good entry when all things were considered. The West Australians showed good form in practice and looked likely to take it right up to the East Coast lads. It was going to be a very competitive race. Conditions were fairly hot and humid, certainly not good weather for diesels to be at their best. As it was, many models failed to get off the ground with what seemed to be vapor lock.

Richard and Bruce Bellis had good speed and quick restarts. They cruised to an easy first round 3.25.53 to qualify third fastest. Looking to improve on that time in the second round, Bruce’s finger had an altercation with the APC 7x7 and he had to go and visit a Dalby Doc. This effectively put paid to their chances in the final.

Graeme Wilson was using his vast experience in the middle flying the Olympian to help keep Harry Bailey in the mix. Harry was on the oily end for a change and showed good form in the pits with a first round 3.24 and then a 3.32.75 second round.

Was great to see combat ace Tom Linwood having a crack at Vintage A with dad Andrew. Tom is learning more every time he grabs a T/R handle and will soon be just as comfortable flying 3 up as he always has flying 2 up with streamers.

Of the other WA guys, Rob Fry and Alasdair Taylor got close with a 3.36.97 second round. Ron Hoogenkamp and Kristian Nash had a run in which finished their chances of being part of the top three. Colin and Shane Leknys enjoyed the racing but it seemed their engine did not enjoy the humid conditions.

Murray Wilson has been there and done that in all the C/L disciplines. This time he was doing the pitting and John Hallowell was flying. They flew the Elliptical in the first round and were a couple of laps short. You can’t two stop at this level! A slightly smaller venturi is due to be fitted.

Then Murray’s super quick Dimpled Dumpling was flown, but a needle problem just before the heat saw them way off setting and it was goodbye to any chance of pulling off this championship.

A sentimental favorite for this event was Steve Rothwell. For many years, Steve has stood back and watched other people win major events with his fabulous R250 engines. Perhaps it was finally his turn for a win? Now teamed up with Chris Sculley, they looked the goods with a blistering first round 3.18.41 FTD and followed it up with a slower second round 3.41.97, due to one slow stop. Steve had mixed up 2 different fuels to adjust for the conditions. One bottle was 1.2 % IPN and the other was 1.4 % IPN. He was able to blend both to obtain the best % for the day’s conditions. Smart thinking!

The SuperMacs of Mark and Trent McDermott did not have the best of days and were not happy when their final chance of posting a good time in the second round when a missed hot catch and low laps resulted in a 4.04.. Would have made a final in the late 80’s… but not in the 21st century… Seriously, Mark’s workload as Control Line Co-ordinator gave him less than ideal time for his race preparations. And a badly cut, sore and heavily bandaged hand did not help with catching.

It was a similar story for Andy Kerr and Richard Justic. Usually right up at the pointy end of fast times, Andy’s preparation time was limited this year with his Speed events and engineering work.

Worthy of a mention was Queensland’s Rhys Patten. He was super keen and came prepared to fly VTR with a beautifully built R250 powered Tiger Terror, complete with a highly detailed tiger stripe finish. But after competing in the Burford A event, (Taipan engines only) he elected not to fly in VTR until he gets more 3 up practice. Let’s hope that he gets in that vital practice before his next competition. If they want more people flying team race, other teams in Queensland need to step in and help out newcomers with practice and good advice.

It was time for the final. Bruce Bellis was unable to flick so the WA team took their place in the final but elected not start the race. This left Rothwell/Sculley and Wilson/Bailey to battle for line honours. The Rothwell Dimpled Dumpling had a small speed advantage and with Chris Sculley’s whirlwind arm belting the APC 7x7 for quick starts, they established a slight lead. Both R250’s were running smooth and fast.

Harry would probably rather have been holding the handle as both stops were not as quick as he would have liked. So Steve and Chris got home first and will go down in the record books as the National Champions in Vintage Team Race in 2011. A popular victory and very well deserved. Rothwell/Sculley’s time was 6.57.72 and Wilson/Bailey finished with 7.20.31.

John Hallowell
VH 1984

		Rd 1	Rd 2	Final
1	Rothwell/Sculley	3.18.41	3.41.97	6.57.72
2	Wilson/Bailey	3.24.56	3.32.75	7.20.31
3	Bellis/Bellis	3.25.53	DNF	DNS
4	Fry/Taylor	3.42.56	3.36.97
5	Hallowell/Wilson	5.34.50	3.52.00
6	Linwood/Linwood	4.45.06	3.54.03
7	McDermott/McDermott	4.00.41	4.04.00
8	Hoogenkamp/Nash	4.08.03	DNF61
9	Justic/Kerr	DNF76	DNF31
10	Leknys/Leknys	DNS	DQ 11
11	Patten/Egyed	DNS	DNS

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Vintage Combat

No competition due to weather.

The event was to be the last time I flew in a Nats control line event but was unfortunately initially washed out. After surviving the flood covered roads and landslide on the Toowoomba range, those entrants who were able decamped to the Nats satellite field at the corner of Apppaloosa Court and Crowson Lane at Munruben (Greenbank if using G.P.S.). After the rain had stopped at 5:00 pm competition began with the following provisional results:-

After quite a bit of wrangling, argument and name calling, the reigning National champion M. Comiskey successfully defended his title by attempting several F2B patterns simultaneously.

Andrew Linwood was conceded Second place after taking off and flying until he got too dizzy having not flown for a couple of years! I grabbed Third as I at least launched the flights whilst Tom L. wouldn’t get up off the lounge as he only wanted to watch cartoons (no stamina or should that be dementia!). All other entrants were awarded equal fifth position in their absence. So sorry fellas.

Brian Burke

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Vintage Stunt

64th NATS VINTAGE STUNT

Six old timers lined up on Sunday after the Vintage Stunt in great conditions, except that the smaller models with small wheels had trouble in the spongy grass, Peter Anglberger resorting to a large sheet of cardboard for a take-off strip.

Models assembled were:- Ambassador (1951) with Taipan 2.5D (1955), Thunderbug (1958) with Glo Chief .35 (1958), Lil Duper Zilch (1949) with Torpedo .29 (1948), All American (1951) with K.& B. .35 (1951), Wombat (1949) with Sabre .29 (1953), Nobler (1951) with Fox .35 (1949).

Top static score went to Paul Turner’s Wombat with Peter Anglberger’s Ambassador and Don Keyssecker’s Lil Duper Zilch sharing second spot 15 points down, Lack of Documentation cost Wayne Jackson’s Nobler dearly.

Round 1 saw Peter Anglberger put in a top flight, even with a flip-over on landing he lead the flight scores.

Barry Frederickson flew the All American well and posted a score only 5.5 points behind Peter.

Colin Maybury had his motor quit in the Thunderbug after the dive putting him under pressure for the second round.

Don Keyssecker showed us that a small model can do a good pattern just 20 or so points behind Peter.

The “Pachyderm Award” in Vintage would have to be shared between Wayne Jackson and Paul Turner who both forgot to do the wing-over. They both lost landing points when Wayne had an over run and Paul flipped the Wombat on landing.

Round 2 got underway with all determined to do better.

Paul Turner managed to do a wing over this time and keep the Wombat on it’s wheels when landing. This flight was to be the top flight for round 2.

Peter Anglberger gave his little Ambassador a work out and improved on round 1.

Barry Frederickson also improved on his round 1 even while forgetting the wing over.

Don Keyssecker put in another solid flight that put him on the podium.

Colin Maybury got his Thunderbug going but while doing some good manoeuvres forgot the wingover.

Wayne Jackson once again forgot the wing over (what’s with the wingover) and had an over run of 14 seconds costing him any chance.

Congratulations to Paul Turner 1st. Peter Anglberger 2nd. and Don Keyssecker 3rd.

Compiled by HeHoo Wazthere.

CD: Paul Turner Static Judge: Paul Turner Flight Judge: Reg Towell		Static	Rd 1	Rd 2	Final Score
1	Paul Turner Wombat / Sabre 29	121	149.0	170.5	291.5
2	Peter Anglberger Ambassador / Taipan 2.5 D	106	160.0	167.0	273.0
3	Don Keyssecker Lil Duper Zilch / K&B 29	106	138.5	150.5	256.5
4	Barry Frederickson All American / K&B Torpedo 35	86	154.5	164.0	250.0
5	Colin Maybury Thunderbug / Glochief 35	84	30.0	123.5	207.5
6	Wayne Jackson Nobler / Fox 35	57	89.5	107.0	164.0

Vintage Stunt finalists: Don Keyssecker - 3rd | Paul Turner - 1st | Peter Anglberger - 2nd
Photo courtesy of Warren Leadbeatter

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Miscellaneous Photos

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