heli001
Jul 09, 2004, 02:00 AM
!Introduction/Overview
For those of you familiar with the events held at Triple Tree Aerodrome, this was the second event of the year, following the Joe Nall in May. The date was Saturday the 26th of June, 2004. This is the second, in a series of articles I plan to do for RCGroups about the events held at Triple Tree.
Matt Chapman, competition aerobatic pilot extraordinaire’, has graciously lent his name and support to this event, which is held for young pilots under the age of 16. It is almost beyond belief, that a world class Aerobatic/Airline pilot can find the time to devote, to a venture of this nature. The sole purpose of this competition is to develop sportsmanship/fellowship among young pilots and give them the chance to compete on an equal level.
!The Planes
@909018:"The" Futaba Plane
@909019:"The" JR plane
They flew two identically prepared Fiber Classic 35 percent aircraft, one with a JR radio and a DA 100 engine and the other with a Futaba radio and a 3W 100 engine. This year's event drew 18 competitors from all over the Southeast, with twelve flying Basic and six competing in the Advanced class.
!Before the Contest Began -- "Test Day"
I arrived on the site on Thursday the 24th and set up my RV, as usual. (This time, I brought along my Black Lab puppy, named LW. She had a great time swimming in the lake and enjoying all of the attention shown to her, by all of the people in attendance. She is truly an RC dog, and enjoys going with me wherever I go.)
On Thursday afternoon, the “planes” were brought out of the hangar for their first test flight of the year. The Triple Tree crew had spent the previous two weeks preparing them for the pilots to fly, and today was the test day. Everything went normal, as several different pilots flew the aircraft and “wrung them out” and Kirby McKinney gave his stamp of approval, for the planes to be used in competition. As stated before, both planes are identical except for the radios, engines and color scheme. There were many sponsors that donated equipment and time to get these planes ready for the young pilots. After testing, the planes were returned to the hangar, not to be seen until the beginning of competition on Saturday morning.
!Friday -- "Practice Day"
@909020:Stormy skies on Friday.
@909021:The two official assistants -- the brothers Jesky -- visit before it all gets started.
On Friday morning, some competitors began arriving just before lunch and began setting up the various practice planes that they had brought. We had several major thunder storm cells move through in the afternoon, as it had been doing for the past month in South Carolina. A leisurely day of flying ensued, while all of the competitors wanted to see the big planes that they would be flying on Saturday. Most of them had not flown any planes of that size before and the excitement was very high. The brothers Jesky, Andrew and Joe, arrived late in the afternoon, after their long drive from Monroe, MI. Andrew was the backup pilot for all of the competitors (Taking off and Landing) and Joe did all of the mechanical work, minor repairs, and fueling, etc. The dedication that these two individuals show to the hobby/sport is to be commended.
We also had a father and son flying team from Texas visit in a full scale 1950 Cessna 170 on Friday evening between the thunder cells.
!Saturday -- The Big Day!
On Saturday morning at 6AM, we had another thunderstorm and I would not have given you fifty cents that we would be able to get the event off. The planes were brought from the hangar around 8AM, fueled and made ready for competition. The look on some competitors faces was one of amazement at the size of the aircraft they were about to fly. After Bob Sadler had the pilots meeting, the competition began, with each pilot flying two routines for three rounds of competition, that constituted 54 flights (108 routines) and 54 take off and landings for Andrew, for the day. Bob stressed that the competition was not about who won or came in last, but about forming friendships and the sportsmanship associated with this hobby/sport. The youngest pilot was 7 and the oldest was 15. For some reason, the sky cleared up and the day became a sauna with all of the wet grass making steam, but no more rain for the day. The RC Gods were looking out for us.
@909022:This has to be one of the coolest pictures of the day... as 11 year old Advanced winner Matthew Laine calls for Brandon Simmons. A new friendship was made here, and this is the epitome of what this event is all about.
@909023:This is our youngest pilot -- with his dad -- 7 year old Alex Porter, honing his flying technique.
!Results
@909024:First place basic, Tyler Prowell!
@909025:First place advanced, Matthew Laine!
The following is a list of competitors in placing order in each category:
*#<b>Basic </b>
*Tyler Prowell, Mauldin, SC
*Adam Ranck, Shelby, NC
*Chris Leyland, New Hope, PA
*Robert Andersen, New Bern, NC
*Adam Hammett, Prince Frederick, MD
*Justin Owen, Grayson, GA
*Ben Selock, Inverness,FL
*Craig Wasilewsky, Marietta, GA
*Brandon Simmons, Aiken, SC
*Aaron Simmons, Aiken, SC
*Travis Lafontaine, Good Hope, GA
*Alex Porter, Willow Spring, NC
*#<b>Advanced</b>
*Matthew Laine, New Albany, OH
*Brian Dierks, Round Rock, TX
*Kyle Stewart, Dunn, NC
*Chris Scoggins, Albany, GA
*Chase Wolk, Hampton Cove, AL
*Brent Maggard, Olive Hill, KY
!Conclusion
@909026:Group shot of entire cast of characters
All of the competitor’s pictures are shown on the <a href="http://www.joenall.com">Confederate Air Farce website</a>. Please visit their great site for information on the upcoming events held at the facility. The next event will be the triple Tree Aerotow held on the 9th and 10th of July...look for coverage here, on <a href="http://www.rcgroups.com">RCGroups</a>!
Many thanks need to go out to all of the volunteers that make these events happen, and a special thanks to Stan and Nora Stockman for their efforts, Stan is the CD for this particular event. All of the judges and especially to the parents, friends and grandparents that took the time and gave of themselves freely, with hundreds of hours spent in preparation to spend a day with a young pilot. And it goes without saying, many thanks to Pat Hartness and the guys at Triple Tree, for without them and this beautiful facility, none of these events could happen.
A special thank you to Carol for the great photos!
For those of you familiar with the events held at Triple Tree Aerodrome, this was the second event of the year, following the Joe Nall in May. The date was Saturday the 26th of June, 2004. This is the second, in a series of articles I plan to do for RCGroups about the events held at Triple Tree.
Matt Chapman, competition aerobatic pilot extraordinaire’, has graciously lent his name and support to this event, which is held for young pilots under the age of 16. It is almost beyond belief, that a world class Aerobatic/Airline pilot can find the time to devote, to a venture of this nature. The sole purpose of this competition is to develop sportsmanship/fellowship among young pilots and give them the chance to compete on an equal level.
!The Planes
@909018:"The" Futaba Plane
@909019:"The" JR plane
They flew two identically prepared Fiber Classic 35 percent aircraft, one with a JR radio and a DA 100 engine and the other with a Futaba radio and a 3W 100 engine. This year's event drew 18 competitors from all over the Southeast, with twelve flying Basic and six competing in the Advanced class.
!Before the Contest Began -- "Test Day"
I arrived on the site on Thursday the 24th and set up my RV, as usual. (This time, I brought along my Black Lab puppy, named LW. She had a great time swimming in the lake and enjoying all of the attention shown to her, by all of the people in attendance. She is truly an RC dog, and enjoys going with me wherever I go.)
On Thursday afternoon, the “planes” were brought out of the hangar for their first test flight of the year. The Triple Tree crew had spent the previous two weeks preparing them for the pilots to fly, and today was the test day. Everything went normal, as several different pilots flew the aircraft and “wrung them out” and Kirby McKinney gave his stamp of approval, for the planes to be used in competition. As stated before, both planes are identical except for the radios, engines and color scheme. There were many sponsors that donated equipment and time to get these planes ready for the young pilots. After testing, the planes were returned to the hangar, not to be seen until the beginning of competition on Saturday morning.
!Friday -- "Practice Day"
@909020:Stormy skies on Friday.
@909021:The two official assistants -- the brothers Jesky -- visit before it all gets started.
On Friday morning, some competitors began arriving just before lunch and began setting up the various practice planes that they had brought. We had several major thunder storm cells move through in the afternoon, as it had been doing for the past month in South Carolina. A leisurely day of flying ensued, while all of the competitors wanted to see the big planes that they would be flying on Saturday. Most of them had not flown any planes of that size before and the excitement was very high. The brothers Jesky, Andrew and Joe, arrived late in the afternoon, after their long drive from Monroe, MI. Andrew was the backup pilot for all of the competitors (Taking off and Landing) and Joe did all of the mechanical work, minor repairs, and fueling, etc. The dedication that these two individuals show to the hobby/sport is to be commended.
We also had a father and son flying team from Texas visit in a full scale 1950 Cessna 170 on Friday evening between the thunder cells.
!Saturday -- The Big Day!
On Saturday morning at 6AM, we had another thunderstorm and I would not have given you fifty cents that we would be able to get the event off. The planes were brought from the hangar around 8AM, fueled and made ready for competition. The look on some competitors faces was one of amazement at the size of the aircraft they were about to fly. After Bob Sadler had the pilots meeting, the competition began, with each pilot flying two routines for three rounds of competition, that constituted 54 flights (108 routines) and 54 take off and landings for Andrew, for the day. Bob stressed that the competition was not about who won or came in last, but about forming friendships and the sportsmanship associated with this hobby/sport. The youngest pilot was 7 and the oldest was 15. For some reason, the sky cleared up and the day became a sauna with all of the wet grass making steam, but no more rain for the day. The RC Gods were looking out for us.
@909022:This has to be one of the coolest pictures of the day... as 11 year old Advanced winner Matthew Laine calls for Brandon Simmons. A new friendship was made here, and this is the epitome of what this event is all about.
@909023:This is our youngest pilot -- with his dad -- 7 year old Alex Porter, honing his flying technique.
!Results
@909024:First place basic, Tyler Prowell!
@909025:First place advanced, Matthew Laine!
The following is a list of competitors in placing order in each category:
*#<b>Basic </b>
*Tyler Prowell, Mauldin, SC
*Adam Ranck, Shelby, NC
*Chris Leyland, New Hope, PA
*Robert Andersen, New Bern, NC
*Adam Hammett, Prince Frederick, MD
*Justin Owen, Grayson, GA
*Ben Selock, Inverness,FL
*Craig Wasilewsky, Marietta, GA
*Brandon Simmons, Aiken, SC
*Aaron Simmons, Aiken, SC
*Travis Lafontaine, Good Hope, GA
*Alex Porter, Willow Spring, NC
*#<b>Advanced</b>
*Matthew Laine, New Albany, OH
*Brian Dierks, Round Rock, TX
*Kyle Stewart, Dunn, NC
*Chris Scoggins, Albany, GA
*Chase Wolk, Hampton Cove, AL
*Brent Maggard, Olive Hill, KY
!Conclusion
@909026:Group shot of entire cast of characters
All of the competitor’s pictures are shown on the <a href="http://www.joenall.com">Confederate Air Farce website</a>. Please visit their great site for information on the upcoming events held at the facility. The next event will be the triple Tree Aerotow held on the 9th and 10th of July...look for coverage here, on <a href="http://www.rcgroups.com">RCGroups</a>!
Many thanks need to go out to all of the volunteers that make these events happen, and a special thanks to Stan and Nora Stockman for their efforts, Stan is the CD for this particular event. All of the judges and especially to the parents, friends and grandparents that took the time and gave of themselves freely, with hundreds of hours spent in preparation to spend a day with a young pilot. And it goes without saying, many thanks to Pat Hartness and the guys at Triple Tree, for without them and this beautiful facility, none of these events could happen.
A special thank you to Carol for the great photos!