North Coast Challenge
Well, the race organizers in Ohio did it again, and we had a great time at the Ashtabula airport. We had a good number of racers who made the trip, and I want to thank everyone who came out to race. I know how hard it is to save up your time and money to go racing, but the continued support of events like the North Coast Challenge insure the continuation of our sport not just in Ohio and Kansas, but EVERYWHERE. Without participation from ALL areas of our nation, we will not have enough entries to make it practical to organize an event for us to race at ANYWHERE. Keep that in mind, and do everything you can to support our races.
That being said, everyone who came to
Ohio had a great time. We kicked things off
on Wednesday with tech inspection, setting up the pits, and verifying the race course
dimensions. A large number of racers then
went over to Scott and Stacy Hanbury’s for a BBQ cookout. The food was great and the stories were as tall as
the oak trees in front of the house! What a
fun group to hang out with. Thanks Scott and
Stacy!
Thursday we finished up tech
inspections and had a pilot’s meeting before heat racing began in the afternoon. We had great cooperation from the airport manager,
and CD Tony Husak kept the wheels rolling out on the flightline with the assistance of
Dennis Fuchs. The 1st round
jitters caught a few people off guard and we lost a couple of airplanes early, but things
went smoothly.
Friday began with another pilot’s
meeting before the racing began in earnest. The
T-6 racers looked like a pack of hornets out there with everyone bunched together in both
heats. Formula 1 had quite a few people
stubbing their toes and picking up zeroes with bad engine runs, cuts, and mid-airs, some
with all three in one flight! Thompson Trophy
was quickly pared down to one airplane left flying by attrition too. Biplane had five strong entries that were very
evenly matched. They were very entertaining
to watch all weekend. A new entry to the bipe
field was Peter Goldsmith from Horizon Hobby Distributors.
Peter was flying Tony Husak’s Mong at the urging of fellow racers Don
Moden, Tom Keating and others, and had a great time.
Peter already has a couple of race planes on order for next year, so keep
you eye out for him. The Unlimited Class
started out strong too, but Dave Smith lost his Ashley in the morning heat and Archie
Snider lost his NA-50 in the afternoon to quickly bring the class down to two entries. Experimental was looking like three entries and
points towards the World Championship this year when Tom Keating damaged his Lancair on a
test flight and dropped out. Fred Sattler and
Robert Holik took turns delighting the spectators with their airplanes during the heats
for the rest of the weekend. The Dominator
guys also showed good numbers at this race, and I saw lots of shaking knees and smiling
faces in that crowd. There were a couple of
Dominator guys there who are making plans on “stepping up” next year. I’m sure we would all be glad to help any of
them get started, so don’t be afraid to ask.
Friday night a big bunch of racers went
into town at the recommendation of VP Hanbury to a restaurant with world famous hot wings. We ended up taking over half of the place, and
they wisely put us off in our own room! I can
guarantee you that everyone there had a blast, and we all ended up with large amounts of
BBQ sauce on our faces! Of course the evening
wouldn’t have been complete without the requisite stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream
on the way back to the motel!
Saturday was business as usual, but we
did get the chance to hear from AMA representative Carl Maroney at the pilot’s
meeting. Carl brought us up to date on AMA topics and talked about Giant Scale racing’s
association with the AMA. We also had the
chance to ask some questions and express our views with him before racing cranked up
again. The racing went well on Saturday with
the T-6’s getting even tighter together, and the F-1 class getting very racy. Eric
Hunter and Tom Easterday were in the thick of things and Jerry Bradley was looking good
flying one of Ed Rankin’s new “Proud Bird” racers. Tom Keating and Terry
Williams looked like the two to beat in bipe, but the rest of the pack wasn’t that
far away including Fred Sargent and John Creagh. Dominators
got three rounds in on Saturday, and every race was closer than the previous one.
With Saturday racing done, it was time
for the world famous steak and corn-on-the-cob feast out at the field. The food was both great and plentiful and the
racers really appreciated all of the hard work by the MARCS club who helped cook the food
and put on the race. After dinner, we had the
annual dessert contest with entries judged on taste, and originality of presentation. The entries defy description, so you will have to
come out next year to check them out for yourselves.
Lastly, we all sang happy birthday to Tony Husak and Archie Snider who were
celebrating birthdays, and there was even a huge cake for those of us who didn’t get
enough dessert. But the evening wasn’t
finished yet. Dave Presta, Robert Holik and
Jim Chase were able to acquire some fireworks on their journey east, and with the
permission of the airport manager, put on a
great fireworks display after the sun set. They
had lots of help lighting stuff off out on the taxiway, but their identities were hard to
ascertain from where I was hiding…I mean watching.
Sunday was Trophy day, and most
everyone had their race faces on, but you can’t race on an empty stomach, and
thankfully Chris and Joann Justus put on a FREE breakfast out at the field with the help
of their family. The food was great and it was just what the racers needed to get going
after a long weekend of racing. The weather
was very mild in the morning and round 6 was completed early. Peter Goldsmith gave us a great show with his TOC
Cap 232 at lunch, and the good-sized crowd also loved the rocket launch exhibition put on
by the local club. Trophy races began
shortly after lunch and we wrapped up awards presentations by 4:30pm. I want to thank the event organizers Tony Husak,
Chris Justus, and Tom Keating for a great event and a fantastic time. They also had lots of help from their wives,
friends, and of course the MARCS club who staffed the event. Due to the generous support of the race sponsors,
and the hard word work of everyone, the organizers were able to pay out close to 90% of
the entry fees in prize money. They are ready
to have us back again next year, and I am certainly ready to go. Thanks again to all of you, and to the racers who
came and supported this event. I’m sure
they all enjoyed themselves.
Be sure to check the results from Ohio….Congratulations to
everyone.
As many of you know, we had to disqualify an AT-6 contestant at the Ohio race for a non-stock part. The part in question is the spacer between the cylinder and the carburetor. The contestant used a part readily available from aftermarket sources that is shorter in length than the part that comes with the engine from Zenoah. This contestant was not looking for any sort of performance gain, he merely used this part so that the carburetor would fit inside the cowling, but he was still disqualified because it was not a stock Zenoah part. The disqualification not only nullified his third place finish in the trophy race, it removed all points earned for the world championship at this event. I know this may sound like a harsh punishment for such a small crime, but it is imperative that we enforce our rules so that others will see that we do so in a fair and honest manner. This contestant was tremendously disappointed, but absolutely agreed with the ruling. My hat is off to him for his fine display of sportsmanship.
Now the rest of you T-6 drivers and potential T-6 contestants please take note. The only spacer that can be used between the carburetor and cylinder is the stock Zenoah part that comes with the engine. It is black and is 15/16ths of an inch in length. The new Zenoah engines that are shipped come with both this spacer and a new one that rotates the carb so that you can operate the throttle without a bellcrank. This new spacer is NOT legal in the T-6 class, and we have not seen one to date on a racer in post race inspection. Don’t put one on your racer! If you have any questions, contact your District Representative or myself and we will get you the information you need.
Eagle Field 2002
Don’t miss out on this event, and get your registration in early to save some money on your entry fee. Archie Snider is planning another fantastic event to close our racing season until 2003. There are already a good number of contestants ready to go, and Archie says the BBQ is on again for Saturday night. The race dates are September 25th-29th, and we will also be awarding the USRA World Championships at this race. Remember what I said about supporting the races? Here is your chance. Don’t look for an excuse to stay at home….We need you out at the races. Race information is at our website at www.usrainfo.org . I’ll see you at Eagle Field!
Ken McSpadden