Blue Water River Run
Improving on last years Blue Water River Run would be close to impossible but Denny and Barb Baker did it. Thanks to the help of CD Cliff Sands, timing and scoring boss Janelle Avery, start line boss Holly Hollingworth and all the fantastic workers, the 2004 Blue Water River Run was a shining success and have set the bar for Giant Scale Air Races! Having a great airport, the Blue Water River Resort & Casino and the beautiful Arizona weather doesn’t hurt either.
Thursday got underway with the USRA tech inspections and range checks. Fred Sargent and Fred Sattler were in charge of air frame inspections and Holly and Chris Sargent conducted the range checks. These guys deserve a big Thank You for their help during the race weekend.
Friday started off with the Dominators taking to the skies followed by the T6 class. The class was supported by 5 aircraft and the championship would come down to the last heat of the series. The F1-GT class boasted 18 entries with the majority of them competitive enough to win. The F1 class had 11 airplanes and featured some really hot and heavy action. The Unlimiteds rounded out the event with its strongest turn out of the year.
Saturday started out good enough, but by noon the wind had picked up considerably with a nasty crosswind. A vote to take a 3 hour break and report back to the airport at 3 pm was made. By the time the pilots and the crew reported back the wind was right down the runway. The 4th round was started and all the heat winners received heat money donated by Tom Easterday and CRT. You could pick the heat winners out of the crowd by the size of the smile on their face. THANKS TOM.
Saturday night everyone attended the banquet at the Blue Water. There was an entertaining slide show, great food and a bar! Judging by the laughter, lots of fun was had by all. Besides the actual flying of the planes, I think these get togethers are the most enjoyable parts of GSR. As you all know, there is an abundance of emotions during a typical race day. Sure we all talk, but little is about anything other than Giant Scale Racing. This time away from racing offer all of us time to relax and actually get to know each one another and unwind from our intense racing day.
Sunday morning was beautiful and the 5th heat got underway at about 9:30am. Championships in Unlimited, F1 and F1-GT had pretty much been decided before the fifth and final heat of the 2004 racing year, but in the T6 class it came down to the fifth heat to decide the 2004 champ. Keith Keoppel and myself were locked into a tight point battle. One of us finishing 1 place in front of the other would determine the champ. We passed the start/finish line at roughly the same time and flew all 6 laps wing tip to wing tip. Turning off pylon 2 for the last time we both pointed our Texans down the runway passing the finish line about 5 feet off the ground – wing tip to wing tip. Keith took the win by 6” and the championship by 1 point! It was the most exciting race either of us had ever had. Congrats, Keith.
The Gold round started after a lunch break with the Dominators followed by AT-6, F1-GT, F1 and Unlimited. The Gold Dominator race was won by Dennis Friesel. Congratulations to this first year racer. The competition in Dominator is intense and like the F1-GT and F1 classes, everybody is a threat. The T-6 Gold Race started poorly for Kevan Avery and myself as I collided with Kevan before the race took the green flag. Keith Keoppel riding high from just winning the Championship cruised to his second Gold win of the season with Jose Macias and Joe Zimmerman following him for 2nd and 3rd.
The F1GT Gold followed the AT-6 Gold. I don’t believe there was a pilot on that line who thought they had it in the bag. The Gold round consisted of Denny Baker, Fred French, John Lockwood, Kevan Avery and myself and this race was up for grabs. It was a great start and tight racing over the 6 laps. Fred French finished 1st flying the fastest time of the event followed by myself, John, Kevan and Denny. The GT class has become one of the most competitive classes and I am sure next year will boast some 25 plane fields.
The F1-Pro pilots realized that making that Gold race was no gimmee. If they wanted any part of the $3000.00 purse put up by Tom Easterday and CRT, they would have to fight for it. Making the Trophy race was Jeff Powell, Ken McSpadden, Fred French, Charles Powell Jr., and Scott Manning. As fate would have it, Ken McSpadden had plug problems on start up and had to pull off the line. This allowed alternate Diego Lopez to get airborne. The nitro burners were putting on a great show with Fast Freddie French or “Forever Freddie” finished first with a 1:29:9 followed by Jeff, Charlie, Scott and Diego.
The Unlimited Class saw its strongest showing of the year at Parker. A resurrection is in the making with many planes being built for a new year. Super strong Dave Smith won the Gold. These planes are always a crowd favorite!
At the end of the awards ceremony the 2004 USRA Champions were announced. This year’s champions are Keith Keoppel in AT-6, Dave Smith in Unlimited, Denny Baker in F1-GT and Jeff Powell in F1-Pro. Each Champion received a championship cup, hat and shirt from Tru-Turn, embroidered champions jacket, a check from USRA for $250.00 and thanks to JR, the new JR 9303 Radio System. Congratulations to all of our 2004 Champions!
Once again the Blue Water Run in Parker, AZ was a terrific ending to our USRA Racing year.
Rules Discussion
We are quickly approaching the end of the year and this means the rules cycle is up and the rules can be modified or changed. There are a few issues to be tackled such as limits to on-board telemetry systems, caller-timing boxes, mandatory in flight on/off switches for ignition engines, mandatory data-safe settings and others. It is vital to our organization that you as a member stay in touch with your District Rep so your opinions are heard and you stay abreast of how your rep and board are voting on rules that may affect you. The decisions we make affect you all, so let your voice be heard.
Election Update
Remember this is the second year for your elected officers, and there will be an election in the later part of the year. Now is the time to start thinking about your choice for board members or maybe even running yourself.
AMA Convention
We will again have a booth at the AMA Convention in Ontario, CA in January 2005. Last years booth was well attended by many of our West Coast members and a good time was had by all. Make plans to attend.
2005 Season
Some new changes will be seen in the 2005 racing season. The central district race will be held at Rantoul Air Force Base in Rantoul, IL June 23-26, 2005. The race is promoted by Horizon Hobbies and is sure to be a fantastic event. The race in Ashtabula, Oh this year will be held with a tentative date of August 18-21, 2005. The Blue Water River Run is set for October 20-23, 2005. I have been told of many new airplanes being built for the 2005 USRA Racing Series and it looks to be an exciting year.
Until Next Time...
Scott Hanbury
USRA-President