2013 FAC Non-Nats
Orv Williamson always brings a fleet of gorgeous scale models. This pretty Aeronca Champion(above left) is a great example. Ed Novak of Connecticut is ready to launch his Scientific Fairchild 22 FAC Scale model (above right).
Classics such as these are competitive with modern designs. And now for something completely different! Clive Gamble’s Jimmy Allen Monsoon Clipper (below, at left).
Jet flyers and those brave souls who had not yet gotten all of their officials in were flying. I was able to help Richard Zapf get late offi- cial flights in the Modern Civilian event with his 30-inch Dumas DeHavilland Beaver. On each flight, the model climbed away into the wind making one long downwind leg to the tree line at the edge of the field. It was fun watching the Jet Catapult glid- er flyers adjust their launch positions to fac- tor wind direction and speed into the mod- el’s rollout from climb to glide. FAC News editor extraordinaire, Rich Weber, won the Jet Catapult event with his Bell P-59 Aira- comet turning in an impressive best official flight of 53 seconds.
As the second day of competition moved into the late hours of the afternoon, the
strong winds suddenly abated and a period of calm ensued. Along the flightline, flyers who had been sitting out the wind sudden- ly sprang into action to take advantage of the calm. The short period that followed would be described later by some flyers as the “Golden Hour”.
It started with Chris Starleaf toting his four-motored Consolidated B-24 out to fly — a sight not easy to miss as the model spans nearly six feet! As the big bomber climbed away, Vance Gilbert, also eager to get into the calm air, launched his four-foot span Cur- tiss Twin Jenny. With the Jenny and B-24 circling high, Matt King proceeded to launch and join the fun with his Comet 54-inch T-Craft. All who were there knew it was a special moment as the three FAC Giant Scale
Ted Allebone’s Debut Embryo(above left) leaps off the table. Flyers dressed for the hot, humid weather. Fighters climb out (above right) in the WWII Mass
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Launch earlier than normal. The winds picked up and storms blew through the area later that day.
NOVEMBER 2013
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