Golden State Unlimited at Eagle Field
Hey everybody, here’s an update on the season ending race at Eagle field. As we have come to expect, Archie and his crew did a great job putting together another top-notch event for us. Eagle field was graded, watered and rolled for us to play on when we arrived on Wednesday. Many of the contestants arrived early for tech inspections and a test flight or two.
On Thursday, the rest of the racers arrived and tech inspections were
completed along with radio range checks. A
few more test flights were made and we had a pilot’s meeting around noon. CD Cal Orr went over the “ground rules”
of Eagle field concerning the deadlines, and also reviewed some of the other racing
procedures that we sometimes have questions about. We “turned props” for round 1
at 2:00pm and finished for the day just after 4pm.
We had a good turnout for the race in
most of the classes with 10 T-6 racers, 13 Formulas, and a very strong 12 Unlimiteds. We ended up with 4 in both the Biplane and
Experimental classes. Scott and Stacy Hanbury
made the trip from Ohio, and Paul Towkach came all the way from Florida. Don and Dot Moden
and Loren “Lightning” Tregellas also cruised in from Kansas to
support the race. Everyone else was a “West
Coast” California racer.
Thursday, after round 1, Archie called
another meeting for the pilots and offered the option of running 7 rounds because things
were going so smoothly. Everyone thought this
was a good idea, so we scheduled 3 rounds for Friday.
Scott Hanbury and I both agreed that we should keep an hour break between
rounds to allow for the contestants to properly prepare their aircraft, and Archie agreed. We all felt that it was important to have an
adequate amount of time for fueling, inspecting, charging, and in some cases repairing of
the racers so that we are not flying an unsafe aircraft, or one that has not been properly
prepared. Safety should never be left to
chance in our sport, as it might only take one accident to seriously impact the future of
it. You have heard me say this before and
will no doubt hear it again…INSPECT YOUR AIRCRAFT AFTER EVERY FLIGHT! We had no incidents this year, and I want to thank
the participants who helped us have another safe year of racing.
Anyway, back to the races. Friday was a busy day with three rounds, and we
had great weather with light winds down the runway and a few clouds to take the edge off
of the sun. New F-1 racer Brian Cragnotti was
looking good with his Kelly F-1, as were returning F-1 jocks Scott Manning and Bill Malo. Unfortunately Bill’s F-1 had a structural
failure and met terra firma early on. Denny Baker had a cantankerous Polecat that had a
mysterious five lap limit on the engine run. Larry
“Pooh Bear” Sutherland was back with his GR-7 and had many of the same problems
he had at Kansas including a brief “flame” out during a ground run. The McBride boys both had a Formula and also a new
Miss Ashley II powered by a 210cc ZDZ engine. Fred
Sargent had his bipe and Formula down from Oregon and ran good. Jose Macias and John Lockwood were a welcome sight
in the T-6 class, as was APC prop man Fred Burgdorf.
Also returning in T-6 was 2001 champ Keith Keoppel and Kevan Avery with his
slippery lime jello green racer. I need to
thank Keith Keoppel for his hard work in running the radio range check area this season
and also Ralph Cunningham for his engine inspections at all races this year…Thanks
guys! We also got to see Mel Santmeyers bring out his bipe for the first time this year. Mel did really well, and I only saw him tear the
gear off twice, and one of them was the nylon bolts fault!
Rick Maida stepped up into the Unlimited class and had a beautiful
Herbrandson powered Tsunami with an “eagle” paint scheme. Rick also had a landing gear detachment incident,
but had a great time and is ready to go for next year. The next time you see him, ask Rick
about the spirit of Giant Scale racers and the help he got just to be able to race.
We got through the three rounds with
plenty of time to spare, and even had the opportunity to put in a test flight on Hanbury’s
T-6 before the festivities began over at the Baker trailer.
For those of you who don’t know it, Friday night at the Eagle race is
Chili-Cheese dog and Softball Juice night at the Baker’s. Denny and Barbara were looking to break their own
personal best record of 81 dogs at this race and possibly top 100! Everybody had a fantastic time and the weather was
delightful and we ended up eating about 92 dogs and over a case of juice! Not quite over the century mark, but still a new
record! Thanks again Barbara and Denny for
the hospitality, we all appreciate it.
On Saturday, things started to get a
bit more serious as everyone tried to solidify their position for a slot in the Gold races
on Sunday. John Creagh was fighting a gremlin
in his F-1, but was looking good in the bipe class. Tom
Easterday was going fast early on with the Polecat, but leaned on his motor a little too
hard and had to replace it. Joe Reichlin and
Bruce Brown mixed it up in Unlimited, as did Daniel Goldberg with his NA-50. Chuck Winters lost his Unlimited on a takeoff
incident, and Mike Johnson lost his Bearcat with a radio problem. Scott Baker in the other Johnson Ford Bearcat had a few problems, but kept improving throughout the
weekend. Smooth Sammy Stephens was punching
the clock and picking up the points on the way to the Sunday Gold. Don Moden looked like a
sure thing for a Gold race berth when he got locked into a battle in one of his heats. As he dove for the finish line and barely edged
out another T-6 for first place, he cleanly cut off his left wing on the flagpole mounted
on the start clock. The flag was repairable,
Don’s T-6 wasn’t.
We finished both rounds early on
Saturday, and many of us had the chance to go back into town and get a quick shower before
the big BBQ feast out at the field. The
steak and beans were great, as was the cake. Archie
and his crew didn’t miss a beat this year and we all owe him a big “thanks”
for the great job.
On Sunday we finished up round 7, but not before we had a special treat. Out of the southeast a full-sized T-6 buzzed the
runway and then circled and landed. While the
Texan was setting up for its approach, Cal Orr informed everyone that he had a surprise
for Archie Snider. It seems the whole work
crew had pitched in to buy Archie a ride in the vintage trainer! Archie eagerly climbed in, and they blasted off. For several minutes we could see the T-6 flying
around doing rolls and other fun stuff. I
swear you could see Archie’s smile all the way down where we were! Thanks to Cal, Steve Parola, and Dave Presta for
setting that deal up.
We then finished up round 7 and had a lunch break before the Trophy races. In the bipe Trophy race, John Creagh had a
mysterious motor meltdown that left the race wide open.
In the end, Terry Williams snagged the top spot ahead of Fred Sargent and
Mel Santmyers. In T-6, Hanbury got out front
around lap three, but ended up with a cut. Burgdorf
won it with Keoppel, Avery, and Stephens right behind him.
F-1 was exciting as always. Tom
Easterday missed his pullout at the start and “retracted” his landing gear on
the runway. Ben McBride, Shawn Everson, and
myself locked into a battle stacked on top of each other.
Ben and I each had a cut, and Shawn picked up two. I squeaked out the win over Ben and third went to
Fred Sargent when Shawn’s cuts moved him to fourth.
In Unlimited, Daniel Goldberg got to the start line a little early and Joe
Reichlin, Bruce Brown, and myself had a formation first lap. Loren Tregellas was on our tails just a second
behind. Daniel was going great and trying to
out-run his start cut, and I was trying like heck to stay with him. In the end, I ended up less than a second behind
him and took first when the start cut moved Daniel back to 2nd. Joe beat Bruce for third in a good battle, and
Loren chugged home in fifth. Experimental was
a real barn burner. Sattler led early, but
Verano and Holik ran him down. Verano ended
up picking up a couple of cuts and Holik stayed clean to win it. Sattler picked up second
when Verano’s cuts moved him to third.
After we inspected the aircraft in the
trophy races, Archie handed out the beautiful awards to the winners. I can’t say enough good things about the job
that Archie and his crew did. We then moved
on to the USRA World Championship Series awards presentations. Let me take this opportunity to again thank the
sponsors that contributed toward our Championship awards fund. Ron Koberg at Airtronics
has been a supporter of ours for many years, and we appreciate all of his help. Fred Burgdorf from APC propellers has helped us
year in and year out with T-6 and dominator props. John
and Sharon Creagh of Performance Plus Fuels stepped up and helped us this year, and we are
thankful for their support as well. Last but
not least Archie Snider of AeroSport products also was a generous contributor to the
series. Thanks again to all of you. This year’s
Champions received a USRA World Championship Trophy Cup, a USRA World Championship ring,
and a check for $900.
In
the Biplane class, Terry Williams was able to capture the cup this year by consistently
performing at all three races on the calendar. He
certainly had a quick airplane and flew well enough to capture the championship for the
first time. Congratulations Terry!
In the AT-6 class, Sam Stephens was
also a first time winner of the Championship. Steady
Sammy has showed tremendous improvement in his flying and racing skills and benefited
greatly from his experienced caller Fred Sattler. Together they were the team to beat this
year as they consistently score well at all three races.
In F-1, I was able to finally grab the
Championship that I have just missed so many times. Racing
a new GR-7 owned by Rick Schrameck with great calling by Dave Presta and Scott Hanbury, I
scored points at all three races. Racing luck
also played a big part in this Championship when I didn’t lose the airplane after
mid-airing with Fred Sattler, who wasn’t so lucky.
I was also fortunate enough to capture
the Unlimited Championship for the second year in a row.
Rick Schrameck’s Miss Ashley II isn’t always the fastest racer out
there, but it certainly has been dependable and VP Hanbury did a fantastic job calling. Bad luck also struck our biggest competitor Archie
Snider more than once this year. When Archie
was running, he was nearly impossible to beat.
In Experimental, Robert Holik came out
on top of our quickest class. He battled all
year with his teammate Fred Sattler and flew very well and very consistent. Robert is definitely one of the nicest people in
our sport and often helps others with repairs and guidance.
He is a great ambassador for our sport and a champion’s champion.
Well that wraps up the report for this
month. We have lots of things coming up
during the off season, and I will be keeping you all informed. We are going to try to hold our annual meeting
before the end of the year, and I will let everyone know what is on the agenda so that you
can give us your input.
Next year’s racing schedule is
also close to completion and I hope to have it to you soon.
You should also keep an eye on the website at www.usrainfo.org
where we will be updating out manufacturers links. We
have been working hard with our kit manufacturers to help improve the availability of
racer kits, as well as lower the costs. I
know many of you are already getting started on your winter projects, and if you need help
or information please let me know.
Ken McSpadden