Chippewa Challenge III

[wing nut]

Another rendition of the Chippewa Challenge is in the books. This is quoted from the RCCA web site:

All- Thanks for a great time this weekend! I've managed to collect some of my memories together in a short event report:

09/02/06 New Auburn, WI.
Bob and I arrived around 3 pm on Fridays. Shortly thereafter, others arrived in campers and pickups from several other locations. It was a long drive, but we made good time in spite of taking leisurely stops along the way to upload and download fluids. We even managed a quick stop to use the restrooms at Ho Chunk casino, where the blackjack dealer was kind enough to spot us enough money to buy a case of fine Lienenkugel beverages. After shaking off the road trance upon arriving at Wing Nut Acres, we were asked by field management to help empty a cooler that someone mistakenly filled with beer. Being ever grateful for the hospitality of the New Auburn crowd, we gladly agreed to help in any way we could. For extra support, we all helped Kathy vacuum the freshly cut grass off the flying field. We did this mostly by just watching her, while at the same time discussing in great detail the reason the tractor was running so poorly, and generating several potential remedies- such as needle valve adjustments and increased nitro fuel. Later we broke out the Gnats and some 1/2a planes and flew until we couldn’t fly any more. That night we were treated to a huge steak dinner with all the fixins- a scrumptious Goldman tradition. We thought we’d died and gone to heaven. This was followed by much story telling, beer-drinking, and joke telling, topped with a lively demonstration of Doug’s handy-dandy streamer rolling machine. Sleeping weather was near perfect- a brisk 50 degrees!

The next morning started early, breakfast was served up around 7 and featured imported Tim Horton coffee, donated by Bob! Flying started as soon as some of the heavy dew evaporated, around 9.

In SSC there were 13 pilots, which made for 2 heats of 5-6 pilots for 10 rounds. The weather was perfect, and the layout of the field is just great. The field slopes gently down to the pit area, making for a great spectation area on top. The rest of the field is flat, with several pockets of trees scattered around the edges for added excitement. Several nice round performances were followed by a warm round of applause and cheering from the crowd. This was especially true when some of the newer pilots managed good rounds against their more seasoned opponents.

Dr. E flew like, well, Dr. E. He not-suprisingly won both events, along with a special Mike ‘I win every time’ Fredricks lifetime achievement award. Mike’s planes are really nothing special. Everyone uses some of his building techniques, tips, and/or wing cores. He gladly shares his building strategies and planes with others, but still, no-one is able to match the performance of his planes in competition. I think he could win flying a paper airplane.

The remaining streamers went mostly to William and Darrin, who duked it out to a tie for second best overall- placing 2nd and 3rd, and 3rd and 2nd, respectively. The remaining pieces seemed to end up on either Doug, Jerry or Bill’s wings, with a few crumbs falling about equally on the remaining contestants, with good scores posted by most.

Dirk not only got his first ever official cut, but followed that up with several other cuts and nice rounds. He compiled together a nice positive score for the day, in spite of falling victim to 2 rogue gusts of wind that managed to blow him over the pilots line. More about the rogue gusts of wind later.

The line marshall duties were performed by Mark ?, who did a flawless job. Ground crew assistance was provided by Kathy and Darrins’ sons Oz and Shane. We wrapped up the day after 10 rounds, and began a lengthy debrief over beverages and were treated to a delicious lasagna dinner from the famous Chef Leon catering service. To top the day off, night flying was performed after dark. The grand finale was a flyover by a wayward UFO flown by Doug. It came to rest about 50 feet up into a cottonwood tree behind the shop, where it still remains.

A small but tenacious micro-twister touched down Saturday night off to the side of Doug’s property. There were no injuries, but the wind was so intense it tossed my sleeping bag high up into a pine tree and upended my tent. Batteries were seen lodged inside a Martins’ gourd after the flurry, and my air mattress became flat in the high pressure wave. Rescue workers were quick to arrive at the scene. One eyewitness even reported seeing one at the scene before the twister touched down. He couldn’t identify who the timely rescuer was, saying that he only remembered seeing a nice green University of Georgia hardhat, detailed with the traditional Georgia ‘G’ and ‘Go Bulldogs’ logo. Strange, I know, but true.

In limited B, there were 10 pilots, flying 2 heats. These planes were quite a bit faster than the SSC planes, making for a bit more spectator intensity. Several people who knew Doug or others, or simply wanted to come out to see the action, stopped by on both days. They were met by warm reception and some great flying combat action. And there was some great flying on display. Mid-airs were about average, with overall little damage. Some pilots wee able to fly the same plane all 10 rounds.

In one heat, Dr. E managed to get every single streamer attached to his plane, and then got knocked out of the sky. This all happened within the first 30 seconds, so there were a LOT of 40 point scores promptly handed out that heat. Bob was pretty upset about the fact that Mike was getting soo many streamers. So in the next heat he proceeded to cut Dr. E’s streamer, then immediately thereafter bitch slapped his plane out of the sky. Don't mess with Bob!

Leon kicked and scratched his way to a respectable finish in spite of nagging battery problems. He used a couple of inexpensive GMS engines with good success. He also performed some basic scientific experiments this weekend to test the durability of a new top secret, space age tape. He was able to get some limited quantity test samples and reinforced his wings with this new tape in a controlled fashion. Then, over and over again, be strategically positioned his wings in front of turning engines to gain valuable crash data. These were followed by precision damage assessment and peer reviewed discussions. I think the consensus of the scientific committee was this tape does represent something novel and amazingly tough. On a practical note, there are some details that need to be worked out, such as availability and cost ($100/roll).

There was some exciting cat-and-mouse flying when there was only one streamer remaining. In one round, Jerry feverishly chased me for about 3 minutes, only to get my money streamer with about 5 seconds remaining! In another heat, William flew some nice laps around the distant trees, hoping to lure chasing planes into an abrupt loss of velocity. We swore he was going to hit the trees each time, as he came so close. Finally, he cut the corner a fraction too soon- crunch!

Overall, just a fantastic meet. The hospitality, friendship, great site, and good group of pilots made for a tough meet to beat! I can't wait until I can come back and do it again.


Mark Cipollone
RCCA# 717