Yes folks, it's true,
It has been said that "speed is the only event slower than stunt." But not last Friday.
The BBB created, flew, set and broke the new world record in F2D Proto-Speed.
Jeff Rein was the first up, shocking the grazing pasture
of speed fliers (see photo) and causing a collective "gasp" when
his "Right Angle" was released.
The Right Angle only weighs 10 oz with a screaming Zorro .15 on the front end, and it just vanished in a real blur of acceleration. Jeff's flight was soon followed by Don McKay who had to scratch his flight after getting hung up in the pylon. I followed next with a faster flight than Jeff.
And so dear readers, the drag race was on!
Props were being changed ... secret glowplugs were pulled from their hiding places ... obscure props were fiddled with ... all three of us smiled cordially but were hard at work to get the next faster flight up there.
Don asked if I would fly his proto and I did, it kited due to an idea he's been working on. The flight may have been too high for an official event, but they recorded the time and Don had beaten my mark by nearly a full second!!!!!!
Jeff changed props and was back within minutes of Don's flight. The heat was on and he knew it. The little black proto blurred off into another fast but not fast enough flight to beat Don or my previous flight ... and now, it was my turn again.
I had been saving a prop that I knew to be the most high RPM one in our stable of 2D equipment. It came from Jari Valo in Finland and I had one left from 1999.
My engine is a new generation Profi F2D motor and they like to wind up. Don and Jeff fired it up and it sounded pretty healthy, Jeff released the "Sling-Shot." I, however, had failed to lead it enough, allowing the now howling engine to torque-roll the airplane in at me.
The guys were kind saying the wind was gusty and changed directions. That kind of support is great, but I know what really happened.
Don had kicked our collective butts, and we were happy for him. We will of course be gunning for him at the Regionals!!!!!!!
There will be some sort of trophy or cash-$$$$ or something for this event at NWR, The BBB will sponsor the event , so have a look at the rules, get an engine and be ready. The entire project might take you a week. See F2D Proto Introductory article.
The ****BROADWAY Bod Busters******* for some unexplained reason shunned stunt at the Jim Walker Memorial contest 2008.
It may have been our total domination for the entire 2007 stunt season. It may have been that our Stunt Guru Dirty Dan was on a "secret mission" and missed the contest, it may have been that The Rein man has an injured back or that the Buzz Man forgot to take his airplane out of the short buss, we may never know if there was any one reason. Combat Monster Don McKay did, however, enter stunt due to his dyslexia (checked the wrong box) when registering for combat.
Since Don had not flown a stunt pattern in
30 years, Kenny B was assigned to walking behind him reading the
pattern.
The flight was going well and Don was using a blend of 50% Flight Streak, 50% Carbon Fibre, with a Fox .35 on the front end. His pattern was on a record breaking pace until fate stepped in to halt the proceedings. Having completed the 2 level laps after the wind-enhanced barrel roll maneuver, the judges were conferring about what to do while we prepared for the generally disliked outside square loops.
I had just said "Combat Monster, do outside square loops"
when a piece of 1/2A streamer floated swan-like across the tarmac. Don had
completed the first t
wo corners of the first
outside much lower than a "typical stunt flyer" might attempt
it, (see photo of typical stunt flyer a right), when his sharp laser-like
eyes caught sight of the small and up till now unnoticed piece of blue crepe
paper. There was a slight hesitation to the otherwise precise pattern and
I knew something was up. I spotted the streamer and shouted "Combat
Monster, NO!!!"
But it was too late. Years of programming, intense training combined with un imaginable reflexes took over, In what may have been less time than it takes some fliers to decide which way to pull out of a wing-over, the Combat Monster had hit the streamer laying flat on the ground all the while yelling "KILL, KILL, KILL!!!"
Well, you were there and saw what happened, the Flight Streak shredded the piece of streamer into bits of nothing, exploded the rudder and came to rest upside down pointing west, putting an exclamation point on an otherwise ho-hum day.
We don't know exactly what happened, skeptics say we ain't what we used to be. Boosters such as the Editor of a famous publication say, "who cares." The Combat Monster ... well, let's just say that the winner of second place in 1/2A combat was lucky to fly another day.
It was none other then Bob Smith who kept the BBB from a clean sweep as in years past, Bob clawed and fought his way through the BBB to fly me in the finals for all the marbles ... the really big money is run through combat as wagers in Los Vegas, and 1/2A is one of the largest pools for professional gambling around, I think this loss costs hundreds of thousands of dollars! Because of this, we, the BBB have decided to "go on holiday" (hide out) in an undisclosed location while the bookies cool off.
"Slats," who took the news badly, left us several messages on the BBB switchboard and was very interested in meeting with us to review "how youse guys screwed up."
Slats is a real team player, but has a team
of guys that you really don't want to meet.
We're all in agreement that we can ease the situation by sending Slats some Enron stocks along with a few shares of Global Crossing we have stashed for a rainy day. I know our absence will cause many fans and followers of the ******Broadway Bod Busters****** distress and anxiety, but have no fear we are prepared, and have foolproof disguises purchased from our spy supplier see photo). No one will recognize us. Possibly we will travel to France. In a recent statement speaking for all of France an F2D flyer stated:
My name is Reine and I am the mechanic of Claude Bernard, a French F2D competitor. On French F2D site, I wrote many papers (posts) about shuf-off. Our decision in France is that we will quit F2D when shut off will be effective. So, this seems to be our last year in F2D. Too bad, we really enjoyed this and this make us really unhappy. Have good flights. Reine in Paris
We can pick up some bargain basement prices for more engines and airplanes! The French are soooooo dramatic aren't they? Don't worry. Be happy.
A Clean Sweep!!!
With the rust of what must have been a "long winter's nap," the BBB came out swinging taking first, second and third.
The equipment was a mix of mostly big iron engines and store-bought airplanes.
John Thompson and new guy, Dave Miller, were cutting things up for awhile but the machine that is the BBB squashed them like a bug. It was later pointed out to us that we had indeed been squashing bugs and better get our butts to the combat circle!
I had a great match with John who has come out on top many times, I was fortunate he had been flying stunt just before our match and fouled his reflexes.
Dave Miller flew well for a beginner and got a kill on his very first match, Bob Smith seemed to have one of those days and after a controversial match with the Combat Monster, finally lost to a kill in the subsequent rematch. Both Don and Bob flew a good match with many passes through both streamers and we all knew a kill was coming.
The Buzz Man was on fire Sunday, Jeff and I know about this and how difficult it is to slow down the roll once he gets on it. By the afternoon the tally sheet showed Don and Bob for third and fourth fly off, The Buzz Man and Kenny B for the 1st and 2nd fly off.
I was flying the R&B ripp-off combat wing powered by a cyclone PC6 (.15), Buzz flew a foam design powered by an O.S .25 as per his engine article in the Combat section.
Our match was a good one with lots of flying but the credit has to go to the Buzz Man who killed me without a line ball, collision or any of the foibles that can accompany a match. We both had clean records in the double elim contest but had agreed to just fly once, so there you have it. The Broadway Bod Busters littered the field with awards!
1. Don McKay, BBB, 100%
2. Ken Burdick. BBB, 99%
3. Jeffery Rein, BBB, 98%
1st Ken Burdick BBB
2nd Bob Smith Lone wolf
3rd Don McKay BBB
1st Buzz Wilson BBB
2nd Ken Burdick BBB
3rd Don McKay BBB
Combat Monster, BBB (Only Kill scored)
We have shipped the loot to the Broadway Bod Busters Hall of Fame for display.
The BBB would like to thank Gary Harris and Loren Howard, for running events we flew in as well as the great people who signed us up and braved the weather all three days. Thank you to those who set up, tore down and worked late so we could come out and play.
A special note to recognize John Thompson for helping Dave Miller enter, fly and have success at his first combat contest. In my opinion Dave did well. John had also offered to supply Gene Pape with equipment so he could fly on Sunday. Gene had elected to stay home by the fire (smart) but talk about putting your money where one's mouth is?????
John would have brought two people into a contest with his own equipment, that's a great gesture. The BBB bows down to John.
If you or any of our devoted fans see this guy (Slats see
photo), do not tell him where we are!
Kenny B and the Bod Busters
This page was upated April 22, 2008