Pat Johnston of Boise, Idaho, for the second year has captured the prestigious Northwest Control-Line Competitor of the Year Award, which recognizes the flier who scored the most points in Northwest competition standings as compiled by Flying Lines.
Johnston scored 92.5 points in aerobatics competition, putting points on the scoreboard in Precision Aerobatics, Classic Stunt, Old-Time Stunt and P-40 stunt.
Johnston, who just edged out Scott Riese for the title in
2005, had a big lead in the 2006 race, outdistancing Bruce Hunt of Salem,
Ore., (78.5 points) and Paul Walker of Kent, Wash. Hunt and Walker scored
all their points in stunt events as well.
The number of people scoring points in competition in 2006 was down slightly from 2005, with 72 people or teams scoring, compared with 75 the previous year. Note that this is not the total number of competitors, only the number of people placing first through fourth place in sanctioned competition.
As usual, stunt had the greatest distribution of people scoring points, with 43 people, up from the the 39 in 2005. Racing came in next with 13, same as last year. There were 12 speed fliers, up by one from 2005. Eleven scored points in combat, down from 14 the previous year. Eight scored carrier points, same as in 2005. There were no points scored in Northwest standings by scale fliers.
Again, these totals reflect only placement, not actual number of competitors. The presence of out-of-region fliers in a contest can result in no points, or fewer points, being scored toward Northwest standings.
It's interesting, if you look at the historical record below, to follow the trend of stunt's emergence over the other forms of CL competition, in terms of total points scored by competitors in the FL system, in which points scored reflect the level of participation. Early years were dominated by racing, with some combat fliers mixed in; in recent years, the leaderboard has contained mostly stunt fliers. The number of "crossover" fliers -- those competing in more than one type of event, has gradually reduced as well.
Another thing that changed the look of the leaderboard, beginning in the mid-1980s and continuing to some degree today, is the movement toward team entries in racing. The points began going to teams, rather than individuals, which is why the report below has an asterisk pointing out those competitors who also scored points in team entries.
The Competitor of the Year recognition has been given since 1980, the second year of Flying Lines publication. Here is the history, giving the top three finishers each year:
Competitor of the Year, 1980-2006
1980: 1, John Thompson 2, Bill Varner 3, Jim Cameron
1981: Dick Salter, Thompson, Dave Green
1982: Dick Salter, Thompson, Mike Hazel
1983: Green, Thompson, Glenn Salter
1984: Green, Dick Salter, Gary Byerly
1985: Glenn Salter, Green, John Hall
1986: Not available
1987: Dick Salter, Glenn Salter, Green
1988: Not available
1989-90: Flying Lines not published
1991: Joe Rice, Rich McConnell, Tom Strom
1992: Rice, Todd Ryan, Hall
1993: Ryan, Rice, McConnell
1994: Ryan, Chris Cox, Nitroholics Racing Team
1995: Ryan, Jeff Rein, Don McClave
1996: Ryan, Stephen Cox, Rick Meadows
1997: Ryan, Paul Gibeault, Stephen Cox
1998: Ryan, Mel Lyne, Dan Rutherford
1999: Ryan, Shawn Parker, Mike Conner
2000: Ryan, Lyne, Scott Riese
2001: Chris Cox, Ryan, Lyne
2002: Jeff Rein, Bruce Hunt, Nils Norling
2003: Dan Rutherford, Keith Varley, Lyne
2004: Rutherford, Paul Walker, Chris Cox
2005: Pat Johnston, Riese, Hunt
2006: Johnston, Hunt, Walker
Anyone who would like a printout of the complete 2006 Competitor of the Year standings can get one by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the standings coordinator. The address is at the bottom of the column.
Final standings in each 2006 event are on the standings page.
Below are the final 2006 Competitor of the Year rankings. Initials after the names indicate the events in which points were scored.
C = Combat.
NC = Navy Carrier.
R = Racing.
Sp = Speed.
Sc = Scale.
St = Precision, OTS or Classic Stunt
* = also scored points as a team entry. Symbol after score indicates category
and team's points, which are not included in individual points.
1. Pat Johnston -- St -- 92.5
2. Bruce Hunt -- St -- 78.5
3. Paul Walker -- St -- 55
4. Mike Haverly -- St -- 52
5. Howard Rush -- St -- 51
6. Don McClave -- St -- 48.5
7. Mel Lyne -- C -- 47
8. Scott Riese -- St -- 45.5
9. Todd Ryan -- R, St -- 31 -- *5R
10. Jeff Rein -- C, St -- 30
11. Bob Smiley -- St -- 29
12. Chris Cox -- St -- 28
13. Pete Peterson -- St -- 25
14. Dan Rutherford -- St -- 24.5
15. David Miller -- NC, R, St -- 22
16. Greg Hart -- St -- 20
17. John Thompson -- C, St -- 19 *18R
18. Nitroholics Racing Team -- R -- 18
19. Mike Foley -- St -- 17
20. Robert Smith -- C -- 16
21. Buzz Wilson -- C -- 15
Rich Salter -- C, NC, Sp -- 15 *11R
23. Mike Conner -- NC, St -- 14
Ted Gritzmacher -- Sp -- 14
25. Hube Start -- St -- 11
Jim Green -- C -- 11
Loren Howard -- Sp --11
Kenny Johansen -- C, R -- 11
S&S Racing Team -- R -- 11
30. Dick Salter -- NC, Sp -- 10 *11R
Mark Scarborough -- St -- 10
32. Jerry Eichten -- St -- 9.5
33. Richard Entwistle -- St -- 8
Mark Conner -- St -- 8
Randy Powell -- St -- 8
Guy Laine -- Sp, St -- 8
37. Mike Holmack -- NC -- 7
Mike Fitzgerald, St -- 7
Rick Cochrun -- St -- 7
Max Boyd -- C, St -- 7
Mac Ryan -- R -- 7
42. Mike Hazel -- Sp -- 6 *18R
Art Zehner -- St -- 6
Dave Gardner -- St -- 6
Rich McConnell -- St -- 6
Gary Nelson -- St -- 6
47. Leo Mehl -- St -- 6
Ken Kortness -- Sp -- 5
Can-Am Team -- R -- 5
Floyd Carter -- St -- 5
Joe Just -- R -- 5
Doug Wood -- St -- 5
53. Jim Holmack -- R, St -- 4
Mike Potter -- NC -- 4
Bill Allen -- Sp -- 4
Ken Burdick -- C -- 4
57. Jenessa Beers -- R, Sp -- 3
Laura Beers -- Sp -- 3
Matthew Eichten -- R, St -- 3
60. Austin Johansen -- R -- 2
B. Carr -- St -- 2
Chris Gomez -- NC -- 2
Bob Emmett -- St -- 2
Keith Varley -- St -- 2
Roger Hebner -- St -- 2
Rod Claus -- St -- 2
Mark Hansen -- C -- 2
Chuck Schuette -- Sp -- 2
69. Bill Darkow -- NC -- 1
Logan Just -- NC -- 1
Glenn Little -- St --1
Danilla Beers -- Sp -- 1
Flying Lines keeps track of standings in all AMA rulebook and Northwest official events, in all Northwest sanctioned contests.
Your FL editors do their best to keep up with the results, but contest directors can help keep the standings up to date by making sure to send the results to FL immediately after the contest. If you spot errors, please let us know.
Results must include the placing in each event through fourth place and the report also must list the number of contestants in the event, in order for the point standings to be counted accurately.
Please include in your report the hometown of the contestants. Only Northwest residents are counted in the standings (AMA Dist. XI and British Columbia). The score of each contestant also should be listed for general reporting purposes and for checking against the Northwest records.
If you flew in a contest that doesn't appear to be counted, contact the contest director or FL.
Special notes: Precision aerobatics expert fliers' scores are multiplied by a factor of 1.5. When an individual is allowed more than one entry in a single event, only the highest-placing score shall be counted.
Send contest results, corrections and other correspondence regarding Northwest Competition Standings to John Thompson, standings coordinator. For a printed copy of complete standings for any event, or for a copy of the rules for any Northwest event, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Flying Lines, 2456 Quince St., Eugene, OR 97404.
This page was upated Dec. 23, 2006