Precision Aerobatics planes are lined up for apperance judging at the 2023 Northwest Control-Line Regionals at Roseburg Regional Airport. Flying Lines photo.
It began in 1972 and became the centerpiece of the region's control-line competition: The Northwest Control-Line Regionals. It happened in Eugene, Ore., in Albany, Ore., and for two extended stints in Roseburg, Ore. That's where CL fliers from all over the Western United States and Canada gathered over Memorial Day Weekend to celebrate the 50th.
In addition to the usual array of CL competition, fliers gathered for a Saturday night feast and reminiscence hosted by Mike and Laura Hazel and the Roseburg area CL fliers at the community hall of Church on the Rise, where the Roseburg group has its flying site. On display were past Regionals T-shirts, trophies and names of all past contestants.
Weather, sometimes a challenge at this time of year, was fine for CL flying despite a bit wind — sunny and warm and somewhat windy on Friday but overcast, calmer and cooler for Saturday and Sunday. Attendance was good for Aerobatics, Combat, Racing and Navy Carrier, but down in Speed for a variety of reasons likely to be reversed in 2024,
Attendance was about the same as the 2022 Regionals, with 56 individuals accounting for 132 event entries. This was the eighth time the Regionals has been held in Roseburg in this current stint (it also was held here from 1996 to 2001), and plans are already underway for the 2024 event.
The work of putting on the Regionals was handled by the Eugene Prop Spinners, the Western Oregon Control-Line Flyers, the Umpqua Valley Modelers, Roseburg area control-line fliers and many individuals who volunteered as event directors and workers.
Paul Walker bested a field of 15 world-class competitors in Expert Precision Aerobatics, besting defending champ Chis Cox by 0.6 points. Regionals newcomer Roger Kramar took the Concours d'Elegance trophy for the most beautiful Stunt plane. Event grand champions were Dennis Nunes (Aerobatics), Lane Puckett (Combat), Kris Millard (Navy Carrier), Paul Gibeault (Racing), Orin Humphries (Scale) and Mike Hazel (Speed).
Field setup and teardown was again under the direction of Eugene Prop Spinners' President Mike Denlis, with strong worker support from the Prop Spinners, the Umpqua Valley Modelers and Roseburg control-line fliers, along with a number of contestants on Thursday and Sunday. Events were directed by Paul Walker (Aerobatics); Gene Pape (Combat); Mike Potter (Navy Carrier); Doug Powers (Racing); Walter Hicks (Scale); and Will Naemura (Speed). Registration and tabulation work was done by Robin Gearn and Barbara White.
Excellent lunches were provided by The Bun Stuffer food truck.
The contest offered trophy plaques through third place in all events, plus huge grand championship trophies in all events. An array of high-quality merchandise prizes was given away on a "door-prize" system, so every contestant came away with a good prize, win or lose.
The trophy and merchandise prizes were made possible in part by generous donations from Regionals contestants and supporters.
Trophy sponsors were: Don Chandler, Dave and Angela Gardner, Paul Gibeault, Orin Humphries, the Jive Combat Team and Randy Ling. Merchandise or cash donations came from Craig Bartlett, Pete Cunha, Roy DeCamara, Eugene Toy & Hobby, Flying Lines, Paul Gibeault, Steve Helmick, Bruce Hunt, John Lickley, Kris Millard, Will Naemura, the Nortwest Fireballs, Alan Resinger, Gerald and Brenda Schamp and Mark Schluter.
Elsewhere on the Flying Lines website, see updated Northwest standings, Northwest records and Regionals records.
Roger Kramar's Tony was declared winner of the Concours d'Elegance award after a vote by the Aerobatics competitors. Flying Lines photo.
By Gene Pape
Yet another great year for combat at the Northwest Regionals. Field prep went much better this year with Lane Puckett running the mower and Gary Weems doing all of the hard work blowing the huge amount of mown hay off of the circle and pit area. The weather was great! No rain and not enough wind at any time to be a big problem.
This 1/2-A Combat match began with an almost simultaneous launch. Gene Pape lets go of Russ Hester's plane just a fraction of a second after Bill Cave launched Doss Porter's plane. The difference mattered as the match ended in a midair collision (see photo sequence below). Flying Lines photo.
While we only had three events this year, entries were up a bit with 10 in 80mph and 7 each in ½-A and Fast. I had the biggest crew of judges this year I’ve had in a very long time. As usual a huge thanks goes to Dave La Fever and Gary Weems for judging all weekend. This year I had the luxury of having Dan Armstrong to run all of the matches and Niels Madsen to pass out the proper color of streamers and generally keep things running smoothly. Also, Bill Varner came out to watch and help by running various small errands for me. Thanks so much, guys.
We started things off at noon on Friday with our largest entry event, Northwest 80 mph combat. The weather started out warm and progressed to quite warm by the end of the day. There were many good matches with few mid-airs. Russ Hester, Lane Puckett, Doss Porter, and Bob Kerr started out with wins and ended up finishing first through fourth in that order. Newcomer to Combat Bill Cave got his first taste of Combat at the Regionals and managed to win a match before being eliminated. He went on to place Fourth in ½-A and third in Fast. Not bad for someone who only started flying Combat this year!
Half-A started things off on Saturday morning with much cooler temperatures. I started by getting lucky and winning three in a row and thinking I might still be able to do this. Of course, I lost the next two with my piloting ability suddenly completely absent. Winning in the first round turned out to be a good omen as Lane Puckett first, myself in third, and Bill Cave fourth all won in the first round. Robert Smith, who finished second, was the only first round loser in the top four.
After we finished ½-A on Saturday we took a break for lunch then started Fast. Since I had brought models for Fast and my flying ability had clearly left the field I decided not to fly them. Lane clearly had his flying ability intact but had left his fast models at home so I talked him into flying my models. At this point in my flying career I truly enjoy watching the people I know who are clearly better pilots than I am fly my stuff. Lane Puckett is one of those people as is Greg Machen who flew my models at the Bladder Grabber last year. After a number of entertaining matches, Doss Porter was fourth, Bill Cave in what I believe is only his second try at Fast Combat was third, Lane Puckett was second, and after many years of trying Robert Smith finished first.
Lane Puckett is this year’s Regionals Combat Champion after winning ½-A and placing second in the other two events.
As a follow-up I want to mention that the Bladder Grabber is coming up Aug. 18-20 at Harvey Field in Snohomish, Wash. I am organizing this year’s event from home in Oregon. I need all the help I can get from anyone who is planning to attend this year's event. If you are going to be there and would like to help, please contact me by email.
By Mike Potter
The carrier circle was very busy this year with nine contestants flying in six classes. The weather was much better this year, which might be a factor. Northwest Sport 40 was the busiest with nine fliers.
The deck sported a fresh coat of paint applied by Chris Nicholls of Glide, Ore. New sandbags were constructed by students at Clover Park Technical College, Lakewood,Wash. We now have the nicest deck on the West Coast to fly from.
Mark Schluter's Navy Carrier plane passes the deck in slow flight. Flying Lines photo.
By Walter Hicks
The weather Saturday morning was perfect for scale flying virtually little to no wind for our entire time. We also had a unique entry in Profile Scale, an electric twin that doubled as a profile stunter. It flew very well and could be reconfigured easily to fly Profile Stunt. Great idea and well done. One Authentic scale entry, a very well documented Stearman bipe that flew well. One 1/2 A entry; Sport Scale had entries as well as Fun Scale, and Profile Scale.
Bob Welch's F7F Tiger makes a flight in Profile Scale; reconfigured, it later flew in Profile Stunt. Flying Lines photo.
By Will Naemura
The 50th Northwest Regionals Speed event happened and that was a victory! This year was a perfect storm of why many regular competitors could not attend. But, it did not dampen the competition and enjoyment of those who were there.
The main competition was between Mike Hazel and Paul Gibeault for the High Points Champion! With each taking two first place finishes, it came down to the third event where Mike took a second place finish and Paul didn’t score in Formula 40!
With Paul flying his 2022 NATS-winning F40 rebuilt model, he worked hard to score a perfect zero in three attempts. Using a very light F40 model, rebuilt three times in about six flights, the two-flight wonder (before being rebuilt) did not have a consistent engine run to make all 14 laps. The last flight, taking out the newly rebuilt sub-rudder, ended his day.
Since the entry was low, I had the opportunity to do some F2A training to help prepare for some upcoming European competitions. As usual, whenever I think “This is too easy,” I did not get another competitive flight for the rest of the weekend! Welcome to my life with F2A!
A big shout-out to the Northwest Fireballs members Darrin Bishop, Doug Powers and Leighton Mangels for their help with timing and also to Mark Crouse for help to take down the fence.
We look forward to next year's 51st running of this great event!
Speed entry was down but there was action in the pits on Friday and Saturday. Flying Lines photo.
By Paul Walker
The 2023 NWR Stunt event was well attended. The field was set up on Thursday morning and ready for use by noon. The weather forecast was not good, as lots of wind was predicted for the four days. The wind blew 12 to 20mph on Thursday afternoon, and only a few hardy souls practiced in that.
Friday was OTS day, starting at noon. Five intrepid pilots dared to test the wind again Friday. The wind speed was a but less than Thursday, but still noticable. There was a small issue at the pull test scale, when John Thompson's Barnstormer did not want to fly in that wind and decided to release its bellcrank during the pull test so it didn't have to endure that wind. John was then out for the day. New contestant Roger Kramer emerged victorious after two rounds.
Joan Cox and Walter Hicks study Roger Kramar's Tony during Precision Aerobatics appearance judging. Flying Lines photo.
Friday was Classic/Nostalgia 30and Profile. On this day, Stunt was allocated only one circle, so all of the events had to fit. Scale was to use the other circle. As it turns out, there was a rather large turnout in all the three events, Classic, Sportsman Profile, and Expert Profile. Classic/N30 went first, and took longer than anticipated. Jim Schnieder had an unfortunate accident, and his model was destroyed. It became very apparent at that point that we were going to be unable to finish before dark. Fortunately, the Scale event finished by noon, and Walter Hicks, the Scale ED , turned the circle over to Stunt. Two additional judges agreed to support this change, and Sportsman Profile was started when there was no longer a conflict with the pilots who were flying both Sportsman Profile and Classic.
Classic/N30 second round was flown in the increasing wind. Dennis Nunes emerged the winner with two solid flights. N30 was won by John Leidle. Just as soon as soon as Classic/ N30 was complete, the two Expert Profile judges stepped in and that event started.
The wind continued to increase. Bob Welch flew his Tiger Cat twin in the first round and had his hands full of too much line tension, and decided to pass the second round. Once again, Dennis Nunes flew the two best flights of EP, and won. In Sportsman Profile, James Dean won.
Sunday was the Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert events. The weather was different than the other three days with basic calm lasting through the first round that changed in the second round to a moderate breeze. These events ran faster than the previous, and the judges were afforded a long lunch break to refresh themselves. This seemed to have helped, as there was not the normal inflation of scores in the second round. Jeff Cohen won Beginner, Roger Kramer won Intermediate, Brent Williams won Advanced, and Paul Walker won Expert. The Grand Stunt Champion was Dennis Nunes, and the Concours winner was Roger Kramer for his beautiful Tony. The flying finished by 3 p.m.. All in all, everyone had a good time as the air was never unflyable and the temperatures were in a nice range.
The scores and placings are included with the Regionals report. The workers were: Jerry Eichten, Walter Hicks, Ken Bird, Tim Wescott, David Fitzgerald, Chris Cox, Joan Cox, Brett Buck, Randy Ling, Steve Helmick, Bob Welch, Mike Denlis, John Leidle, Barbara White, Robin Gaern, Gary Dowler, Shal Walker and Paul Walker. It takes a lot of volunteers to run this event. Many thanks to all that worked to make this event happen!
Corrections: Northwest Sport Race and Expert Precision Aerobatics scores have been revised since the original posting.
Two collide at during 1/2-A Combat action. Top left photo captures the moment of impact between Russ Hester's plane (foreground) and Doss Porter's. Next three photos show the aftermath. Flying Lines photos.
David Fitzgerald flies in Expert Precision Aerobatics.. Flying Lines photo.
Racing pilots at work in the new Regionals event, Dallas Sport Goodyear. From left: Paul Gibeault, Doss Porter and Leighton Mangels. Flying Lines photo.
Roger Kramar lands his Tony after an Advanced Precision Aerobatics flight. Flying Lines photos.
Pit area for Old-Time Stunt and Friday practice. Flying Lines photo.
David Fitzgerald's Thunder Gazer in flight. Flying Lines photo.
Expert Precision Aerobatics judges at work, from left: Jerry Eichten, Joan Cox and Walter Hicks. Flying Lines photo.
Howard Rush flies his Impact in Expert Precision Aerobatics. Flying Lines photo.
Paul Walker's Impact makes the winning flight in Expert Precision Aerobatics. Flying Lines photo.
Bill Cave launches a Dallas Sport Goodyear Racing plane. Flying Lines photo.
Chris Cox's 2023 Miggish flies in Expert Precision Aerobatics. Flying Lines photo.
Chris Cox finished second in Expert Precision Aerobatics by 0.6 of a point. Flying Lines photo
Marshall Palmer flies his Skipjack in Expert Precision Aerobatics. Flying Lines photo.
Entrants prepare for action in the Racing pits. Flying Lines photo.
The Advanced Precision Aerobatics end of the PA pits. Flying Lines photo.
Aerobatics Event Director Paul Walker explains procedures during the Precision Aerobatics pilots' meeting. Flying Lines photo.
Bill Cave (left) and Russ Hester battle in 80mph Combat. Flying Lines photo.
Jim Green (left) and Bill Cave fly 80mph Combat. Flying Lines photo.
Profile Stunt pits on Saturday. Flying Lines photo.
Russ Hester (left) and Doss Porter go at it in 80mph Combat. Flying Lines photo.
Orin Humphries flies his Beech Staggerwing in Profile Scale. Flying Lines photo.
Judges Chris Cox (left) and David Fitzgerald enjoy a Classic Stunt flight. Flying Lines photo.
Jeral Godfrey's L-19 Bird Dog makes a Sport Scale flight. Flying Lines photo
Some of the Scale planes wait in the pits. Flying Lines photos.
Classic Stunt planes lined up for appearance judging. Flying Lines photos.
Alan Resinger (left) and David Fitzgerald judge Classic Stunt appearance. Flying Lines photo.
Doss Porter (left) and Lane Puckett battle in 80mph Combat. Flying Lines photo.
Jim Schneider launches an 80mph Combat plane. Flying Lines photo.
Mark Schluter puts in a Navy Carrier flight. Flying Lines photo.
Jim Green (left) and Doss Porter concentrate on a Fast Combat match. Flying Lines photo.
Lane Puckett launches a Fast Combat plane. Flying Lines photo.
Gary Dowler starts the engine on his PT-26 for a Scale flight as Jeral Godfrey holds. Flying Lines photo.
Robert Smith (left) and Bob Kerr attack in 80mph Combat. Flying Lines photo.
Lineup of Navy Carrier planes. Flying Lines photo.
Left: Brett Buck's Infinity. Right: Tim Just's Delroy. Flying Lines photos.
Left: Mark Schluter's Twister. Right: Bob Welch's Aerowin II. Flying Lines photos.
Left: David Fitzgerald's Thunder Gazer. Right: Paul Walker's Impact. Flying Lines photos.
Left: Chris Cox's Miggish. Right: Jim Rhoades' Apteryx. Flying Lines photos.
Left: Marshall Palmer's Skipjack. Right: Alan Resinger's Rare Bear. Flying Lines photos.
Left: James Dean's TrivEal Pursuit. Right: Ken Bird's D'Arcside. Flying Lines photos.
Left: Howard Rush's Impact. Right: Pat Johnston's Beetle Bomb. Flying Lines photos.
Left: Page Peterson's Oosa-Amma. Right: Lanny Shorts' Classic Stunt entry. Flying Lines photos.
Left: Pat Johnston's Shark 35. Right: Pete Cunha's Skylark. Flying Lines photos.
Left: Jerry Eichten's Oriental. Right: Roger Kramar's Nobler. Flying Lines photos.
Left: Mike Hazel's Podracer for Sport Jet Speed. Right: Orin Humphries' Monocoupe. Flying Lines photos.
Two Old-Time Stunt planes. Left: Nat Seavy's Super Clown. Right: Roger Kramar's Vikilng. Flying Lines photo.
Left: Mike Hazel's Barnstormer. Right: Dave Royer's Firecat. Flying Lines photos.
The Regionals always draws lots of spectators and nostalgia buffs. This gentleman enjoyed photographing a couple of Dave Shrum's display airplanes. Flying Lines photo.
Results of this contest are included in the Northwest Competition Standings.
This page was upated June 14, 2023