Orin Humphries' Staggerwing makes a flight in Profile Scale at the 2025 Northwest Control-Line Regionals. Flying Lines photo.

Northwest Regionals — a Navy Carrier perspective.

Arriving Friday in Roseburg, we found the Carrier deck already set up and lines strung. How nice it is when it’s all ready to go. Thanks, Mark Schluter! The weather was good, and as the folks arrived, we got down to some flying.

Friday brought us 11 planes from five pilots. After lots of weighing and pull tests, some of the guys got on the board. Nothing flashy, just basic scores. Some had engine problems (What, you can’t just pull them out from last year and expect good runs?). Others had line problems. Not a real encouraging day for the most part, but the weather gods were shining on us so what the heck, right.

On Saturday things got busy. Eighteen planes from 10 pilots. More weighing and pull tests!

It was early on this day that we discovered that if you wandered farther than the back edge of the center circle you met THE TREE! In the end, five planes hit limbs with one being a total loss. Due to line slack on takeoff, he was forced to run back to get line tension and wham.

We also experienced no fewer than six aircraft that simply refused to run properly. Perhaps the sunny 85-degree weather had some effect. Pete Cuhna discovered that his fuel tank was too small to do any laps between fast/slow/landing. Not for lack of trying though. Next year ,Pete!

On Saturday I debuted a new MO-1 for NWS .40 using a ground R/C handle. The plane has what I call “RaY-Active.”.This stands for Roll and Yaw – Active control. The ailerons and rudder are run by the steering wheel on the controller. This allows me to achieve a full 60-degree hang with no line slider. In fact, I actually got to a full 90 degrees (vertical) on my practice flight and recovered. Pretty good for fixed leadouts on an OS .40-powered MO-1. I will be submitting a build article for Flying Lines and the Navy Carrier Society soon.

After much frustration we had a few more flights on the board. Off to dinner! Where our party of five turned into a table of 18! Good times for all. (Photo at right.)

Sunday was a mop-up day of trying to get engines to run with a few more flights, most of which ended up in the drink (grass). Mike Hazel flew the ever-dependable Mustang and of course the Cro-Magnon to full effect. Dang, that plane is old. At least add some new paint, Mike.

Out of frustration and not wanting to hold up the awards ceremony we called it early and wrapped things up.
 
Congratulations to Mark Schluter for earning the Grand Champion Award.

And a special shout-out to the Canadians who drove a very long way to fly with us! We look forward to seeing them next year!

Pilots: (entered classes, not necessarily successful flights)
Mark Schluter — AMA Profile, NOS Profile, NWS.40
Jim Schneider — CL1, CL2, AMA Profile, NWS.40, .15
Mike Hazel — AMA Profile, NOS Profile, NWS.40
Mike Dukes — AMA Profile, NWS.40
Jim McCartney — NWS.40
Kris Millard — AMA Profile, NOS Profile, NOS CL2, NWS.40, .15
Pete Cunha — AMA Profile, NWS.40
Alan Rader — NWS.40, .15
Orin Humphries — AMA Profile, NOS Profile, NOS CL2, NWS.40, .15
Gerry Van Dyk — AMA Profile, NWS.40

Racing

By Will Naemura

This year, several changes were made to the Racing and Speed events. Besides continuing the 2024 move of racing from Sunday to Friday, Doug Powers and I teamed to run both events. In past years, Doug would run and try to compete in the Racing events and I would do the same on the Speed days. To say the least, it was a hectic day!  To make it more efficient, we changed it up where I would run the Racing event so Doug could focus on being a competitor. On Saturday and Sunday, Doug would help me run the speed event. In the end, it seemed to work out great with more participation and success throughout the weekend.  

With the Racing being condensed to 5 events and what was estimated to be lower entries, it seemed like a good idea to start at 11 a.m. with the first event. This all seemed to be rational until the racing started. What I thought was a fairly efficient run event, it took unit 6 pm to finish the final race!  Wow, that seemed to be a bit of work and a long day. Yes, I think should start a bit earlier next year!   

A BIG thanks to Howard Doering from the Southern Cal area who volunteered to time and count laps for EVERY race. This was a huge help to enhance the flow of the races. Also, a BIG thanks to the other competitors who helped with timing the races.

This year, I am trying something new for the Racing report.  I thought it would be good to hear from some of the participants about their adventures on the Racing circle. To me, the memories that THEY take away from this competition speaks much louder than whatever I can write. And, it is a reminder of our lifelong passion with this crazy sport!  So, here we go….

Paul Gibeault

• I was warmed at the meet and greet when a group of regulars approached me and apologized for their current president!
• It was a victory in itself to be able to show up (upright & pain free) for yet another Regionals.
• This Regionals I needed a minimum of painkillers for a change!
• I brought a new racer with me (Gerry Van Dyk) and he did quite OK after being away for 20 years! (We'll get 'em next year Gerry!)
• I unknowingly sabotaged our Northwest Super Sport model by inadvertently using a fuel line with a ball bearing in it blocking the exhaust primer!
• I could've used less top end speed and more pitstop speed.
• It's tough to find a pilot, but getting even tougher to find a pitman who can get up off their knees after a pit stop!
• The Nitroholics put the kybosh on my usual race winnings this year.

Gerry Van Dyk

The last time I competed in a control-line competition was probably the late '80s, so this was going to be a reawakening.

It was fun to meet the names I'd read and heard about. Being Paul G.'s shadow sure helps with this; he knows pretty much EVERYONE!  I had two Sport Goodyear airplanes, an Invictus with Magnum engine, and my own design Nemesis with a SuperTigre G-15. Thursday night Paul pitted and I flew the Invictus and had it running pretty well, if a little over-propped. I was quite convinced we had a model ready to race, so we left the Nemesis in the pits. Friday came around and we brought the Invictus to the circle and we couldn't get the engine to run. The needle collet seemed to loosen up, and even after addressing that, the engine wouldn't run well. We tried racing and had engine sagging on takeoff, snagged lines and generally had a dismal time in Dallas Sport Goodyear.

I pitted for Paul in DSGY, his Pole Cat with Magnum power was running really quick, and we ripped off a great heat race, making the final. I had a little difficulty getting the engine running in the final, and my pit stops were less than stellar. Paul was peeling laps off the deficit in the air, but we still had a good time, beating the previous record and second to Mike with his new record final time, wasn't a bad effort after all.

I also pitted for Paul in Northwest Sport Race and Northwest Super Sport Race. In Sport we got off to a good start, but for some reason he had a problem with the airplane shutting off at the first pit, smacking the pavement. Out of the race. Bummer.

Super Sport on the other hand, we had a really good run in the heat, and ripped off a pretty decent run in the final. Had the engine sag on the second pit, and came back in after a lap. I filled the tank, and launched, hoping we could run 50 laps to the final. Nope, had to make a fourth pit and lost to Mike again, who had another really good run.

I had some similar experiences at the Carrier circle. Engines running great in the pits and being cantankerous on the line. I also lost a new airplane to "The Tree." Damn!

In all, it was a fun time meeting and talking with all the folks on the field, as is the norm for control-line events. My personal performance was less than stellar, but frankly to be expected having all new models, and having done no flying before the event. Go figure.  ;^)  We'll be better prepared next year.

John Knoppi

As you know my dad Tom Knoppi was a team racer went to two world champs. I got back in to flying in 2014 after leaving in 1980. I got back into Combat and did OK, winning F2D fast at the nationals in 2017. But after that it kinda went downhill so I got into Speed and Racing with the help of Rich and Dick Salter, buying up all their stuff.

A little Combat but more Racing and Speed equipment, so started putting stuff together like Dallas Goodyear and Clown. Dad and Dick were the Northwest Sport champs back in 1981 and 1982. So I wanted to follow in their foot steps and been flying NWSR and Clown — also Dallas — but this year I set out to do better then I had in Sportsman and Flying Clown as I finished second in both events with one of Salter's Clowns with a Brodak .15 and the other with a REFI Nelson .15.

Even though there were just the two of us in Clown it was a great flying experience I love that you can use good friends' planes and show that they can still be flown and place in the events we are given. In Sportsman Clown I had Ken Burdick flying and me pitting and in Flying Clown  — I call it outlaw as we can use any engine up to a .019 — I was the pilot and Paul Gibeault was the pit man, And thank you and Doug and the rest of the crew that help out with all the Racing. It ran smooth and everyone made it fun.

Leighton Mangels

Thanks again for all your work being the Racing ED. Like herding cats at times. Here's a few comments.

I believe I was the only person to enter and fly in all five of the racing events. In fact, I also flew Doug's Goodyear so that's six events flown. And that's in addition to being the most senior of all the racers. Not sure how many more years I can do this but one never knows.

The Sportsman Clown Race was the first flown and the only one that we did a three-up final. I had the fastest heat race and was ahead in the final when, right after passing the other two fliers, I got tangled with a flyer that was not rotating properly causing me to crash out of the race. My most notable, and unpleasant, memory of the day. Partly due to that experience the rest of the races only had two up finals.

As usual Mike Hazel and John Thompson did a commendable job organizing the event and I'll support it as long as possible. Eventually I might find myself sitting in a chair and lap counting/timing, but not yet.




Chris Menicou

Northwest Sport Race was my first contest experience in Racing! I have been in two-up practice racing with my local flying teammates here in the San Francisco Bay Area, so getting the win in Roseburg was a very special big deal for me.

I had great support from my teammates at the event as well, with Andy Prior's excellent pitting and the model that was gifted to me by Pete Cunha. I was also lucky to fly with experienced pilots who were very helpful with coaching and communication while flying, Paul Gibeault and Leighton Mangels in the 140-lap final.

The amazing part of the whole experience was that I clearly had the slowest plane in the heats, but with Andy's pitting and my reliable FP .25 I was able to finish with wins as the afternoon became pretty windy.

It was a great, fun experience and I look forward to competing again next year in even more Racing events.

Mike Hazel

It was nice to see an uptick in the amount of entries.  With our declining numbers (in all events) event one or two more guys sure can make a difference.  

Having a meeting prior to racing to review rules and general procedures is good, and we should probably emphasize that even more in the future.

Little things can make or break one's performance. For me it was missing out getting into the NWSR final by only two seconds. That's only flipping the prop a couple of times or perhaps fumbling while fueling.

As we all are aging, Racing is getting a little harder to do, but still fun!

Sometimes it is difficult lining up the heats with a limited cadre of competent pilots.

The Dallas Sport Goodyear event is great! Similar performance from most efforts, close racing, easy to fly (no hard pull!), equipment and parts are available.



Mark Schluter

For racing at the Regionals we had excellent weather, robust participation, plenty of time, and the highest degree of safety, efficiency and “flow” thanks to Will and his crew.



Control-line racing embodies action, excitement, mechanical and airmanship skill and teamwork while also highlighting the role that chance and (hopefully mild) chaos can play in final outcomes. We are fortunate to have excellent and experienced racing teams from California all the way up into Canada attending these Regionals who set the bar very high and are fun to watch and to race with! I strongly encourage others to jump into the fray as well.



My activity and gear in Racing is willingly truncated due to my ongoing interests in multiple other control-line events, but that doesn’t take anything away from the fun and the little adrenalin rush when the starting horn blows. Nostalgia plays a role; my father and I raced as a team way back in the day, and one plane he built still gets called to duty each year so I know he’s there with us at the races. Special mention and thanks go to Jim Schneider for his piloting skill at circle center this year.

Jump to Regionals Photo Gallery

It's a true beauty contest! Precision Aerobatics planes lined up for appearance judging on Sunday morning. Flying Lines photo.

David Fitzgerald makes the winning flight in Expert Precision Aerobatics. Flying Lines photo.

Fitzgerald's winning Expert PA plane, ThunderGazer 3. Flying Lines photo.

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Results of this contest are included in the Northwest Competition Standings.