Note that it some cases it is taking 4-6 months for delivery of issues!
The problem is NOT that we are late getting the newsletter published.
If you have not done so already, please let Rick Pendzick know if you are missing an issue. One notice is enough; Rick is maintaining a list. We are asking you to allow a very long window for missing issues to be be delivered. Your patience is appreciated. If you have FINALLY received a late issue, we would appreciate you letting Rick know.
DO NOT chew out Rick or any other FAC admin, either by e-mail or phone.
The main two (2) people who coordinate publication of the newsletter are even more unhappy than you are. This mess has made a LOT of work for those few who bust their butts for the FAC out of love for the hobby.
The problem lies ENTIRELY with the USPS.
Please read the above sentence again.
the 12 Comet “Nickel” plans are now available for download in the Library (on the bottom of Plans Page 1)! These were smaller than the “Dime” plans, about 10″ or 11″ wingspan and even simpler in detail and construction. Build ’em for fun! Thanks to Doug Griggs for providing the files and the inspiration to post them.
thanks to an FACer, I have reworked the Kanone List; Our friends who have gone west are no longer removed from the Kanone List. The “Active Roster” is now the “All Time Roster” and will remain in descending kanone total order. This will be a constant reminder of those that flew with us and their accomplishments. We will still maintain a Memorial List in alphabetical order. Gone, but not forgotten.
here’s another reminder – if you are a local Contest Director, please submit your upcoming contests using the Contest Form. The event will be added to the Contest Calendar and all FACers in your local area will receive an email reminder of your contest.
I have three announcements regarding the Hall of Fame voting.
1. Many of us are just now receiving our Nov-Dec FAC Newsletters. This makes finishing the Hall of Fame voting by Dec.1st of this year virtually impossible. Therefore, voting for the 2020 Hall of Fame inductees is extended to Dec. 15th!
2. I failed to include one of the submitted nominees on the list published in the FACNL: Fran Ptaszkiewicz.
Please take a look at THIS REVISED LIST of nominees as you consider your votes.
3. Some of you are on the ball, and have already submitted your votes!
Where this is the case and you want to support Fran’s nomination, you may vote for a third candidate if you choose.
Never Ready Eddie Novak has compiled and submitted the results for this most unusual “Nats” That was brought on by the nation-wide COVID pandemic. In case you don’t remember, we were to hold the FAC Nats this July, but cancelled that and opted for a mail-in Postal contest with eight events. Contestants were encouraged to fly on their own and submit time via POSTCARD ONLY. The winners would be selected at random. This surely cut down on participants as it appears people would rather drive hundreds of miles than mail in a postcard – haaww!! Regardless, here is a note from NRE that accompanied the results:
Congratulations to the lucky eight winners. The winning post card was “drawn from the hat in
each event”. As you can see there was a good turnout in all of the events. There were also
some mysterious entrants, can you pick them out? The variety of the types of cards was
amazing, from recycled old cards to homemade cards to index cards, true FAC imagination.
Comments were “hand wound and flown in the back yard”, “small motor and low turns so I
wouldn’t lose it”, and of course “eat tofu”.
FLYING ACES CLUB SALUTE to ALL!
Thanks to the devoted mini-CDs for receiving all the entries. Eddie notes elsewhere that all entries were put into a “hat” and the youngest attendee at one of their local Connecticut contests drew the winners. The results prove several things to be true: 1) you can’t keep Tom Hallman and Wally Farrell down, 2) Chambermaids will win, and 3) people can get their first kanone anytime, anyplace!
Here are the results (more comments below the results):
Hi-Start Scale Glider: Ed Pelatowski, CT
JetCat: Tom Hallman, PA
FAC Peanut: Bruce Foster, NJ
Simplified Scale: Wally Farrell, VA
2-Bit plus 1: Dan Driscoll, FL
Dime Scale: Franklin Venturini, CT (First Kanone!)
No-Cal: James Martin, GA
National Air Races: GEORGE Skelly, MA (clerical error pointed out by William Skelly)
Remember, High Flight Time didn’t mean you won – these were random selections. There ARE some rather spectacular times in there: Linda Wrisley in California, submitting 48 seconds with a Lockheed StarJet JetCat (its a canard!), she also put in 333 seconds on a Supreme Traveler 2-Bit! Doug Beardsworth bravely submitted 4 seconds on a U-2 JetCat – and he also entered his COVID 8″ NoCal Rare Bear for 6 seconds! I am going to need to have a sit-down with my flying pal, Ron – a Bonzo doesn’t qualify for the NAR (~sigh~). Regarding Wally and Tom winning, don’t be bitter – Hung shines on all of us sometimes; he just shines on them a lot more!
I received this contest report this morning – an historic report for sure:
Maxecuters Scramble, September 24th, 2020; Rose-James Field, Unionville, VA
George,
Attached is the Kanone Report from the (so far) one and only Maxecuter’s contest of 2020. Even given the appalling paucity of Maxecuter events lately, this would not normally be of particular interest.
HOWEVER….
…It should be noted that on a cool day in late September, on a damp Virginia cow field ripe with fresh pies, gopher holes and disinterested bovines, ’neath cloudy skies with a just hint of drift, Wally Farrell scraped out two meager wins against a depleted field of contestants and has thus, through a lifetime of hard work, attention to detail and clean living, at last overtaken the late, great Gordon Roberts as the FAC Ace of Aces.
For a man so accustomed to regular competition, it was clear that the pressure of the moment was weighing heavily on Wally during the meet; a slight film of rust had formed on the well-oiled machinery of his practice, and the vengeful FF gods were watching his every move. A broken motor strand in the finals of the Golden Age ML kept him from near-certain victory. His Dimers were recalcitrant, his timed events…untimely. A great third flight in Modern Civilian ended with 15 crucial seconds (and the model) stuck in the treetops, costing him a win (and the model). A 30 second, early-DT-aborted Embryo Endurance flight nearly sank him. He wavered; he wobbled; but he did not accept defeat. With his trusty aide-de-camp Julie urging him on, he girded his loins, grit his teeth, and persevered. Is it not fitting that in clawing back to win the Embryo event, he gained his place in Free Flight history with a Kanone in that most humble yet keen of events? For what is Wally Farrell if not humble, and keen?
Being similarly humble, I would be remiss if I didn’t call attention to my crucial role in advancing this man’s grand achievement. Over the years, had it not been for my willingness to wind just a little less; to go just a little less hard in the paint; to launch my models like a hamstrung T-Rex; to be, in short, a glad stepping stone to his ambition, that he might enjoy more fully the fruits of his labors, then who knows where he would be today? Eh? Broken? Dispirited? Perhaps even destitute. But this is not the case.
Let the full, throaty roars of the FAC community rain down upon him!
WALLY FARRELL: FAC ACE OF ACES!!
Cheers!
Dave Mitchell
PS in all seriousness—WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!!! It boggles the mind.
The 2020 Barron Field Air Races is ON! Tom Hallman and Mark Houck are hosting the contest on October 3rd and 4th, but with some minor changes. Here is what Tom and Mark have sent out:
In light of Covid-19, we’re having duplicate contests on Saturday and Sunday, so that you can pick your best day, and treat it like a day trip, and avoid an over-night stay. These will be two complete contests. Starting and ending on the same day.
For those who want to be there both days, hotels are open and camping is permitted on the field.
***Please note, depending on the ever changing Covid-19 impact, things could change, so we’ll make every attempt to keep you updated as the contest date nears.***
We ask that you practice social distancing and wear masks when in close proximity to other flyers. Bring your own pen or pencil for entering scores. Hand sanitizer and wipes will be available at GHQ, but certainly bring your own.
To honor our late flying friend John Houck, we’ll have a special tribute both days by flying a few of John’s models. Ships that we’ve all come to know, love, and…fear!! I’ll miss his enthusiasm and dedication to free-flight.
Hopefully the Weather Gods will give us a beautiful event, along with future days of great weather. It’s all about flying, time with friends, and taking in this special hobby that we all share & love.
Please share this with friends who might be considering Wawa this year.
Over the last month, I’ve received several contest reports for local events from Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, Florida, New York, and Georgia. People are getting together in small groups and flying. As Chris Boehm would say, it is good therapy.
Of note, is the First Kanone for a third generation flyer, Owen Houck. He took first in Blue Ridge Special at the Yankee Air Pirates’ meet at Geneseo! Congratulations, Owen!
Owen Houck and his 1st kanone. Photo submitted by his dad, Mark Houck
The August 2020 Pirate Challenge (Geneseo) is STILL a GO, but with minor changes. CHECK THE FLYER (and the FAC calendar). NOTE: the State of New York has a required 2-week quarantine for visitors from some/most states (likely you).
The September 2020 Rocky Mountain Champs (Colorado) is a GO. It is on the FAC Calendar, but right now, I don’t have a flyer. Its a 3-day event with 10 FAC events and a bushel of AMA/NFFS flying, too.
The October 2020 Texas Scale Champs is a GO. Check the Flyer (and the FAC Calendar).
The 2020 FAC Postal Mini-Nats are OVER. No winners have been announced yet. But if you didn’t get your postcards sent in, TOO BAD, you missed out. I am sure the mini-CDs will reveal the hat-drawn winners soon.
One note coming out of the Mini-Nats: Wally Farrell notched ANOTHER Minute-Plus JetCat flight! Dave Mitchell timed his T-37 Tweet to 68 seconds before it came down in some trees. He has been logged (again!) on the Sierra Hotel list.
The Kanone List ( and the Memorial List) have been updated this morning (some local contest have been taking place).
Since a lot of us are having issues flying this year, some of us tossed together an unofficial fun event for Small Fields. Similar to Half-Wake, it is 50% Old Timer. Check out my previous post for details. Build ’em up, Buttercup! Let’s see yours!
Here is an idea that a few of us have been tossing around. It won’t be an official FAC event (or even an official proposed event) unless the ground swell on this is popular. That is: Half Scale Old Timers. Here are some basic guidelines:
Small Field HSOT/OSOT
A fun event for small fields – Half Scale Old Timers (HSOT) and Originally Small Old Timers (OSOT)
HSOT: Any Old Timer (Cabin or Stick) reduced to 50% span
– must have enclosed motors
– Maximum span is 18″
– If your Original was greater than 36″ span, reduce it until it is 18″ or less
– Maintain outlines and proportions
– Ribs and Sticks may be reduced in quantity, if desired.
– if you reduce 2-Bits, they need to be 13″ or less (50%) – not 18″
– props and rubber is your choice.
OSOT: Originally Small Old Timers
– must have enclosed motors (Phantom Flash and the like are not eligible)
– Original Old Timers with 18″ span or less
– built per plan, no reduction or enlargement
– no stick or rib modifications – per plan
– building per plan allows their eligibility in OT Stick, OT Fuse or 2-Bit
Total of Three Flights (TOTF)
– max time is CD’s discretion
The aim of this is to create and Old Timer Fun Event for small fields. Note: Old Timers were built to fly and these will probably still fly away! These will build to Dimer size or Embryo size (to give an idea of accuracy or performance).
