Tuesday 04-23-02

Top Gun has a new venue for 2002 at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in central Florida. For many years the Top Gun tournament enjoyed the fine amenities provided by the West Palm Beach Polo Club. The manicured grass for a runway with beautiful surroundings added to the mystique that defined the event.

Picture now a setting with Spanish moss hanging from majestic oak trees. There are some shady areas to park your car and a paved runway as long as the eye can see, begging for a turbine aircraft to make a touch and go. The rustic surroundings are quite a change from West Palm Beach.

Tuesday is usually reserved for setting up shop so to speak. People are unpacking canopies and staking their claim to the territory they will use for the next 6 days. Once all this is complete there is time to walk around the area and visit with other modelers and contestants that will be competing during the week end.

The static judging begins on Wednesday and is complete by Friday. The flight competition officially begins on Friday for the rotary wing aircraft (otherwise known as helicopters). Saturday kicks off the fixed wing flight competition with 5 categories being judged. One can expect aircraft from WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, all the way up to and including today’s current military and civilian aircraft.

The Top Gun tournament brings out the best in highly detailed aircraft. Nothing is overlooked. The competitor duplicates a full size aircraft or helicopter and scales it down to create a miniature-flying model. Flying any model can be a challenge, but these scale replicas require advanced skills.

Wednesday 04-24-02

The wind was up with a nice breeze all day. Right down the runway and many pilots took advantage of the favorable conditions. There was some attrition though, with a P51 and a Lockheed Constellation on the wrong side of gravity.

There are more participants and spectators on Wednesday and the atmosphere becomes festive. Areas become neighborhoods with lending and borrowing of tools. Help is always available, all you have to do is ask.

The flight line is not too crowded and the pilots have a chance to "own" the sky while they trim their aircraft. The jets have plenty of runway for their rollouts, and the sky’s the limit with few clouds and plenty of deep blue yonder.

The vendors begin to trickle in and the bartering begins. That special wiz bang item you’ve been saving for is now 20% less and you seize the moment and whip out the plastic. It’s ok we all do it. The hardest part is the excuse you have for buying it. Better make it a good one.

Lunchtime brings a new challenge. Everything smells so good but is not on your diet. I usually put my diet in a holding pattern until further notice.

Thursday 04-25-02

The mornings are cool until about 10:00AM and then it gets warmer. Much warmer. Say 90 degrees of warm. The breeze has slowed down and it begins to shift a little. By lunch the breeze is shifting 180 degrees in 3 minutes and then back again. The flying patterns change with the wind. The pilots must keep track of the winds when taking off and landing.

Thursday saw the demise of Mark Frankel’s F4D Skyray jet aircraft. Just before impact the pilot was advised to "kill the pump". Fortunately this limited the damage to the surrounding area and no one was hurt. (The fire created by the aircraft impact was extinguished within an hour.)

Many of the contestants had an opportunity to test fly their competition aircraft and this provided lots of entertainment to the spectators. As the day moved on the heat got the better of most of us, and the spectators began the thin also.

Friday 04-26-02

The last day of practice flying saw two casualties. Terry Nitsch was dropping the wing tanks on his Rafale when one of the tanks snagged in the aileron. This caused quite a bit of drag on the aircraft and a loss of aileron control. The impact was devastating with the total loss of the aircraft. Terry Nitsch is one of the top competitors and with him out of the competition the window of opportunity opened up for the other competitors.  Being the competitor that he is, Terry stayed for the competition and provided help to the other competitors.

The other mishap occurred when Ernie Harwood encountered a hard landing with his Aviatic C1 biplane. Part of his landing gear was damaged and because it is so specialized he could not fly in the competition.

Saturday 04-27-02

This is the first day of flying competition. The tension has reached a peak. Each pilot is ready to do his or her best. For the first time all week there is a cross wind at the pilots back. There is a pilots meeting to discuss all the rules and answer any questions and flying promptly begins at 9:00AM. This is where the attrition really takes its toll. All of a sudden engines fail and aircraft return to earth rather quickly. For some there is no damage and they will fly again. For others the damage is not reparable and they must drop out of the competition.

The turbine jets seem to have everything under control. They fly so much faster than the prop aircraft and don’t seem to be affected by the crosswind. Jeff Foley, flying his Me109 drifted off the runway right after landing and the aircraft disappeared into the low ground on the far side of the runway. He carefully added throttle and rudder and like magic, he returned the aircraft to the flight line and shut down the engine in front of the judges.

Al Kretz, flying his Dauntless SBD dive bomber was caught by a gust of wind and landed much harder than his landing gear could handle. The damage resulted with his plane out of the competition.

Rich Feroldi, flying the BIG Folkker DR1 triplane landed in the grass (as intended) and managed to control the aircraft perfectly. Thinking that the engine had stopped, Rich collapsed the antennae of his radio only to see his triplane begin to throttle up. Reacting quickly he shut down the engine but not before the aircraft performed a graceful flip over on its back. Luckily no damage was done.

During the lunchtime show a group of WW2 scale model aircraft took to the skies to entertain the spectators. One of them was lost in a total impact. As it turned out, Nick Ziroli Jr. flying his scratch built Avenger, lost control and the plane was completely destroyed. This was Nick’s competition aircraft and so he too was now out of the competition.

Sunday 04-28-02

The final day of competition saw a reduced field of entries. There was some attrition on Saturday. The flight lines moved briskly and by now most of the pilots have grown accustomed to the elements and conditions. The turbine jets were nailing the landings and departures. The cross winds were less of a factor Sunday however; the lighter aircraft were still affected. With temperatures near 90 degrees, the aircraft were needing more runway for liftoff and landings.

Round 3 of 4 ended about noon and it was time for the lunchtime show. The spectators were entertained with demonstrations from an ornothopter to 3d helicopter maneuvers and a 20-foot B-29 with a Bell X1 jet plane under the wing. There was a demo of R/C skydivers that freefall and then pop the parachute. Then they enter a controlled decent where a servo operates the arms of the skydiver just like the real thing. For the young at heart there was a flying lawnmower. It looks just like a push lawn mower but has the ability to fly. This was a real crowd pleaser.

With the lunchtime activities complete, the final round of competition began. This is where the best flying happens. It’s like a baseball batter facing a new pitcher for the first time. After 3 visits to the plate, the batter has a feel for what the pitcher will throw. The pilots know where they are in the point standings and every point counts. By 3PM the competition is complete. Now the contestants must wait for the final tally. The trophies and prizes are assembled and everyone gathers near the awards table.

Summary

The level of aircraft detail and pilot skills continues to grow at each Top Gun. The new location in Lakeland Florida presents a more relaxed atmosphere with lots of shade and a long paved runway. Gone are the restrictions that were associated with the West Palm Beach Polo grounds. I have heard comments for and against this new venue. Indeed I will miss the pageantry and luxury that "is" West Palm Beach. The covered spectator stands and the manicured grass field, not to mention the cool breezes coming in from the ocean. On the other hand, most of the pilots will embrace the new east-west landing strip with practically zero obstructions. As with most new things in life, one must give it a chance, show some patience, before a true comparison can be made. I plan on doing just that by visiting again in 2003.