By Charlie Johnson
A fantastic eight days of Combat wrapped up with 1/2A and Fast Combat being flown on Friday. There were ten entrants in 1/2A and eleven in Fast. Both events were flown double elimination in the first round only.
Despite predictions of foul weather moving in at any moment, Muncie weather was excellent. A week earlier, rain showers delayed the start of the Team Trials by a few hours, but there were no other delays. Friday proved to be the warmest day, with the temperature creeping into the low 90° range. A gentle breeze helped mitigate the temperature and humidity.
A number of contestants had equipment problems which caused delays. Chuck Rudner had some sort of fuel system plumbing problem which doused the pit crew with fuel … twice! Trying to fix even a minor problem after flying and pitting for others all day is tough enough. Try solving the problem sitting out on the field in 90° temperatures. Chuck finally threw in the towel, allowing Ed and Brian to fly for first place and Ariell for an uncontested third.
1/2A Combat places: Leonardo Silva (first), Mike Evans (second), Ariel Quezeda (third), and Ed Brzys (fourth).
Fast Combat places: Ed Brzys (first), Brians Stas (second), Aerial Quezeda (third), and Chuck Rudner (fourth).
Not all engines used in Fast Combat were Nelson or Fora. There were a couple of Foxes, with the most exotic being Chuck Rudner’s, which included an Andy Kerr crank, Wisniewsi AAC piston/liner, rpm rod, and Virginia Craftman head. Time to use up those old engines and planes.
There seems to be a slight change in flying style in both Fast and 1/2A, perhaps influenced by F2d. It’s rare to see someone go over the top of the circle for an instant kill in the opening seconds of the match. Now, there seems to be more chasing and fewer head-on attacks. A pessimist would say that making the match last longer just adds more time to have things go wrong. The midairs are as spectacular as ever.