2018
Roberta SPA "Carnage" Classic Sunday's weather forecast called for a 100% probability of rain, so CD Dan Dougherty (left) opted for a 1-day contest. Many pilots arrived Friday the 13th to get in a few practice flights, because many have had very little practice this year due to the weird weather. The field was in great shape – the grass was short, the runway was smooth and the hobby shop was open. This proved to be a good thing. The only excitement of the day occurred when Bill Dodge’s radio began beeping wildly during one of his flights. He landed safely and inspection revealed that one of his aileron servos had shorted out and burned most of the insulation off the servo wiring. Apparently, the radio saw this as a massive battery drain triggering the low voltage alarm. A quick trip across the field to CMJ Hobbies and a replacement parts were procured and installed. Saturday dawned cool and partly sunny. Twelve intrepid pilots showed up to brave the gusty Roberta winds. Unfortunately, six fine airplanes would be wounded - some mortally - during the day. Things started off with Jim Johns having a decent flight going until he tried to turn around late in the flight. His plane started gyrating wildly and he nearly lost control several times before figuring out that he had to hold full right aileron on high rate to make the plane fly wings level. He limped the plane back to the field and made a very hard pancake landing on the runway. The culprit turned out to be his right aileron servo which had failed and driven to full travel to give him full left aileron on that wing. Closer examination showed repairable minor fuselage and wing damage due to the hard landing. Next up was Keith Watson. Keith was one of the folks with only a few flights this year due to weather and health problems. His takeoff was uneventful, but during his first maneuver he became disorientated and his Daddy Rabbit went straight into the sand just beyond the runway. The results were not pleasant (right). Charlie Johns was next up on the hit parade. Shortly after takeoff he lost control of his Kaos, resulting in another major loss. The preceding three incidents all happened within about 5 minutes time. Jerry Black commented that maybe he should just put his airplane back in the car while it was still in one piece. These turned out to be prophetic words, because late in the 1st round he and John Wolfe had a mid-air collision during turn arounds resulting in the total destruction of both planes. They went down well off the left end of the field, requiring over an hour of searching through rough terrain to recover the wreckage. Jerry never did find his new OS 95 engine, and since he didn't bring a backup, he was done for the day. John borrowed a plane from Greg Hoke and continued. Round 2 and 3 were uneventful, and Jimmy Russell had a good flight going in Round 4 until he flamed out during his 3 Turn Spin. He was low when he discovered the problem, and his quick decision to turn right downwind toward the runway proved incorrect. He ended up behind the fence and the right wing of his Daddy Rabbit struck the metal corner pole of one of the pilot shelters, resulting in wing and fuselage damage. Jimmy normally flies in Knoxville, which has a notoriously small "postage stamp" sized runway, so his reaction was completely understandable. He had made it home and started repairing the damage by Sunday afternoon. See his post on the Discussion List. The winds escalated during the day, causing more than one white knuckle flight. Newcomer Troy Cleckler flew two rounds before deciding to put his plane away while it was in one piece. Several others, including Bill Dodge and Ken VandenBosch, chose to do the same during the course of the day. Now for the good stuff.
All in all, it was a rather strange contest.
We will gather again in 3 weeks for the SPA East-West Shootout in Toone, TN. I'll be there - hopefully with a flyable airplane - so come join us for the fun. Jim Johns |
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