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KCRC Hosts the 2026 Ben Oliver Classic
SPA Contest
Knoxville TN June 27-28, 2026
The Knox County Radio Control
Society welcomed SPA pilots back to the KCRC field in
Knoxville for the Ben Oliver Memorial SPA Contest on the
weekend of June 27-28. Some diehards began arriving on
Thursday afternoon with others showing up for practice
on Friday. We had some really good flying weather
and a good time with plenty of hangar banter.
Saturday morning came and
the forecast was less than stellar with rain and storms
forecasted for later in the day. Nevertheless, we had 11
pilots sign up. The pilots meeting was held at 9am
followed by a group picture and flights started around
9:30. We promptly got through 3 rounds before a storm
moved in, cutting Jeff Owens' 3rd
flight short. We had heavy rain and wind for about
45min. Contestants were seen scurrying around seeking
shelter and trying to keep our gear dry. The two pop up
judging canopies got blown around as well. The sky
cleared (or so we thought) so we again tried to finish.
This opening was enough to finish the 3rd
round, but that was all we could do, as the rain had
moved back in with no end in sight. A few folks decided to go home
Saturday because the weather wasn’t looking any better
for Sunday. Sunday came and only 2 flyers wanted
to fly. So, we flew 1 round of Sportsman, the only class
that got 4 rounds in, and it started raining again soon
after. Awards and raffle prizes were given out, and
folks were on the road shortly after 10am. Most
were trying to beat the storms forecasted later that
morning. Norm Bonnette had the worst luck of the weekend -- he lost 2 airplanes to the ever growing and hungry KCRC trees. But the friendliness and helpfulness of SPAers was evident when we unanimously decided to award him one of the raffle prizes with the fiberglass and foam Nutcracker kit!
Jimmy Russell also had a
causality. After the 1st
storm moved, he tried to charge a battery.
Witnesses said it made a loud pop, and the magic smoke
exited the charger. There was no fire and the
batteries were undamaged. Apparently even though
the lid of the case was closed during the rain, moisture
likely caused an internal short and fried one of the
charger's channels. KCRC member Todd Thomas
deserves big thanks for running the scoring, along with
Warren Oliver for being the Co-CD and “Air Boss”. Thanks
to everyone for helping keep this weekend fun despite
the challenges. See ya at GAMA! Jimmy Russell, CD |
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