62nd Australian Nationals 2008-2009

Albury N.S.W.
28th December 2008  - 3rd January 2009

First speed class at the Nats to be flown was FAI , at the MAAA concrete circle at Albury, in windy and dusty conditions, and a temperature of around 26degrees.

Many people trouble getting settings in the conditions, as the pressure was low as well.

I only managed 4th, the first time I have not placed in the top 3 since Goulburn Nats 1979?, but was my own fault after doing 284kph lately I enlarged the carb to hope to go quicker, but did not test it before going to Nats and could not get a setting on the day, so shot myself in the foot.

Andy had even less luck as he could not get a setting at all, also he had to get Richard to fly the model as he is having a few health problems, so could not fly it himself, but was able to start and tune.

Every competitor used various model of PROFI motor and all except mine were the profi arf. My model continues to fly low on one side of the circle, despite attempts to rectify it.

Robin Hiern

02A

Junior Placings

Neil Baker

04A

BENDIX racing at the 62nd Nationals saw a strong pre entry of 10 teams contest this ultra exciting event. If control line racing could be likened to motor racing, then Bendix would have to be the Monster Truck event.

Tuesday afternoon saw the Nelson .36’s and other hot 6 cc engines roar into life. In most cases they had not been used for many months, just oiled up and put aside for the ‘big one’. Bendix is traditionally flown at the Nats and a few State Championships but rarely elsewhere. Not to matter, as the thrill seeking participants are happy to wait for the exhilaration of firing up their weapons grade equipment at major meets. Just hang onto the handle and stand by for the adrenaline rush!

Word from Kathy and Henry Nelson is there are no more new N.29’s of N.36’s available. They have no more cases, but can continue to supply spare parts for the engine internals. So the question must be asked; Can there be any other .35 or .36 engines out there with performance as good as the benchmark N.36?

For this event, the Keith Baddock designed and built Nemesis had found its way into the very capable hands of Wilson/Ellins. The outright speed of the Nemesis was awesome. It had to be seen to be believed. The N.36 belongs to Robert Owen and was fitted with a new design carbon fibre prop by Supercool and no doubt contributed to a new heat record of 3.20.28. This eclipsed the previous best time by one second set by Hallowell/Ellins with the same model at the last Busselton Nats in WA. Check how close the real Nemesis racer is to the model.

The next fastest model proved to be the eventual winner. After a number of attempts, Mark McDermott finally made the big breakthrough. A fitting reward for all the time and effort he has put in to this event.

The WA teams of Rob Fry & Alasdair Taylor and also John Hallowell have probably shared a dozen Bendix Nats wins between them, but they were not in the hunt this time. Both were a bit off the pace compared with previous years and their times reflected this.

Tony Bonello and Andrew Heath displayed their usual reliability and while not always the fastest, their teamwork was second to none. Now that it flies smoothly thanks to a tail re-alignment, the Cosmic Rays impressed with their Ray Cote Shoestring and Super Tigre .34. Their 80 lap heat time of 3.44.92 beat quite a few Nelsons to finish in a commendable forth place.

Brothers Richard and Bruce Bellis had hoped for a sharper time after bringing the Bendix over 2000 miles from Perth to race while Trent McDermott and John Taylor also expected more from their model. Harry Potter and Ray Harvey didn’t make it to the start line due to fuel delivery problems.

The final was a really good race. The Nemesis raced away early to build up a lead and was looking good for a new record. Macca was hanging in there with fast pitwork. There were only a few laps in it. That was until a nose over landing into the wind and away from their segment cost Wilson/Ellins dearly and allowed Justic/McDermott to sail past. The Nemesis tried hard to make up the deficit and got really close. In the end, they failed by 4 seconds or a bit under two laps to allow Macca and Richard to cross the line in a blaze of glory with their N.36 racer. Tony and Andrew came in third. It was a very close and exciting team race.

John Hallowell
AUS 1984

06A

CLASSIC B Team Race was definitely the racing highlight of the ‘08/09 Albury Nationals. Of the original 12 entries, 11 teams took to the air and provided some of the closest racing ever seen in this country. There are more than half a dozen teams who for various reasons couldn’t make it to Albury which gives us at least 20 teams in oz who currently fly Classic B. That’s very encouraging for the future.

Of the top 8 teams, heat times ranged between 3.02 and 3.10. Have a look at the tight times listed below! Many teams did PB’s and the reason for this was that for the first time, the Brodak AAC B25R dominated entry numbers and took 8 of the top 10 places. Much credit for this goes to the eventual winner, Lance Smith who has worked long and hard to make these racing engines available.

The winning engine was prepared by an engine genius from across the pond in the ‘land of the long white cloud.’ It was a fitting tribute to the late Alan Barnes of New Zealand that fellow Kiwi Lance Smith came out on top using his specially
modified Brodak B25R.

Weather was indifferent with a few showers around early before the sun came out. Using the new Galaxie in the second round, Lance and Murray Wilson qualified for third spot in the final by a scant second from the fast finishing Dream Team of Ken and John Hunting. Both teams recorded PB’s for the 70 lap heat.

The Dreamers shocked the opposition with two stunning heat times to clearly announce their arrival in this class of racing with their lightweight own design racer and ‘Barnsey Brodak’. It was the Huntings of old returning to their best. The fuel they used was 20% oil, 20% nitro and the rest methanol, which returned good speed for around 48 laps.

Graeme Wilson and Mark Ellins posted a 3.02.16 FTD on Contest Director Peter Van Meurs pad. Their red Rocket with B25R was really scorching and their time was also a PB. They were looking good for the final.

Classic B winner at the last Albury Nats, Mark McDermott was expecting some quick heat times from his very fast OS powered models. Unfortunately the instant starts were not there this time so a disappointing 8th place was the result. It was noticeable that the one or two flick starts from the Brodaks made super fast heat times a lot easier.

John Hallowell and Neil Baker had the best first round time of 3.03.65 with the yellow Rocket and Mk4 B25R. They swapped to the 50 lap + Grassfire for the second round but were slower with a rich setting.

Harry Bailey had World Champs F2C pitman Steve Walton doing the flicking duties on his superb looking new Galaxie. The match up was an instant success with Harry recording a PB 3.06. There was a log-jam of teams at the top, all knocking on the door for a place in the final and a shot at the big one.

Jim and Colin Ray had the potential to be as quick as any of the teams at the Albury field. However, it was not their day as despite a sharp 3.09, the Cosmics had a few of Murphy’s mates sitting on the Crescendo’s wings and it was not to be this time. They’ll be competitive as usual at the upcoming Vic State Champs and for next years Vic. run Nats at Albury… watch out!

After having driven well over 3000 k’s to get from Perth to Albury, Rob Fry and Alasdair Taylor demonstrated to the others how a good Classic B should fly… Really fast! Rob’s beautiful Galaxie was the equal of any for outright speed but struck trouble in the pits where normally they would have instant starts.

Young Trent McDermott had the vast experience of John Taylor at the oily end and did extra well with a best of 3.07 with the OS LA 25. Normally a time like this would guarantee a place among the top three in any Classic B event since the modern era racing began in 1993. Sorry Trent and John… not this time. Not in an event dominated by fast starting, high airspeed Brodak .25s.

Next years event may be even more exciting with the likelihood of a few selected sports BB .25’s thrown into the mix, along with the special AAC Enya .25 that Paul Stein is now developing. It is already showing much promise.

Duncan Bainbridge made a very welcome return to the Australian racing scene. Chock full of confidence after a stirring win in the Wharfdale 1000 lapper in England last October, hopes were high. Particularly as he had the current F2C World Champ Grant Potter, ably assisted by Ray Harvey looking after the pit work. As Duncan has understandably not yet finished his Dalesman he was flying a borrowed Rocket, a model that has won two previous Nats. However, luck was not on his side as the engine lost speed and with it, any chance of another win.

Fellow South Aussies Rob Fitzgerald and Mark Poschkens soldiered on in the event with an old and recalcitrant Norvel that was definitely way past its use by as it did not have the compression to start. Good engines do make a big difference!

It was time for the final. Wilson/Ellins were first choice. It was going to be fast, but could anyone break Mark McDermott’s Nats record of 6.09? All teams were quickly away. Lance and Murray had a good setting but both the others were a bit off tune. John and Lege were rich and Graeme and Mark were lean.

As the race went on Wilson/Ellins dropped off the pace out of contention. Lege tweaked the needle on the Grassfire to be back with equal speed to the Murray Wilson built Galaxie, but it was too late. With Lance showing how to perform a quick pit stop, they built up a winning lead to cruise over the line first in the excellent time of 6.12.51.

Congratulations to the winners who can now be proud of their first Classic B title at a Nationals. And in just a few month’s time they will have the chance to do it all again at the upcoming ’09 SA and Vic. State Champs. Can hardly wait!

John Hallowell.
AUS 1984

08A

I flew first with my Novarossi 12 in my old model and managed 265kph for 102 % of the record, but record can't be claimed as no FAI observer present. I am one but cannot do my own, no problem maybe next comp.

We were lacking in manpower as most were at the grass circles so had to manage again on our own.

We had and electronic timer [TRANSITRACE] but no one to run it. Noel flew his nova 12 in class 1 for 234 kph for 4th place but sprained a muscle getting out of the pylon. His class 5 Novarossi .21 managed 243 kph for 3rd place.

I also flew my class 5 Novarossi .21, the best of 254.78 kph 99% for 2nd place. This motor is 8 year old and has over 120 flights mostly on 60 nitro and has only blown 3 nelson plugs. I very occasionally give it a new one before major comp, but nothing has been replaced in this time, so speed does not have to be expensive.

Our hard working Contest Director for the whole Nats, RICHARD JUSTIC, had many attempts with his piped SUPER TIGRE X29 model and managed 244 kph, well below its potential, they are a hard beast to tame. I have been down the same road, problem with monoline is you do not have a shut off and it goes lean etc, all you can do is listen to it detonate etc.

Andrew Nugent, who has only being flying speed for a few months, managed 6th place in class 1 with his Budget model novarossi 12 [US$155]. It has gone faster in testing but on the day was a bit slow. It is only on 30% fuel at this stage .

Harry Bailey rushed back from the grass circles to put in his usual 3 flights in Proto using his even older novarossi .21 class 2 team racer, and also won class 2 team race and open rat race with it next day. He also flew his OSps11 ARROW.

Another new guy was Ron BLOMBERRY ?, from Sydney with an Picco .21 model but got behind it in the pylon and crashed so could not continue. He also had a ?.28 powered class 2 model but maybe wisely decided to give it a miss in the conditions as it had not been flown before. Keep at it Ron - we all had problems when starting, mine was a wingover.

A big thank you goes to RICHARD JUSTIC for his running of the events and to All the time keepers.

Next year we do it all again, so start TESTING and hope we can get more entries, because the models are out there not being flown. WHY NOT?????..

Robin Hiern

Noel Wake & Robin Hiern

The jet guys put up many flights but unfortunately only 2 official flights.

Rob Fry managed to win with David Axon 2nd.

A few jet models hit the ground in the trying windy conditions unfortunately with a few motors badly damaged.

I hope one of the jet guys could do a little run down on the many who put in attempts on the day and let us know what happened as I was busy.

Robin Hiern

There were 6 fliers with pulse jets and sporting their new polo shirts, with the PJAA logo on them - Rob Fry and son Blade, and Alasdair Taylor, from Perth; John Taylor, Queensland; John Walker, NSW; and David Axon, Vic.

The flights were interspersed with the Combined Speed. There were 6 flights put up, but only 2 official times were recorded. The wind was a problem, with 3 of the stock jets sustaining various amounts of damage.

Due to some competitors having to go to other events at the grass field, time was very short for some fliers. Rob Fry flew his fast jet the next day but it was unofficial.

Open Rat is a spectacular, fast and loud event and this year there were seven entries. Grant Potter decided that his model was a bit touchy and not safe to fly and withdrew his entry reducing the numbers to six.

Missing from this, his favourite event, was South Australian Greg Pretty due to work commitments.  

Most models were using .40 sized engines but Harry Bailey and John Hallowell were making up the numbers using .21 and .25 sized engines respectively.

The quicker models could not hold their pace consistently in the finals and the slower but very reliable model of Bailey/Walton flew a good race to claim first place.

Junior placing’s

Vintage A had the strongest entry of any of the racing events. This follows the tradition established way back in the early 90’s when the first VTR event was held at the Bendigo Nats and attracted over 20 teams.

As a matter of interest, Vintage A T/R in Australia comes of age next October, celebrating 21 years of competition since the very first event was held at Moorabbin Airport in October 1988.

The emergence of the R250 will help make sure this popular event will continue to enjoy huge support for many years to come. When Classic FAI gets underway, there is no reason why both classes cannot exist and prosper side by side.

Now back to the present and the Albury field for the running of this year’s event. We’ll start off with the weather. It was pretty bad… in fact so windy, if it was back home and you were thinking of a practice fly, you would not bother. However, this was a National Championship… and the show must go on.

Flying was a real test, particularly for the pilots flying three up. Have a look at the level of concentration in some of the photos. Times overall were quite a bit slower than what would be expected at a major event. However, they say cream rises to the top, and nobody can deny that the best three teams were in the final. At least on the day!

Harry Bailey was on a high after a very successful European tour late last year, including making the final of Vintage A at the British Nats and second place in Portugal. He had South Oz super flick Mark Poschkens at the R250 end. A best
time of 3.29 gave them third choice for the final.

Perennial finalists Graeme Wilson and Mark Ellins put in their usual slick performance in the heats and were looking good to make the last three. Harry Potter and Ray Harvey might have been using the old and much repaired D.D. but when Harry waved his magic wand, it took just one heat to easily record the FTD. This model still rocks!

Richard Bellis and Steve Walton looked the goods and just needed an ounce of luck to qualify for the final. In the end, CD Alan Lumsden’s notebook showed they missed out by the narrowest of margins to Harry & Mark…. just 13/100ths of one second!! Think that’s one of the main reasons we keep turning up to events… really close, competitive racing.

The Dream Team of Ken & John Hunting have finally traded in the Marz for a shiny new R250. A little more practice with this new engine and they will be moving smartly up the results list.

John Hallowell and Neil Baker had put in the hard yards with a lot of practice. However, it all counted for nothing when the engine went lean in the first heat and then had a blocked landing due to the high wind in the second heat. We still enjoyed the racing and there’s always next year!

Rob Fitzgerald and Lance Smith also did a lot of testing prior to the race but found a sharp time elusive due to little things going wrong. The Cosmic Rays will be looking forward to Easter and the Vic. State Champs to redeem themselves while those gun teams from Queensland, WA & SA, the Maccas and Rob & Alasdair and Duncan with his Texan will know an opportunity was lost to strut their stuff and show what they are really capable of.

Those teams all suffered the many and varying problems that is part of the very fabric of team racing. Certainly the gusty wind played a big part, but when such luminaries in this hobby/sport as Andy Kerr and Steve Rothwell finish right down the list, it definitely gives us lesser mortals the heart to soldier on.

The Vintage A “B” grade final was a torrid affair and resulted in a big line tangle. The Qld team of Peter Krenske and Rod Smith got home first.

The main final promised to be a beauty, but the wind had other ideas. World F2C Champ "Harry" Potter and fellow W.C representative Ray Harvey got home first in a time well below their best. It would be fair to say that Graeme and Mark would have got the honours if the strong wind had not dashed their Dimpled Dumpling into the ground on takeoff necessitating a restart on the other side of the circle. But that’s racing.

Harry Bailey and Mark Poschkens also struck trouble and limped home in third. All finalists used Dimpled Dumplings with R250 engines. Surely there are some other competitive designs out there. Would have been nice to see a Pluto in the mix… particularly a yellow one with clear wings. Maybe next time…

John Hallowell
AUS 1984

17A