|
Contest Scores |
Photo Page
Charles A. Mackey Contest Report
March 1999
RSM Distribution sponsored the Second Annual Charles A. Mackey Open contest which was held Feb 20-21, 1999. The
Mackey contest is held annually to honor Mr. Charles A. Mackey who is one of the most prolific designers of stunt
aircraft and has had in excess of 60 articles about control line published. He is also the author of "Pioneers
of Control Line Flying" a book about the early pioneers of our hobby. This book took Mr. Mackey over 15 years
to complete. Upon its completion he made a gift of it to Pampa for their use. The book is available from Pampa
in paperback form and is well worth its cost.
Preparation for the contest began in April 1998 when the AMA sanction and Orange County Park permit were applied
for. In November a discussion with Charlie Mackey resulted in his agreement to be the official host of the contest
banquet. In the course of that discussion a comment that it would get "very old" if we honored Charlie at every
banquet resulted in the decision to use the Saturday evening banquet each year to celebrate the accomplishments
of an individual who had contributed greatly to control line. In this way we could say "Thank you" to these persons
before they passed on instead of waiting too long and being forced to make the honor posthumous. The individual
chosen as the 1999 honoree was Mr. Dale Kirn. Charlie agreed to arrange for speakers and run the banquet. Contest
flyers were printed and over 500 were mailed out in December with the request for pre- registration. This was
felt to be very necessary due to the large response the contest had in Old Time Stunt & Profile 40 in 1998. Since
February days are short we can only expect to get in approximately 40 flights per circle in a full day of flying.
The registrations began to come in and it was quickly evident that we were going to need 3 circles for official
flights each day. A meeting was held with Mile Square Park Chief Ranger, Richard Hufnagle, in early January. At
this meeting arrangements were made for such items as picnic tables, trash cans, safety barricades and portable
toilets to be available for the contest dates. In addition to these important matters a request was made for the
temporary insertion of a 5th circle for use during the contest. Richard Hufnagle was his normal helpful self and
agreed to provide the necessary items and allowed the extra circle. The Charles A. Mackey Open was coming up fast!
We only had to call people and request their help as judges, pit bosses, tabulators, runners and cooks. A few
telephone calls and everything was in place. It's really wonderful how many people are willing to give up their
time on a weekend so that we guys can go play with our toy airplanes! After a meeting with chief Pit Boss, Ken
Kaiser, it was decided that he and I would meet at Mile Square to repaint the 4 existing circles, locate and paint
the temporary 5th circle and paint new pit areas. This was done the Thursday prior to the contest with the pits
being finished Friday morning. A quick trip to the grocery store for food and sodas and everything was ready !
Saturday morning arrived and we quickly filled the few remaining spots in Old Time and Classic Stunt (Profile
40 had been fully registered a week prior to the contest). All three events had the maximum of 20 contestants.
We had to run three circles in order to allow the two official flights per contestant. After the pilots' meeting
and the judges flights we were ready to start at 9:20 AM. The first flights were completed by 1 PM and a break
was taken to allow everyone to get something to eat. At this time the contestants were treated to a demonstration
flight of the "Grandpa's Bipe" by Charlie Mackey. It is no wonder why Charlie likes this little charmer so well.
This plane can really turn a tight circle and it is almost impossible to stall it. What a hoot! After the break
we got going again with the second official flights. Everyone co-operated with the pit bosses and we finished
the round in record time. By 5:15 PM we were done for the day.
What a day! Beautiful sunshine, temps in the mid 70's and light winds with no turbulence. Mile Square Park is
a great place to fly! At 7 PM 58 people showed up at the Holiday Inn for the banquet. After a few remarks by yours
truly to thank the people who helped put on the contest the really important part of the evening started. Charlie
Mackey treated us to a very funny introduction of what Dale Kirn was about to experience (read endure here) that
evening. He was followed by Wild Bill Netzeband and Ralph Storey (AMA # 9) who talked about their experiences
with Dale over the years. After the laughter died down we heard a very touching speech from Joe Kirn about what
kind of a father Dale was. I observed a lot of "tough guy stunt flyers" wiping their eyes during Joe's remarks.
Now it was the turn of AMA District Ten V.P. Richard Hanson. Rich told us that Dale was a member of the AMA Hall
of Fame and that there was very little more that the AMA could do to honor someone. He explained that there was
one final honor that the AMA could bestow on an individual but it was rarely given out. He then produced an award
plaque and declared that the Executive Council of the AMA had voted unanimously to name Mr. Dale Kirn a "Fellow
of the AMA". What an honor! Dale was speechless. The evening finished up with a slide show of Dale, his models
and awards. I do not know what Charlie is planning for 2000 but it will have to be good to top the 1999 banquet!
We all arrived at Mile Square Sunday morning. Registration for the Pampa and Scale events went on until 10 Am
with the Pilots Meeting being held at 8:30 AM and Judges Flight at 9 AM. Beginners and Expert Stunt were flown
on circle 2 with Advanced on 1 ,Intermediate on 3 and Scale on circle #4. This left circle #5 for practice. A
total of 94 official flights were made by 3:30 PM. We were once again treated to a sunny day with mid 70's temperature
and slightly stronger winds. Great flying conditions! After the last official flight (advanced) was taken Charlie
Mackey presented the awards to the winners. Wild Bill Netzeband surprised Dennis Choate, the second place winner
in Advanced, when he presented Dennis with a kit. Carl Shoup who took first in Advanced was heard to say that
if he had known about the kit he would have shaved a few points! The Second Annual Charles A. Mackey Open had
a total of 107 entries in 10 events with 213 official flights over the two day period.
The people who made the contest a success were: Linda Burton & Anne Rule who handled Registration and Tabulation;
Roxanne Goegan, Steven Wasylkiew & Ashlee Huston who ran scores; Kimm Huston & Brain Goegan who cooked the food;
Ken Kaiser & Joel Chesler who ran the Pits; Keith Trostle, Jerry Silver, Mike Causey, David Sabon, Al Hieger,
Bart Klapinski, John Wright, Tim Meek, Larry Renger & Bob Palmer who judged Stunt all day long; Ken Burton who
ran Scale; Tim Meek who acted as Cd and of course Charlie Mackey who put on a wonderful tribute to Dale Kirn at
the banquet. A special "Thank You" to all of these wonderful folks. Without their help nothing would have happened!
The Third Annual Cahrles A. Mackey Open will be held February 19-20, 2000 at Mile Square Park, Fountain Valley,
California (if it is still available - if not then at a new location in Orange County). You're all invited.
|
Controline
Contest News