THE 4th ANNUAL R/C SKYDIVING RALLY

Saturday the 19th of September 2003 dawned bright and sunny with a light breeze that would be blowing directly down the manicured grass runway of the Wright Flyers Field near Newcastle Indiana. We enjoyed a good breakfast at the motel then hurried to the field to see old friends that we hadn’t seen for a year.

I didn’t want to appear uninformed (dumb) so I didn’t ask why the club that was hosting the rally was called the Wright Flyers; we all know the Wright Brothers were born in Ohio. When we arrived we were in front of a very well preserved old farmhouse and next door was a museum which housed a full size Wright Flyer. We were standing in front of the place where Aviation itself had its beginnings. This was where the eldest brother, Wilbur was born!

We weren’t sure we were at the right place, but upon investigating further we found someone mowing grass in a large field behind Wilbur’s house; this was just too good, the flying field was in the back yard of the house in which Wilbur Wright was born.

The fellow mowing the field was Guy Mcintire the C.D. for the event; we were indeed at the right place.

Lots of old familiar faces began arriving; it was sort of like an old fashioned homecoming. There was lots of back slapping and hand shaking and “how’ve you been since I saw you last.”

There were several new faces as well, and they fit in as if they were old timers. Soon it was time for the CD to have the pilots meeting and go over the rules and scoring system for the rally. The rules were: “Use the frequency board for your plane and jumper and use common sense when flying and jumping.”

The scoring system was: “Here is a sheet of maneuvers and the points for each.” “Every person will keep his own score.” If that isn’t a laid back approach to a competition I’d like to see one that is.

Before we began the competition it was suggested that this rally be dedicated to the “Dickster”, Dick Northan of Indianapolis, An early and ingenious pioneer in R/C Skydiving. Dick had some health problems and wasn’t able to make it this year to the festivities we all missed his enthusiasm and helpfulness. He is always ready to help anyone that needs a hand. We’re looking forward to his return next year!!!

It was nice to see such a wide variety of drop planes this year. They ranged from an unbelievable scale Wilga, with full instrumentation, upholstered interior and an altimeter system that audibly reported the altitude of the plane, to 40 size trainers and even a couple of Old Timers. And once again old Harry Perry (Kansas) had his latest design at the rally. He designs them then builds them out of anything he can find laying around the house. The one he built for this year carried four jumpers!!! All of the jump planes were very busy for the two days and all performed admirably.

The formula for piling up as many points as possible was to go up and jump as many times as you could get into the air. Often you would hear “I’m going up and I have an empty space, does anyone need a ride.” When you heard those words if you looked closely you would most likely see a familiar straw hat festooned with many badges and pins moving through the crowd, a hand waving and a familiar voice saying, “yes, hang on I’m coming”, as Jack Treadman hooked up for another trip to an altitudinous position.

Gary Vanfoosen had a new Bud Nosen Trainer this year that flew superbly, after he got his computer radio programmed. He carried the jumper of one of the first time rally attendees, Will Jones. Will not only hit the bulls eye with his jumper, the harness and chute all piled up inside the inner circle.

Mark Hufford, and his wife, was another pair of first timers to the rally. They made their first jump with Mark at the controls and got a line over the canopy and it began to rotate, but fast thinking and lightning reflexes on the sticks dislodged the unruly line and they ended up with a fine jump. They didn’t hit the center of the target but their little dude was inside one of the outer circles.

Steven Kazmirzak and Bruno Kusnierz were first timers as well, and they had built their own jumper and parachute. Their drop plane was very busy; they were piling up the points. The way they handled their outfit you’d think they were old hands at this jumping stuff.

With so much jumping activity you might expect that we would have had some dirt dives: You would be correct, we did have a few. I remember one in particular that thundered into the sod and on the first bounce the chute deployed. It was just a little late in deploying to save the little dude from making a lot of splinters and throwing up a cloud of dust and clods.

From where I was standing I couldn’t hear what was being said, but a group rushed to the aid of the little dude and carried him to the table under the tent. It wasn’t unlike a surgeon hunched over the operating table. The owner of the little crushed dude would hold his hand out and someone would immediately slap a tool of some sort in it. Screwdriver, slap……exacto knife, slap…….hammer, slap……glue, slap.

Less than an hour later I was walking by the operating table and noticed that the little dude and his doctor weren’t there. He was being strapped to a jump plane for another trip. He went roaring off in a cloud of grass clippings and exhaust smoke, what a brave little dude. This time his chute blossomed like a rose and made a very competitive run on the target.

John Sedovic and his partner were racking up points as well. Those two guys are full scale skydivers and know all the tricks of playing the wind and jockeying for position using the wind and altitude to their advantage.

It has become a tradition at our rallies that Saturday night is always Mexican food night. Newcastle has a great Mexican restaurant, so naturally when the jumping stopped, we all headed for it. The only thing that could have made it any better is if the “Dickster”, a great lover of Mexican food could have been with us.

Marlan McIntire and his buddies, Paul Reiner, Guy McIntire, Gary Bussell, Rich LeGrange, and many others deserve our sincere thanks for a great rally. These events don’t just happen; it takes mountains of work and planning. Fellows, we sincerely appreciate the flawless way in which this event was presented. I don’t see how it could have been any better.

If I have left anyone out, please forgive me because it’s a result of my old brain malfunctioning and not intentional. Thanks again guys. I understand that plans are already in the making for next year. Hot Dog!!!