Many of you who are astute readers may be thinking this month that old Bob is really losing it when it comes to geography. Let me 'splain...
Larry Renger wrote me this note and sent it to me via email this morning: "When did they move Whittier Narrows from Nashville to Los Angeles? Talk about an extra wide load on the road...."
I had no idea what he was talking about... until I finally read the published version of my July MA CL Aerobatics column. It seems that someone did some last minute editing on my column and changed the map of the United States a bit. No biggie, but I will have some fun with the MA staff after I post this here. For the record the text I sent in to MA is as follows:
As this is being written, the 30th edition of the Vintage Stunt Championships (VSC) has just concluded. It’s hard for me to fathom that this wonderful annual gathering of vintage Stunt enthusiasts has been going on for three decades! I was fortunate enough to have been able to make it to 22 of them, starting with my first venture to Tucson in 1990. The very first VSC was held at the Whittier Narrows field in 1989, and then it was moved by its originator, Mike Keville, to Tucson when he moved there. Congrats to everyone involved over the years for keeping this particular flame alive and burning brightly.
For the record, this year’s winners were as follows. Ignition Old Time Stunt - Frank McMillan; Old Time Stunt - Joe Gilbert; Ringmaster Event - Jim Hoffman; Classic Stunt - Joe Gilbert (flying a Ringmaster!); and Super 70’s - Bob McDonald.
That last listing gives me a perfect segue into a new occasional feature that will appear in this column. I have been wanting to feature/highlight some of the Stunt event’s unsung personalities for awhile now. And the first one to be featured is…
Bob McDonald
Started flying in 1971 after going to the Glenview Nats to watch with his Dad, Rolland McDonald. Rolland was thinking about getting back in after a period of racing go-karts from 1962 -1970. Rolland was an extremely gifted designer/flier who was always near the top of the placings at the Nats in the mid to late 1950s and early 1960s. Rolland popularized the I-Beam method of construction that was devised originally by Bob Dailey in the early 1950s. Rolland placed highly at several Nats Stunt events, including a second place at the Nats in 1954 and 1958, and a third place at the 1960 Nats. He was also part of the committee that defined the “modern” pattern (that we still fly to this day), as well as the basic parameters of the event. The committee also included George Aldrich Milt Boose, Bob Palmer, and Bob Gialdini. Rolland had two published designs; the Detroit Stunter (or Strathmoor ) and the Challenger 3. He was inducted into the PAMPA Hall of Fame in 2014. It’s easy to see that Bob McDonald had some large shoes to fill in the Stunt event.
In 1973 Bob started participating at the Nats as a Senior flier, and did so thru 1975. His first appearance in the Open Stunt division at the Nats was in 1976. Bob captured the 1979 rookie of the year award in Lincoln Nebraska.
Bob has attended every Nats since 1971 except for three, and he was forced to withdraw from the Nats in 2000 because of a back problem (Whoo boy, can I identify with that!). He qualified for the top 20 all but three times! Bob has placed in the Top 10 in Open Stunt at the Nats three times, and just missed making the the Top-5 Fly-Off in 2012 by two thirds of a point (I can identify with that, too, Bob!).
Bob has scored some major victories along the way. He won CL Stunt at the Canadian National Championships in 1981, 1983, and 1988. He also flew his way into the third alternate birth for the FAI F2B team in 2013.
Attending VSC 23 times - and always flying in the Classic or Super 70s events - Bob only once finished outside the top five. He placed second six times (and once again, I know what that feels like…), and third four times. Bob finally broke through for his first VSC win this year by capturing the top spot in the Super 70s event.
Bob has also received the coveted Best I-Beam Stunter award five times at VSC! And last year (2017) Bob’s contributions to the event and to VSC were acknowledged with the presentation of the prestigious Keeper of the Flame trophy. That is VSC’s highest honor… Three of Bob’ original designs, the Aquila, Ceres, and Saggita, were published in Flying Models magazine in the late 1970s and early 1980s. There were several more original designs that were credited to Bob, but not published. Among them were his Cygnus. Desperado (.40 and .60 ) Questar, and Quest (his first piped ship). Then there was his Apogee, which was based on Bill Werwage’s Thunderbolt wing, and that was followed by several modified Thunderbolts. Now there have been several new generation Apogees that only resemble the first in appearance, and are based on a modified Thunderbolt 2 wing. The last of them actually utilizes a slightly thicker than stock, Bill Werwage-designed Geo-XL wing.
Bob served as the PAMPA Vice President from 1984 thru 1987, and also as the PAMPA District VII Director for most of 2013 thru 2015. He has also served as the District VII FAI F2B Team Selection Committee member for longer than he can remember, and also as the AMA District VII CLACB (Control Line Aerobatics Contest Board) for about 12 years. In addition, Bob served as the CL Aerobatic Assistant Event Director in 2013, and as the Event Director for that event in 2014 and 2015.
In the 1980s and early ‘90s Bob and his Dad, Rolland ran SST products, producing many CL Stunt accessories like venturies, chip mufflers, pitch gauges, and some control system parts. Bob started making carbon props and molds back in 1997 or 98, and is now the primary supplier for Aero Products of carbon props and landing gear.
Among Bob’s most treasured accomplishments is the fact that for many years he has served as Bill Werwage’s flying partner and coach. He aggressively coached Bill in 2004 when Mr. Werwage won his third World Championship F2B crown!
Thank you for all your service to the CLStunt community, Bob, and congratulations on your first VSC Championship, and for being chosen as the Keeper of the Flame. Your Dad would have been very proud of you; I know we are.
Mold on hold
Seems as though I’ve once again used up all my allotted space and don’t have room to add to our discussion about wet molding parts for models. I will pick that up again next time for sure. In the meantime my offer still stands to forward several PDF manuals that depict and explain the molding process in detail. The response to this offer from past column has been almost overwhelming’ I’ve sent out dozens of sets of manuals and have had amazing positive feedback. In fact, I’ve received more response to the molding discussion than I have for anything else I’ve ever written about. So, once again, if you’d like a copy of the manual sent to you via email, please send a request for them to me at the email address listed.
Photo captions:
Photo July CL Stunt.01: Bob McDonald has been an ardent competitor in, and staunch supporter of the CL Stunt event since the early 1970s. He is shown here with his original design Apogee at the 2017 Fellowship of Christian Modelers contest. He’s one of many unsung heroes of the event. Photo by Larry Fruits.
Photo July CL Stunt.02: Bob prepares to start the engine in his original design Aquila, at the 1979 Canadian Nats in Centralia, Ontario. That’s his dad, the legendary Rolland McDonald holding the plane for Bob. Photo by Hube Start.
Photo July CL Stunt.03: Bob McDonald finished in 13th place at the 2000 Nationals flying his gorgeous semi-scale P-47 the was finished in Unlimited Racing configuration. The engine was a PA .65 with a tuned pipe. Photo from Wynn Paul collection.
Photo July CL Stunt.04: Here’s Bob’s Dad, Rolland McDonald and his famous Strathmoor at the 1958 Nationals in Glenview, Illinois. He finished in 2nd place. Photo: Paul collection.
Topic: When the tide is rolling in on... Nashville? (Read 1474 times)