OUTRAGEOUS AEROBATICS!

Model Airplane News, Jul 2005 by Reid, John

TOP PILOTS BATTLE IT OUT AT THE FLYING CIRKUS

IF YOU'VE EVER WONDERED how powerful the Internet is, the Flying Cirkus is the perfect example of what can be accomplished by a single website. It began as a way for a few guys, "Mad Max" Duncan, Jason "Showtime" Saulten and "Smokin' Joe" McBride, to express their love of extreme 3D flying. This cyberspace venue is now a meeting place where thousands around the country share their enthusiasm for 3D. After three years of growth and development, it was time for the Flying Cirkus to move out beyond its cyberworld and put on an event unlike any other. Working with the good folks at Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club, the Flying Cirkus crew decided to stage PC's first 3D-only event.

During the weekend of March 12 to 13, 2005, 63 pilots and more than 1,000 members and guests traveled from all over the country to Prado Dam, CA, for this first-time Fly-in. In the event of an "Aunt Jemima" (see the "Flying Cirkus lingo" sidebar) on the runway, PVMAC members Gary Cummings, Jim Caspio and David Gray manned the "Whambulance" during the weekend.

THE FLYING CIRKUS GROUP SOLICITED THE HELP OF BOB

"The Mouth of the South" Sadler to take on the responsibility of contest director and announcer. They could not have chosen a better person for the jobs. Bob was on top of things throughout the weekend, and he made sure that everything flowed smoothly. Safety was at the top of the list throughout the event, and Bob saw to it that everyone kept the planes out past the safety lines. There wasn't a single safety issue during the Fly-In, and the Whambulance was needed for only one airplane crash. Bob stayed on the microphone the entire weekend to provide up-to-date information for the participants, maintain order on the flightline and enlighten the crowd with his pearls of wisdom. It was the first event that I've ever attended where I heard the announcer say such things as, "Hey, boys, we huckin' it yet?" and "That is sexier than socks on a rooster!"

On Saturday morning, pilots enjoyed open flying until the noontime demo and throw down. The morning skies were filled with a wide variety of acrobatic aircraft that ranged from micro electrics, .40-size glow power all the way to 40-percent gassers. Every pilot had a chance to enjoy plenty of flying time during the morning hours and later, after the obstacle-course competition. The fog burned off around noon to give the attendees a nice, clear (albeit windy) afternoon. And even after the sun went down, the flying action didn't stop; club members brought in powerful lights that allowed the foamies to fly well into the night.

The noon demonstration and throw down featured, among others, pilots Garrett Morrison, Mark Leseberg, Joe McBride and Jason Saulten. Their outstanding 3D performances kept the crowd totally entertained, but that wasn't enough for the Flying Cirkus crew. Earlier in the day, while Max Duncan was being interviewed by Bob Sadler, Jason Saulten approached them from behind and dumped a bucket of water on Max. "Mad Max" waited for the noon demo to take his revenge. In the middle of Jason's flying demonstration, while he had his 41% 3W Monster Pitts hovering on the deck, the crowd could see that Max was sneaking up behind him with a bucket of water. Max dumped the water on Jason's head, and the Monster Pitts rocketed skyward as Jason turned around and started yelling at Max. A wrestling match ensued, and the transmitter flew into the air and then shattered into small pieces when it crashed down on the runway. The crowd gasped, but they noticed that the Pitts was still performing aerobatic maneuvers! At the end of the flightline, Joe McBride stepped out onto the runway and waved at the crowd with the real Monster Pitts transmitter in his hands. Jason smiled while acknowledging the crowd, then took the transmitter from Joe and continued his demonstration.

THE 3D OBSTACLE COURSE

This obstacle course was the part of the event that 3D fliers wanted to see but were hesitant to sign up for. While the ground crew set up the main obstacle course, Bob Sadler got the foamie obstacle course started. The course consisted of two limbo bars; pilots had to fly inverted over the tallest one and then drop down into an elevator and fly under the lower limbo bar. This was extremely difficult to do because the wind had begun to kick up quite a bit; however, 15-year-old Will Holderness completed the tasks on his first try, and that prompted Bob to make another challenge to Will. Bob announced over the loudspeaker, "Will, if you can touch one of those flags that's on top of the pylons for the obstacle course with your plane, I will give you a Flying Cirkus T-shirt!" Will did that within a minute and then proceeded to touch the other two flags on the other pylons. He did all of this while standing in the pilots' area, which was a good 30 to 40 feet from the pylons.

Smokin' Joe McBride was the first person to fly the main 3D obstacle course (he was also the designer). The course setup included a tall center pylon flanked by two shorter pylons, a 2-foot-deep wading pool and overfilled water balloons scattered on the ground. The pilot's time began once the plane was airborne, and the first requirement was to perform a knife-edge parallel to the runway below the lower pylons. After that, the pilot was to fly the plane above the center pylon and then perform an elevator-dropping the plane below the shorter ' pylon before passing it. Next, the plane had to fly past one of the shorter pylons in normal flight, perform a wall and then stop before it reached the center pylon. The pilot had to have the plane do a low harrier up to the pool, then dip its tail into the water, and then perform a torque roll. The pilot completed the obstacle course by having the plane pop one of the water balloons with its tail.