SSTrials04

JUNE 5&6, 2004-WRENTHAM, MA-This weekend marked the annual running of "Ron Connors Memorial Spring Stunt Trials". This year the New England Stunt Team invited the New England Combat Association to run a combat contest as part of their fine event. We accepted their generous invitation and ran 1/2A combat on Saturday and Formula GX on Sunday.

The 1/2A Combat had five contestants participate in the first event, of this kind, held in New England, in many a year. We ran 2005 rules ( 42' lines and starters ). All the participants used GRS airplanes and either Foras or Cyclons for power. We ran a triple elimination format to insure that everyone got plenty of handle time. Everyone flew well and did their share of winning, however, when round six rolled around only Ken Hargreaves and Neil Simpson remained, both with only one loss apiece, Someone would have to win twice. The first match was very close, each pilot had a cut and when the watches were checked Neil won on just a handful of airtime points. Rather then use up any additional equipment, on this date, Ken decided to settle for second place giving Neil the win. Rick Clark also flew very well to earn his third place trophy spot.

Sunday saw eleven New England pilots poised and ready for some Formula GX action. Round one had Dick Sherman and Matt Stas get off to the best starts posting 830 point and 725 point wins respectively. Round two saw these two square off and fly each other to a one cut apiece draw. Also, in round two, Neil Simpson and Jim Carpenter emerged as contenders with both pilots posting good wins. Round three started with Neil Simpson earning a one cut win over Dick Sherman in an action filled match. Next Jim Carpenter got past Matt Stas two cuts to one in yet another excitng match. Brian Stas then got a two cut win over Ralph Gonzalez while earlier in the round Paul Kubek used a three cut win to challenge the leaders. Going into round four it was Neil (1855pts), Jim (1765pts), Paul (1650pts ), Matt (1535pts), Dick (1640pts), Matt (1635pts) and Brian (1335pts). In the third to last match of round four Brian got past Matt two cuts to one with both pilots showing off their ever improving skills. In the semi final Paul and Dick hooked up in a great match that unfortunately ended in a mid-air after some really good action for the majority of the flight. The final was between Neil Simpson and Jim Carpenter, in a downpour, that started just prior to their flight. There was a minute or two of good action before Jim's engine went sour and quit giving Neil an airtime win. The final order of finish was Neil ( 2375pts ), Brian ( 2060pts ), Dick ( 2045pts ) and Jim ( 1965pts ). On this day "Lil Sherm" took home the sportsman division win with a very respectable cumulative score of 1630 points.

Thank you, as always, to all the people who shared the judging responsibilities, to Rick Clark for all his great work and a special thank you to the New England Stunt Team for asking us to be part of their contest.

Ron Connors Memorial Spring Stunt Trials

Formula GX Combat

Eleven Contestants ( 10 from MA ) (1 from NH)

22 matches (2 mid-airs)

(E) Neil Simpson-E.Brookfield, MA

2375pts

(A) Brian Stas-Kingston, MA

2060pts

(E) Dick Sherman-Andover, MA

2045pts

(E) Jim Carpenter-N.Salem, NH

1965pts

(A) Matt Stas-Kingston, MA

1935pts

(A) Ken Hargreaves-Worcester, MA

1830pts

(A) Paul Kubek-Brockton, MA

1750pts

(S) Lil Sherm-Andover, MA

1630pts

(A) Rick Clark-Hingham, MA

1340pts

(E) Glenn Simpson-Worcester, MA

1220pts

(S) Rafeal Gonzalez-Haverhill, MA

500pts

1/2A Combat

Five Contestants ( 4 from MA ) (1 from CT)

Neil Simpson-E.Brookfield, MA

6 wins/1 loss

Ken Hargreaves-Worcester, MA

4 wins/3 losses

Rick Clark-Hingham, MA

2 wins/3 losses

Will Rogers-E.Hartford, CT

1 win/3 losses

Paul Kubek-Brockton, MA

0 wins/3 losses