Author: Bruce Markielewski

The twelfth installment of our annual Colorado Model Rocketry Championships contest was flown under weather conditions unusual for November. Persistent southernly winds prevailed throughout the weekend, resulting in many models landing in Bear Creek Lake. Kathleen Williams volunteered to assume the Contest Director duties for this event, and kept things moving along smoothly in spite of the less than ideal conditions.
Normally, the Open Spot Landing event would produce a few very close scores, but with the target being quite a bit farther than usual, combined with the relentless wind, no one was able to get within 25 meters of the spot. Three A Division competitors attempted this event, but Ariana William had the only flight close enough to place at 39 meters. Derek Courtwright and Will Watts, both new to competition, had scores well over 50 meters. Only one team entered this event and were combined with nine C Division competitors, but the CRASH Kidz (Christiana and Brian Williams) still managed a clear second place behind Ian MacDonald, whose 28 meter score was the best of the contest. Jeff Mosal’s 35 meters scored a third place finish, only a meter out of second, Steve Clapp and Bruce Markielewski tied for fourth at 38 meters.
“1/2A” Parachute Duration is an event that normally has a high number of participants, but this time only four C Division competitors and one Team participated. Bruce’s first flight was made early before the wind became a problem, and was returned to qualify for the event. His flight lead the field until Carl Truszynski’s second attempt forced Bruce to fly again, this time landing in the lake, but well enough to secure first place. Team Dave and Dave (Hanson and Tjarks) had two consistent flights for third place, while Steve rebounded on his second attempt to secure fourth place.
Ariana Williams easily won “B” Streamer Duration in A Division with her first flight, in spite of timing problems on her second. Derek took second place on two nice flights. In the combined C and Team Division, Steve won easily with two flights of over two and one half minutes each. Bruce was a distant second by nearly two minutes, and team Dave and Dave followed in third after a first flight separation.
“C” Helicopter Duration is always a difficult event, and only five competitors in two divisions attempted flights. Ariana’s single flight was enough for first place over Derek’s two flight total. Bruce also won easily in C Division after a lake landing and a wet recovery, while Rick Hyman and Steve battled early disqualifications for second and third places respectively.
“1/4A” Boost Glider Duration was very competitive as nearly all entrants managed two flights. This time the single A Division entry was combined with the two teams, with Dave and Dave team’s two consistent flights capturing first over CRASH Kidz’ single flight. C Division was much more closely contested, as Rick barely beat Steve by two seconds for first place. Carl was close behind in third place over Bruce.
“1/4A” Rocket Glider Duration was another tough event, and no A Division competitors attempted flights in this one. CRASH Kidz’ first flight was enough for first place over Dave and Dave in the team Division, while Steve won easily on two nice flights in C Division over Bruce. Rick’s first flight was several minutes long, disappearing over the lake, and would have won the event had his second attempt on a makeshift model not been disqualified for no glide.
Overall, Ariana Williams won A Division easily, with three first place events out of the four she entered. Derek Courtwright was second, not bad for his first contest. For the first time in a C.R.A.S.H. contest, we had a tie for first place – in C Division Steve Clapp and Bruce Markielewski had identical totals, with both winning two events. Rick Hyman had a strong third place finish, and Carl Truszynski came in fourth while flying only three events. Team Dave and Dave won the Team Division, although CRASH Kidz competed well, while entering only three of the six events. In the end, most everyone was glad to see the contest come to a close, but are looking forward to the next contest and hopefully calmer weather!

“1/4A” Rocket Glider Duration (WF 20)
Pl. Contestant Flight 1 Flight 2 Total Points NAR Points
C Division
1 Steve Clapp 37 56 93 10 600
2 Bruce Markielewski 19 36 55 6 360
– Rick Hyman NR DQ FP 1 60
Team Division:
1 CRASH Kidz 18 NF 18 10 600
2 Dave and Dave 6 DQ 6 6 360
“1/4A” Boost Glider Duration (WF 18)
Pl. Contestant Flight 1 Flight 2 Total Points NAR Points
C Division
1 Rick Hyman 31 13 44 10 540
2 Steve Clapp 19 23 42 6 324
3 Carl Truszynski 19 16 35 4 216
4 Bruce Markielewski 13 16 29 2 108
A/Team Division
1 Dave and Dave 15 13 28 10 540
2 CRASH Kidz 14 NF 14 6 324
3 Ariana Williams DQ 9 9 4 216
“C” Helicopter Duration (WF 22)
Pl. Contestant Flight 1 Flight 2 Total Points NAR Points
A Division
1 Ariana Williams 54 NF 54 10 660
2 Derek Courtwright 20 22 42 6 396
C Division
1 Bruce Markielewski 158 NF 158 10 660
2 Rick Hyman DQ 22 22 6 396
3 Steve Clapp DQ 19 19 4 264
Team Division
1 Dave and Dave 100 19 119 10 660
2 CRASH Kidz 42 NF 42 6 396
“B” Streamer Duration (WF 9)
Pl. Contestant Flight 1 Flight 2 Total Points NAR Points
A Division
1 Ariana Williams 149 TL 149 10 270
2 Derek Courtwright 28 47 75 6 162
– Will Watts DQ NF 0 0 0
C/Team Division
1 Steve Clapp 158 166 324 10 270
2 Bruce Markielewski 97 114 211 6 162
3 Dave and Dave DQ 89 89 4 108
4 Carl Truszynski 43 DQ 43 2 54
“1/2A” Parachute Duration (WF 7)
Pl. Contestant Flight 1 Flight 2 Total Points NAR Points
C/Team Division
1 Bruce Markielewski 92 121 213 10 210
2 Carl Truszynski 60 57 117 6 126
3 Dave and Dave 28 52 80 4 84
4 Steve Clapp 16 49 65 2 42
5 Rick Hyman 26 DQ 26 1 21
Open Spot Landing (WF 4)
Pl. Contestant Flight 1 Score Points NAR Points
A/B Division
1 Ariana Williams 39 39 10 120
– Derek Courtwright 50+ FP 1 12
– Will Watts 50+ FP 1 12
C/Team Division
1 Ian MacDonald 28 28 10 120
2 Dave and Dave 34 34 6 72
3 Jeff Mosal 35 35 4 48
4 Steve Clapp 38 38 2 24
4 Bruce Markielewski 38 38 2 24
5 Carl Truszynski 40 40 1 12
6 Mark Lionberger 42 42 1 12
7 Chuck Watts 46 46 1 12
– Joe Hinton 50+ FP 1 12
– Rick Hyman 50+ FP 1 12
Total Overall Points
Pl. Contestant 1/4A RG 1/4A BG C HD B SD 1/2A PD OSL Total
A/B Division
1 Ariana Williams —- 216 660 270 —- 120 1266
2 Derek Courtwright —- —- 396 162 —- 12 570
3 Will Watts —- —- —- 0 —- 12 12
C Division
1 Bruce Markielewski 360 108 660 162 210 24 1524
1 Steve Clapp 600 324 264 270 42 24 1524
2 Rick Hyman 60 540 396 —- 21 12 1029
3 Carl Truszynski —- 216 —- 54 126 12 408
4 Ian MacDonald —- —- —- —- —- 120 120
5 Jeff Mosal —- —- —- —- —- 48 48
6 Chuck Watts —- —- —- —- —- 12 12
6 Mark Lionberger —- —- —- —- —- 12 12
6 Joe Hinton —- —- —- —- —- 12 12
Team Division
1 Dave and Dave 360 540 660 108 84 72 1824
2 CRASH Kidz 600 324 396 —- —- —- 1320
Section Points
Pl. Section Points
1 CRASH 9585
2 IND 84
3 PHITS 12