By Bruce Markielewski

    Our third Colorado Aerial Rocket
Circus was held on March 19th, on a day that was less
than hospitable throughout. Wind gusts hampered the
contest all day long, and changed directions at least a
half a dozen times Seasoned veteran Kevin Kuczek managed
to exploit the adverse conditions and take first place
overall, winning three of the four events.

    Ed O’Neill achieved his best finish
since entering NAR contests only seventeen months ago. He
took second overall, with first and second places in the
two toughest events. Bruce Markielewski and Dave Nauer
finished third and fourth, respectively. All four top
finishers entered every event.

    The “A” Helicopter duration
multi-round event was hard fought between Kevin and Dave,
both scoring one max (3 minutes) each. Consistency paid
off for Kevin as he easily outdistanced (literally)
everyone for first.

    In “B” Super-Roc duration, Kevin
overcame Bruce’s fine first flight to narrowly win the
event. “C” Eggloft was a very tough event, as evidenced
by the high number of DQ’s, and low times resulting from
recovery and reliability problems. Ed O’Neill easily took
first with a fine flight, followed by Bruce, whose flight
over Bear Creek Lake Dam resulted in a low time and an
exhausting return.

    Plastic Model
Conversion was an exciting event, as six fine entries
were flown. Kevin’s detailed entry was far ahead in
static judging, too large a lead for anyone to catch. Ed
took second, closely followed by Deane and Bruce. Chris
Brickley’s 40 year old entry was a crowd favorite, as he
risked a valuable collectors item!

    Two first time
competitors, Jimmy Kurzdorfer and Mike Mikkelsen, both
“A” divisioners, each entered one event. Mike surprised
the veteran competitors by taking third in “C” Dual
eggloft.

    We did originally
plan a fifth non-NAR event, a chili cook-off but we
canceled this event due to having only one entry. While
the low number of competitors was disapointing, those who
entered had a great time. We’d like to thank Estes
Industries for once again donating prizes for this
contest, and also thank those who helped with the judging
and timing.

“A” Helicopter Duration – Multi Round (WF 24)