Ragz

Very sad to hear. I wish this is just a rumour.

Ali

My Feedback: (5)

That is such a sad thing to hear

bart070481

The league is not ' finished yet , and Federico top of the table 13,5 class

jetster81

I agree, and I find it hard to believe that a guy with so much talent and clearly in a position to win on merits should risk everything by stooping to such measures. He obviously felt he had to resort to this to give himself a chance against what is effectively a professional team. Perhaps now some one will realise its time to make a few rule changes to make the contest more amenable to amateur contestants or create a separate class.

Tuggs

I feel sorry for the competition itself. Maybe it was only a matter of time until "doping" happens here as it does in professional sports. Then again, maybe the hobby has become too professional - who knows.

I also agree, I dont understand why someone with so much talent resorts to cheating. It should have been easy for him to just work straight judging by the skills involved. But obviously there is more evidence and before jumping to conclusions, I would be interested to read something official.

Really sad, I was hoping for the italian team to win the competition

on_your_six

My Feedback: (11)

Cheating is Cheating... a person with this talent does not need to cheat. I hear that he is banned for life. So be it.

TimBle

Its a testimony to the quality of the model that the picture doctoring went unnoticed by the judges

maverick25552

AndyAndrews

I wonder what Luca will do now with his jet modeling future. I would think that this will follow him where ever he goes in the various competitions. Time will tell.

Henke Torphammar

Is it ok to buy the full scale and dress it like the model? Ie, new glossy paintjob and filled rivets?

mauryr

Sadly, it seems like this was not the first time. Wikipedia is littered with pictures of his models... all pictures used in official documentations in various competitions it seems...
Here's another...
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aermacchi_MB-339
But then again, the PAN pictures on the G 91 page are clearly fake
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-91

This is very sad

AndyAndrews

OMG... the MB-339 is floating in the air just like the others. It's clearly a model when you look at the close ups.

What are the Italian boards saying about all of this?

argyris

From this page that you send from wikimedia http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-91 and when make a zoom yes it's floating

AndyAndrews

I especially like the extra strut and wheel in the hanger without a jet LOL! I believe these are the pics they used in Dayton. Dayton's results are supposed to be reversed from what I was told by the IJMC board members.

mauryr

Mainly discussing options to try and avoid things such as this to happen again in the future. Both for our sake and for the sake of the sport itself.

schroedm

My Feedback: (1)

Has Gianluca said anything about this yet? Any defence or apology? I'm amazed no judges have picked this up in the past and, to be honest, the Russian's must have laughed! When have you ever conveniently seen absolute perfect top and bottom views in flight against a perfect sky? I'm amazed a true modeller/aviation fan could believe they are pics of the full size! Nothing glaringly obvious why but if you've looked at loads of pics of full size and models they just look 'wrong' Plus they're so poorly photoshopped it adds to the embarrassment!

AndyAndrews

As far as I know Luca went home defiant threatening to sue everyone and their brothers. There were hints of physical threats to. I heard this directly from the person who was threatened and I will NOT mention that persons name.

In the Haze

Indeed, you said it. It's laughable how the judges never picked this up.

rhklenke

My Feedback: (24)

Actually, the wheel and strut in the picture below - in addition to the wing tanks (on both sides) of the plane that was in the structure before it was Photoshopped out, is pretty obvious...

Bob

Mark H

I think the LED in the landing lights give the pictures away also.

David Searles

My Feedback: (49)

Until now, the judges had no reason or cause to inspect for such devious, fraudulent manipulations. I think this tragic event is the official end to "A Time of Innocence". It started with the introduction of major $$$ backing for the Russian Yak entry two years ago,(completely unmatchable by the average modeler")and culminates with the "win at all costs" Italian S-91 entry at the same time, but not caught until this year!

I applaud the advancement in the level of scale accomplishment, but think this now creates a need for a new category of competition. There needs to be a "Pro" or "Unlimited" division for these high $$ sponsored teams, apart from the individual entrant. Otherwise, over time you will see less & less participation in the JWM by the typical modeler, as he realizes he has absolutely no chance to compete at these levels.

David S

Jgwright

David not sure I agree with you here. The 13.5 Kg class was won by a one man modeller pilot. There seems to be a big concern about the amount of money the Russian team allegedly spent, and that it had major backing. I expect Vitaly will be the only one who knows the real answer to this. Luca showed it was possible for a one man builder/pilot to win the 20Kg class. He just made the mistake of not starting with the documentation. The real concern is that there are so few people with the skills to make such superb model planes from scratch. With the rules being changed so the one man making and flying no longer applies, this opens the way to consortiums making planes. However it is not the way that modellers like to work. I am really surprised that those in the USA have not approached one of your leading aircraft manufacturers for help and sponsorship rather than mutter about it being unfair. Surely Lockheed Martin for example might be open to having their arms twisted if approached in the right way. That would then open up the detailed information that may be lacking.

John

Turbulence

My Feedback: (76)

Instead of Helping you, they will give you a court order to stop, or charge you a hefty "use/License" Fee

David Searles

My Feedback: (49)

"He just made the mistake of not starting with the documentation." John, that's a completely absurd statement. His mistake was in deciding to fraudulently fabricate his documentation on not one, but at least two JWM entry's! That has nothing to do with when he started the documentation. This was a manifest "intent to deceive". Someone who doesn't start first with their documentation ends up with either sloppy documentation or a model that doesn't match the documentation. Ridiculous comment!

Nowhere did I say anything about "unfair", nor do I "mutter".

David S

schroedm

My Feedback: (1)

David,

I think John's fundamental point was that Luca is such a talented modeller that he is capable of going up against the Yak in required modelling skill. Had he found the suitable shots of his model he would likely be able to replicate the details of the full scale on the model. Unfortunately he choose the simpler route of fabricating his documentation to suit his model