Masters
 

I heard only 19 flyers for this event, no compition for Q.

RE: Masters
 

Actually there were 35. Quique won by 4 points over Szczur.

RE: Masters
 

Whats that mean?

RE: Masters
 

Congratz to Andy and Kurt....(and all the other NC guys!). You guys rock!

Looks like it was a great contest and show. Andy should be winning these things pretty soon....

Pugs

RE: Masters
 

How many of flyers at the Master are professional pilots? Or ones that making a living flying? I think Quique Somenzini, Jasen, Chip, are the best there is. Don Szczur might be considered professional as well.
In other sports we have professional, they do not compete with the Amateur
With the Top 4 places how many have a full time jobs that has nothing to do with RC.
I love to watch them fly against each other, but they are in a league of there own.

RE: Masters
 

I can tell you that the guy who came in 5th place has a full time job that has nothing to do with RC. Its called high school!
Andrew Jesky.

NIce Job Andrew and to everyone that competed.

RE: Masters
 

I have been following Andrew he is a great flyers. After the first round he had 814
Q 995.
My point kids like Andrew should not have to fly against the PRO,s. If they were not there he would of won.

RE: Masters
 

Hmm.

My point was that Andrew is a pro even though he is a full time student.
I know Andrew wouldnt have wanted to win against a bunch of no namers.

He competes with the best because he is one of them.

RE: Masters
 

Quique, Jason, and Chip the best??

There are a lot of great pilots out there besides these guys. A few that come to mind are Frazer Briggs ( I love this guys flying style), Garrett Morrison (I mean if you are the demo pilot at TOC how much better do you want to get?), I also love the 1999 TOC freestyle routine by Sebastion Silvesto (I cant spell that one very good).

RE: Masters
 

One of the smoothest pilots I have ever seen is John Glezelis. He won the XFC this year and was a demo pilot at last years TOC. Get the video of the XFC and check him out. I belive he is one of the up and comming pilots of the future. I believe anyone who can fly at that level of expertise be it Chip, Jason, John, Garret , or Qui QUi. will be sponsored and have the oportunity to make a living in this Sport/Hobby. But, I do not think they should be seperated out from the rest of us.

RE: Masters
 

I totally agree.
Dont forget Jon Leyland. He is on the same track

RE: Masters
 

Yeah I know how it is to have school and try to fly alot. it has ben like a month since i have practiced.

Andrew Jesky is good.

RE: Masters
 

Out of the top 5, only 1 flies models for a living. Don Szczur is an electrical engineer for AT&T I think, Mark Leesburg is a student and also flies full size aircraft as a part time job, Ivan is retired I think, and Andrew Jesky is in high school. Quique is the only person out of those who I think makes his living from R/C (but I'm not 100% sure on that either).

Trying to take anything away from these guys simply because they might have more chance to practice than others is just flat wrong.

RE: Masters
 

You said it Doug. I dont think there are enough paying contests or generous sponsors to support many true "professionals". The closest I have seen so far are the designer engineers like Mike McConville and Dave Patrick, but really they make thier money selling airplanes not flying them.

RE: Masters
 

The average person flying, has no sponsors, if he puts one in its going to cost him $6000 or $7000 to get back in the air of which all comes out of his pocket. For alot of people that puts them out for the year with building time and such.
They have alot of advantage over someone who has no backing.
There is alot more to it than just flying time.

RE: Masters
 

So you are saying 'they' are better pilots because they have backing??

I thought it was the other way around. They have backing because 'they' are the better pilots!

Anyway, I think you are confusing the word 'sponsored' with 'profesional'. I don't think there are guys that make a living by just flying RC. They may get free or highly discounted stuff but putting food on the table is a completly different matter. I might be wrong though.

Stratos.-

RE: Masters
 

I think what Lucas is trying to say is that if there is a pretty good pilot out there whom is not sponsored by 50 different companies that has potential to one day be in the rankings with the big dogs, he takes a great finacial loss when he plows a plane under. Crashing the plane can set him back for a few months at the least and he may never get to be as good as the big shots b/c of that.

As far as the sponsored pilots being better??
A top dog sponsored pilot once told me that the companies are not looking for the winner. They are looking for a guy with pretty good talent who places in the top 3 or so everytime. The key is the pilots attitude. They would rather have someone who is #3 whom is approachable, hangs out with the right crowd, and plays the social game than #1 who kicks @$$ picks up his awards and goes home without the small talk.

RE: Masters
 

To go one further.. MOST sponsors would rather you come in last place and be the guy everyone turns to when they need help and support, than the guy who wins everything and is unapproachable. I was told long ago by Horizon, to go out there, and do my best, but that my personality and helpfulness is why I was on the team. People need to remember that sponsorship puts you in the marketing business. What you do reflects upon your sponsors.

While people who have no sponsors have it harder financially, we were all there at one time or another. We've all paid our dues. You can count on one hand how many people make their living here in the USA from flying r/c airplanes.

RE: Masters
 

I think that is why Quiqui is a crowd favorite.....he is very good at the sticks, and is a nice guy to talk to. I think, even though I have never met him, that Don is the same. He does wonderful write ups about the events he attends, and offers lot's of help on the mailing list. Great guys.....

Andy is also a nice guy. He helped me at a local contest (pattern) and was a big part of my 2nd place finish.

Kurt is NC IMAC Vice Pres and a great guy also. He has helped me a lot over the last year with IMAC questions, and judging training.

I think it is great to see guys that I know and talk to (and fly with) competing with the likes of Quiqui and Jason. I hope that one day I can get the chance to qualify for the Masters and fly with the "PROS" as well....I think it would be a hoot....

Keep in mind, Don was winning this event until the Freestyle......

I think the Masters is the only TOC like event that we have for the time being.

I am not counting the XFC at this time because it is an invitational event, and not one that you need to qualify for.

Pugs

RE: Masters
 

I used to fly in Millis Ma with John Glezelis and his dad. Trust me he has put his share of models in that he built and paid for on his own before being sponsored. I would say most sponsored modelers have put in more planes that they have paid for than most of us have ever flown.

RE: Masters
 

so what are final standings,i cannot find them anywhere,as well as the points

RE: Masters
 

Well, I'm flattered to be called professional...

But if its what it takes to be competitive, I think that I'm further on the end of the scale that defines a sport flyer.

Load the plane in my 1994 Ford Taurus in the morning on the way to work, drive an hour (Washington DC traffic). Work all day(EE/manufacturing engineer for AT&T), race out to the flying field after work (1 1/2 hour drive) pull the plane out, quickly assemble and get between 1 and 3 flights in before sunset. Normally help a flyer or two set up their plane, test fly or socialize. Go home, stop off and get a gallon or two of 100:1 mix, unload the car, put the plane on charge (thank goodness the FC Extra is maintenance free) and eat, play with the kids, study an unknown and crash to bed to start the cycle all over again. Have not watched TV for entertainment in about 5 years.

But...I love the competition, pilots and friends met throught the hobby.

Don

RE: Masters
 

Here's the results of the finals. Best 4 of 6 rounds of Known carried into the final score (35%), as did the best unknown (50%). The freestyle also counted (15 % of score).

RE: Masters
 

Hi Don - I've been following your write ups on the imac list and here - thanks for sharing. One questions - You fit your 40% extra in your wagon? I have a honda wagon that I'd like to try that with soon. - Do you have to take the rudder off?
thanks,
jon

RE: Masters
 

Just to give credit where it is due...........did anyone notice that there was ONLY a 4 point spread between Quique and Don.........!!!!!!!!!

Great flying Don, it was a pleasure to watch you and all the others fly.

RE: Masters
 

The only thing that comes off is the elevators and wings. Rudder goes between the two front seats (bend the right armrest back and under) and the final touch, take out the back (fold up) seats and the wheels rest on either side of the spare tire (storage) while the two seat belts (in the rear seats that face backward) work beautifully in securing the landing gear. That way the 3-blade prop clears the back window. You do have to tile the rear view mirror about 30 degrees to clear the top of the rudder.

But it saves about $30K worth of van costs!

Picture attached (during assembly)

P.S. take a look at the unknowns at www.squareloop.com

Don

RE: Masters
 

A sound bite on Andrew Jesky--

Yes, I remember this kid came up to me during the Toledo show in 2000 asking a lot of questions about pattern and just hanging out. I asked him if he wanted to go to the TOC and he said yes. I sensed that he was very motivated at that time. He was flying advanced Pattern in 2001, won. Masters in 2002, won. FAI in 2003, placed in the finals (top 10).

A memorable part of the Masters was when Jason Noll flew between the trees during his freestyle (overall, quite spectacular freestyle if you get the Propwash video, particularly Friday evening when it was dead calm). Anyhow, so what does Andrew do? Not to be outdone, he flies between the same two trees, but in knife edge!

These two were pretty much rivals the whole week. In the Qualifying on Tuesday and Wednesday Jason won most of the knowns, but Andrew took the unknown; since they both tied in freestyle Andrew came out on top.

They battled back and forth during the competition as well, with Andrew coming out on top (by two places) in the end.

By the way, the Masters is unique- its part invitational, part open qualifying. If you want to give it a shot, its worth it (I saw a lot of names mentioned in this forum) Get them to come out and give it a try. To have someone like Andrew come out just about cold (had just got his Carden Extra flying before the contest) and finish 5th is outstanding.

I had a long discussion with Pat Hartness about the philosophy of the event. He wants the Don Lowe to be challenging, and pull in the best pilots to determine the world champion. Kind of like a true competition. The absence of prize $ puts the focus on flying and away from the high stress associated with those big bucks. An interesting concept. I assure you that if you go you will be treated like a king, whether you finish first or 20th.

Cheers,
Don

RE: Masters
 

I talk to Andrew pretty frequently on the internet through instant message and always talk about how he does at the meets and competitions. Andrew for one is very humble and NEVER brags.

I mean I will ask him how he did, he tells me "I did good", I say, "well how good", he says, "first place"...

He competes every week it seems during the flying season while not in school yet still has time for his schoolwork when he is not flying. I know how that is because I too am in school.

As for him going against the best in FAI I think that this is going to be a good hard challenge for him. He sets his goals and he does pretty dang good to get them and I bet 99% of his r/c flying goals have been achieved. He has won ssssssooooooo many meets, if not all that he has been to so I think this FAI will finally get him some serious competition.



Steven

RE: Masters
 

The 2003 "Don Lowe" was a great time this year. The quality of pilots definitely jumped up a notch from the 1998 "Masters" which was the last time I was there. The one thing that stood out the most to me was how eager everybody was to help each other. You can never have enough of that. I have to say, I was absolutely shocked when I saw Andrew Jesky fly. For being in his first contest with a gas airplane he did extremely well, and is fun to be around. Another person I was very impressed with was Don Sczcure. Don is a super nice guy that everybody in the modeling industry should meet. Congrats' to Don for Second place at the Masters (only 4 points from 1st).

-Jason Noll

RE: Masters
 

Hey bryan u used to fly at millis too, i used to too until i moved to ct, me and my father, todd lapointe have been long time friends of John and his dad peter.

Josh