Arizona Jet Rally
16-18 Nov 01
by Bob Violett

It has been two years since we last traveled west to demonstrate some of the latest BVM jets. After the great time we (BV and Tom Dodgen) had at this meet, we plan to make at least one western event per year.
Two Jet Cases, two BobCat boxes, a couple of airline tickets, rental SUV and the support of Kent Nogy and his totally equipped "Super Savanna Jet Van" allowed us to enjoy a lot of flying from the 750' x 75' runway of the Arizona Model Aviators.
Our customers and west coast reps had the event covered pretty well with the presence of Bandits, BobCats, F-16's, MiG-15's, Sabre jets and Rafales.
The factory F-100D seemed to have added a little to the show and I am very pleased that it won the People's Choice and Pilot's Choice awards.
Perfect flying conditions for 3 days provided all of the 81 pilots unlimited flying opportunity, it was a rare moment if there were less than four jets in the air.

Each day began with honoring our nation's flag. Here Color Guardsmen Jeremy Mckenna and Josh Kneisel in their high school ROTC uniforms take a moment with an Air Force fighter from their grandfather's generation. They later changed clothing to participatte in the event.

BVM thanks all of our California reps for doing a great job with BVM Jets and customers.

Chris Huhn developed his own modification to install a JetCat P-80 into a BVM F-16 - the results were fantastic. NOTE: BVM has all of the parts and plans to turbinize the F-16 for RAM 500, SWB Mamba, and the AMT Mercury, the P-80 is a squeeze but Chris made it happen. Click to read more on the F-16 conversion.

Tony Frackowiak brought and flew his BobCat (RAM 500), MiG-15 (RAM 1000), and Bandit (RAM 750), each many times. Tony offered several other pilots some stick time on the BobCat to demonstrate how easy and smooth this jet flys. Having it properly trimmed (see Tony's article - click here) allows the guest pilot to fully appreciate the aerodynamic attributes of this design.

A JetCat P-120 and a BobCat XL make a great combination as John Redman proved with many flights on his. We get many letters of compliment from modelers who John has helped get a good start in jets.

Kent Nogy is a JR and BVM rep and does a great job for both. The JR sponsored twin RAM powered Rafale was brilliant against the Arizona sky line as it executed vertical maneuvers that strained even 20-15 vision! Great pilot - Great equipment.

Michael Hempersly Jr from Rosamond, California logged an average of about 9 flights a day with this Viojett/BVM .91 powered Bandit. This model, that originally belonged to John Redman, now has over 400 flights on it. The performance with D.F. power is excellent. BV's balsa Bandit with VIOFAN and BVM .96 power is also a great flying, lightly loaded model.

Kevin Marks got pointers for flying his BVM MiG-15 from Tony Frackowiak on early Friday and then enjoyed some beautiful flights and landings during the remainder of the event. BVM reps add value to our products - we are fortunate to have the best on our team.

The Arizona Jet Rally brings out the spectators, the result of C.D. John Mangino and the club's efforts. The noontime runway display of the models provided a great opportunity for the locals to view the models close up. The kids were thrilled with the jets.

Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Stevens won the Best Finish Award with this Blue Angel Bandit. In his spare time, Chuck captains an America West 757, the method of transport this year for the BVM factory team.

Bruce Faber acquired this great looking Fury with P-80 power from Doc Moore and thoroughly enjoys flying it. As you can see from these photos, the conditions to enjoy jet modeling were perfect in Arizona.

During the event, Jason Somes logged dozens of flights on the BVM factory balsa Bandit with JetCat P-120 power. Just at the conclusion of Sunday's flying, BV had to borrow back his BobCat XL from Tom Dodgen to team up with Jason for a little formation routine. The BobCat XL and Bandit are very different models but can work together as they demonstrated.

Four generations of jet modelers enjoyed the flying in Mesa. Here you see representatives of the two senior groups. I am honored to enjoy the friendship of a true American hero, Col. Bob Thacker. The Colonel flew a lot of different airplanes for the USAF including the F-100 Super Sabre.