Vintage Stunt Championships 2026

Split image: left shows a field with blue sky; right shows a model aircraft on the ground.

Control Line Aerobatics

Model airplane resembling a WWII fighter, silver with red nose, star insignia. — John Callentine’s beautiful Rabe P-51 flew in the Classic event. The P-51 has a PA 61 rear-exhaust system. Photo by Jim Hoffman.

THIS YEAR’S Vintage Stunt Championships (VSC) in Tucson, Arizona, has now concluded. It was a fun event that enjoyed exceptionally nice weather. The VSC is held at Danny Lopez Park, which was formerly named Christopher Columbus Park and Silverbell Park. It has a dedicated Control Line (CL) flying site that is maintained by the city of Tucson. The local CL model airplane club, the Cholla Choppers, calls the park home.

Jim Hoffman provided the following report about the 2026 VSC.

The VSC ran from Wednesday, March 18, through Saturday, March 21. The social aspects of a contest such as this are a big part of what keeps fliers coming back year after year. It is a wonderful opportunity to renew friendships and visit friends, new and old.

A contest of this size requires work from a huge number of volunteers; there were more than 29 individuals who volunteered in some capacity to make the VSC work. Without the volunteers, there is no event—thank you to all!

The first event was Old Time Stunt (OTS), which began on Wednesday. OTS is flown using models that were designed in 1952 or earlier. The AMA Stunt pattern from the 1952 AMA rule book is flown. The 1952 pattern is very different from modern Stunt and places less emphasis on square corners than that of the modern pattern, thus permitting a wide variety of designs that would be completely uncompetitive today. The OTS pattern also uses a K-factor, which puts a scoring emphasis on the more difficult maneuvers. Joe Gilbert and his Ringmaster were triumphant in OTS this year.

On Wednesday afternoon, people congregated at the covered ramada on the other side of the flying field, which is where the VSC raffle was held. Concurrently, the appearance judging for the Classic and Super 70s airplanes took place there as well. While we were preoccupied with the raffle, the two appearance judges were busy scrutinizing the 20 or so models that were entered in Classic and Super 70s.

The models were left on the adjacent grassy area, and the judges carefully inspected each model for beauty and workmanship. This year’s judges were Jim Allen and Darwin Barrie. Both are RC Pylon Racing champions, lifelong modelers, and well versed in excellence of craftsmanship.

There were some stunningly beautiful models on display. The judges assigned appearance points (zero to 20) to each model, which became a part of the flight score. Part of the process involved placing the models in rows based on their appearance score. When it was all done, it made a compelling display of modeling craftsmanship.

The Classic event is for models designed or built in 1969 or earlier, while Super 70s is for models that were first designed or built in the 1970s. Both events are flown using the current AMA Stunt pattern, and the two events are combined at the VSC. There were two contestants, Bob McDonald and Chris Brainard, who entered both events; thus, they had two flights each round.

Person flying a model plane under a clear sky, with trees and mountains in the background. — Joe Gilbert flew his Ringmaster in the OTS event and was in the overhead eight. Joe won OTS this year. Photo by David Shorts.

Person flying a yellow model airplane in a park with tents and mountains. — Joe Gilbert flew his Ringmaster in the OTS event and was in the overhead eight. Joe won OTS this year. Photo by David Shorts.

A person squats beside a large blue model airplane on asphalt. — Colleen Gilbert retrieves her husband Joe’s Cavalier from the pits for an official flight in the Classic event, which Joe won! Hoffman photo.

Beginning on Thursday, Classic and Super 70s flew four rounds on two circles over two days. There were two judges on each of the two circles, and they remained on the same circles for the entire event. The pilots flew two flights on each of the two circles. The final score was the best flight on circle one, which was added to the best flight on circle two.

The weather remained ideal and nearly everyone flew all four flights. Although these airplanes were designed some time ago, the use of modern powerplants, trim adjustments, and control systems allows them to perform at a very high level. Some very nice Stunt patterns were flown by the contestants.

Joe Gilbert was the top dog in Classic with his perennial blue Cavalier. Jim Hoffman won the Super 70s event with his Joe Reinhard-designed pink Snoopy airplane.

On Saturday, the Ringmaster event was flown. This is a very low-key event that uses the same OTS pattern that was flown on the first day, except only Ringmasters are eligible.

The weather remained very nice, with light wind and reasonable temperatures, and some very fine flying was exhibited with simple Ringmasters. The top scores were close. Jim Aron put up the final and winning flight at the very end of the second and final round. Jim was flying his immaculately built and finished Ringmaster, which is at least 28 years old.

The VSC concluded with a Saturday evening awards banquet. The event was held at the Tucson University Marriott and began with a social hour, which included hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, followed by a sit-down dinner.

Following the dinner, we formally recognized the myriads of folks who volunteered and donated time and resources to make the VSC happen. The awards for the winners of the VSC flying events were presented, along with a variety of nonflying awards. The VSC works to celebrate and honor the CL modeling of yesteryear and presented a variety of spirit awards for the airplane in each category that best exemplified the era of the event. Time-appropriate engines, hinges, covering, wheels, propellers, and finishing materials were all taken into consideration for the award.

The final presentations of the evening were for two perpetual awards that recognize an individual’s lifetime contributions to the hobby. The winners were selected by a vote from the past recipients of the honor.

This year’s Keeper of the Flame Award was presented to John Callentine, of Tucson, for his longtime efforts running Stunt events, managing equipment, and maintaining our flying site. This year’s Gialdini Sportsmanship Award was presented to Rick Green, also of Tucson, for his longtime efforts maintaining our flying site and for being so welcoming to the many out-of-town guests at the VSC.

That wraps up the VSC 2026. It was very successful judging by the comments and smiles on the faces of the participants.

One item of note is that the attendance at this competition and the Southwest Regionals contest, which are held in Tucson approximately six weeks apart, has been in a steady decline throughout the past decade. Discussions are taking place to rework and combine the two events into a single contest in January, February, or March. Stay tuned.

Thank you, Jim, for providing the VSC 2026 report! It is a great event, and everyone should go at least once!