Frank Haight: Blue Springs brothers flying high over trip to world finals

Two brothers – both Blue Springs chiropractors – are taking their competitive spirits to Europe in a couple of weeks for eight days of aerial combativeness.

Drs. Andy and Cary Minor of Hackleman Chiropractic are members of Team USA in the 2012 Federal Aeronautique Internationale World Championships for Control Line Model Aircraft, Aug. 25 through Sept. 1, in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria.

They’ll be showing off their skills in the F2D combat category – one of three events in the weeklong competition in the southeastern European nation. Other categories are speed and aerobatics.

Affiliated with the Kansas City Radio Control Club, the Minor brothers qualified last year over the Labor Day weekend for the 2012 World Championships. The qualifying tournament was in Dearborn, Mich.

After trying to make Team USA since 1995, “It was awesome” to be selected for the team,” Andy exclaimed in a joint interview with his older brother, both of whom have been flying model airplanes since they were youngsters in Amarillo, Texas.

“We have come close,” Cary says, explaining the top three two-member teams qualify for the World Championships in F2D competition. Fourth- and fifth-place finishers are alternates.

The Minor brothers were first runners-up once, they say, explaining that if another team had been unable to participate for some reason, they would have competed in the World Championships.

“Typically, to make the team, you fly 10 rounds or matches. And at that point, a team is selected,” Andy says, pointing out there are no first-, second- or third-place finishers. “It’s just three teams” comprised of a pilot, who controls the plane, and a mechanic, who fuels and attends to the two identical airplanes in each round and keeps them flying.

In the World Championships, Cary is the pilot; Andy is the mechanic.

In control line combat, pilots are tethered to their lightweight planes by two 52-foot steel cables that control their maneuverability. From a 10-foot confined circle, combatants steer their planes. Each aircraft has a 42-inch wingspan.

Attached to the tail of each plane – constructed with balsa wood, Styrofoam and carbon fiber – is a 10-foot cord string, with a 10-foot crepe paper streamer attached to it.

Using the propeller on a size 15 engine, the object of the competition is to get the prop into the streamer of your opponent and get as many cuts as possible in a four-minute match, Andy says. Each inch of paper cut off the brightly colored streamers are worth 100 points.

“So you are trying not to allow your opponent to cut on your streamer and you are trying to get two or three cuts on your opponent,” Andy explains, then adds: “And you can imagine, since you are tethered to a plane with line entanglements, that there are mid-air collisions and a whole host of things can happen.”

With the aircraft flying at 105 mph some 52 feet in the air, Cary says control line combat is like skeet shooting as far as getting your timing down and making sure you get the cuts.

“And on top of that,” he continues, “You’ve got to align your hands up with your opponent who is running around the circle.” The sport, Cary says, is similar to a World War II aerial dogfight. And inside the circle, it reminds him of a wrestling match with combatants trying to get position, as well as maneuvering their planes into position for their attacks.

Suffering a loss or two won’t eliminate a team from the 10- to 12-round competition. However, a third loss will.

“Three (match) losses and you’re out,” says Cary, who is no stranger to international competition. He and Andy have competed in three such championships. Their best finish was seventh out of a field of 57 entries.

“I’ve been flying consistent at fourth (place). ... Once I get to a certain point – seventh or eighth round – things start falling apart,” Cary admits. “I am flying pretty good, but it just seems like in every contest I have been in that, in the seventh or eighth round, I get shaky and I finish fourth.”

Cary believes that if he could have a good seventh or eighth round and not mess up rounds nine and 10 with mental mistakes, he and Andy stand a good chance of bringing home a world championship.

With nearly a year of honing their skills for the World Championships, the Minor brothers are not going to Bulgaria just to be going. They are serious about winning.

Says Andy: “We are incredibly excited about representing the United States. ... and whether it be gold, which is what we are hoping for, or bronze, we hope to be on the stand for the USA. As for our chances, it’s very, very possible we’ll be on the stand. Of course, there is always a chance of bad luck and we could be sitting on the sidelines by round three.”

Cary says he has learned a lot from his miscues and hopes those mistakes will help him become more consistent.

“Sometimes you must throw caution to the wind and become dangerous,” he says. “If you don’t play smart you don’t win.”

Andy and Cary know what it means to be champions. As a team, they have captured “six or seven” national titles. They also have placed third and fourth in many nationals, like their third- and fourth-place finishes at the July National Tournament in Muncie, Ind.

Give it your best shot, Andy and Cary, and bring home a championship. All of Eastern Jackson County is rooting for you.