RJ Gritter Wins 2013 Electric Tournament of Champions

April 5-6, Toledo, Ohio –
Team Futaba member RJ Gritter wowed the crowds at the 10th Annual ETOC (Electric Tournament of Champions). Pilots from all over the world were at this two-day event. ETOC has two components. Each round has a Known segment in which each pilot must fly the same sequence of maneuvers with exact precision. The second part is the Freestyle segment, in which each flight is choreographed to music. RJ won the first Known round and jumped to an early lead. After the first day, only seven pilots remained. RJ and fellow team member Devin McGrath both made it into the semifinals. Both pilots flew different, specially modified aircraft in each round. Their Known round aircraft featured twin co-axial counter-rotating propellers and special air brake-like devices on the trailing edges. These allowed the aircraft to fly very slowly and consistently in any attitude. Their Freestyle aircraft had variable pitch propellers and thrust vectoring in the yaw axis. As a result, RJ and Devin performed incredible maneuvers, backing up vertically from the floor to the ceiling and dancing their aircraft while flying virtually in place. The contest was very close. Only three pilots remained, but it was RJ and another competitor who were closest in overall points. RJ’s flying was awesome throughout, but his choice to fly the final Freestyle routine with a brand-new music mix and
maneuvers clinched the win. RJ pulled off several absolutely incredible maneuvers. His airplane literally danced to the music to secure the 2013 ETOC Championship! Of course, his Futaba 8FGS transmitter performed flawlessly during the entire competition. Hobbico and Futaba congratulate RJ Gritter on becoming the new ETOC Champion!