Team Futaba Rocks the XFC (Extreme Flight Championships)

The annual Extreme Flight Championships were held this past weekend in Muncie, IN. Thirty competitors from 8 countries flew three days of very hard-fought battles to determine who was the best of the best in airplanes and helicopters. When the smoke cleared, two of Team Futaba’s very own stepped up to the podium to accept third place honors. Futaba and Hobbico congratulate Kyle Stacy from the USA (helicopter) and Gabriel Altuz from Puerto Rico (airplane) for their incredible performances. Kyle flew with a 14SG and used the CGY750 gyro in his helicopter. Gabriel flew with the tried and true 14MZ. XFC is an invitation-only extreme 3D competition for pilots from around the world. It differs from most other events in that all flights must be choreographed to music. Pilots must provide custom music mixes for two rounds of competition. In the Known round, pilots must seamlessly incorporate three mandatory maneuvers chosen by the XFC. In the Freestyle round, pretty much anything goes, with aircraft being flown faster, harder and lower. A panel of judges scores each flight using nine criteria: Technical Merit; Execution of Individual Maneuvers; the Variety of Figures Flown on Different Axes and Flight Paths; Originality; Difficulty; Artistic Impression; Choreography; Presentation, and Positioning. These criteria and musical choreography combine to make the XFC one of, if not the, most difficult flight contests in the world.

Futaba and Hobbico would also like to congratulate these additional competitors from Team Futaba: Ben Storick, Mitch Marozas, Colin Bell, Manuel Santos, Aaron Garle, Matt Stringer, Chris Gini, and Jamie Hicks. Team member Nick Maxwell also flew and won the night fly competition.