Written & Submitted by KDK (12/2002), AMA Staff (03/2008); Transcribed & Edited by SS (12/2002), Updated by JS (03/2008), Reformatted by JS (10/2009)
Career
- Started flying competitively at age 10
- Worked to have a flying site constructed at a local park by getting permission to do so then raising awareness and funds
- Has successfully flown U-Control in many local, regional, national and international competitions
- First received a first place in competition at age 10 in the Southwest Championships in 1995
- Received a first and second place at her first Nationals in 1996
- The AMA overall category national champion at the 1998 Nationals
- Competed in the 2000 and 2002 World Championships in U-Control speed
- Helped organized her local flying club, the Arkadelphia Prop Twisters, and serves as its field marshal as well as helps with field maintenance
- Serves as the Webmaster for the Arkadelphia Prop Twister’s Web site
- Promotes flying in her community by teaching modeling basics at her county fair and Boy Scout camp every year
Honors
- Received the Distinguished Performance Award for International Competition at the 2000 World Championships
The Beginning
I was nine-years-old when my dad and I stumbled upon some old airplane engines that my grandfather had stored away. You see, my father and grandfather flew model airplanes in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They flew a lot until my dad became old enough to join the Navy. While my dad was in Vietnam, my grandfather had a fire in the shop where all the airplanes were stored. Needless to say, everything was destroyed, except the engines. During the clean up, my grandfather salvaged all the engines he could and stored them away in the bottom drawer of a little portable shop building he used for welding and lathe work.
When my grandfather passed away some years later, my father purchased the old portable building just to have something from his childhood. During a clean up one sunny afternoon, I found the engines in the bottom drawer and asked dad what they were. He began to explain to me that they were for model airplanes and the he and his dad had spent many happy hours together working on models and flying in competition. Being a competitor as I am, I asked my dad if he thought we could try flying model airplanes sometime, too. Dad was so excited he went right out and bought my first airplane – a Carl Goldberg Swordsman 18 – and we began to build. We built it over the weekend and had plans to fly Monday after school. I could not wait. We had a great time flying the little airplane. I actually soloed my first day. Dad said I was a natural. The competition flying began right there that day. We have been competing ever since. We realized quickly that places to fly were limited. We used a baseball field at the local park at first. This was OK for a little while, but we were looking very hard for a better location. We approached City Parks and Recreation Department and asked for help in locating a place where we could fly. We did not want to be a bother to anyone and we needed a place where we could put down asphalt and build a circle. After lots of talking and promoting, the City Parks and Recreation Department agreed to allow us to build a circle at one of the local city parks, but we had to raise all the money needed. We had actually built up interest in the community for flying. We had new people that wanted to learn to fly and get involved with their children. We helped anyone that wanted help and, in turn, we all worked together to raise the money needed for the asphalt circle and the dirt work needed to prepare the ground. We were short on funds by the time we paid for all the dirt that had to be hauled to the field for leveling the ground. Just when we were at our ends, the grandfather of one of my friends heard about what we were trying to do. Being the head of one of the largest factories in the industrial park, he came to our rescue. His company donated the asphalt needed to complete our job. The rest is history. We have a wonderful flying facility due to the hard work of our kids and the generosity of the people in our community.
Competition Local/Regional Competitions 1995: Dallas, Texas; Southwest Championship
- First place: Junior/Senior mouse racing with a Cox .049 and a Streaker 5 plane 1996: Dallas, Texas; Spring Fling held at Hobby Park
- Flew three racing events
- First place: Junior/Senior mouse racing with a Cox .049 and a Streaker 5 plane
- First place: Junior/Senior Goldberg racing with a Fox .35 and Brodax Buster plane
- Second place: Junior/Senior Goodyear with a Fox .15 and a Sig Buster plane 1996: Dallas, Texas; Summer Heat at Hobby Park
- Flew two events
- Second place: Junior/Senior mouse I race with a Cox .049 and a Streaker 5 plane
- Third place: Junior/Senior Goldberg racing with a Fox .35 and a Brodax Buster 1996: Dallas, Texas; Southwest Championship at Hobby Park
- Flew three events
- First place: Junior/Senior mouse I race with a Cox .049 and a Streaker 5 plane
- First place: Junior/Senior Goldberg racing with a Fox .35 and a Brodax Buster
- Second place: Junior/Senior sport Goodyear with a Fox .15 and a Sig Buster 1997: Texarkana, Texas; Balsa Busters at Spring Lake Park
- Flew two events
- Second place: Junior/Senior sport Goodyear with a Fox .15 and a Sig Buster
- Second place: Junior/Senior Fox racing with a Fox .35 and a Brodax Buster
1997: Houston, Texas; Texas State Championships
- Flew two events
- First place: Open ½-A combat AME .049 and a Gary Minor Broken Arrow
- Third place: Beginner stunt, Magnum .32 and a Twister plane
1997: Dallas, Texas; Southwest Championships at Hobby Park
- Flew four events
- First place: Junior/Senior mouse I racing with a Cox .049 and a Streaker 5 plane
- First place: Junior/Senior sport Goodyear with a Fox .15 and a Sig Buster
- First place: Junior/Senior Goldberg racing with a Fox .35 and a Brodax Buster 1997: Tulsa, Oklahoma; Gluedobbers Stunt Contest
- Flew in three events
- First place: Junior/Senior beginner stunt with a Magnium .32 and a Twister
- First place: Junior/Senior freestyle stunt with a Magnium .32 and a Twister
- Second place: Junior/Senior balloon bust with a Fox .15 and a Sig Buster
- Beginner Concours
- Freestyle Concours
1997: Dallas, Texas; Seventh Annual Stunt Clinic and Contest at Hobby Park
- Flew two events
- First place: Beginner stunt P-40 with a Magnium .32 and a Twister
- First place: Beginner precision aerobatics with a Magnium .32 and a Twister 1998: Houston, Texas; Texas State Championships
- Flew one event
- First place: Open FAI combat with a Profile .15 and Mejzlik plane
1998: Dallas, Texas; Spring Fling at Hobby Park
- Flew three events
- First place: Junior/Senior mouse I race with a Cox .049 and a Streaker 5
- First place: Junior/Senior sport Goodyear race with a Fox .15 and a Sig Brodax
- Second place: Junior/Senior Goldberg racing with a Fox .35 and a Brodax Buster 1998: Texarkana, Texas; Balsa Busters at Spring Lake Park
- Flew one event
- First place: Open beginner stunt with a Magnium .32 and a Twister
1998: Lubbock, Texas; Llano Estacado Combat
- Flew two events
- First place: Junior/Senior ½-A combat with an AME .049 and Gary Minor Broken Arrow
- First place: Junior/Senior slow combat with a Fox Mark 7 and a Mejzlik model 1998: Muncie, Indiana; R.W. Howe Combat Championship Top Gun
- Flew two events simultaneously
- First place: Junior/Senior slow combat with a Nelson .36 and a Mejzlik model (Top Gun)
- Fifth place: Open slow combat with a Nelson .36 and a Mejzlik model
1998: MACA National Top 20 Combat Pilots
- Ranked 12th overall
- Seventh place: Slow combat
- 18th place: Fast combat
- Eighth place: ½-A combat
- Fourth place: Super slow combat
- Sixth place: FAI combat
1998: North American Speed Society
- Overall Junior/Senior champion
1999: Whittier Narrows, California; U.S. Team Trials
- First place: Junior/Senior FAI speed
- National speed record set at 147.12 mph
1999: NASS North American Speed Society
- Overall Junior/Senior champion
2000: Maumell, Arkansas; Small Fun Fly Exhibition Flight
- Flying Models magazine/Flying Ace Award
2000: Cincinnati, Ohio
- Third place: Open FAI speed with a Irvine .15 and a Mejzlik model
- National speed record set at 162.62 mph
- 2001: Cincinnati, Ohio; U.S. Team Trials Speed
First place: Junior/Senior FAI speed with a Irvine .15 and a Mejzlik model
- National speed record set at 173.21 mph
2001: MACA National Top 10 Combat Pilots
- Ranked sixth
National Competitions 1996 Nationals Flew two events
- First place: Junior/Senior slow combat with a Fox Mark 5 and a Corehouse wing
- Second place: Junior/Senior scale racing with a Fox .15 and a Sig Buster
1997 Nationals Flew four combat events
- First place: Junior/Senior super slow combat with a Fox .35 and a Corehouse wing
- First place: Open super slow combat with a Fox .35 and a Corehouse wing
- Second place: Junior/Senior slow combat with a Fox Mark 5 and a Corehouse wing
- Second place: Junior/Senior ½-A combat with a AME .049 and a Gary Minor Broken Arrow
Two racing events
- Second place: Junior/Senior scale racing with a Nelson .15 and a Lil’ Quickie
- Fourth place: Junior/Senior mouse I racing with a Cox .049 and a Streaker 5 One speed event
- Fourth place: Junior/Senior ½-A proto speed with a AME .049 and our own design 1998 Nationals
Flew five combat events
First place: Junior/Senior super slow combat with a Fox .35 and a Mejzlik model Second place: Open super slow combat with a Fox .35 and a Mejzlik model Second place: Junior/Senior slow combat with a Nelson .36 and a Mejzlik model Second place: Junior/Senior fast combat with a Nelson .36 and a Mejzlik model Second place: Junior/Senior ½-A combat with an AME .049 and a Gary Minor Broken Arrow Two racing events
- First place: Junior/Senior scale racing with a Nelson .15 and a Lil’ Quickie
- Fourth place: Junior/Senior mouse I racing with a Cox .049 and a Streaker 5 Two speed events
- First place: Junior/Senior ½-A profile proto with a AME .049 and our design model
- First place: Junior/Senior A speed with a Nelson .15 and a Lil’ Quickie model Two stunt events
- Third place: Junior/Senior precision aerobatics with a Magnium .32 and a Twister
- Fourth place: Junior/Senior beginner stunt with a Magnium .32 and a Twister
- AMA overall category national champion
1999 Nationals Flew three combat events
- First place: Junior/Senior ½-A combat with a Cyclone .049 and a Gary Minor Broken Arrow
- First place: Junior/Senior slow combat with a Nelson .36 and a Mejzlik model
- Second place: Junior/Senior fast combat with a Nelson .36 and a Mejzlik model One racing event
- First place: Junior/Senior scale racing with a Nelson .15 and a Lil’ Quickie
- Four speed events
- First place: Junior/Senior A speed with a Nelson .15 and a Lil’ Quickie
- First place: Junior/Senior sport speed with a Pico .21 and a Lil’ Dynomite
- Second place: Junior/Senior ½-A speed with a Cyclone .049 and our own design model
- Second place: Junior/Senior ½-A profile proto with a Cyclone .049 and our own design model
One stunt event
- First place: Junior/Senior beginner stunt with a Magnium .32 and a Twister 2001 Nationals
Flew four combat events
- First place: Junior/Senior FAI combat with a Profi .15 and a Walkerman III model
- Second place: Junior/Senior ½-A combat with a Cyclone .049 and a Mejzlik model
- Second place: Junior/Senior slow combat with a Nelson .3 and a Mejzlik model
- Third place: Open FAI combat with a Profi .15 and a Walkerman III model
Three speed events
- Second place: Junior/Senior ½-A profile proto with a Cyclone .049 and our own design model
- Second place: Junior/Senior A speed with a Irvine .15 and an Asymmetric model (altered Mejzlik FAI)
Third place: Junior/Senior ½-A speed with a Cyclone .049 and our own design
FAI Competitions
2000 World Championships, Landres, France
Third place: Junior/Senior FAI speed (bronze metal) with an Irvine .15 and a Mejzlik model
Distinguished Performance Award for International Competition
2002 World Championships, Sebnitz, Germany
Sixth place: Junior/Senior FAI speed with a Irvine .15 and a Mejzlik model
Experiments
My father and I once built an airplane out of a 32-ounce plastic Coke bottle. We used a balsa wing that we covered with fiber and CA. It was quite a challenge to fly. You would start out in the upright position and before you could get halfway around the circle, it would turn inverted and fly back the other way. It had a mind of its own. It was a lot of laughs for the entire family. We think the wing must have been mounted too much in the middle of the bottle. We never got around to building another and moving the wing. Maybe someday…
Leadership
I helped to organize our local flying club. I am the field marshal and help with cleaning up at our site. The name of our club is Arkadelphia Prop Twisters. I am also the Webmaster for our homepage that we are currently building on the Internet.
Education Involvement
In our community, we have a county fair. At this fair, we put up a booth every year to display airplanes. We have a wide variety of airplanes that we display. From Control Line to Radio Control (RC) and everything in between are displayed. We try to educate the public about what we do and how much fun it is for the entire family. We offer flight instructions to anyone that is interested. We have trainer planes that we bring out and let people try out. Once you let them fly, they are usually hooked.
The Boy Scouts have a large camping facility at the state park here in Arkadelphia on DeGrey Lake. Every year when they hold their annual camping trip, we take a day and do demonstration flights for the different groups. After each demonstration, we bring out the trainer and give them each a try if they want to. We almost always have full participation. This is something my family, the Boy Scouts and myself look forward to each year. (signed) Krystal D. King December 2002
Krystal King, daughter of Larry and Jeanine King, graduated from Arkadelphia High School in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Krystal received a Sig award in the amount of $1,000. She is attending the University of Arkansas, majoring in mechanical engineering.
Krystal ranked 24th in her class of 169 and was active in swimming, cross-country, volleyball, basketball, soccer, and golf. She was a member of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) where she served as state secretary. Crystal was a member of the student council, Beta Club, was listed in Who’s Who Among American High School Students, and was in the All American Scholars Program. Krystal worked summers as a swimming coach and instructor, working with all age groups. Part of her job included teaching 5- and 6-year-olds swimming and water safety. “This is the most rewarding job anyone could have,” she wrote. “It is a great feeling to watch the children grow and become confident in themselves. Last year on of my students won the high-points award at the championship. He could not swim at the beginning of the year. Coaching does have its rewards.”
A Control Line pilot since she was nine years old, Krystal has finished first 14 times and second 15 times at the National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats) in addition to numerous other national titles. A two-time F2A team member, “although my passion has always been for Combat,” sys Krystal, she finished third at the 2000 Control Line World Championships (WC) in Landres, France and fifth at the 2002 WC in Sebnitz, Germany.
Referring to the championships in Landres, Krystal wrote, “I proudly stood on the podium at a World Championship competition and had the American flag raised over my head as I was presented with a third-place Bronze Medal. This had to be the proudest moment of my life. To represent the Academy of Model Aeronautics and the United States of America is something that not everyone has had the pleasure or opportunity to do. For me, it was a heart-pounding, unforgettable experience.”
Krystal is the current US record holder for F2A Junior/Senior Speed, a two-time North American Speed Society (NASS) Overall Junior/Senior Champion, and received a Distinguished Performance Award for International Competition. She was ranked 12th in 1998 and sixth in 2001 in the Miniature Aircraft Combat Association’s (MACA) Top 20 and was the Control Line Overall Category Champion in 1998.
In addition to active competition, Krystal is caught up in the AMA History [Project - Editor’s note: at the time of this writing, it was called the AMA History Program], an effort to gather and publish biographies of aeromodelers to preserve their history for future generations. It’s not all been work and competition. Krystal and her father once tried to build an airplane using a water bottle just to see if it would fly. “It was a lot of fun trying to figure out what needed to be done so that it would fly in a straight line and not do continuous figure eights. At least I didn’t have to worry about getting dizzy.”
We at AMA wish you the best at the University of Arkansas.
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