RC Scale. August 5, 2007 Inside today s issue: August 5 RC & CL Scale Rounds 3 & 4: Weather. RC & CL Scale

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1 August 5, 2007 Inside today s issue: RC & CL Scale August 5 RC & CL Scale Rounds 3 & 4: Academy of Model Aeronautics International Aeromodeling Center, Muncie IN Web site: nats@modelaircraft.org Copyright Academy of Model Aeronautics 2007 Sunday Hi 94 F Lo 64 F Cloudy Weather Monday Hi 96 F Lo 72 F Partly Cloudy Weather courtesy of WTHR s Skytrack Weather at RC Scale Wow, what a day Saturday was! As with any contest, it took a little bit to get it going. Ron Morgan and Wayne Yeager were a great help getting equipment to the sites and everything running on the first day of outdoor competition. It takes lots of stuff to make a contest happen, including chairs, scales, tables, PA systems, tents, down to the pencils, clip boards, score sheets, and a thousand other things I haven t begun to list here. At the RC site the capable hands of Jim Rediske and his wife Bonnie, along with a team of volunteers from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area and beyond make this year s Nats a reality. Of course you can t have a Scale contest without the judges both static and flight. At a National Championships it takes eight flight judges per round to complete the competition. Round one started with some very nice flights, including a gaggle of competitors from Sarasota, Florida. They included Mike Winter, Vince Veltri and Jon Hay. The crew from this state was reduced in number this year but they are certainly enthusiastic! Mike Winter flew his familiar DH Tiger Moth in the red paint scheme and Vince Veltri had his 100-inch, light gray Douglas A4-H Skyraider flying combat missions. Vince has the light gray Douglas A4- H Skyraider. Jon Hay had a new model this year: a P-51 which he flew in Fun Scale Open. Fun Scale Open had a number of new competitors this year including Model Aviation s own Michael Ramsey. Michael made it a family affair this weekend with his wife and two sons all there to enjoy the festivities. He is flying an Extra 330L aerobatic aircraft powered by a CRRC Pro 45cc gas engine turning an APC 20 x 8 propeller. Lunch was available through several sources. Our local hotdog vendor was present and he was dishing out dogs as fast as he could 1

2 NASA s 30 th Anniversary AMA s Scale Special Interest Group is the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers. This month marks the 30 th anniversary of the founding of the international Scale organization. Founder Bob Underwood attended the brief ceremony and cut the NASA birthday cake at Saturday night s banquet. NASA has had four presidents in the past 30 years. Bob Underwood was the first, John Guenther the second, Bob Underwood again served as president then yours truly, Stan Alexander has filled the position. NASA has had a long history of promoting Scale in the United States as well as around the world, holding the Scale National Championships, FAI Team Selections, and a World Championships or two to boot. NASA also promotes other Scale organizations around the country and at any Scale gathering. Documentation sources through the Scale Resource Guide with author Gary Parenti at the helm has been brought into the 21 st century with many Internet sources. This year marks a new high for NASA. The organization will award $10,000 at the USA FAI Scale Championships this September. There are only two classes: F4B for Control Line and F4C for RC scale. The event will be held in Muncie at the AMA s National Flying site and will last for four days. All you have to do to enter is be an AMA member and live in the United States. The team that is selected here will go to Poland to the Scale World Championships in NASA has a team of nationally known as well as international judges attending the event. Other publications produced by NASA include the Replica newsletter which comes out six times per year and the NASA Web site, both headed up by Mark Lanterman. The site has a wealth of information that Mark has acquired over the past several years. The site has interactive score sheets for static and flight which can be used at most Scale competitions here in the United States. You can select your flight options from the drop down list which includes everything in the AMA Rules and Regulations which are also available from the Web site. Interested in international competition? This too is on the Web site with the FAI Sporting Code available as a downloadable packet. It is roughly 80 pages. Documentation sources and modelers current projects are also online. Ellis Kaster in Wyoming is the NASA production editor for all NASA publications and has done a great job throughout the years for the organization. He takes care of all the mailing issues and making sure that we all receive our different publications. Jim and Bonnie Rediske serve as NASA s secretary/treasurers. They take care of the nuts-and-bolts business of NASA making sure everyone is registered and we keep the bank balance in the black. That can be a hard thing to do for an organization with so many members. Bob Underwood, Stan Alexander, and AMA Executive Director Jim Cherry cut the NASA birthday cake. I think everyone received at least one piece. It was a great time by all. Now onto the next 30 years of Scale aeromodeling! Stan Alexander Above: Friday evening s NASA banquet was well attended. Right: Model Aviation s Michael Ramsey is flanked by sons Jacob (L) and William. 2

3 all day. Tasty and filling, they were very much appreciated. After lunch the ugly R word started and we all had to sit out the rain and lightning which threatened the area. It s great that AMA has a real-time weather system which can warn you when severe weather is on top of you or how many minutes it is away from the site. This time the CL site received most of the water and the RC site stayed fairly dry for the day. After the rain, round two continued until completion. Stan Alexander 3

4 CL Scale It s no surprise that John Brodak s outstanding Lavochkin La-5 is now being offered in kit form from Brodak Models in Carmichels, Pennsylvania. A Saito.56 powers this 58- inch Profile Scale entry. Control Line Scale static judging was held at the Muncie Armory on Friday, followed by two days of quality flight performances over the weekend. Throughout opening day, several three-man teams of qualified judges decided the important issues of outline; craftsmanship; and finish, color, and markings for these models. Additional judging teams would evaluate the inflight performances after the pilots took Friday evening for final preparations and a good night s sleep. Fun Scale and Designer Scale showed conservative entry, although Sport Scale and Profile Scale filled out very Above: An RCV.91 four-stroke powers Steve Couch s scratchbuilt R.A.F. S.E.5a. Steve s Scout Experimental number five earned him an impressive static points in F4B Scale. Chuck Snyder (center) led teams of experienced flight judges at AMA s adjacent east and west CL circles. 4

5 nicely. F4B Scale also saw a relatively high number of contestants vying for position on the USA FAI Control Line Scale team. Ten-year-old Jason Bauer, grandson to AMA vice president and long-time CL competitor Charlie Bauer, is one of those aspiring pilots in the F4B event. Jason is flying a civilian firefighter version of the Douglas A-26 Invader light bomber. The colorful scheme of Jason s distinctive twin is further enhanced by an electric power system. The helper holds tight while this pilot runs toward the control handle. This classic Waco biplane demonstrates impeccable craftsmanship and convincing realism in flight. Jason s full-stop taxi maneuver was particularly impressive during Saturday s flying rounds. Another extremely interesting airplane actually an aeroplane in the F4B lineup is the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a built and flown by Steven Couch of Indianapolis. Steven s all-original Scout uses an English RCV.91 fourstroke engine to power its 53-inch-span airframe. The model weighs 8 pounds, 9 ounces and took approximately 21/2 years to complete. In-flight features are highlighted by a functional Cooper four-bomb rack. Profile Scale showed plenty of enthusiasm, from John Brodak s all original, Saito.56-powered, 58-inch Lavochkin La-5 Russian fighter to Ted Kraver s GAL-38 Fleet Shadower. Brodak s Lavochkin neatly replicates one of the 20,000 La-5 s built and flown from 1939 through The Fleet Shadower is one of the more unusual models seen in this Nats ukie circles. A J. Roberts three-line bellcrank drives a torsion tube through the wing to unify throttle control, and the Kraver model features four AP 5 Hornet.09 engines. The GAL-38 was built to fly cover above naval convoys. Who could forget the classic Stearman PT-17 from Sterling Models? Certainly not Allen Goff of Muncie, Indiana, whose modified Sterling Stearman made a strong showing on the static table as well as the Sport Scale flightline. The 60-inch-span model flies on a Saito FA.91 four-stroke engine and a J. Roberts three-line bellcrank system. Control Line Scale events will conclude on Sunday afternoon. Jeff Troy Static judging in the Muncie Armory afforded ample staging space for models, modelers and crews, judging teams, and AMA volunteers.

6 Ted Kraver s British Fleet Shadower is one of the more unusual models entered in Profile Scale this year. The four-engine model spans 52 inches. Above, right: Pilot aerobics are not limited to Precision Aerobatics, as clearly demonstrated by this pilot as he enthusiastically restrains the massive pulling power of his four-engine B-17 Flying Fortress. Above: At 10 years of age, Jason Bauer may be one of the youngest AMA competitors vying for a seat on the USA FAI Control Line F4B Scale team. Jason s Invader is powered by twin electric motors. 6

7 Scores and Standings Please note that all scores posted in this edition of NatsNews 2007 are unofficial until final tabulation has been made Scale National Championships Results Fun Scale Novice Contestant Static Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Final Score Place Joe Hass G Dave Asman G Walt Fletcher G Michael Ramsey G Fun Scale Open John Hay D Vince Veltri D Chris Hass D Scott Miller D Mike Barbee D Dale Arvin D Jeremy Avrin D Greg Thomas D Greg Minden D Scott Christensen D Ronald Hemphill D M.T. Poole D Michael Portvgais D Edward Terry D Steve Ort D Earl Dever D Jeffrey Pike D Terry Nitsch D John Boyko D Class Sportsman Billy Thompson B Ken Perkins B Thomas Poole B FAI F4C Class John Buckley H Charlie Baker H Designer Scale Dave Voglund C Hal Parenti C Dave Johnson C Team Scale J. Adams-A. Shelton E E. Newman-L. Rice E D. Arvin-J. Arvin E C. McCullough/ S. Christensen E M. Redenschk/ G. Thomas E Expert Class Mike Winter A Art Shelton A Kevin Knebel A Mike Barbee A Clayton Skip Mast A Walt Fletcher A Gary Parenti A Michael Smith A Max Fricken A Lawrence Harville A Dave Johnson A Sepp Uiberlacher A Jeffery Pike A Bob Bush A

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