Author: T.J. Royhans
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/07
Page Numbers: 20,21,22,23,24,26,27
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The Blue Max

by T.J. Rohyans

An RC Scale contest for aircraft from 1903 to 1919

Shadowy figures could be seen scurrying from aircraft to tent and back again, in preparation for a new day at “The Front.” As the fiery orange ball of sun rose over the eastern horizon, the general major addressed his men—boys, really—giving them their orders. Intelligence had been intercepted indicating that the Entente Forces had amassed their airpower and were expected to attack either this day or the next, and the Central Powers were ready to engage them in the air.

It's easy to imagine such a scene nearly 100 years ago in Central Europe, but it played out on the morning of April 15, 2011. It was at the second annual Blue Max RC Scale Competition and Festival of Early Flight, held April 15–17 at Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of Flight Museum in Polk City, Florida.

The inaugural event, held in March the previous year, suffered from poor weather. As a result, this year’s edition was held in April in hopes of better conditions.

Although many people in the central U.S. faced severe weather that weekend, the Blue Max was blessed with warm temperatures, clear skies, and winds that only slightly hampered daily flying.

Twenty-three pilots traveled from as far as Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Indiana, and New York (the majority were from Florida) and registered in one of four categories:

  • Scratch Built
  • Kit
  • Balsa USA
  • ARF

Some fliers arrived early on the evening of the 14th. They were allowed to set up “pit” tents and drop off trailers for the night. By Friday morning most of the participants had arrived and registered in time for the pilots’ safety meeting held at 8:30.

After the pilot briefing, modelers began to assemble their aircraft so they could tweak engines for local conditions, ensure all components were working properly, and put in practice rounds to get familiar with the lay of the field.

Although the site was large enough, it did have limitations:

  • A road not to be flown over located to the right of the pilots’ boxes.
  • Approach and departure to one of the Fantasy of Flight grass runways to the left.
  • Trees defining the “downwind” leg on the far side, which encroached slightly on the northwest side.

The trees weren’t as close as they first appeared, and all model pilots maintained good clearance.

All models had to be in the Orlampa Conference Center, approximately 150 yards from the flightline, and assembled for static judging by 12:30 p.m. That wasn’t a big problem because the winds had picked up, making it slightly risky to fly lightly loaded World War I aircraft. Judging lasted the rest of the afternoon until about 5:30, behind closed doors.

Unlike at other scale competitions, the Blue Max is all about aircraft from one era in aviation history: the earliest years, from 1903–1919. Models are separated into categories; kits are judged against kits, ARFs against ARFs, scratch-built models against scratch-built models, and, because of their larger numbers, Balsa USA kits get a category all their own.

Blue Max rules allow judges to walk up to the models to scrutinize them, which is unique in scale contests. There were two teams of three judges for static judging; several of the judges were also competitors, but they were not allowed to evaluate a category in which they were entered, ensuring no bias. For flight judging there were two two-man teams.

While the judges were busy, most aeromodelers made their way to Kermit Weeks’ Fantasy of Flight museum for the afternoon. Part of the contest registration fees covered admission to the museum for the entire weekend.

Kermit’s is the largest privately owned collection of rare, flyable aircraft in the world. He is usually at the facility and available to talk with the public, but the weekend of the Blue Max he was in New Zealand looking at two aircraft to add to his collection. Kermit has a passion for World War I aircraft; the aircraft he went overseas to see were reproductions from that era. Fantasy of Flight tries to acquire all original, flyable aircraft or flyable reproductions of the originals, making changes only in the interest of safety.

The museum features flight demonstrations and biplane rides, weather permitting. There are also guided tours of the restoration and wood shops, which give visitors insight into the work that the Airframe & Powerplant mechanics do to keep the airplanes flying.

The ability to maintain and repair these early aircraft is becoming a lost art; technology is replacing materials that were once commonplace in their structure and finish. When was the last time you saw an airplane covered with corrugated metal?

Later that afternoon, the static judges made their decisions and drew names to form the order for the next day’s round of flying competition. There was still enough daylight and light breezes for those who wanted or needed it to get in more practice flying.

Saturday morning greeted everyone with light breezes nearly directly down the runway, much to the contestants’ delight. No one breathed easy, though; winds were forecast to strengthen to 15–25 mph. No time was wasted briefing pilots on the flying rules. Each would fly only one judged round consisting of five mandatory maneuvers and five approved maneuvers of their choice. Judging would be conducted by one of two two-man teams.

The single round of flying was different from most other contests, but it made sense. First, early airplanes were notoriously light and didn’t penetrate wind as well as later, heavier aircraft. Having only one round meant that all flying could likely be completed before the wind picked up too much, giving everyone similar flying conditions. Second, as the event grows, one round of flight is simply quicker. But it also means there’s no room for error if a pilot wants to score well.

The majority of models were either 1/4 or 1/3 scale; however, Walter Legan of Orlando, Florida, arrived with two 1/24-scale Peanut Scale models: a SPAD XIII finished in American ace Eddie Rickenbacker’s “Hat in the Ring” colors and an S.E.5a “Schweinhund” that Walter built from scratch. Both had electric power. Walter flew each of his aircraft in competition, but the winds were picking up at that time, making them hard to control, and they scored low in flight realism.

At the other end of the spectrum was Keith Zimmerly of Mercerville, New Jersey, flying the prototype Balsa USA 1/2-scale Nieuport 11. Unlike the smaller models, this one flew beautifully all weekend. Keith competed with the airplane, but as a prototype it wasn't highly detailed and he didn't expect to finish well. It was a Balsa USA–sponsored build to gauge interest in kitting a 1/2-scale Nieuport 11. It appeared that interest was high!

Scott Annis of Milford, Massachusetts, had the only serious crash of the weekend when he initiated a too-low stall turn during a practice round Friday afternoon. His model was reparable, but it was too much to do in one night before the Saturday flight round. Scott's disappointment was obvious.

As the morning turned to midday, the flight round was coming to an end and the forecasted winds were picking up. The 15–25 mph wind speeds eventually materialized and began to wreak havoc with anything that was not tightly secured. Models were either completely disassembled or moved indoors. Unable to fly, several pilots gathered under the shade of pit tents and talked shop. Before long, many headed back to the museum to get out of the wind and sun before the evening awards banquet in the conference center.

Everyone gathered for the banquet at 5:30. A delicious catered meal of barbecue pork and chicken, cole slaw, baked beans, salad, and rolls was served before the awards were presented.

Master of Ceremonies General Major Mike Celeskey began by thanking everyone for attending and making the Blue Max a memorable and successful event. Awards were presented for the highest static and flight scores in each of the four categories. Static winners received the Iron Cross for their efforts, and flight winners received the Blue Max for theirs.

The dawn-patrol movement in RC has seen abundant growth in the last decade, and the Blue Max is a part of that. Organizers Mike Celeskey, John Olsen, and Ron Preston saw a need for those who fly RC scale models of early aircraft to gather in a fun, friendly, laid-back atmosphere to compete for bragging rights.

There was no shortage of fun and friendly spirits that weekend, and the atmosphere was certainly laid-back, in part because of the location at Fantasy of Flight and the wonderful people who participated. Although I'd never met most of the modelers before that weekend, I immediately found everyone to be open and receptive. At times it felt more like a fun-fly than a competition, and that's exactly how it should have felt.

If you're interested in the early years of powered flight and are considering entering a scale contest, start thinking now about the 2012 Blue Max and become a part of history.

A special thank-you goes to Christine Stevens, events sales and services coordinator at Fantasy of Flight, for preparing all of the pilot registration packages, answering the many emails and telephone calls, ensuring that the field and conference room were secured each night, and keeping the entire function on schedule. I and everyone else who attended the Blue Max appreciate her hard work.

Awards (selected)

These awards were presented at the Saturday-evening banquet in the Orlampa Conference Center at Fantasy of Flight. Prizes were given in the four categories, with an Iron Cross for high static score and a Blue Max for high flight score. Additional honors were given for Best Entente Powers aircraft, Best Central Powers aircraft, Pilots' Choice, Best Crash, and Best Color Scheme.

  • Kit
  • Static: Todd Bixby, Orlando, FL — 1/3-scale Mick Reeves Sopwith Camel
  • Flight: Doug Pierce, Holly Hill, FL — 1/3-scale GTM Fokker D.VII

Note: Some winners and additional award details appeared only in photographs and captions on the scanned page and were not available in the primary article text.

T.J. Rohyans [email protected]

Sources:

Additional event photos:

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.