CL Scale - 2012/10

Hi! Here I am trying to fill the
shoes of former “CL Scale”
columnist, Bill Boss. Bill decided
that after exactly 30 years of writing
the column, it was time to get back to
the shop. At first I was reluctant, but Jay
Smith, MA’s editor-in-chief, is amazingly
persistent.
I had just wrapped up a pair of
three-year stints as both the CL Scale
NatsNews reporter for AMA and
Replica newsletter editor/publisher
for the National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers (NASA). I figured that if I
could pull off these assignments without
ever having built or flown an RC aircraft,
I might do an okay job on the “CL Scale”
column.
I reviewed dozens of Bill’s columns,
from his first in December of 1982 to
the present. I telephoned Bill and he
shared with me a few of his tips that
made him successful. Bill has a strong
interest in aviation history, including a
well-stocked library. When discussing a
particular model, he suggested including
the background on the aircraft.
He has tried to address three issues
in each column, except when a master
modeler, such as Frank Beatty, presents
a new aircraft. His email brought photos
and ideas for new and fresh subjects.
Bill suggested that I should never have
a problem with material because of the
strong support that you readers provide.
My interest in Scale started in third
grade with Comet kits. As a 12-year-old,
I modified my circa-1950 Monogram
models for CL, using my Wasp .049. My Mustang and Goodyear racer each got a
couple of laps.
After two degrees in aerospace engineering at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, I took a job developing turboprops at Garrett-AiResearch in Phoenix, in
1961. I’ve lived in Phoenix since then.
My small turboprop background led to my favorite Fun Scale model: a 52-inch
OV-10A Bronco with twin O.S. .25s. I will let you know whether my switch from
three-line to 2.4 GHz worked for this year’s Nats.
I have always been active in Navy Carrier, with all of my Scale efforts integrated
between the two events. My four-engine Profile C-130 Hercules and GAL-38
Fleet Shadower both had a shot at flying from carriers—both model and real. I
campaigned my Ely Flyer version of the 1911 Curtiss D-III pusher using a Webra 40
for several decades and several versions. The pusher with tricycle gear was a hoot to
fly off of grass, parking lots, or ball diamonds. By changing the pilot, I could go from
Profile Scale to Sport Scale.
My favorite airplane has been the F7F-3 Tigercat, with the SBD-3 Dauntless a
close second. But after designing and building several different versions of each, I
decided my current 1/2A Scale F7F-3 is the last one. It’s time that I worked toward
Designer (524)/FAI (510) Scale.
Having some experience flying my circa-1970s Convair XFY-1 Pogo and the
Beachey Little Looper is intriguing. I took a raft of pictures of the Pogo stored in the
Smithsonian and Little Looper replica in the San Diego museum. The Curtiss NC-1
caught my eye when I took the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola off my bucket list in
June of 2011.
Let me know what’s on your
want-to-build list and we can all
dream together.
From the bizarre flying required
for the Navy Carrier events, I have
developed a taste for unique flight
options. The Pogo has hover and
vertical takeoff and landing. The
Little Looper did a Z starting at
the top left. CL Scale is not
all about building, and I am
interested in addressing flight
options and flight in general in
this column.
After attending the Nats
and local contests for many
years, the subject of keeping
CL Scale alive and healthy
has been part of the ongoing
conversation. This issue
must be framed from the CL
perspective.
I am a CL flier who puts
a throttled engine in nearly
every aircraft I build. We are
one of six major CL categories:
Speed, Combat, Racing, Navy
Carrier, Stunt, and Scale. I
pushed for several years to have CL
Scale at the Nats linked to CL week.
I prevailed and now the six events are
separated by only a Monday, saving a ton
of travel from Arizona.
FF dominated aeromodeling activities
until after World War II when CL came
on strong. In the 1960s, RC gathered
strength until the AMA membership
percentage of CLers dropped into the
single digits.
With more than140,000 AMA
members, there are still many CL
builders and fliers. We need to work
together to maintain flying circles and
bring new people into Scale from Stunt,
Carrier, and other events.
Our action is at the CL club level, but
we need to maintain a national presence
and support regional contests and the
Nats. Each of the other CL categories
has a national association with its own
newsletter or magazine except CL Scale.
The Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots
Association (PAMPA) and Stunt News,
but a couple of the others are having
challenges.
Internationally, FAI CL Scale
participation is dropping. Without a
strong US leadership and advocacy, for
the first time the World Championship
for Scale Model Aircraft (August 2012,
in Aragon, Spain) did not have a CL
Scale competition.
I do remember Scale competitions in
the California and Arizona area in the
1970s where dozens of Scale
aircraft were flown. We still
compete in Scale, but there are
only a few (except for Mike
Keville’s innovative 1/2A Multi-
Engine Profile event in Tucson)
with more than a dozen
competitors.
I expect that you would
like to see CL Scale flourish
through the next couple
of decades. A wave of new
technology and resources
such as ARFs, 2.4 GHz, park
flyers, electric motors, and
1/2A multiengine contests
could be molded into more
participation.
Send me an email and let
me know ideas you have, on any and all
aspects of CL Scale—photos, contest
results, building ideas, new designs, and
whatever else. It’s not yet time to land,
taxi, and shut down the engine.
Let’s do a touch-and-go and then
open the throttle. Cheers!