CL Scale
Stephen Ashby, 1771 Cinnamon Pl., Indianapolis IN 46237; E-mail: [email protected]
It was 7:01 a.m. Saturday, July 7, 2001.
All was set. The judges and competitors were in place on Circle A and Circle B. The first flights of the 2001 Control Line (CL) Scale Nationals (Nats) and Scale Team Selection were about to commence.
Well, almost.
To the competitors' and judges' disappointment and frustration, the skies cut loose with a strong Midwestern storm, complete with all the trimmings: thunder, lightning, and wind accompanied buckets of rain.
There was a mad scramble as everyone ran for cover, while the competitors sought protection for their aircraft from the torrential downpour.
The CL Scale Nats, sponsored by the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers, or NASA, began the day before. Static judging of the models took place at the hospitable Horizon Convention Center, located in downtown Muncie.
A beautiful day provided the modelers with a friendly "welcome back" as they reassembled their models amid numerous "howdy's" and handshakes.
In preparation for the day's static judging process, the models were arranged in line by their respective categories on the huge floor inside the well-lighted and spacious center.
Five categories made up this year's Nats: Sport Scale, Profile Scale, Precision Scale, and F4B. Team Scale was offered as an unofficial event.
Static judging involves careful scrutiny of each model for quality of craftsmanship and accuracy of outline and color.
Each category has its own set of rules, but fundamentally, the rules follow the same basic criteria. Each modeler's goal is to accurately replicate a full-scale aircraft.
After the completion of the static judging Friday, competitors, officials, and judges gathered for an 8 p.m. pilots' meeting in the Horizon Convention Center. The number-one topic was weather.
Nationals Event Director Ed Culver had been watching the development of a storm front to the west that was scheduled to hit the Muncie area the next morning.
By consensus, the pilots voted to begin the first round of flying at 7 a.m. rather than at the normal 8 a.m., to fly as many models as possible before the arrival of the imminent storm.
Unfortunately, this effort was thwarted; thunderstorms washed out Saturday morning and delayed the start of the first round.
At 11:45 a.m. Saturday, after the front had passed and the rain had subsided, Ed called for a resumption of the first round of flying. Ponchos and jackets were discarded, and the modelers collected their storm-sheltered models.
Then the focus was on preparing the models for flight. The L-Pad, which is centrally located on the beautifully groomed AMA International Aeromodeling Center, became center stage for the competition.
As the skies cleared the wind picked up; it became a factor, frequently gusting to nearly 20 miles per hour. Ed continuously monitored the wind velocity to ensure that the competitors didn't fly in winds exceeding the nine-meter-per-second limit, as established by the rules.
Many of the competitors elected to "pass" on the first round because of the gusty winds. Some pilots elected to fly, but not without a price.
Shortly after takeoff, a gust of wind caught the outboard wing of Ralph Burnstine's Chipmunk, and the model quickly rolled toward the center of the circle and was destroyed.
There were several minor mishaps, but nothing a little repair work couldn't fix.
Sunday dawned a totally different day; it was sunny, hot and humid, with very little wind, but that wasn't the last the Nats would see of the thunderstorms.
The second round of flying came alive at 8 a.m.; there was continuous flight action at Circle A and Circle B on the L-Pad.
Just after noon, the flying was again interrupted as a storm front skirted to the southwest of the International Aeromodeling Center. With lightning and thunder in the area Ed halted the flying until conditions improved.
Flying resumed after approximately an hour lull in the action.
Just as the fourth and final round of the competition was finishing the darkened skies could hold back no more. Strong rains and wind hit the L-pad again.
But this time it didn't matter; all flights had been completed and the competition was finished.
Flying: The two-circle system was used to fly all categories. This setup ran smoothly and efficiently.
Four rounds were flown in each category, with two flight judges working each circle. Each competitor flew the four rounds on an assigned circle with the sets of judges.
CL Scale
alternating each round between Circle A and Circle B.
The final flight score was determined by averaging the competitor's two highest-scoring flights of the four rounds.
Sport Scale: This was the second-highest-attended Scale event at the Nationals, with 10 entries.
Sport Scale continues to be a highly competitive event, and this year did not lack intensity or competition.
A "dogfight" was assured; four models had static scores separated by only two points. An Extra 300, flown by Walt Brownell, earned the top static score of 92.00.
The battle for supremacy continued throughout the four rounds, although Mike Welshans emerged as the leader after the second round and held on to finish first with his very smooth-flying 1/2-scale Howard DGA. This excellent aircraft won last year's Nats and finished first in 1989. Mike recorded the highest flight score in Sport Scale with 95.75 points.
Finishing a close second was Walt Brownell with his Patty-Wagstaff-colored Extra 300.
Another previous Sport Scale winner, Jack Patrolia, finished in third place—just two points behind Walt—with his 1/8-scale Stephens Akro.
Profile Scale has developed into a fun event and has shown strong participation, growth, and ingenuity since its inception. Modelers have shown that a Profile model's flight characteristics can be as proficient and scale-like as those of their full-bodied counterparts.
There were 13 entries in Profile Scale, including two in the Junior category.
Walt Brownell debuted a Douglas A-26 Firebomber and began the flying portion of the competition with the top static score of 93.75 points.
Mike Welshans, competing with a new Spirit of St. Louis, and Jack Patrolia, flying a new Laser 200, were within 2.5 points of Walt after static scoring.
The flight scores for Profile were tightly bunched during the four rounds after a number of high-scoring flights. The results were not determined until the final tabulation following the fourth round. Walt finished in first, edging Chuck Snyder.
Chuck competed with his previous Nats winner, a de Havilland Hornet, but posted the highest flight score for the Profile Scale category with 98.25 points.
Third place went to Richard Schneider, flying a clipped-wing Piper Cub that was built as a practice model for his F4B entry.
The Junior-category winner was four-year-old Jason Bauer, who was competing in his first national competition. Jason flew an .049 Black-Widow-powered Volskplane.
Second place went to Jason's eight-year-old brother Aaron, who was competing in his fourth Nats! Aaron flew a new P-82B Twin Mustang with two .049s providing power.
AMA Precision Scale: Bill Logan of London, Canada claimed the top static score of 365.50 points with a 1/12-scale, 71-inch Caproni Ca 3. He represented Canada with this aircraft at the 2000 Control Line Scale World Championships at Interlaken, Switzerland.
Bill maintained his lead throughout the Nats competition, posting the high flight scores to win with his trademark slow and realistic flights of this bomber.
Second place went to Ralph Burnstine with a 1/4-scale, O.S. 120-powered Pitts S-2. Frank Beatty flew his 43-inch Art Chester Special to third place.
Team Scale was offered this year for the first time as an unofficial event.
Although there was only one entry, this category will be included in next year's Nats with the anticipation of becoming an official event in the future.
This year's entry was a father-and-son combination; Charlie Bauer built an electronically controlled, .73-inch p-82 Twin Mustang, and his son Peter did the flying.
F4B: This is a sporting event governed by the FAI, or Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. This worldwide body organizes competition through national aero clubs, with the AMA representing the United States.
This year the F4B Scale Team Selection was integrated with the F4B Nats event. F4B is an international competition, which also serves as a selection event for the U.S. team to the world championships.
The top three finishers in the F4B Team Selection category make up the United States Team that will travel to Tillsonburg, Canada in July 2002 for the F4B Scale World Championships—the Aero-Olympics of model aviation. More than 30 countries are expected to participate.
The World Championships is held every even year. The qualifier is held every odd year.
In the Nationals portion of the F4B event, Dale Campbell, flying his 1/4-scale Ryan STA, earned first place as well as top static honors and top flight score.
Jack Sheeks' new Hawker Hurricane Mk XII flew to second place, and third place went to Ralph Burnstine with his 1/6-scale, 58 1/2-inch de Havilland Chipmunk.
In the competition to determine the United States Scale team for the World Championships, I finished in first, flying a Kawasaki Ki-45, and earned the top static score.
Second place went to Dale Campbell with his well-proven 72-inch Ryan STA. Jack Sheeks finished third with his new 70-inch Hawker Hurricane Mk XII.
Dick Byron finished fourth with a Partenavia P.68CTC. Dick will be the alternate member for the team.
The four members have competed in a combined total of 17 previous World Championships.
By a vote of the contest flight judges, I was selected to receive the prestigious NASA Flight Achievement Award. The award is determined by which model best duplicates prototypical flight, taking into consideration its subject uniqueness and flight characteristics.
To have been chosen from among so many is indeed a special honor for me.
The traditional Saturday-night NASA banquet was held at the Horizon Convention Center, where the accommodations and food are always great.
Stan Alexander, NASA president, presided over the evening and awarded the High Static plaques. These are presented to the competitors with the top static scores in the Sport, Profile, Precision, and F4B events.
Carol Schneider won the drawing for a coveted, handmade Dolly Wischer bear. This gathering has become the social highlight of the Nats, where modelers can push aside the rigors of competition and enjoy some great fun and food.
At the conclusion of the competition, rain and wind pounded the L-Pad pavilion as Ed Culver presented the awards to the top finishers in the five categories.
Merchandise prizes donated by a host of sponsors were given away. PowerMaster provided free fuel for the competitors and sponsored the High Static awards.
Robert, Frank Tiano Enterprises, ZAP Gang, Bob Banks, S & J Manufacturing, Balsa USA, Bob Smith Industries, Byron Fuels, TopFlite, Kit, Inc., RC magazine, and Williams Bros. provided additional sponsorship.
A special thanks to Dave Platt and Dave Fogarty for their donation, providing NASA's use of the Horizon Convention Center's static-judging site.
Being a Contest Director at the Nats is no small task. Ed Culver guided the three days of competition with excellent leadership, and his crew of dedicated volunteers provided efficient officiating and administration.
A sincere thanks to everyone for all of your efforts and hard work.
The 2001 Control Line Scale Nationals was a big success in spite of the adverse weather. The flying began and ended with rain—lots of it—but that did nothing to dampen the competitive spirit and camaraderie, always at the heart and soul of the Nationals.
The frustrations will diminish, but the fun times will remain. The part that makes this sport real comes from all of the lasting friendships made through the years.
And just as sure as the storm clouds will give way to another sunny Indiana day, thoughts and plans will turn to next year's Nationals. See you there!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
