CL Scale
Bill Boss, 77-06 269th St., New Hyde Park NY 11040
A NEW YEAR and Rules Changes: You'll read this before 2002, but I would like to wish all readers a very happy, healthy, and successful new year.
The year will also bring a new Control Line (CL) Scale event and discussion about retracts in Profile Scale models.
The final vote tabulation of the Scale Board, as listed in the August 2001 Model Aviation, shows that two proposals for the establishment of the CL Designer Scale were passed.
SCO2-1 and SCO2-13 were identical in wording, except for paragraph three in proposal SCO2-1, which stated, "Judging the model's cockpit and/or interior details will be given consideration under Item 10 (Color and Markings) of the CL Sport Scale Score Sheet."
The third paragraph was added to the proposal because Event 509 (Sport Scale rules), by which Designer Scale is to be judged, does not call for judging the cockpit of the model.
Based on the fact that a Designer Scale model must be an original design, engineered and built by the contestant, and be judged statically at zero distance, it seems only appropriate that cockpit or interior details be considered.
It seems unrealistic to require such high standards in building a model for this new event and not judge the cockpit or interior if they are visible.
Perhaps judges who score a Designer Scale model will consider breaking the Color and Markings score of 0-20 points into two scores of 0-10 points each, applying one for the cockpit detail and the other for color-and-markings.
Now is the time for all CL Scale builders to consider stepping up to the demands of this new event. What better way is there for you to improve your scale-modeling skills than to design, engineer, and build your own model?
I wish everyone good luck and success with this new event, and I would be greatly interested in getting feedback from those who try building for the event and from contest or event directors who run the event.
Proposal SCO2-8 would have exempted CL Profile Scale models from retracting their landing gear, but it failed in the final vote of the Scale Board. The failure of this proposal raises some interesting questions.
Refer to the "CL Scale Flight Judging Guide" on page 141 of the Competition Regulations.
Paragraph 4.2, Item "e" covers realism in flight and states, "Any model which flies with wheels down while the prototype actually featured a retractable landing gear will have the score reduced."
Paragraph 4.5 states how and when the landing gear should be retracted or extended and provides some guidelines as to what a judge should look for during the landing-gear operation.
In an effort to understand how retractable landing gear (especially in the Profile event) was being considered and scored at CL Scale events, I asked Fred Cronenwett (West Coast), Mike Welshans (Central), and Bill Reynolds (East Coast) the following questions.
- Do judges expect to see landing-gear retraction on all CL Scale models when the prototype had retractable gear?
- If the prototype aircraft had retractable gear, and you do not retract your model's gear, are you penalized in "Realism in Flight"?
- Now that the "Profile Retract Exemption Proposal" has been turned down, will judges be expected to require Profile models to have retractable gear? What about the Hellcat or Wildcat—how would you retract their gear? How do you retract the nose wheel on tricycle landing gear or the tail wheel of a tail-dragger?
- Do judges in your area follow the "Flight Judging Guide," which states, "Any model which flies with wheels down while the prototype actually featured retractable landing gear will have the score reduced"? How much of a penalty is imposed?
Their responses were mixed. For questions one and two, Mike noted that in his involvement in local and national competition as a judge or event director, judges are instructed to take 20% (two points out of 10 in Profile and Sport events, and up to 15 of the 75 points available in Precision) off the realism score if the model should have retractable gear and doesn't.
Fred and Bill mostly agreed that Precision should be penalized but not Sport and Profile.
There was no clear-cut answer to question three. Fred and Bill said they had never seen a Profile with retracts, while Mike said he had seen only one Profile model with retracts.
All three agreed that we shouldn't even consider seeing retracts in Profile models, and that retracts in Profiles are not worth the effort and extra weight.
As to question four, Mike indicated that if he was involved in judging, he would follow the "Flight Judging Guide" and impose some sort of a deduction in all Scale events.
Fred and Bill noted that they have not strictly followed the rules, trying to keep with the spirit of the Sport and Profile events. If a contestant employed retracts and used them as a flight option, they would certainly be judged.
By choosing the retractable gear as a flight option in Sport and Profile, you can be marked down in the flight operation or realism categories if the gear fails.
The preceding answers may be only a small sampling of what judging practices are with respect to CL Scale events across the country, but they do give us at least two trains of thought: we should strictly follow the rules in all events, and some leeway in scoring should be used in promoting the spirit of the events.
The object is to get more involved in Scale events. A major problem with the latter part of the previous statement might be that a contestant who is used to participating under laid-back rules in local contests may be in for a great surprise when it comes to how he or she is scored in large regional or national competitions.
The Scale Board made a mistake in not passing the Retract Exemption Proposal (SCO2-8), mainly because of the inherent difficulty of building retracts into most Profile models. The Hellcat and Wildcat are good examples of that difficulty.
Profile should be exempt from requiring retracts unless the builder decides to use retracts as a flight option. In that case, he or she would be responsible for demonstrating the realism of the operation and be subject to any penalty imposed for poor operation.
The time has come when we should encourage the use of retracts in all Sport and Precision models when the prototype had retractable gear. Retraction of gear in the new Designer Scale event is a must.
I'm not sure where we go from here. Are we to strictly follow the rules and penalize all Scale models that are supposed to have retracts and don't?
We now have another three-year rules cycle in which to consider changes. Hopefully, we can convince the Scale Board to favorably consider the exemption of Profiles from retract penalties.
One of the most important things all Scale event directors can do to help alleviate or avoid scoring problems at local contests is hold pilot meetings prior to any competition.
Details of how models will be judged and what penalties—if any—will be imposed should be clearly stated prior to the competition. This would be particularly important if there are any deviations from the standard rules.
Don't forget that at the national competition your model will be judged strictly in accordance with the Scale Regulations. Be forewarned and prepared.
I would be interested in hearing from anyone about this month's subject.
The KC-97 featured in this month's photos is the work of Dave Burns (Pasadena, CA).
The model had its origin as a Byron Originals kit. The model has a 90-inch wingspan, is powered with a .90 four-stroke engine, weighs 17 pounds, and is intended for use in the Designer Scale event.
The model features flaps, throttle, brakes, and steerable tail wheel, all controlled via the U/C Device servo conversion (DSC) feature of a JR radio system.
The brakes are an air-operated system that consists of an air cylinder (inside the wheel pants), and its piston is pressed against the tire. The brakes allow Dave to demonstrate engine run-up before takeoff.
This fine-looking model would not be eligible for the new Designer Scale event because of its origins as a kit.
Send good ideas, notices of upcoming CL Scale events, contest reports, and photos of CL Scale activity to me at the address at the top of this column.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
