126 M ODEL AVIATION
ThiS yeaR the world will experience a new
competition: the World Air Games (WAG). It
will include model and full-scale aircraft
competitions. The host country is Spain, and
the event is in late June.
The Combat community is in the process
of establishing some sort of selection
competition for the members who will
represent the United States.
The funding on the part of the Academy of
Model Aeronautics is not certain. If you have
the money and the time, this will be a good
way to spend your vacation. Not only will you
be able to see the best modelers from each
country, you will be able to see the best
sportsmen in the area of air sports.
I don’t know if I will be able to attend, but
I will make the effort.
The national model Airplane
Championships (Nats) has been a hot topic of
conversation on the Internet recently.
The Nats in years past have been the
pinnacle of modeling achievement.
Although I never attended one of the Navysponsored
Nats, I have attended many of
these events since 1974.
There was a large number of Combat
contestants in 1974. The high entry levels
continued for many years, until the big
triple-elimination Fast Combat contests took
over in popularity.
I can think of many reasons for the
dropoff in Nats participation. In general,
there are fewer Combat pilots in the United
States overall, and that directly translates to
fewer competitors.
It also requires quite an effort to attend
a Nats these days. As the median age of
Combat pilots moves to the middle-age
bracket, the competitors’ priorities change.
Vacation days become a valued
commodity, and the needs of children and
a spouse come into play.
The distance one has to travel to get to a
Nats can influence a decision to attend. At
one time, you could count on the contest
rotating to your neck of the woods every
four or five years; this allowed the pilots
with limited budgets and opportunity to
experience the Nats a couple times during
their active modeling years.
However, this has not been an option for
some time—since AMA made its home in
Muncie, Indiana. Now that the Nats is held
there every year, participation in the Combat
events has dropped off even more.
There have been some valiant efforts
to make the Nats attractive by offering
cash prizes. Larry Skelley secured
substantial donations from various people
for the 1999 Nats.
With low entry levels, the title of National
Champion has lost some of its luster and
significance. Fast Combat at the 2000 Nats
had a total of eight entries and Slow drew four
total entries. Most of the top pilots would
rather win the Top Gun, Houston Classic, or
Bladder Grabber than the Nats.
There are questions we must ask.
Do we want to make the Nats the
premier contest in the nation? Who needs to
take the lead in elevating the status of this
competition so it will draw entries from
across the country?
Do we want to take the Nats on the
road again?
How do we talk more people into attending?
Where do we get the manpower to stage a
first-class contest? Does the Miniature
Aircraft Combat Association (MACA) take
the lead or do we let the Academy of Model
Aeronautics handle the whole operation?
I don’t pretend to know the answers, but
I have an opinion on who should be at the
front of the line to give answers and take the
responsibility.
MACA is the officially recognized Special
Interest Group for the AMA. As such, we
need to take on all the organizational
responsibilities and the lead in offering
suggestions and plans to make necessary
changes. We also need to support MACA in
whatever projects it becomes involved.
If you are not a member, now is as
good a time as any to join. Send a check
CONTROL LINE COMBAT
Rich von Lopez, 8334 Colegio Dr., Los Angeles CA 90045
The author’s launching device set up in a ready-to-use position with a model.
Launching device made from the sleeves of
a 1⁄2A wing core, some cardboard, and an
arrow shaft. It is covered with clear Mylar™.
A close look at the block that holds the
device’s arrow shaft in place. A wire pin
keeps the shaft from rotating.
April 2001 127
for $15 to MACA c/o Gene Berry, 4610
89th St., Lubbock TX 79424. Better yet,
send a check for $30 for a two-year
membership.
When you become a member, you will
need to be active and write in occasionally.
Opinions and observations are welcome, as
are requests for help. There are many very
knowledgeable pilots out there who will
help someone who asks.
i spend a great deal of column space on the
competitive angle of Combat. I also know
that there are many sport fliers in the United
States who like to fly quick and responsive
models simply because they are fun to fly.
These sport fliers like to know what the
best equipment is and how they can get
their hands on it.
This is one of the few hobbies left in
which you can purchase the best of the best
at a price that won’t send you to the
poorhouse. Modeling at our level can be
done in a limited space with a small
investment in tools. These tools can be
justified to one’s spouse as having
household applications.
I hope that you veteran contest pilots will
let the local sport pilots have a ride with a
good Combat model. You never know
which of them will get hooked and try a
hand at the next contest. Let them fly one of
your lesser models, and one that you don’t
mind getting dirty.
I have been going through my engine
drawers and thinning them out. Some of my
excess equipment went to South Africa with
Charlie Johnson last year. The modelers
over there were happy to get good,
serviceable equipment at a reasonable price.
Let someone get use and enjoyment out
of older equipment. I currently have more
stuff than I will be able to use in this
lifetime. Many of you may find yourselves
in the same situation.
Consider giving a damaged but reparable
model to a sport flier in your club or to a
friend who is into Radio Control. This
person may surprise you and show up at the
field ready to have a go at it.
an item that needs to be addressed is Slow
Combat, and what its role will be in the
future. With the Howe contest in hibernation,
there are few competitions in the country in
which this event can be flown.
One thought is to keep Slow Combat
on the books and let lack of interest
cause its death.
A better format would be 75 or 80 mph
Combat with a variety of skill classes. This
way, a novice could stand a chance of
winning a trophy once in a while.
The pilots in the New England states
have a good thing going in a series of set
contests throughout the year that feature
skill categories. Their version of 75 mph
Combat is called Formula GX.
The results of many of these contests
are featured in the MACA newsletter, so
the participants can get a little recognition.
This may be the class that revives
participation in the Nats.
The single-elimination contests of
years gone by allowed a pilot to enter
many events with a minimum number of
models. Because of the slower speeds,
the 75 or 80 mph contests allow a
participant to fly many rounds without
destroying too many models.
There are very few places left in the
United States where groups of active Slow
pilots exist. However, there is a growing
number of areas where 75 and 80 mph
events are gathering strength. We should
encourage this popularity and support it
when we can.
a couple columns ago (October 2000), I
discussed a launching device Pat Willcox
made to fit on my flight box. I am
including a couple more photographs to
illustrate how it works.
I have used this device repeatedly, to
test-fly when no one else is available. You
may want to consider it for your 1⁄2A
modeling needs.
There has been some talk of changing the
line length in 1⁄2A Combat to 42 feet from
the current 35 feet. This talk comes about
primarily because of the availability of
the powerful Cyclon .049 engine. This
little engine has changed the way the
event is flown.
The power the .049 puts out is far above
what our old Cox Tee Dee .049 and .051
engines could produce. On 35-foot lines, a
Cyclon-powered model is traveling so fast
that it is hard to have a good match without
getting into line tangles.
Since this engine is considerably heavier
than the older 1⁄2A engines, the models need
to be bigger.
Another item to consider in the request
for longer lines is the availability of the
inexpensive Norvel BigMig .061 engine,
which a number of new pilots are using.
The Norvel engines are able to keep a
model out on the lines quite well. The
longer lines give a pilot a little more time to
think before moving the handle.
a bunch of us in the Los Angeles area
would still like to use the old 1960s
design Cox Tee Dee engines for sportflying
and local competitions. We already
have plans for our December 31 Beach
Brunch and Fly event.
I have hosted this event for a number of
years; so many, that now it is a tradition. We
start with a brunch at my house, then go to
our beach flying site to determine who gets
the last kill of the year and who is the last
one to be killed.
The past three years, I have made a
small trophy to commemorate the last
kill of the year. We have lots of fun, and
restrict the event to Cox Tee Dee
engines. I can think of no better way to
end a year of flying. MA
