24 MODEL AVIATION
A lovely shot of Pat Dailey’s World War I Sopwith Pup, taking off for another Dawn Patrol in Geneseo, New York.
The Guillow Fairchild Mass Launch. This aircraft
makes a terrific-looking and -flying model.
an you believe it’s been 22 years
since the first Flying Aces Club
(FAC) Nationals (Nats)? I have
been fortunate to attend each of
these contests, which are held every two
years.
This year’s edition—FAC Nats XII—
was held July 21-23, in Geneseo NY.
There were 191 contestants, which
means there was probably somewhere in the
neighborhood of 1,300 models; each
contestant flies in six or seven events.
This contest could be considered the
Oshkosh [AirVenture] of model airplanes.
I don’t know of any other contest as large
as this one that is basically for Scale
models.
There are some Old-Timer events,
Embryo, etc., but the majority of the
competition is strictly Scale.
tom Arnold and I flew to Washington DC,
where Don Srull picked us up. The next day,
we carpooled with a bunch of the DC
Maxecutters north to New York.
The drive takes most of the day, but the
time “flies” by when you are talking
airplanes!
We drove to Peter’s Party Complex in
Leicester (roughly six miles from Geneseo),
where the Scale models are judged. By the time
we got there, most of the tables were filled with
beautifully built and unusual models.
Jumbo and Giant Scale classes are not
judged here—only at the field. If they
were, there would be no room for the
Fernando Ramos
Flying
Aces
Club
Nats
Ed Bojanowski assembles his huge rubber-powered Ford Trimotor. Lines representing corrugations were airbrushed!
Joe Barish holds his magnificent-looking and -flying China Clipper model. Joe won the
Multiengine Power Scale event.
January 2001 25
Left: Pres Bruning’s Junkers Ju 88 has excellent cockpit detail.
Chris Parent’s outstanding Nieuport
24bis. The artwork was hand-painted!
This model won Rubber Power Scale.
Above: Jumbo Scale models waiting to be judged. Biplanes have to
be 30 inches in span; monoplanes have to be 36 inches minimum.
Photos by the author Graphic Design by Carla Kunz
26 MODEL AVIATION
Vic Didalot and Joe Deppe (R) did an incredible job judging Jumbo Rubber
Scale models at the field for three days.
A neatly built rubber-power Scale model of the Flitzer. Pres Bruning gives some valuable advice. There are eight
models in his box, and he brought more than one box.
Vance Gilbert’s Aero A.38 Jumbo Rubber Scale model. Engine detail, lettering adds to overall appearance.
Mark Fineman holds his rubber-powered model of the Piper Malibu. You don’t get to
see many modern civil aircraft at an FAC Nats.
Flying
Aces
Club
Nats
January 2001 27
John Shockley holds his nicely built and detailed Guillow Fairchild entry.
Dan Kranis holds his Jumbo Pitcairn Fleetwing.
Dave Rees winds his Jumbo Rubber Grumman Ag-Cat. He attended the event with his wife Marie.
Grand Champion Chris Starleaf’s Peanut Scale entry. The quality of Chris’s
workmanship is very high.
(Builder unknown.)
regular-size models.
This nice facility was air-conditioned.
Before it was learned of, the judging took
place in one of the larger rooms at the
local college. There was no air
conditioning or circulating air of any kind
in there, and it was brutal—especially for
the judges.
While the judging was going on, visiting
with old friends and meeting new ones was
the order of the day.
There were many vendors there, selling
neat speciality items that Scale modelers just
have to have. Most of those items will not
be stocked in your local model shops!
(There are many cottage industries that cater
to the Free Flight [FF] modelers.)
For the first time since the FAC Nats
have been held at Geneseo, Tom and I
stayed in a motel with many of the
Maxecutters.
The usual accommodations for this
contest—college dorms—are less expensive,
but there is no air conditioning; it can get so
hot at night that it is difficult to get a good
night’s sleep.
The weather was cool this year, but the
comfort of the motel was worth the added
expense.
The down side is that we missed the
great gathering of modelers and all the
stories told late into the night, which are
typical at the dorms.
Friday’s weather was iffy, with clouds
and wind—not truly conducive for FF
models, but that didn’t stop anyone
from competing.
Many models landed in cornfields
that surround the beautiful flying field.
Many of the modelers resorted to going
upwind quite a way, to keep their models
from getting lost in the corn.
Mass-launch events were held
throughout the day, as were many of the
non-Scale events. During all the flying,
Vic Didalot and Joe Deppe judged the
Jumbo and Giant Scale models, which
were flown all three days.
Ed Bojanowski’s unbelievable 10-
foot, two-inch-span Ford Trimotor
Rubber model was a hit! Everyone
appreciated this beautiful effort, and Ed
received the achievement award.
A pound of rubber was used to try
to fly this behemoth, and it was
nowhere near enough to sustain
sufficient flight. The outboard motors
were also rubber-powered.
This model shows much promise. I
am certain Ed and his brother Bob will
have it sorted out the next time we see it.
since my event wasn’t until Sunday, I
went up and down the flightline to visit
and take many photos. Since there are so
many contestants, it takes quite a bit of
time to see the exquisite models.
If you aren’t familiar with the basic
rules of the FAC, you get more bonus
points for having an unusual type of
aircraft.
The Piper Cub types get zero bonus
points; their configuration is a sureflier
type model. However, multiwing,
multiengine, or pusher floatplane
models aren’t necessarily easy to trim,
like the Piper Cubs.
Therefore, there is a host of
unusual models from pre-World War
I to post-World War II, and
everything in between.
saturday’s weather was similar to
Friday’s—windy! This did not deter the
stout of heart.
The popular mass-launch events require
quite a bit of endurance—not only by the
model, but by the modeler. These models
fly so well, whether they’re WW I, Golden
Age, WW II, the Guillow Fairchild 24, etc.,
and the modelers have to retrieve them and
be ready for the next heat if they placed
from one before.
When you do this type of activity for
three days, you know you have done
something.
Earl Stahl arrived this day, and it is
always a pleasure to have a nice visit
with him. Earl holds an important
position in the world of FF Rubber
Scale, and he is held in high esteem
throughout the world! He was 15 years
old when he did many of the fine plans
we all cherish!
We left the field at approximately 4
p.m., to get cleaned up and get a bit of
rest before meeting friends for dinner.
There is a restaurant, which appears to
be out in the middle of nowhere, called
the Yard of Ale. It’s a great place to eat,
and has reasonably priced dinners.
sunday was the best of the three days;
there was no wind to speak of.
It was time to get out my Bristol M.1.D,
and try to put in a qualifying flight. The
model had a 30-second attempt. I made a
slight adjustment, filled the tank, started the
.015 Mills diesel, and the Bristol did me
proud with a two-minute, eight-second
flight!
In FF Power Scale, your chances of
placing aren’t very good if you don’t get at
least a two-minute flight. With my attempt,
I didn’t have to fly the model again. I could
relax and continue with my visiting and
picture-taking.
sunday evening was the banquet, when
all the trophies were given out. It was
held in the same place as the Scale
judging.
Many new faces—and young ones, at
that—won many of the events. When it was
time to award Power (single-engine) Scale,
I thought there was a slight chance that I
would place.
Commander-in-chief Linn Reichel
had given out trophies for fifth, fourth,
third, and second place, and I figured I
didn’t make it. When he mentioned my
name for first, I couldn’t believe it! I
was on cloud nine!
The best part was that I did it with a
diesel-powered model! I think mine was
the only diesel aircraft on the field.
The Grand Champion this year was
Chris Starleaf, who is young,
enthusiastic, and a beautiful builder and
flier. It will be difficult to knock Chris
out of this position.
The old guard did well, but the new
blood is slowly taking over. It’s good to
see young modelers with the enthusiasm
to continue this event.
Much credit goes to Linn and Juanita
Reichel, Roy and Dianne Courtney, Russ
Mayo, and all the judges.
There is no way a contest of this
magnitude can run so smoothly without the
aid of many hardworking people. Too
often, we are oblivious to the inner
workings and the amount of work required
to make a contest such as this a success.
My personal thanks to those of you
who helped to make this one
outstanding contest. MA
Fernando Ramos
19361 Mesa Dr.
