Thoughts on the 2548 and 3696 RC Combat events
Greg Rose [[email protected]]
One advantage Southern fliers have over Northern fliers is that Combat contests can be held much earlier—and much later—in the year.
For several years Ed Kettler and the North Dallas RC Club in Texas have taken advantage of the longer flying season to host Operation Bodenplatte, also known as The Battle of the Bulge. In a historically accurate timeframe, this year’s event was scheduled for January 20.
Unfortunately the Texas weather pulled a wild one on us and supplied conditions much like Northern Europe in the winter of 1944–1945. Cold, wet rain that varied from misty to stinging with intermittent fog set in for the state of Texas, and the Operation Bodenplatte meet was called off for weather for the first time in its history. With some quick adjustments to the calendar of events, Bodenplatte was moved back four weeks.
In four weeks spring had defiantly sprung in Texas, with 60° temperatures, sunny skies, and Texas-size winds of 35 mph with higher gusts. Only one test flight was made before the pilots unanimously decided to pull a weather call on the rescheduled event. Regardless of the weather, the event became an impromptu RC Combat fliers’ meeting. People stayed for the entire day to talk, swap ideas, and let the brave-hearted get in an occasional test flight.
Although the event was canceled, it was a good opportunity to see some developments in electric-powered Scale RC Combat. The Bodenplatte meet was scheduled for 2548 Scale Combat—a provisional event that uses a standard maximum 48-inch wingspan and a .25-size engine with a maximum rpm allowed. During the single test round before the event was called, everyone had a chance to see Lee Liddle’s electric 2548 Scale Fw 190 in action.
Lee’s Fw 190 was powered by a Himax 3630-780 brushless motor equipped with a seven-cell Hextronic Li-Poly 2200 system. It was the first electric airplane I have seen that clearly gave up nothing in performance or flight time when flying against two-stroke-powered opponents. In fact, Lee’s aircraft had a clear advantage over most of the field, and only one higher-performance gas-powered model could give him a run for his money. With the Lone Star Nationals only seven days away from the time I am writing this column, I expect Lee’s electric-powered aircraft to be a rude awakening for many Combat fliers.
Lee’s Fw 190 wasn’t the only electric-powered model at the meet. There were more electrics than internal-combustion-engine models. It turns out that the North Dallas RC Club has been developing a new RC Electric Scale event that it has called 3696 Scale. This class is based on a 36-inch wingspan and a 9×6 (hence the name 3696) propeller.
Similar to a scaled-down version of 2548, the event is flown with “recognizable scale” fighters from the 2548 fighters list. Wingspan is a constant 36 inches for single-engine designs and 45 inches for twin-engine designs. The rule for twins shows one of the advantages of electric Combat: electric twins are a proverbial “piece of cake” in comparison to their internal-combustion counterparts. I’ve seen several twins through the years, but I’ve only seen one that had good “one-engine-out” handling.
Minimum weights are required for 3696 airplanes:
- 28-ounce minimum for single-engine designs
- 35-ounce minimum for twin-engine designs
Engine/battery combinations are limited only by the 9,000 rpm maximum propeller speed. For single-engine designs the 9,000 rpm limit is with a 9×6 propeller; for twins it is based on performance with a 7×6 propeller on each engine.
Ed Kettler described a typical 3696 model as having a BM2908 brushless motor pulling 16–19 amps from a three-cell, 2000 mAh Li-Poly. In more familiar terms, a 3S 2000 mAh Li-Po with a 25C speed control is all you need to get into the game. The goal of 3696 electric Combat is to develop an event that is more focused on pilot ability (and luck) than on spending more dollars on models that improve the chance of winning.
Is this set of rules going to generate interest? Based on the turnout for the just-for-fun 3696 get-together planned for Operation Bodenplatte, it certainly looks promising. No less than 10 of these models showed up to play. I counted eight different single-engine designs:
- P-39 Airacobra
- F4F Bearcat
- Fw 190D
- F4U Corsair
- Yak-3
- P-51 Mustang
- Macchi MC.202
- Brewster Buffalo
Cash Hargrett brought an immaculate Brewster F2A Buffalo in prewar markings, so I am going to resurrect an old tradition in this column and award Cash’s Buffalo the “Scratch-Built Beauty of the Month” award. He built the yellow-winged Brewster using three-view plans and a set of wings Scott Stockwell cut for him.
Cash built his airplane with the markings of VF-2 Flying Chiefs as they operated off of the Lady Lex in the spring of 1941. The Buffalo came out almost too pretty to fly in Combat, but those who know Cash know that they will be flying against this scratch-built beauty.
There were two twin-engine designs at the meet: Ed Kettler’s Bristol Beaufighter and Lee Liddle’s P-38 Lightning. The wind kept all but the brave and foolish fliers down that day, but the Beaufighter, the Lightning, and the Bearcat showed their ability to handle the Texas winds. For a meet that didn't quite make it official, it was a great time.
The buzz about electric Combat is not about to die down anytime soon. Based on the interest shown at this event, it looks as though it could be a banner year for fans of Electric Combat!
Until next time, fly safely, fly Combat, and be sure to check your six! MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
