Thoughts on the 2548 and 3696 RC Combat events
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Radio Control Combat Greg Rose
Also included in this column:
• Electric RC Combat is here!
Eric Wenger readies his Open B Combat model. No one knows
how he can fight so hard but keep his airplanes clean!
Chris Handegard launches his F-82 Twin Mustang at the 2007
Lone Star Nationals held in Fort Worth, Texas.
Twenty Slow, Survivable Combat (SSC) competitors showed up for the Lone Star Nationals held March 16-18.
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 Bodenplotte, 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 weather that was
much like Northern Europe back in the winter
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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
Bodenplotte meet was called for weather for
the first time in its history. With some quick
adjustments to the calendar of events,
Bodenplotte 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 of the
144 MODEL AVIATION
developments in electric-powered Scale
RC Combat. The Bodenplotte 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. Powered by a Himax 3630-
780 brushless motor equipped with a
seven-cell Hextronic Li-Poly 2200 system,
Lee’s Focke-Wulf 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 electricpowered
model at the meet. There were
more of those than there were internalcombustion-
engine models! It turns out
that the North Dallas RC Club has been
looking at a new RC Electric Scale event
that it has called 3696 Scale.
This class is based on a 36-inch
wingspan and a 9 x 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-combustionpowered
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 also required for
3696 airplanes: 28-ounce minimum for
single-engine designs and 35-ounce minimum
for twins. Engine/battery combinations are
limited only by the 9,000 rpm maximum
propeller speed. For single-engine designs the
9,000 rpm is with a 9 x 6 propeller and for
twins it is based on performance with a 7 x 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
mA Li-Poly. In terms I can relate to more, a
$35 motor with a $25 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 piloting skill (and luck) than
being able to invest more dollars in models
that improve the chance of winning.
Is this set of rules going to generate
interest? Based on the turnout for the just-forfun
3696 get-together planned for Operation
Bodenplotte, it certainly has the potential.
No less than 10 of these models showed
up to play. I counted eight different singleengine
designs: a P-39 Airacobra, an F8F
Bearcat, an Fw 190D, an F4U Corsair, a Yak-
3, a P-51 Mustang, a Macchi MC.202, and a
Brewster Buffalo.
Cash Hargett 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 officially, 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
