122 MODEL AVIATION
Greg Rose, 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond OK 73003
RADIO CONTROL COMBAT
SSC doesn’t require “scaleness” but dictates wing area. As a result, airplanes such as
this Me 109 look off-scale but fly extremely well!
SSC and Open Class B models can be great
examples of simplicity of design. This helps
the popularity of these two events.
This 2548 Class Spitfire spans 48 inches.
Proposed 2548 rules require a greater
degree of “scaleness” than 2610 rules.
ONE ASPECT that I don’t often bring up
in this column is some of the variations on
a theme in RC Combat. Since most people
fly Open B, 2610 Scale, and Slow and
Survivable Combat (SSC), I generally
cover those events more frequently, but
there are several other classes of RC
Combat that have active participation.
Although some of the classes are not
widespread, they have strong local
followings and can offer an enjoyable
Combat event. Most of these events fit
right into the National Points System
(NPS) for RC Combat and can offer a fun
challenge and a chance for a little glory.
I’m going to use some statistics from
the NPS to try to give you a sense of just
how active certain RC Combat events are.
Much Combat flying is held at a “friendly”
level rather than at an AMA sanctioned
event. Therefore, these events don’t show
up in the NPS statistics.
“Friendly” Combat generally involves a
small number of fliers from the same club
or locality and uses informal rules based
roughly on the AMA RC Combat rules.
However, in many cases they will follow
the AMA rules to the letter because then
the participants can use their models—and
their experience—in sanctioned meets if
they choose.
By far the most popular events
numerically are the big three—Open Class
B, 2610 Scale, and SSC—but by looking at
2004’s year-to-date statistics, this is what
we can see: it doesn’t matter if you are
flying in full-scale or RC Combat; every
flight of each individual aircraft is counted
as a sortie. In RC Combat, the RCCA
keeps track of each sortie flown in a
sanctioned event.
As of September 11, 2004, 48
AMA/RCCA sanctioned events had been
held, totaling 5,157 sorties. By looking at
the number of sorties flown in each event,
we can get an idea of what people are
flying.
Although it is the newest RC Combat
Class—and in fact, at this time it isn’t
even a sanctioned event—SSC is by far the
most popular. Year-to-date, 2,797 SSC
sorties have been flown. That’s not only
more than any other event; that’s more
than all other Combat events combined!
SSC comprises 54% of the Combat flown
in sanctioned events, so it has obviously
taken a firm hold on the imagination of RC
Combat fliers in the United States.
In second place, relinquishing the title
of most popular RC Combat event, is Open
Class B with 1,729 sorties, or roughly 33%
of sanctioned Combat flown year-to-date.
What is interesting is that participation in
Open Class B isn’t down much from
previous years in number of flights flown.
It has been pushed into second place by the
growth in SSC.
In third place is Scale RC Combat:
AMA event 2610. There are actually two
Scale events. One is 2610 (.26-maximumdisplacement
engine and plus or minus
10% from 1/12 scale) and the slightly
lower-powered 2105 (.21 maximum
displacement and plus or minus 5% from
1/12 scale).
All models built for 2105 fit within the
rules for 2610; however, the converse is
not true. Nearly all Scale Combat activity
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:04 am Page 122
is sanctioned as the 2610 event. The
number of models eligible for 2105 is
dwindling noticeably as time goes on.
Event 2610 has effectively replaced 2105
in the United States. There have been 507
Scale RC Combat sorties flown year-todate
using the 2610 rules and none have
been flown using the 2105 rules.
In addition to the two established Scale
classes, another provisional Scale class
called 2548 (.25 maximum displacement
and a standard 48-inch wingspan) has been
demonstrated in several contests. Now that
a number of fliers have been exposed to
the idea behind 2548, we will see next
season if the event becomes popular.
The proposed 2548 rules are the first
Scale rules that include “scaleness” as a
factor in the scores in an effort to promote
Scale models that actually look like fullscale
airplanes. The lack of “scaleness” of
some models currently flown in the 2610
event has long been a complaint of Combat
fliers—especially those who invest their
time in a good-looking model only to
compete against one that is barely
considered representative of its full-scale
counterpart.
Although not as popular as they used to
be, Scale Combat events still account for
approximately 10% of the Combat rounds
flown each year.
Just as Scale has a less-popular event,
the Open category does as well. Open
Class 1⁄2A (.061 maximum displacement,
2-pound maximum weight), Open Class A
(.15 maximum displacement, 2.5-pound
maximum weight), and Open Class C (.47
maximum displacement, 5-pound
maximum weight) are less popular than the
more successful Open Class B (.30
maximum displacement, 3.5-pound
maximum weight).
As I write this, Open Class 1⁄2A has not
had a sanctioned event in 2004. Open
Class A has enjoyed some popularity, with
88 sorties flown so far this year. Open
Class C has had only 35 sorties in the same
period. However, these statistics are
slightly misleading.
I know from conversations with other
fliers that 1⁄2A Combat is flown mostly as a
nonsanctioned event at the club level.
Additionally, Open Class C enjoys more
popularity than the sanctioned numbers
alone might suggest. That doesn’t mean
124 MODEL AVIATION
that the relative rankings are wrong; it
indicates that not all of the activity is held
in sanctioned rule-book events.
A fair amount of RC Combat activity
today takes place in completely informal
events. Since HobbyZone introduced its
Sonic Combat Module for its electric
Fighterbird and some of its other designs,
one-on-one RC Combat—often between
family members—has enjoyed some
popularity despite having no sanctioned
event designed for the models.
The limited two-channel performance
of the designs available to fly has reduced
the popularity of this type of competition
with most RC Combat fliers, but not with
the general RC modeling community. A
new, higher-performance, three-channel
design called the F-27 Stryker has been
released, complete with the X-Port
required to make the Sonic Combat
Module work. With the third dimension
available on these electric models, designs
such as the Stryker may find broader
acceptance with RC Combat fliers.
I’ve run out of space and I haven’t even
touched on other RC Combat
developments such as World War I
Combat, jet-age Combat, and some
considerable interest in RC Combat Slope
Soaring.
Until next time, build straight, fly
safely, and always check your six! MA
