Radio Control Combat
Greg Rose
[email protected]
Operation Bodenplatte — January 28, 2006
Operation Bodenplatte went on despite foul weather and a low turnout.
The first scramble in RC Combat in 2006 occurred on January 28 in the skies above—where else?—the great state of Texas. The North Dallas RC Club hosted Operation Bodenplatte for 2548 Scale Combat.
The weather is always a factor in Combat meets—that's not likely to change until we can figure out a good way to hold them inside. Even in Texas, winter weather can be marginal. True to form, a cold rain front crossed all of Texas and Oklahoma the morning of the meet.
Delayed by the rain, which slowed to a dribble by noon, the combatants showed up as the skies cleared. In all, four Combat fliers—Lee Liddle, Cash Hargett, Ed Kettler, and Scott Stockwell—braved the damp conditions for the inaugural meet.
Because it was the first meet of the year, a number of new airplanes had their Combat debut:
- Cash Hargett: two Hat Trick Zeros and a JK Aerotech P-47 Thunderbolt
- Lee Liddle: new Fw 190 design
- Scott Stockwell: new electric-powered Mustang
After checking the airplanes' tachometer readings to make sure they met the new 14,500 rpm limit, the models launched into the cool 60° air. My apologies to any Northerners I may have shocked there. Yes, we do call 60° "cool" in January, but the North has much more comfortable summers.
With only four fliers—as I mentioned, it was a marginal day—the opportunities to score were slim. Only one midair occurred, which is possibly a record low number for a sanctioned meet. Appropriately for Operation Bodenplatte (a German offensive launched during the Battle of the Bulge), it was an Fw 190 / P-51 collision.
Results
At the end of the day:
- Lee Liddle — 1,612 points (made three cuts in one round)
- Cash Hargett — second place
- Ed Kettler — third place
- Scott Stockwell — fourth place (an early departure caused him to miss the last three rounds)
Although Scott came in last with his electric Mustang, his standing was more a reflection of his early departure than any performance issue with his model. Reportedly his Mustang kept up with the "slimers" (glow-fuel/internal-combustion-powered trainer/Combat aircraft) quite well.
Models and equipment notes
Cash Hargett brought some nice-looking models for the meet. His JK Aerotech P-47 was powered by an O.S. .25 FX turning a 10x3 propeller with 5% nitromethane fuel. Cash used low-temperature UltraCote to cover the foam portions and Coroplast sections of his model.
For future Combat meets with poor weather, Cash reminds other fliers that: "If you can hunt in the rain, work in the rain, and fish in the rain, you can fly in the rain!"
Electric Combat: trends and developments
It is appropriate that one of the airplanes that flew in this year's first Combat meet was electric. Electric Combat is drawing an immense amount of interest within the RC Combat community. As in the rest of the RC community, electric power is clearly here to stay. The question is no longer whether E-Combat is here; the question has become what direction it will take.
One approach is fitting electric into existing events; the Mustang Scott flew at Operation Bodenplatte is one example. His model flew competitively with models powered by .25-sized engines. Fitting electric into existing events has the advantage of not splitting active Combat fliers between too many different Combat events. Another viable approach is a new Combat "E-vent" designed with the strengths and limitations of electric in mind.
Along these lines, a number of electric-powered Combat variations have been discussed and built on a limited scale. A rapidly evolving arena of RC Combat with electric Slo-Bats, electric versions of Limited B, 2548 Scale provisional classes, and many other ideas have been discussed.
One area that has generated quite a bit of interest has been semiscale World War II fighters with profile fuselages. E-Combat demonstrations of this concept were held at the Lone Star Nationals and Dixie Nationals in 2005.
The event held at the Dixie Nationals pitted 10 pilots flying semiscale World War II fighters weighing between 9.4 and 16.0 ounces (with batteries) against each other. Details about this event class are dynamic, with considerable discussion on the Radio Control Combat Association’s website: www.rccombat.com.
Part of the reason development has been so fast is the rapid building time for these models, even when they are scratch-built. If something doesn’t work quite the way you want, you can construct an improved version in a few evenings. That’s an attractive option for a Combat aircraft.
Great Planes Fun Force Sport Fighter EP ARF kits
It is along the lines of this developing event that Great Planes has put thought into action by introducing a line of Fun Force Sport Fighter EP ARF kits. The new kits include:
- P-51 Mustang
- Focke-Wulf Fw 190
- Mitsubishi Zero
- Grumman F6F Hellcat
Specifications and features:
- P-51 and Fw 190: 33.5-inch span, 301 square inches wing area
- F6F Hellcat: 34.8-inch span, 339 square inches wing area
- Zero: 34.5-inch span, 354 square inches wing area
- Designed to be powered by the same Speed Force 370 brushed BB motor mated to a 5:1 gear drive
- Semiscale profile fuselage models made from Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam reinforced with carbon-fiber tubes
- Nicely prepainted
Personal note
I now have my first electric-powered Combat model in the works. I am admittedly a "slimer." All of my experiences revolve around glow-fuel-powered airplanes. As do many other Combat fliers, I have a lot to learn about this developing aspect of RC Combat.
That's all for this issue. 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.
