Radio Control Scale - 2004/04

Stan Alexander, 3709 Valley Ridge Dr., Nashville TN 37211; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL SCALE
HAVING THE opportunity to participate in
Scale contests and championships in different
locations can give you ideas about how
competitions can be organized and run in
different parts of the country, or the world for
that matter. This month I’ll look at Scale
competition in Europe—specifically the 2003
European Scale Championships held in Gnas,
Austria, August 8-17.
You may be wondering where the heck
Gnas, Austria, is. I didn’t know either, other
than it was south of Vienna. Gnas wasn’t
shown on the maps available here.
The categories in the weeklong event
included Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale (FAI) Control Line F4B Scale,
FAI Radio Control (RC) F4C Scale, Large
Scale, and Aerobatics.
Competitors came from across Europe to
this beautiful area in southeastern Austria,
near the border to Slovenia, to compete in the
championships. The organization of this event
rivaled any World Championships, in
sponsorship as well as knowledgeable
personnel.
The entire crew, including everyone in the
town of Gnas, saw that the contest went off
without a hitch. This included modelers,
officials, public services of Gnas, and all of
the businesses, not to mention the volunteers
from the Osterreichischer Aero-club and the
Union Modellflugclub Sparkasse Gnas. I’m
sure that other aeroclubs in the area also
worked to make the event a success.
Driving south to this area on Austria’s
version of the interstate came to an abrupt
end, and then we were on twisting two-lane
roads in the heart of the farming area. We saw
lots of corn growing, which also surrounded
Aero Scale Products in Switzerland made Pete Mc Dermott’s Sopwith Snipe and flying
wires. Note oil stains just behind cowling and on main gear struts.
Snipe’s dummy radial’s cylinders spin as propeller turns—as fullscale
engine turned on crankshaft attached to engine mount.
Italian team member Cesare Cordella competed with this Macchi
MC.200 Saetta in the Large Scale division.
David Kopal of the Czech Republic team built this P-26 Peashooter. The model handled
the takeoffs and landings well considering the close landing gear.
132 MODEL AVIATION
April 2004 133
the flying field, but there were no distilleries.
The climate was similar to Tennessee in the
summer: hot and sticky.
The local club has an excellent field that I
hope to have photos of for you in the future.
However, another area was selected for these
championships, which at first glance raised
eyebrows. But after further examination the
sports complex had plenty of room, with good
facilities to house all of the aircraft in the
tennis building.
The intriguing part of the championships
was the diversity of Scale subjects, many of
which we rarely see in the USA. Some of
these models included the Italian entry of the
Macchi MC.200 Saetta, the British entry of
the Sopwith Snipe, the Morane Saulnier, the
Lavochkin LaGG-3, the Fairey Swordfish, a
Lysander, a Porter Cormoran transport, a
Bücker Jungmann, and probably the oddest
airplane I’ve seen in some time: the
Koolhoven F.K.49 twin.
There was also a 1⁄3-scale Sorrell SNS
Hyperbipe, an F-15 Eagle, a Beechcraft T-45,
a Cirrus Moth, a de Havilland Tiger Moth, a
P-61 Black Widow, an F7F Tigercat, a P-47,
and several other aircraft representing almost
every time frame in aviation history.
Most of these models were entered in F4C
class, which has a weight limit of 12
kilograms, or 26.40 pounds, but that limit is
being raised to 15 kilograms, or 33.00 pounds,
in international competition beginning
January 1, 2005.
Why mention that? Because the 15-
kilogram weight limit will be allowed at this
summer’s Scale National Championships here
in the USA, which is great for those modelers
who would like to try this form of
competition.
The Large Scale class was for models
weighing as much as 20 kilograms, or 44.00
Vratislav Rejda was 11th in Large Scale with his Hyperbipe,
which the Czech Republic team also entered in that class.
Andreas Luthi won F4C with his Bücker Antares. The Swiss team
entered the maximum of three team members in F4C.
134 MODEL AVIATION
pounds. This category will most likely be
dropped after 2005, but, then again, I
wouldn’t bet on it in some Scale circles in
Europe.
One model that was surprising in static
and flight was Czech team member David
Kopal’s Boeing P-26 Peashooter. It was
finished in the yellow-and-blue color scheme,
with red and white stripes on the fuselage.
These aircraft as smaller Scale models
take off sort of squirrelly and land even worse
with the main gear so close together, but
David did his homework and balanced the
model perfectly. With little wind and a
beautiful close-cut grass field provided by
local farmers, the 11.3-kilogram model
handled the ground taking off and landing.
The G-45 engine just needed a bit more
horsepower to get this model over the top.
Another crowd favorite was Pete Mc
Dermott’s Sopwith Snipe. He built the model
to a scale of 28.5% with a 104-inch wingspan
and powered it with a prototype Laser 360V
twin. (I don’t know if this one has been
produced or not since.) The engine has a 21⁄2-
inch extension to allow the dummy engine to
rotate with the propeller’s spinning motion. In
flight it looks like the engine is rotating on the
crankshaft just like the full-scale aircraft.
Pete went on to finish second in the
Large Scale class and sixth in F4C Scale
with his veteran Sopwith Triplane. Great
Britain also took first place in the Large
Scale-class team standings.
Andreas Luthi continued his domination
of the F4C class with his scratch-built Antares
Bücker Jungmeister that was constructed to 1⁄3
scale with a span of 88 inches. It was a
different Bücker than you would expect. The
high static score, planned flights and
maneuvers, and a great deal of practice helped
Andreas. He won the 2000 and 2002 Scale
World Championships.
Vratislav Rejda of the Czech Republic
team built the 1⁄3-scale Hyperbipe in Large
Scale, for models exceeding 12 kilograms in
weight. The 931⁄4-inch-span model was
powered by a ZDZ 80 engine. There were
several ZDZs in competition during the week.
Another model I haven’t seen before was
the Macchi MC.200 Saetta, which Cesare
Cordella of the Italian team entered in Team
Scale. The new Macchi was built with a
wingspan of 96 inches and it flew extremely
well, even with a few teething problems
during the week.
Notice the MC.200’s frontal cowling area
that seems smooth at first glance. On the fullscale
fighter, that was actually an oil-cooling
area where oil was passed through the
grooved ring built into the cowling. This is a
beautifully detailed World War II fighter.
The competition takes place during an
entire week and only one model is flown at a
time, letting modelers with quality aircraft
have the skies to themselves. Static judging is
done much as it is in the USA, but with no
time limits. Most modelers include six to 10
photos of the full-scale aircraft and the scale
April 2004 135
drawings from which the model was built.
The competition runs at a slower pace; it
seems as though life is slower paced there
than it is here. But that is the type of Scale
competition in which the rest of the world
competes, and it is interesting to see the
differences between the modelers here and
abroad.
The US team qualified at Muncie, Indiana,
for the next FAI Scale World
Championships, which will be held at Deblin,
Poland, in late July 2004.
For more information contact Steve Kaluf
in the AMA Competition Department at
[email protected] or US FAI Scale
Team Manager Lloyd Roberts at
[email protected] or (207) 596-2095 if
you are interested in or curious about
attending as a supporter or contributor.
I hope to have information about some of
the airplanes next month.
Bookshelf: The Ford Air Tours 1925-1931
by Lesley Forden, published by Aviation
Foundation of America (121 5th Ave. NW,
#300, New Brighton MN 55112), gives the
reader the history of the Ford Air Tours,
which were also called the reliability tours.
(This book is card catalog number 72-93781.)
The card-stock-covered book has 218
pages that review all of the races and provide
statistics, rules, and finishes. This book
features numerous black-and-white photos,
which give you a feel for the history of that
era in aviation.
Some of the photos are not as sharp as I
would like to see for details needed in
modeling. There are no three-views or scale
drawings; most books about that era of
aviation seem to lack those details.
However, it’s good reading, and the
photos might help you out on a project.
Subjects include the Ford Tri-motor, the
Ryan M-1, the Douglas C-1, the Eaglerock,
the Woodson Express, the Mohawk Pinto,
various Travel Air biplanes, and quite a few
others.
This is what I would describe as a
tabletop book to look at and enjoy. It is
available at Zenith Books or Historic
Aviation for approximately $20 plus
shipping.
Fair skies and tailwinds. MA