THE 2004 SCALE National
Championships was the event. The Horizon
Convention Center in downtown Muncie,
Indiana, was the place. After all of the static
judging was completed on a Friday, the
event hall was turned over to the Scale
indoor RC event. It was flown according to
proposed rules that became official in 2005.
There were two classes flown in this
low-key and fun category: Sport Scale and
Fun Scale. There are numerous models on
the market that can compete in the Scale
indoor RC Fun Scale class. I selected the
Fokker D.VII from Sig Manufacturing.
This airplane features all-foam
construction and comes prepainted, and
assembly is quick. A photo-illustrated
construction booklet with detailed directions
makes it simple, even for those who have
never built a model.
I made changes to detail the Fokker a bit,
but I had to be careful of the weight
increase. So for the most part I used an
artist’s pen and watercolor paints from Wal-
Mart, with which I painted the guns, struts,
tires, cockpit combing, and other small
details. Using the pen, I added simulated rib
tapes on the upper and lower wings. I didn’t
add the handholds on the side of the
fuselage or other small items, but I can do
that later.
This being my first indoor RC model, I
sort of bounced it around the area and then
March 2005 93
Stan Alexander, 3709 Valley Ridge Dr., Nashville TN 37211; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL SCALE
Tom Poole built his 35-inch-span Cessna 180 from a Mountain
Models kit. It is covered with Solite. Ben Lanterman photo.
Greg Hahn’s profile B-17F “Memphis Belle” from the Roadkill kit
placed first in Fun Scale. Lanterman photo.
Jim Rediske performs maintenance on the Demoiselle that he built from a Sig
Manufacturing kit. He won Sport Scale class with this model. Lanterman photo.
B-17’s underside shows how Greg has
radio gear mounted and bomb load. Note
wires linked to ailerons—uses one
microservo.did manage to put in a good flight. It’s a
new challenge for those of us who are
more used to the outdoor Scale arena and
boring holes in the sky with a sport model.
Tom Poole of the Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, area came to compete in two
classes with his scratch-built Bellanca
1916 Tractor Biplane and a Cessna 180
that he built from a Mountain Models kit.
The Bellanca has a wingspan of 33.5
inches on the top wing and 30 inches on
the bottom wing. It has a total of 330
square inches of wing area, and its total
all-up weight with the battery pack is 8.5
ounces.
Tom uses a DC-1717 motor bolted to
an 11.8:1 gear reduction unit and flies the
model including rise-off-ground with a 9 x
6 APC propeller. He covered the model
with silver and white Litespan.
Tom detailed the biplane with
handmade decals from a logo off of the
Internet. He added rolled toilet paper for
cockpit combing and used hollow plastic
tires to reduce weight but keep the model
scale. All of the controls are pull-pull.
He had the only successful scratch-built
model at the contest, and he finished fourth
in Sport Scale with it.
Tom Poole and his scratch-built 1916 Bellanca Tractor Biplane. It
has a beautiful finish and weighs only 8.5 ounces. John Thompson scratch-built his 1919 Avro 539 Falcon
I had never heard of the company from
which Tom purchased his Cessna 180 kit,
but you can check out the Web site at
www.mountainmodels.com. The full-scale
aircraft was designed for rough fields,
backcountry flying, and hauling.
This model spans 35 inches, weighs
just more than 8 ounces, and is powered
by the GWS DXA motor. All parts are
laser-cut, and the kit includes wheels,
pushrods, and gear. Tom used a sevencell
350 NiMH battery for power and
control.
He finished third in Fun Scale with the
Cessna, but the flights kept improving as
the event progressed. Look out for this
Cessna the next time around.
Longtime Scale modeler Greg Hahn
came to compete with a DJ Aerotech
Roadkill-series model of a B-17F: the
“Memphis Belle.” The little model was
powered by four electric motors, and
Greg had the ailerons working as well as
the bomb bay, dropping bombs on the
judging team of Hal and Gary Parenti.
Greg won Fun Scale with the B-17
and some smooth flights. It goes to show
what you can do with a simple kit. He
flew the model as smoothly as he does his
“wet-powered” Scale models, and the
takeoffs and landings were beautiful.
Sport Scale was combined Sportsman
and Expert, and the class was a
Demoiselle onslaught. There were three
in the category, and they finished first,
second, and third.
Jim Rediske took the first-place
trophy and a kit from Sig for his efforts.
He flies indoors at a golf dome at home in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With his wife
Bonnie calling for him, he flew the
Demoiselle expertly around the patch of,
well, carpet to the win. Longtime Scale
competitors Skip Mast and Mike Gretz
finished second and third.
Food for the event was provided, and
a Subway dinner with cold drinks kept
everyone close to the event and airplanes
in the air all evening. It was a great time,
and many of the spectators who were
modelers are looking forward to next
year’s event at Ball State University in
Muncie.
I hope this gives you an idea of what
is possible with park flyers and indoor
Scale models. This form of modeling is in
its infancy and growing all the time. It’s a
lot of fun, and sometimes you have to
laugh at yourself. Indoor flying can be
humbling—walls come up quickly—but
try it; you might enjoy the challenge.
For Scale indoor rules, blank score
sheets, and upcoming events, check out
www.nasascale.org.
Around Scale: England’s John
Thompson—the prolific modeler who
really likes electric-powered floatplanes
and flying boats—sent a photo of his
Avro 539 Falcon biplane. The forward
fuselage and wings are silver-gray, and
the tail is bright red.
The scale floats are natural-wood
finished. The 34-inch-wingspan model is
built from spruce and balsa and covered
in Solarfilm. John fabricated the floats
and covered them with 0.5mm plywood.
He constructed the float struts from 5⁄16-
inch Streamline aluminum tubing.
The Avro is powered by a Typhoon
Micro 15 brushless motor driving a 9 x 6
wood propeller. John uses an eight-cell
Sanyo 600 mA Stubbies battery pack.
The model uses a three-channel micro
radio system, and its all-up weight with
batteries is 28 ounces.
Roy Chadwick designed the full-scale
airplane, and it was built during the
summer of 1919 at A.V. Roe & Co.’s
Factory in Hamble, England, for the 1919
Schneider Trophy Race. Prerace trials by
pilot Captain H. Hamersley were not
promising, and the Falcon was kept as a
reserve aircraft.
The Avro 539 was a small, single-seat,
twin-float biplane with wood-and-metal
construction. It was powered by a 240-
horsepower Siddeley Puma six-cylinder,
direct-drive, water-cooled, in-line engine.
New Products: I received an update from
plans designer Don Smith, who has
published large-scale model plans for
years. Some of the “big names” in
competition and the International
Miniature Aircraft Association type of
modelers use his plans regularly. He has drawn
the Westland Whirlwind, which was a British
World War II twin-engine fighter.
The Whirlwind model is 1⁄5 scale, has a
108-inch wingspan, and is 79 inches long.
Parts are available with plastic canopy and
fiberglass cowls. This would make a great
electric-powered Scale model, don’t you think?
For more information about this aircraft,
contact Don Smith Plans at 7445 Texas Tr.,
Boca Raton FL 33487; Tel.: (561) 989-9113,
or log on to www.donsmithplans.com.
Bookshelf: Nakajima Ki-27 “Nate” by
Leszek A. Wieliczko and Zygmunt Szeremeta,
is a new book published by Kagero (ISBN 83-
89088-51-7). It is written in Polish and
English. It’s rare to find a book that so
completely documents an aircraft type, such as
this one does. There is documentation from
the front to the back of this softcover book.
Including the extensive scale drawings,
there are 126 pages. Many books in this series
include 1⁄72- and 1⁄48-scale decals; this volume
has the 1⁄72-scale size. There are 15 pages of
color side plates and the front cover for
documentation purposes. Color chips are not
included in this great book about a littleknown
aircraft.
This whole line of books is available from
Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Dr.,
Carrollton TX 75011; Tel.: (972) 242-8663;
Web site: www.squadron.com. Nakajima Ki-
27 “Nate” is available for $22.46 plus
shipping. This is the only source for this series
of books, and Squadron has a wealth of others.
Although they are geared primarily toward
plastic models, this store and the books are
valuable sources of information. The Polish
books are some of the best in the world for
scale documentation that I’ve seen, and I
highly recommend them for whatever project
on which you might be working.
Fair skies and tailwinds. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/03
Page Numbers: 93,94,96,98
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/03
Page Numbers: 93,94,96,98
THE 2004 SCALE National
Championships was the event. The Horizon
Convention Center in downtown Muncie,
Indiana, was the place. After all of the static
judging was completed on a Friday, the
event hall was turned over to the Scale
indoor RC event. It was flown according to
proposed rules that became official in 2005.
There were two classes flown in this
low-key and fun category: Sport Scale and
Fun Scale. There are numerous models on
the market that can compete in the Scale
indoor RC Fun Scale class. I selected the
Fokker D.VII from Sig Manufacturing.
This airplane features all-foam
construction and comes prepainted, and
assembly is quick. A photo-illustrated
construction booklet with detailed directions
makes it simple, even for those who have
never built a model.
I made changes to detail the Fokker a bit,
but I had to be careful of the weight
increase. So for the most part I used an
artist’s pen and watercolor paints from Wal-
Mart, with which I painted the guns, struts,
tires, cockpit combing, and other small
details. Using the pen, I added simulated rib
tapes on the upper and lower wings. I didn’t
add the handholds on the side of the
fuselage or other small items, but I can do
that later.
This being my first indoor RC model, I
sort of bounced it around the area and then
March 2005 93
Stan Alexander, 3709 Valley Ridge Dr., Nashville TN 37211; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL SCALE
Tom Poole built his 35-inch-span Cessna 180 from a Mountain
Models kit. It is covered with Solite. Ben Lanterman photo.
Greg Hahn’s profile B-17F “Memphis Belle” from the Roadkill kit
placed first in Fun Scale. Lanterman photo.
Jim Rediske performs maintenance on the Demoiselle that he built from a Sig
Manufacturing kit. He won Sport Scale class with this model. Lanterman photo.
B-17’s underside shows how Greg has
radio gear mounted and bomb load. Note
wires linked to ailerons—uses one
microservo.did manage to put in a good flight. It’s a
new challenge for those of us who are
more used to the outdoor Scale arena and
boring holes in the sky with a sport model.
Tom Poole of the Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, area came to compete in two
classes with his scratch-built Bellanca
1916 Tractor Biplane and a Cessna 180
that he built from a Mountain Models kit.
The Bellanca has a wingspan of 33.5
inches on the top wing and 30 inches on
the bottom wing. It has a total of 330
square inches of wing area, and its total
all-up weight with the battery pack is 8.5
ounces.
Tom uses a DC-1717 motor bolted to
an 11.8:1 gear reduction unit and flies the
model including rise-off-ground with a 9 x
6 APC propeller. He covered the model
with silver and white Litespan.
Tom detailed the biplane with
handmade decals from a logo off of the
Internet. He added rolled toilet paper for
cockpit combing and used hollow plastic
tires to reduce weight but keep the model
scale. All of the controls are pull-pull.
He had the only successful scratch-built
model at the contest, and he finished fourth
in Sport Scale with it.
Tom Poole and his scratch-built 1916 Bellanca Tractor Biplane. It
has a beautiful finish and weighs only 8.5 ounces. John Thompson scratch-built his 1919 Avro 539 Falcon
I had never heard of the company from
which Tom purchased his Cessna 180 kit,
but you can check out the Web site at
www.mountainmodels.com. The full-scale
aircraft was designed for rough fields,
backcountry flying, and hauling.
This model spans 35 inches, weighs
just more than 8 ounces, and is powered
by the GWS DXA motor. All parts are
laser-cut, and the kit includes wheels,
pushrods, and gear. Tom used a sevencell
350 NiMH battery for power and
control.
He finished third in Fun Scale with the
Cessna, but the flights kept improving as
the event progressed. Look out for this
Cessna the next time around.
Longtime Scale modeler Greg Hahn
came to compete with a DJ Aerotech
Roadkill-series model of a B-17F: the
“Memphis Belle.” The little model was
powered by four electric motors, and
Greg had the ailerons working as well as
the bomb bay, dropping bombs on the
judging team of Hal and Gary Parenti.
Greg won Fun Scale with the B-17
and some smooth flights. It goes to show
what you can do with a simple kit. He
flew the model as smoothly as he does his
“wet-powered” Scale models, and the
takeoffs and landings were beautiful.
Sport Scale was combined Sportsman
and Expert, and the class was a
Demoiselle onslaught. There were three
in the category, and they finished first,
second, and third.
Jim Rediske took the first-place
trophy and a kit from Sig for his efforts.
He flies indoors at a golf dome at home in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With his wife
Bonnie calling for him, he flew the
Demoiselle expertly around the patch of,
well, carpet to the win. Longtime Scale
competitors Skip Mast and Mike Gretz
finished second and third.
Food for the event was provided, and
a Subway dinner with cold drinks kept
everyone close to the event and airplanes
in the air all evening. It was a great time,
and many of the spectators who were
modelers are looking forward to next
year’s event at Ball State University in
Muncie.
I hope this gives you an idea of what
is possible with park flyers and indoor
Scale models. This form of modeling is in
its infancy and growing all the time. It’s a
lot of fun, and sometimes you have to
laugh at yourself. Indoor flying can be
humbling—walls come up quickly—but
try it; you might enjoy the challenge.
For Scale indoor rules, blank score
sheets, and upcoming events, check out
www.nasascale.org.
Around Scale: England’s John
Thompson—the prolific modeler who
really likes electric-powered floatplanes
and flying boats—sent a photo of his
Avro 539 Falcon biplane. The forward
fuselage and wings are silver-gray, and
the tail is bright red.
The scale floats are natural-wood
finished. The 34-inch-wingspan model is
built from spruce and balsa and covered
in Solarfilm. John fabricated the floats
and covered them with 0.5mm plywood.
He constructed the float struts from 5⁄16-
inch Streamline aluminum tubing.
The Avro is powered by a Typhoon
Micro 15 brushless motor driving a 9 x 6
wood propeller. John uses an eight-cell
Sanyo 600 mA Stubbies battery pack.
The model uses a three-channel micro
radio system, and its all-up weight with
batteries is 28 ounces.
Roy Chadwick designed the full-scale
airplane, and it was built during the
summer of 1919 at A.V. Roe & Co.’s
Factory in Hamble, England, for the 1919
Schneider Trophy Race. Prerace trials by
pilot Captain H. Hamersley were not
promising, and the Falcon was kept as a
reserve aircraft.
The Avro 539 was a small, single-seat,
twin-float biplane with wood-and-metal
construction. It was powered by a 240-
horsepower Siddeley Puma six-cylinder,
direct-drive, water-cooled, in-line engine.
New Products: I received an update from
plans designer Don Smith, who has
published large-scale model plans for
years. Some of the “big names” in
competition and the International
Miniature Aircraft Association type of
modelers use his plans regularly. He has drawn
the Westland Whirlwind, which was a British
World War II twin-engine fighter.
The Whirlwind model is 1⁄5 scale, has a
108-inch wingspan, and is 79 inches long.
Parts are available with plastic canopy and
fiberglass cowls. This would make a great
electric-powered Scale model, don’t you think?
For more information about this aircraft,
contact Don Smith Plans at 7445 Texas Tr.,
Boca Raton FL 33487; Tel.: (561) 989-9113,
or log on to www.donsmithplans.com.
Bookshelf: Nakajima Ki-27 “Nate” by
Leszek A. Wieliczko and Zygmunt Szeremeta,
is a new book published by Kagero (ISBN 83-
89088-51-7). It is written in Polish and
English. It’s rare to find a book that so
completely documents an aircraft type, such as
this one does. There is documentation from
the front to the back of this softcover book.
Including the extensive scale drawings,
there are 126 pages. Many books in this series
include 1⁄72- and 1⁄48-scale decals; this volume
has the 1⁄72-scale size. There are 15 pages of
color side plates and the front cover for
documentation purposes. Color chips are not
included in this great book about a littleknown
aircraft.
This whole line of books is available from
Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Dr.,
Carrollton TX 75011; Tel.: (972) 242-8663;
Web site: www.squadron.com. Nakajima Ki-
27 “Nate” is available for $22.46 plus
shipping. This is the only source for this series
of books, and Squadron has a wealth of others.
Although they are geared primarily toward
plastic models, this store and the books are
valuable sources of information. The Polish
books are some of the best in the world for
scale documentation that I’ve seen, and I
highly recommend them for whatever project
on which you might be working.
Fair skies and tailwinds. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/03
Page Numbers: 93,94,96,98
THE 2004 SCALE National
Championships was the event. The Horizon
Convention Center in downtown Muncie,
Indiana, was the place. After all of the static
judging was completed on a Friday, the
event hall was turned over to the Scale
indoor RC event. It was flown according to
proposed rules that became official in 2005.
There were two classes flown in this
low-key and fun category: Sport Scale and
Fun Scale. There are numerous models on
the market that can compete in the Scale
indoor RC Fun Scale class. I selected the
Fokker D.VII from Sig Manufacturing.
This airplane features all-foam
construction and comes prepainted, and
assembly is quick. A photo-illustrated
construction booklet with detailed directions
makes it simple, even for those who have
never built a model.
I made changes to detail the Fokker a bit,
but I had to be careful of the weight
increase. So for the most part I used an
artist’s pen and watercolor paints from Wal-
Mart, with which I painted the guns, struts,
tires, cockpit combing, and other small
details. Using the pen, I added simulated rib
tapes on the upper and lower wings. I didn’t
add the handholds on the side of the
fuselage or other small items, but I can do
that later.
This being my first indoor RC model, I
sort of bounced it around the area and then
March 2005 93
Stan Alexander, 3709 Valley Ridge Dr., Nashville TN 37211; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL SCALE
Tom Poole built his 35-inch-span Cessna 180 from a Mountain
Models kit. It is covered with Solite. Ben Lanterman photo.
Greg Hahn’s profile B-17F “Memphis Belle” from the Roadkill kit
placed first in Fun Scale. Lanterman photo.
Jim Rediske performs maintenance on the Demoiselle that he built from a Sig
Manufacturing kit. He won Sport Scale class with this model. Lanterman photo.
B-17’s underside shows how Greg has
radio gear mounted and bomb load. Note
wires linked to ailerons—uses one
microservo.did manage to put in a good flight. It’s a
new challenge for those of us who are
more used to the outdoor Scale arena and
boring holes in the sky with a sport model.
Tom Poole of the Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, area came to compete in two
classes with his scratch-built Bellanca
1916 Tractor Biplane and a Cessna 180
that he built from a Mountain Models kit.
The Bellanca has a wingspan of 33.5
inches on the top wing and 30 inches on
the bottom wing. It has a total of 330
square inches of wing area, and its total
all-up weight with the battery pack is 8.5
ounces.
Tom uses a DC-1717 motor bolted to
an 11.8:1 gear reduction unit and flies the
model including rise-off-ground with a 9 x
6 APC propeller. He covered the model
with silver and white Litespan.
Tom detailed the biplane with
handmade decals from a logo off of the
Internet. He added rolled toilet paper for
cockpit combing and used hollow plastic
tires to reduce weight but keep the model
scale. All of the controls are pull-pull.
He had the only successful scratch-built
model at the contest, and he finished fourth
in Sport Scale with it.
Tom Poole and his scratch-built 1916 Bellanca Tractor Biplane. It
has a beautiful finish and weighs only 8.5 ounces. John Thompson scratch-built his 1919 Avro 539 Falcon
I had never heard of the company from
which Tom purchased his Cessna 180 kit,
but you can check out the Web site at
www.mountainmodels.com. The full-scale
aircraft was designed for rough fields,
backcountry flying, and hauling.
This model spans 35 inches, weighs
just more than 8 ounces, and is powered
by the GWS DXA motor. All parts are
laser-cut, and the kit includes wheels,
pushrods, and gear. Tom used a sevencell
350 NiMH battery for power and
control.
He finished third in Fun Scale with the
Cessna, but the flights kept improving as
the event progressed. Look out for this
Cessna the next time around.
Longtime Scale modeler Greg Hahn
came to compete with a DJ Aerotech
Roadkill-series model of a B-17F: the
“Memphis Belle.” The little model was
powered by four electric motors, and
Greg had the ailerons working as well as
the bomb bay, dropping bombs on the
judging team of Hal and Gary Parenti.
Greg won Fun Scale with the B-17
and some smooth flights. It goes to show
what you can do with a simple kit. He
flew the model as smoothly as he does his
“wet-powered” Scale models, and the
takeoffs and landings were beautiful.
Sport Scale was combined Sportsman
and Expert, and the class was a
Demoiselle onslaught. There were three
in the category, and they finished first,
second, and third.
Jim Rediske took the first-place
trophy and a kit from Sig for his efforts.
He flies indoors at a golf dome at home in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With his wife
Bonnie calling for him, he flew the
Demoiselle expertly around the patch of,
well, carpet to the win. Longtime Scale
competitors Skip Mast and Mike Gretz
finished second and third.
Food for the event was provided, and
a Subway dinner with cold drinks kept
everyone close to the event and airplanes
in the air all evening. It was a great time,
and many of the spectators who were
modelers are looking forward to next
year’s event at Ball State University in
Muncie.
I hope this gives you an idea of what
is possible with park flyers and indoor
Scale models. This form of modeling is in
its infancy and growing all the time. It’s a
lot of fun, and sometimes you have to
laugh at yourself. Indoor flying can be
humbling—walls come up quickly—but
try it; you might enjoy the challenge.
For Scale indoor rules, blank score
sheets, and upcoming events, check out
www.nasascale.org.
Around Scale: England’s John
Thompson—the prolific modeler who
really likes electric-powered floatplanes
and flying boats—sent a photo of his
Avro 539 Falcon biplane. The forward
fuselage and wings are silver-gray, and
the tail is bright red.
The scale floats are natural-wood
finished. The 34-inch-wingspan model is
built from spruce and balsa and covered
in Solarfilm. John fabricated the floats
and covered them with 0.5mm plywood.
He constructed the float struts from 5⁄16-
inch Streamline aluminum tubing.
The Avro is powered by a Typhoon
Micro 15 brushless motor driving a 9 x 6
wood propeller. John uses an eight-cell
Sanyo 600 mA Stubbies battery pack.
The model uses a three-channel micro
radio system, and its all-up weight with
batteries is 28 ounces.
Roy Chadwick designed the full-scale
airplane, and it was built during the
summer of 1919 at A.V. Roe & Co.’s
Factory in Hamble, England, for the 1919
Schneider Trophy Race. Prerace trials by
pilot Captain H. Hamersley were not
promising, and the Falcon was kept as a
reserve aircraft.
The Avro 539 was a small, single-seat,
twin-float biplane with wood-and-metal
construction. It was powered by a 240-
horsepower Siddeley Puma six-cylinder,
direct-drive, water-cooled, in-line engine.
New Products: I received an update from
plans designer Don Smith, who has
published large-scale model plans for
years. Some of the “big names” in
competition and the International
Miniature Aircraft Association type of
modelers use his plans regularly. He has drawn
the Westland Whirlwind, which was a British
World War II twin-engine fighter.
The Whirlwind model is 1⁄5 scale, has a
108-inch wingspan, and is 79 inches long.
Parts are available with plastic canopy and
fiberglass cowls. This would make a great
electric-powered Scale model, don’t you think?
For more information about this aircraft,
contact Don Smith Plans at 7445 Texas Tr.,
Boca Raton FL 33487; Tel.: (561) 989-9113,
or log on to www.donsmithplans.com.
Bookshelf: Nakajima Ki-27 “Nate” by
Leszek A. Wieliczko and Zygmunt Szeremeta,
is a new book published by Kagero (ISBN 83-
89088-51-7). It is written in Polish and
English. It’s rare to find a book that so
completely documents an aircraft type, such as
this one does. There is documentation from
the front to the back of this softcover book.
Including the extensive scale drawings,
there are 126 pages. Many books in this series
include 1⁄72- and 1⁄48-scale decals; this volume
has the 1⁄72-scale size. There are 15 pages of
color side plates and the front cover for
documentation purposes. Color chips are not
included in this great book about a littleknown
aircraft.
This whole line of books is available from
Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Dr.,
Carrollton TX 75011; Tel.: (972) 242-8663;
Web site: www.squadron.com. Nakajima Ki-
27 “Nate” is available for $22.46 plus
shipping. This is the only source for this series
of books, and Squadron has a wealth of others.
Although they are geared primarily toward
plastic models, this store and the books are
valuable sources of information. The Polish
books are some of the best in the world for
scale documentation that I’ve seen, and I
highly recommend them for whatever project
on which you might be working.
Fair skies and tailwinds. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/03
Page Numbers: 93,94,96,98
THE 2004 SCALE National
Championships was the event. The Horizon
Convention Center in downtown Muncie,
Indiana, was the place. After all of the static
judging was completed on a Friday, the
event hall was turned over to the Scale
indoor RC event. It was flown according to
proposed rules that became official in 2005.
There were two classes flown in this
low-key and fun category: Sport Scale and
Fun Scale. There are numerous models on
the market that can compete in the Scale
indoor RC Fun Scale class. I selected the
Fokker D.VII from Sig Manufacturing.
This airplane features all-foam
construction and comes prepainted, and
assembly is quick. A photo-illustrated
construction booklet with detailed directions
makes it simple, even for those who have
never built a model.
I made changes to detail the Fokker a bit,
but I had to be careful of the weight
increase. So for the most part I used an
artist’s pen and watercolor paints from Wal-
Mart, with which I painted the guns, struts,
tires, cockpit combing, and other small
details. Using the pen, I added simulated rib
tapes on the upper and lower wings. I didn’t
add the handholds on the side of the
fuselage or other small items, but I can do
that later.
This being my first indoor RC model, I
sort of bounced it around the area and then
March 2005 93
Stan Alexander, 3709 Valley Ridge Dr., Nashville TN 37211; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL SCALE
Tom Poole built his 35-inch-span Cessna 180 from a Mountain
Models kit. It is covered with Solite. Ben Lanterman photo.
Greg Hahn’s profile B-17F “Memphis Belle” from the Roadkill kit
placed first in Fun Scale. Lanterman photo.
Jim Rediske performs maintenance on the Demoiselle that he built from a Sig
Manufacturing kit. He won Sport Scale class with this model. Lanterman photo.
B-17’s underside shows how Greg has
radio gear mounted and bomb load. Note
wires linked to ailerons—uses one
microservo.did manage to put in a good flight. It’s a
new challenge for those of us who are
more used to the outdoor Scale arena and
boring holes in the sky with a sport model.
Tom Poole of the Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, area came to compete in two
classes with his scratch-built Bellanca
1916 Tractor Biplane and a Cessna 180
that he built from a Mountain Models kit.
The Bellanca has a wingspan of 33.5
inches on the top wing and 30 inches on
the bottom wing. It has a total of 330
square inches of wing area, and its total
all-up weight with the battery pack is 8.5
ounces.
Tom uses a DC-1717 motor bolted to
an 11.8:1 gear reduction unit and flies the
model including rise-off-ground with a 9 x
6 APC propeller. He covered the model
with silver and white Litespan.
Tom detailed the biplane with
handmade decals from a logo off of the
Internet. He added rolled toilet paper for
cockpit combing and used hollow plastic
tires to reduce weight but keep the model
scale. All of the controls are pull-pull.
He had the only successful scratch-built
model at the contest, and he finished fourth
in Sport Scale with it.
Tom Poole and his scratch-built 1916 Bellanca Tractor Biplane. It
has a beautiful finish and weighs only 8.5 ounces. John Thompson scratch-built his 1919 Avro 539 Falcon
I had never heard of the company from
which Tom purchased his Cessna 180 kit,
but you can check out the Web site at
www.mountainmodels.com. The full-scale
aircraft was designed for rough fields,
backcountry flying, and hauling.
This model spans 35 inches, weighs
just more than 8 ounces, and is powered
by the GWS DXA motor. All parts are
laser-cut, and the kit includes wheels,
pushrods, and gear. Tom used a sevencell
350 NiMH battery for power and
control.
He finished third in Fun Scale with the
Cessna, but the flights kept improving as
the event progressed. Look out for this
Cessna the next time around.
Longtime Scale modeler Greg Hahn
came to compete with a DJ Aerotech
Roadkill-series model of a B-17F: the
“Memphis Belle.” The little model was
powered by four electric motors, and
Greg had the ailerons working as well as
the bomb bay, dropping bombs on the
judging team of Hal and Gary Parenti.
Greg won Fun Scale with the B-17
and some smooth flights. It goes to show
what you can do with a simple kit. He
flew the model as smoothly as he does his
“wet-powered” Scale models, and the
takeoffs and landings were beautiful.
Sport Scale was combined Sportsman
and Expert, and the class was a
Demoiselle onslaught. There were three
in the category, and they finished first,
second, and third.
Jim Rediske took the first-place
trophy and a kit from Sig for his efforts.
He flies indoors at a golf dome at home in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With his wife
Bonnie calling for him, he flew the
Demoiselle expertly around the patch of,
well, carpet to the win. Longtime Scale
competitors Skip Mast and Mike Gretz
finished second and third.
Food for the event was provided, and
a Subway dinner with cold drinks kept
everyone close to the event and airplanes
in the air all evening. It was a great time,
and many of the spectators who were
modelers are looking forward to next
year’s event at Ball State University in
Muncie.
I hope this gives you an idea of what
is possible with park flyers and indoor
Scale models. This form of modeling is in
its infancy and growing all the time. It’s a
lot of fun, and sometimes you have to
laugh at yourself. Indoor flying can be
humbling—walls come up quickly—but
try it; you might enjoy the challenge.
For Scale indoor rules, blank score
sheets, and upcoming events, check out
www.nasascale.org.
Around Scale: England’s John
Thompson—the prolific modeler who
really likes electric-powered floatplanes
and flying boats—sent a photo of his
Avro 539 Falcon biplane. The forward
fuselage and wings are silver-gray, and
the tail is bright red.
The scale floats are natural-wood
finished. The 34-inch-wingspan model is
built from spruce and balsa and covered
in Solarfilm. John fabricated the floats
and covered them with 0.5mm plywood.
He constructed the float struts from 5⁄16-
inch Streamline aluminum tubing.
The Avro is powered by a Typhoon
Micro 15 brushless motor driving a 9 x 6
wood propeller. John uses an eight-cell
Sanyo 600 mA Stubbies battery pack.
The model uses a three-channel micro
radio system, and its all-up weight with
batteries is 28 ounces.
Roy Chadwick designed the full-scale
airplane, and it was built during the
summer of 1919 at A.V. Roe & Co.’s
Factory in Hamble, England, for the 1919
Schneider Trophy Race. Prerace trials by
pilot Captain H. Hamersley were not
promising, and the Falcon was kept as a
reserve aircraft.
The Avro 539 was a small, single-seat,
twin-float biplane with wood-and-metal
construction. It was powered by a 240-
horsepower Siddeley Puma six-cylinder,
direct-drive, water-cooled, in-line engine.
New Products: I received an update from
plans designer Don Smith, who has
published large-scale model plans for
years. Some of the “big names” in
competition and the International
Miniature Aircraft Association type of
modelers use his plans regularly. He has drawn
the Westland Whirlwind, which was a British
World War II twin-engine fighter.
The Whirlwind model is 1⁄5 scale, has a
108-inch wingspan, and is 79 inches long.
Parts are available with plastic canopy and
fiberglass cowls. This would make a great
electric-powered Scale model, don’t you think?
For more information about this aircraft,
contact Don Smith Plans at 7445 Texas Tr.,
Boca Raton FL 33487; Tel.: (561) 989-9113,
or log on to www.donsmithplans.com.
Bookshelf: Nakajima Ki-27 “Nate” by
Leszek A. Wieliczko and Zygmunt Szeremeta,
is a new book published by Kagero (ISBN 83-
89088-51-7). It is written in Polish and
English. It’s rare to find a book that so
completely documents an aircraft type, such as
this one does. There is documentation from
the front to the back of this softcover book.
Including the extensive scale drawings,
there are 126 pages. Many books in this series
include 1⁄72- and 1⁄48-scale decals; this volume
has the 1⁄72-scale size. There are 15 pages of
color side plates and the front cover for
documentation purposes. Color chips are not
included in this great book about a littleknown
aircraft.
This whole line of books is available from
Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Dr.,
Carrollton TX 75011; Tel.: (972) 242-8663;
Web site: www.squadron.com. Nakajima Ki-
27 “Nate” is available for $22.46 plus
shipping. This is the only source for this series
of books, and Squadron has a wealth of others.
Although they are geared primarily toward
plastic models, this store and the books are
valuable sources of information. The Polish
books are some of the best in the world for
scale documentation that I’ve seen, and I
highly recommend them for whatever project
on which you might be working.
Fair skies and tailwinds. MA