RADIO CONTROL SCALE - 2005/04
Stan Alexander 3709 Valley Ridge Dr., Nashville TN 37211 E-mail: [email protected]
Convention overview
My wife and I attended the AMA Convention 2005, January 7–9, in Ontario, California. Scale modeling was well represented on the West Coast with a variety of kit and part manufacturers.
The weather didn’t cooperate with the event — rain was the norm for the week — but that didn’t seem to affect the modelers and families who attended the show. There were good crowds Friday and much larger crowds Saturday and Sunday.
RC boats
The convention had the largest gathering of RC scale boats I’ve ever seen. Many kinds and scales were present, including World War II LCTs, submarines, paddle wheelers, and many others. The only type I didn’t see was an aircraft carrier. A large pool at one end of the convention site was used for boat and submarine demonstrations throughout the weekend.
Scale aircraft highlights
Scale aircraft peppered the event floor, including Lawrence Klingberg’s Bellanca Aircruiser known as the Flying “W.” It was covered with Solartex, painted with Rust-Oleum, and powered by a Quadra 400 engine. Lawrence constructed the model from Bellanca factory drawings in 1/6 scale. It took him a year to build, and he finished just a week before the show. The interior was completed with two pilots and full instruments and hardware. Lawrence took first place in the civilian Scale category.
Scale organizations and the Road Show
The Scale Squadron and the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) presented the Road Show, which has been popular at the Toledo, Ohio Weak Signals show. Volunteers from both organizations manned the booths and the Road Show during the weekend.
The Scale Squadron began in 1979 and founded the US Scale Masters Championships. The Southern California–based group holds the US Scale Masters Qualifier, Toys for Tots events, and T-6 races with the House of Balsa kit. For more information about the races, check the club’s website.
Scale Squadron members have been extremely active and remain movers and shakers in Scale competition across the country. The club presence at the show included:
- Bob Rosenlof (commander)
- Jim Reed
- Sam Wright
- Randy Wilbur
- Lawrence Klingberg
- Gary Holderness
- Nick Rivaldo
- Gordon Truax
- Rich Koehrer
- Don Aitken
Hobby People donated a Model Tech P-51 Mustang and a Magnum XL 70 four-stroke engine, and Airtronics donated an RD6000 computer-radio system for the raffle.
Road Show seminars
Some of the topics at this year’s Road Show were:
- “Retract Installations and Maintenance” — Sam Wright
- “Applying Fabric for Scale Aircraft” — Chip Mull
- “Rivets, Panel Lines, and Their Application” — Larry Wolfe
- “Scale Flight Routines” — Stan Alexander
These Scale seminars were the convention’s first, and attendance was encouraging.
Covering demonstration
One of the best visual presentations was when Chip Mull covered a horizontal stabilizer with the Stits Lite covering system. He used the tried-and-true method: brush on the adhesive, seal the surface, then shrink the fabric. Watching him, I realized it took no longer than a good MonoKote job. The cloth conforms to compound surfaces without excessive wrinkling, and the iron removes the wrinkles and colors quickly.
Chip used an electronically calibrated heat iron set to 350° to shrink the material and prepare it for Stits paint. He stated that this calibration is crucial because other irons can be off by 10°–15° with old-fashioned dial thermostats.
New and notable products
Dave Patrick Models is expanding its line with several new models, including a clipped-wing Piper PA-18 Super Cub with an 88-inch wingspan. The Super Cub line is available in several color schemes: red/white, blue/white, yellow/white, all white, and an “almost ready to cover” option. Other ARFs in the line (Ultimate, Extra 330L, Edge 540T) have similar choices.
Dave Patrick is also selling a new engine line, the DPM Blue Head: 1.35, 1.80, and 2.10, which resemble the Moki engines.
Dave Patrick Models and Airtronics sponsored the AMA Scholarship Fund raffle, which helps send some of our brightest young people to college each year.
Aerospace Composite Products showed a broad line of carbon-fiber tubes, laminates, and panels made from combinations such as fiberglass/foam, fiberglass/balsa, double fiber and balsa, fiberglass/Nomex, and fiberglass sheets. They also offer fiberglass cloth in different weights, sizes, and lengths — useful for fiberglassing wings or fuselages.
What caught my eye was the multitude of carbon-fiber items: extruded rods small and strong enough for indoor model wing spars, and solid carbon-fiber rods.
Jet Hangar Hobbies, a kit manufacturer with more than 30 years in the business, offers a variety of jets. If you think you can’t afford a jet, note that many of their smaller models can be flown at more fields. Example:
- Grumman F9F-8 Cougar: 56-inch length, 47-inch wingspan, priced at $550, designed for 5-inch ducted-fan systems or turbines.
Other jets available include the Mirage, A-4 Skyhawk, A-7D/E Corsair II, F-86 Sabre, F-4 Phantom, and F-15 Eagle. By adding retracts, a turbine, and other parts, you can build a turbine-powered scale jet for less than $4,000 and fly it at a local paved field instead of having to find an airport or an old military base.
Jet Hangar Hobbies also sells a semikit version of the C-130 Hercules. The big transport spans 12 feet and can be powered by .60–1.08 two-stroke or 120–150 four-stroke engines; retracts, spinners, and tires are sold separately.
One of the best sport-kit manufacturers is Bruce Tharpe Engineering. Bruce was an employee of Sig Manufacturing before branching out on his own. He produces excellent balsa/plywood kits for sport modelers and has hinted he is working on a Scale model. I hope so.
I recently finished a Bruce Tharpe Engineering Venture 60, a low-wing aerobatic sport model with a 72-inch wingspan that flies well on a .60 engine. Several other models are available; Bruce also ships a sport-jet kit.
Final notes
If you have the chance to attend a modeling show (or a mall show), I recommend it. Events such as the AMA Convention and the Weak Signals R/C Exposition (Toledo Show) offer discounts you won’t see any other time of year, and you get to see the latest products and services.
Fair skies and tailwinds. MA
Sources
- Dave Patrick Models
1811 E. 400 North Rd. Milford IL 60953 (815) 457-2938 www.davepatrickmodels.com
- Airtronics Inc.
1185 Stanford Ct. Anaheim CA 92805 (714) 978-1895 www.airtronics.net
- Scale Squadron
17 Via Anadeja Rancho Santa Margarita CA 92688 http://scalesquadron.tripod.com/
- NASA (National Association of Scale Aeromodelers)
Secretary/treasurer Bonnie Rediske 128 Darnley Dr. Moon Township PA 15108 www.nasascale.org
- Aerospace Composite Products
357 Stealth Ct. Livermore CA 94551 (925) 443-5900 Fax: (925) 443-5901 www.acpsales.com
- Jet Hangar Hobbies, Inc.
Box 1607 Hawaiian Gardens CA 90716 (562) 467-0260 Fax: (562) 467-0261 www.jethangar.com
- Bruce Tharpe Engineering
8622 E. Evans Creek Rd. Rogue River OR 97537 (800) 557-4470 www.btemodels.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
