Radio Control Scale
Stan Alexander [[email protected]]
Notes from the OEAF RC Scale Fly-In
OCTOBER 22–23, 2005, the One Eighth Air Force in Phoenix, Arizona, held its OEAF RC Scale Fly-In. This 58th biannual event was one of the best, if not the best, in recent years. The days were warm, not hot, and the evenings were cool, as it should be in the desert. Wind wasn't a factor; it never blew faster than 5 mph.
Al Casey goes to events ready to stay for the duration with his Winnebago camper. He is one of the "working" members of the One Eighth Air Force. While he was unloading the camper with all the items for the auction, Bob Frey came up with the things that wouldn't fit in Al's Winnebago. Al was glad to get his workshop cleaned out, and other members brought items for the club auction too. He might be able to build some models now!
This year's fly-in was well attended, with more than 70 pilots and 100 airplanes. There were ARFs, which seem to be gaining popularity across the country, and many great scale models that were build-it-yourself types. Among them were a beautiful Tiger Moth, an F4F Wildcat, a P-39, and a Cessna Skymaster.
Friday night arrived quickly, and thanks to Marcia Frey and Al there was pizza, buffalo wings, and different types of refreshments at the field for everyone attending the event. The social aspects of a fly-in are one of the key elements of its success. Everyone seemed to enjoy the social mixer and the camaraderie of this group. Such scale contests across the country are where people form bonds that sometimes last a lifetime.
Saturday morning dawned with no clouds in the sky and just enough breeze; it made me want to go there next year! Kathy Powers was missed this year, but she needed some time off. The fly-in featured classes in which the winners received trophies. There was Best Military Flight, Best General Aviation Flight, Best Biplane/Multi-Wing Flight, Best Racer Flight, Young Eagle Awards (for pilots younger than 16), a Best Crash award, Pilots' Choice, People's Choice, and Commander's Choice.
A good idea is to let the spectators out on the flightline or to the center of the runway during a break—usually lunch. At this fly-in audience members were given ballots to select their three favorite airplanes and were allowed onto the runway for a close look at the models and to talk to the pilots and builders. This gets spectators involved in the event, and it might bring in new modelers.
One of the greatest things a club can do is get kids involved in learning to fly. After the runway walk, the flight area was cleared and three trainers were launched with buddy boxes. Kids in the spectator area who wanted to fly RC models did. This is done at the Scale Nats too, and it should be done everywhere.
Special thanks to Sam Wright with Specialties, Ray Hoffman, and many thanks to Al Casey for much of the information. If you are interested in participating in the upcoming Scale fly-in, contact Al Casey at [email protected]. The spring edition is scheduled for March 18–19 at Cave Buttes Dam flying site. The One Eighth Air Force has been organizing events such as this for many years and has it down. This club's continued success is a testament to that!
Awards — Fall Fly-In
Best Military Flight
- Ron Whitkowski's Top Flite P-47
- Al Mosher's Top Flite P-47
- (not listed)
Best General Aviation Flight
- Ren Solomon's J-3 Cub
- Mike Smith's Extra 330L
- Dennis Teason's Cessna Skymaster
Best Biplane/Multi-Wing Flight
- Chuck Brooks' WACO biplane
- Jim Morrow's de Havilland Tiger Moth
- Dave Linne's Goldberg Jungmeister
Best Racer Flight
- Jim Lynch's Brown racer "Miss Los Angeles"
- Lewie Kear's Shoestring
- R.J. Powers' P-51 "Miss America"
Young Eagle Awards
- Ren Solomon's J-3 Cub
- R.J. Powers' P-51 "Miss America"
- Jared Westlund's P-51
Pilots' Choice
- Chuck Brooks' WACO biplane
- Ken Perkins' Ryan PT-22
- Kent Walters' SBD-3 Dauntless
People's Choice
- Kent Walters' SBD-3 Dauntless
- Al Mosher's Top Flite P-47
- Tom Huening's P-38
Commander's Choice
- Dennis O'Connor's F4F Wildcat
Best Crash
- Curtis Kitteringham / Ren Solomon with the Decathlon
Super Stearman Update
After changing jobs and having our home's plumbing system go south on us in the last month, there hasn't been much time for activity in the shop. I have a friend who stripped the covering off his Great Planes Super Stearman, so I borrowed it and have photographs.
Looking at the construction you can see that it's traditional crutch-and-stringer, at least as I know it. The fuselage builders used three types of glue: epoxy, white glue, and cyanoacrylate. The parts fit together well, and the construction is executed as well as the MonoKote finish. The sheeting on the forward and upper deck caught my attention—notice the cuts and grain of the wood.
I've been impressed with the workmanship in the Stearman's parts construction, including the fuselage and wings, and especially the cabanes, "N" struts, and landing-gear fairings. The gear comes preformed, with the fairings in place and painted white to match the MonoKote covering and finish.
Bookshelf
Lindbergh: Flight's Enigmatic Hero (ISBN 0-15-100973-2) is by Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Curator Von Hardesty and published by Tehabi Books. This is what I call a coffee-table book, but it is much more than that; it includes the history of Lindbergh, his flights, and his accomplishments. There are 223 pages in this hardback. Most of the photos are black-and-white, but there are also some color pictures.
No three-views are included because the book isn't just about the Spirit of St. Louis, but more about the man who flew it. An interesting section in the back of the book, which you'll miss if you aren't careful, is "Further Reading." There are many works about Lindbergh, the Spirit of St. Louis, and many aspects of both.
Almost every model-plans producer has a replica of the Spirit of St. Louis in one size or another.
There is an interesting foldout in the middle of the book that features hour-by-hour records of Lindbergh's transatlantic flight and the events leading up to that historic event. These are dated for the reader.
For more information about this book, check your local book dealer or online dealers such as Historic Press or Zenith Press. The list price is $40.
Around Scale
Fred Novack of Vintage R/C Plans has a new and larger version of the Fairchild KR-21 biplane. It is built to 1/4 scale, weighs 18.5 pounds, and spans 82 inches.
Fred covered the model with Sig Koverall and finished it with nitrate clear dope to seal the Koverall. He used acrylic lacquers over Ditzler automotive primer. The Fairchild is powered by a Quadra 41 engine swinging an 18 x 10 Zinger propeller.
Fred will have plans available this spring for this version. He already has a 1/6-scale set of plans for the KR-21. For more information contact Vintage R/C Plans, 5105 Pine Hill Cir., Howell MI 48843; Tel.: (810) 227-1174; Web site: www.vintagercplans.com.
Scale World Championships
If you've always wanted to attend a Scale World Championships, this will be a great year to do so. Organizers the Swedish Model Flying Federation, in cooperation with the city of Norrköping, Sweden, will host the 19th championships.
The contest location will be the former Swedish Air Force Base F-13 at Bråvalla, west of Norrköping. Norrköping is located approximately 150 kilometers south of Stockholm. The contest dates—July 13–22—include the opening and closing ceremonies and the static and flight competition.
Accommodations vary from camping sites, to hostels, to hotels as we are used to here. Meal tickets are available for supporters as well as the teams.
U.S. Team Manager Lloyd Roberts has a package available for anyone interested in going and supporting our team. It includes the airfare from Chicago, Illinois; hotel; food; and transportation to and from the event. The estimated cost is $2,500 per person—for an almost two-week vacation in Sweden! In addition, tour buses will be available from the World Championships organizer. Contact Lloyd for more information at [email protected].
For more information about Sweden and the Scale World Championships, visit the official Web site at www.scaleworlds-in-sweden.se/program.htm. Also check out the international competition area of the National Association of Scale Aeromodellers site—www.nasascale.org—for more information about Team USA.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
