RC Combat
Greg Rose, 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond OK 73003
RC Combat Tournament of Champions (TOC)
Another first for Radio Control (RC) Combat is coming up: the RC Combat Tournament of Champions Invitational event (TOC) to be held at AMA Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana.
Hosted by the nearby Richmond Propbusters, one of the first clubs to begin flying Scale RC Combat, this "must-see" two-day event is scheduled for the weekend of October 6–7, 2001.
The top 20 RC Combat pilots, chosen from the Radio Control Combat Association (RCCA) national points standings and regional Nationals (Nats) winners, will battle for top honors in the event, which promises to be packed with action.
Nineteen of the fliers have been selected; the final slot is reserved for the winner of the 2001 RC Combat Nats (to be determined this summer).
- James Bodnar
- Mark Cater
- Rick Fraley
- Mike Frederick
- Scott Grimes
- Jeff Harvey
- Ronald Horton Jr.
- Mark McCool
- Earl Nester
- Andy Panconillo
- Neal Rohrke
- Michael Ryan
- Earl Seaholm
- Chris Shepherd
- Tim Sparks
- Daniel Vaught
- Jerry Virmig
- Jeff Weiss
- Tanner Woodcock
You can check for up-to-the-minute details about the RC Combat TOC at the Richmond Propbusters web site, www.propbusters.net, or link to the site through the RCCA web site at www.rccombat.com.
Misery in Missouri (Smithville, MO)
I have some great photos from the Second Annual Misery in Missouri contest in Smithville, MO.
Hosted by the Smithville Dam Busters flying club, the location is a beautiful flying site with a large, gently sloping field that reaches down to the lake at the Smithville Reservoir Recreation Area.
The two-day event featured Scale Combat the first day and Open Combat events the second day. I attended the second day to fly in Class B Open, and soon learned that the event was going to live up to its name.
Sustained winds of 29 mph, with occasional higher gusts coming from directly behind the flightline, made each launch a challenge. The high winds constantly pushed the airplanes—and occasionally fluttering debris—toward the lake. One of the tough lessons learned that day: Disobedients float and Penetrators don't!
The group photo for the Open event shows (left to right, standing):
- Rick Smith
- Mike Yearley (flew his JDB Aerotech F-4F Wildcat for most of the Open meet)
- Contest Director Wes Parmenter
- Mel Sadler
- Tom Wild
- Brad Pankoke
- Doug Goldman
- Gary Himes
- Jeff Smith
- Dale Beck
- Rick McQueeny (who was nice enough to hold my Derelict—the one with the cow-inspired paint job—while I snapped the photo)
Kneeling in front (left to right) are:
- Rick Miller
- William Crane
- Tim Tong
One photo shows Rick Miller of Omaha, NE with his own Penetrator design, which performed very well in the air. However, high winds, bad luck, and a critical lack of water resulted in not one but two of Rick's Penetrators sinking to the bottom of Smithville Lake before they could be retrieved. Some days you just can't buy a break.
On the opposite end of the luck spectrum, Dave McDonald of Eldon, MO had a great day and flew a fantastic round with his Predator, with three cuts in a single round! A picture shows how the brisk wind didn't let any of Dave's streamers touch the ground.
Also visible in the photo is the impact of sticky wings on Open Combat. Several fliers at the event chose to fly with sticky leading edges, and streamers were definitely up as a result.
Finishing first in Saturday's Scale event was Neal Rohrke of Waverly, NE. Finishing first in the Open event were A. J. Stachon (who somehow avoided getting in the photo) and Dave McDonald.
Despite the winds—and unfortunate problems with buoyancy—the meet was a good time, and I am sure everyone will be looking forward to next year's Misery in Missouri.
Manufacturing News
J.K. Aerotech (10800 SE Orient Dr., Boring OR 97009; Tel: (503) 663-0464) has introduced a new Scale Combat design: the MIC-3.
- Construction: J.K. Aerotech's "tape over form" construction for the fuselage and the wing; tail is Dacron/ply.
- Build: Simple and quick construction.
- Dimensions: 36-inch wingspan, 28½ inches long.
- Power/setup: Prototype was powered by a Norvel .25 and carried two standard servos and one receiver with a 350 mA battery.
- Weight: Two pounds, four ounces.
- Airfoil: Uses the popular E-205 airfoil on the outboard wing.
Added to the P-51D, the F4U Corsair, the A6M Zero, and the Fw 190 already offered, the MIC-3 and the soon-to-be-released P-47 bring J.K. Aerotech's Scale Combat offering up to six kits.
I've been promised a photo of the MIC-3 for the next column, but you can see a picture of the kit on J.K. Aerotech's web page: www.jkaerotech.com.
Waverly RC (P.O. Box 140, St. Waverly, NE 68462; Tel: (402) 866-2609; Website: www.waverlyrc.com) is now the exclusive importer of RS Aircombat kits from the Czech Republic.
Waverly RC offers three RS Aircombat kits:
- N-2 (48-inch span; weighs slightly less than three pounds when powered by a Norvel .25)
- Hawker Typhoon (44-inch span; weighs roughly 2½ pounds)
- Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9
Kit features:
- Full fiberglass fuselages with molded-in vertical tails.
- Wings are all foam pre-sheeted with 1/16 balsa.
- Horizontal tail is all balsa construction.
Since the kits were designed for Scale RC Combat in Europe, attention to scale size and detail is excellent. Because of the high degree of fiberglass fabrication, these kits build very quickly.
In the last column I mentioned that Zig's Originals is no longer producing kits. Right after I sent that column in, Zig's Originals called to tell me that it will offer replacement vacuum-formed cowls and canopies for its kits that are out there. "I'm not going to be sending anything overnight anymore, but if they need a replacement part they can contact me," said the owner. You can contact Kurt Ziegler by e-mail or call him at (606) 249-4480.
Two other changes occurred after the previous column was published:
- SPAD (Simple Plastic Airplane Designs) has a new web site address: www.spad.org.
- Warlord Ltd. has a new telephone number: (918) 780-1248 for information about any of its fiberglass Combat kits.
That's all for now. Until next time, fly safe, fly Combat, and be sure to check your skid lugs.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
