Radio Control Scale
Stan Alexander, 3709 Valley Ridge Dr., Nashville TN 37211; E-mail: [email protected]
THIS YEAR'S Scale Radio Control (RC) Nationals, held July 7-9, was special for several reasons. The weather cooperated for most of the time. The National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Nationals banquet. The Junior-class modelers participated with their families in record numbers, with five entries.
The Horizon Convention Center was again the center of activity for static judging as well as a model show for the public in and around the Muncie area. Scale RC Event Director Ed Terry took over this year for veteran Dale Arvin. The two AMA volunteers worked together to make this year's Nationals and the transition seamless. There was a steady stream of models in all classes for the judges to appreciate this year.
With the larger amount of family participation, the NASA banquet Monday night was very well attended. NASA celebrated a quarter century of being the AMA Special Interest Group representing all Scale competition. High static trophies supplied by PowerMaster fuel were awarded that night at Cardinal Hills Family Restaurant.
Dolly Wischer, Scale veteran and maker of the famous "Dolly Bears," attended the Nationals again this year. She sold almost all of the bears she had made for the summer contest circuit. One bear was raffled off among the wives and other ladies who attended and worked at the Nationals. All the money Dolly receives from bear sales goes to AMA as donations—except for $5, which goes back into the kitty for the next batch of bears.
We usually concentrate on the Expert and Designer classes in Nationals reports, but this year the Juniors and their supportive parents also deserve special focus. Without these young competitors and others like them, we will continue to become the "graying flightline."
Many contest directors and promoters have noticed this graying of the field and have taken action in various forms. One such supporter is Frank Tiano and his company FTE. Frank sponsored two modelers from the Sarasota R/C Squadron this year: twins Logan and Thomas Arbuckle. You can see these fine
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
