A preview of the 2013 Scale Nats
by Stan Alexander [email protected]
It is summer, or at least it will be by the time you read this. Attending the Nats or any Scale contest takes some thought and preparation. You must decide what you need to take for flying your model aircraft, along with your vacation necessities. Thank goodness full-size vans are still available!
You also need to plan your flight routine for whatever model you will compete with. All of the AMA Scale flight score sheets list 10 maneuvers—five are mandatory and five are optional. The maneuvers cover the entire spectrum of powered flight for fixed-wing aircraft.
Sample score sheets for the Scale Nats are available on the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) website. The website has plenty of information about the Nats, including updates and bulletins.
The NASA website has ideas for flight routines for contests or the Nats, and a list of sample flight routines for all RC Scale Nats events can be found on the MA website. Check the rules for the event you plan to attend in case there are some variations. These should all be explained in the contest flyer and on the club’s website. It’s not fun to arrive at your destination and discover that what you’ve planned and practiced isn’t allowed.
When you go to your local field with whatever you are flying—Sport, Pattern, fun-fly, or trainer—you can still practice your Scale flight maneuvers for an upcoming contest. The best scenario is having access to a local field that is large enough to fly your Scale model.
Use a call sheet with your flight plan on it and (if possible) a caller to help you keep up with what’s next. Some call sheets are simple and others are complicated depending on the aircraft being flown and the flight plan. Many of the top Scale modelers use the same caller for every flight, including practice flights.
One modeler who comes to mind is Terry Nitsch. His wife, Sheila, is with him during every flight, and keeps a detailed call sheet. She keeps him updated on where he is in the program, what’s next, and what gear/switch he needs next for that particular maneuver.
Callers are also required to help you and others stay safe on the flightline by telling you where hazards could occur, if you’re clear to take off, if other aircraft are flying, when it’s clear to land, when it’s okay to begin gear retracts, etc.
Nats Question I sometimes receive information that I want to share with everyone. One modeler asked me if a pilot with a complicated model could have a copilot at the Nats. The answer is no. It’s not allowed in Scale competition.
Mike Laible’s Don Smith B-24 Mike Laible sent me a few photos of his project, a Don Smith B-24. The model looks great, but the photos were all too low resolution to be printed in MA.
The model is a replica of a B-24 that flew out of the Eighth Air Force and 466th Bombardment Group in Attlebridge, England. It has a 146.3-inch wingspan and is powered by four O.S. 110 Alpha series four-stroke engines. There is more information on this model, but I’m going to wait and print that with some larger photos.
If you send digital photos, please make sure they are the highest resolution your camera is capable of. Small, low-resolution photographs will be blurry when enlarged. This is one huge and beautiful model. Look for Mike's B-24 at the Nats and in my next column.
RC Scale
Stan Alexander
New Projects
Last year, Jerry Bates sent me plans for a Cessna Airmaster to review. It's one of those airplanes that looks great if it has a good color scheme.
I have been searching for documentation for a Cessna and a Curtiss P-40. I visited the FAA's website, and with the help of Mike Welshans, found the N number for the aircraft. This led me to the owner's contact information, and a letter to him produced a treasure trove of information.
Jerry is re-covering the aircraft and sent me a swatch of fabric from the fuselage side that has all three colors on it. There are several photos of the aircraft on the Internet, but few that could work for me because they are copyrighted by the photographer.
This model will be 1/4 scale with a 102.3-inch wingspan, and weigh approximately 25 pounds. A DLE 30 or a G-26 will provide power. The required hardware is listed on the plans. After getting a few more bits and pieces, I will start working on the model.
It's always a good idea to build a kit with plans. I also found out (again) with the Pietenpol I'm building that sometimes you take two steps back before you can go one step forward!
Check out Jerry's website for more information about this and his many other designs. Some of these include the P-51 Mustang, P-40 Warhawk, F6F Hellcat, SB2C Helldiver, F8F Bearcat, Martin B-26, Yak-3, and Fokker D.XXI, as well as more obscure aircraft such as the Waco CG-4, which is a Hadrian glider from World War II.
Upcoming Events
I've written about the Mint Julep Scale Meet many times, held each May in Kentucky, but stop the press! The event has not only moved from Kentucky to southern Indiana, but the dates have changed.
The Mint Julep will be June 7-9 at the Ohio River View RC Flyers field, near Rosewood, Indiana. The site features two 600 x 50-foot runways. On-site camping is available at this U.S. Scale Masters Qualifier event. See "Sources" for contact information.
Fair skies and tail winds.
SOURCES:
NASA www.nasascale.org
AMA Nats www.modelaircraft.org/events/nats.aspx
Jerry Bates Plans [email protected] www.jbplans.com
Mint Julep [email protected] www.sircmm.com
U.S. Scale Masters Championships www.usscalemasters.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
