Researching the history of CL Combat - 201209

It is unfortunate that the early pioneers of CL Combat are now senior citizens or
have passed away. I don’t know of any documents, books, or magazines that tell
what it was like in those early years.
In 2000 while in Landres, France, Jean-Bernard Morelle presented me with a
spiral-bound book, titled Le Combat en Vol Circulaire Histoire de 1889 á 1995. I
regret that I never learned to read French, so most of the book is undecipherable
to me. There are, however, some parts that are copies from English model aviation
magazines.
From an issue of Model Airplane News, there is an article about Shirley Austin
beating the boys in the Senior class using a model called the Half Fast, which pulled
a streamer at 76.8 mph.
Larry Scarinzi’s Greased Lightning design appeared in the June 1956 issue of
Flying Models. Larry is pictured in full military uniform holding his creation. Larry
also designed the Blitz and the Super Satan in collaboration with Carl Goldberg.
Jean-Bernard’s book contains the plans for “Wild” Bill Netzeband’s FAI Splinter
design, which was powered by a Cox Tee Dee .15 engine.
P.S. Richardson wrote extensively for Aero Modeller magazine in the United
Kingdom and Jean-Bernard includes an excerpt which states that Combat in the UK
began in approximately the mid-1950s.
A tremendous amount of time and effort went into this book, which includes
articles from a variety of sources, and engine and model advertisements of the time
period. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you how to obtain a copy.
Message Received
Marvin Denny from Wichita, Kansas, spoke with me about my column on fueldelivery
systems. I remember seeing Marvin fly models at many AMA Nats, along
with Mike
Tallman, Greg
Hissem, and
Marvin’s son, David.
In 1979, Marvin was the AMA
National Champion for Fast Combat
at the tender age of 48. He was flying a
design called the Stinger, which used a
boxed-in tail section. This Kansas group
always had fast, reliable equipment,
indicating that club members spent
many hours tuning engines and
trimming models.
Marvin told me that the first time he
saw Combat was during intermission at
a 1946 stock car race in Childress, Texas.
The models used were called Flying
Box Cars and were powered by ignition
engines. He said Pat Massey was one of
the pilots.
Marvin began flying Combat in Fort
Worth, Texas, in 1952, using Fox and
K&B engines and a crankcase pressure
system. He also spent time in Amarillo
and Lubbock, Texas. Marvin was a
contemporary of Riley Wooten and the
6-foot, 8-inch Carl Berryman.
Carl’s Oklahoma Twister design was
published in the October 1960 issue
of American Modeler. His elliptical
Phantasy design also was published years
later.
Riley is the designer of the Demon,
(Model Airplane News, August 1964),
Sneeker, VooDoo, and several others—
including early foam wing designs such
as his Vampire. When either Riley or
Carl entered the competition, all Marvin
could hope for was to finish in third
place.
Marvin designed something called
the Flat Iron and the Big Iron in roughly
1973. The Big Iron was eventually
offered as a kit by VECO Models or
possibly Dumas. I remember seeing
those kits in hobby shops. I hope that someone
close to these Combat legends
will take the time to interview them,
and write down some of the history
before it is gone.
Although I have had the opportunity
to speak with Riley Wooten on many
occasions and listen to his stories, I did
not write them down. I will make it a
point to start collecting some of this
information in the future.
It would be interesting to list all of the
AMA Nats winners from the inaugural
event. The next time I am in Muncie,
Indiana, I will see if I can go through the
archives in search of this information.
Combat at the World Championships
The fi rst time Combat was included
in a CL World Championships was at
Woodvale in the United Kingdom in
1978. The fi rst world champion was
Mick Tiernan of the UK. In second place
was Dave Wood, also of the UK. In third
place was Jean-Michel Fraisse of France.
The United States was represented
by Gary Frost, Chuck Rudner, and
Historical Combat kits were once easy to
nd
in any hobby shop. Several of these have the
designers’ autographs.
A blast from the
past: Howard Rush’s
Nemesis design,
powered by a Super
Tigre G2135.
than English would require translations.
The bibliography could also include
photos of the models and the authors.
If the compilation were published
electronically, it could include links to
entire articles.
MACA
I have mentioned in previous columns
that the Miniature Aircraft Combat
George Cleveland. Paul Smith traveled
to Woodvale with the Combat team as
well. Team USSR (the former Soviet
Union) was not present at this inaugural
event, but would certainly be heard
from in the years that followed.
I will have to go through my
collection of magazines to fi nd the
complete list of fi rst- through thirdplace
fi nishers from 1980 to the present,
along with the names of the US team
members. Our 2012 Combat Team of
Andrey Nadein,
Allen DeVeuve,
and Cary Minor
will be tuned
up and ready
to travel to
Bulgaria.
I expect that
they will all be
at this year’s
Nats. I will be
there to support
the team any
way I can.
Bibliography
It would be nice to see someone
create a compilation of all the Combatrelated
articles ever published, if it has
not yet been done.
I occasionally visit the eBay website
and see that Combat design plans on a
CD are always for sale.
Compiling Combat information
would be no easy task since it would
require reading through all of the
magazines, books, and annuals—both
domestic and foreign. The magazines
and journals written in languages other
than English would require translations.
The bibliography could also include
photos of the models and the authors.
If the compilation were published
electronically, it could include links to
entire articles.
MACA
I have mentioned in previous columns
that the Miniature Aircraft Combat
Association (MACA) was formed in 1974
and began publishing and distributing
newsletters that same year. The
organization later became the officially
recognized SIG for CL Combat.
MACA has gone through many
presidents, officers, and newsletter editors,
and now embraces modern technology
by distributing its newsletter online.
Perhaps the officers finally became tired
of collecting their salaries of $0 per year.
No matter how much you love
Combat and the organization, life gets in
the way and priorities and family needs
change. The changes always demand
more time and money.
If you have not joined MACA, make
sure that you do. Thank you, current
officers, and a special thanks to all who
have served the organization.