Scale Championships - 2008/02

February 2008 25
BY STAN ALEXANDER
Richard Schneider competed in F4B with
his 56-inch-wingspan Piper J-3 Cub.
THIS IS A new contest, and it was open
only to AMA members. FAI Scale,
Aerobatics, Soaring, FF, etc. are flown
around the world. Contestants who make
the team that participates in the World
Championships have reached the pinnacle
of FAI Scale competition in the US.
The American team will travel to
Wloclawek, Poland, in July to represent
its country, AMA, its members’ clubs,
and their hometowns. It’s quite an honor
to participate in this international mix of
pilots for the Gold, Silver, or Bronze
medals and other awards in individual and
team categories.
AMA has wanted a stand-alone team
selection for sometime. The US FAI Scale
team has been determined at the Nats the
past several times, and usually with a fair
amount of competitors.
Much of the participation at the team
The US team selection for the 2008 Scale
World Championships paid out big money
Chuck Snyder entered his scratch-built Henschel Hs 129 in F4B. It
is a well-documented World War II tank buster.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 9:53 AM Page 2526 MODEL AVIATION
Jack Buckley’s D.H.82A Tiger Moth was built from plans off of
the old Duncan Huston kit, which hasn’t been produced for
several years.
The radiator on Dave Johnson’s Albatros is located on the top
center wing. The full-scale radiator’s location varied depending on
the aircraft version.
Chuck Snyder uses a transmitter system that sends its signal
through the lines to control his Henschel’s mechanical
functions.
Left: Twin machine guns swing up
from their cover for action in Al
Kretz’s SBD, which he flew in F4C.
Notice the radio headset and safety
harness, rivet details, and slidingcanopy
panels.
Below: Al Kretz (L) and Dave Johnson
show off their trophies, provided by
Airborne Media, and Dave’s slightly
oversized $2,000 check for his F4C
win. Al placed third.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:01 AM Page 26February 2008 27
Dale Campbell’s seemingly simple F4B-class Spacewalker has many realistic small touches. Inset: In addition to the engine and cowling
detail, shown, the model features full cockpit details, which are necessary for maximum points.
The Henschel’s thick windscreen is part of the pilot area’s
bulletproof tub.
Steven Couch competed in F4B with his scratch-built S.E.5a.
Notice the detail work on its radiator grill and the propeller hub.
Photos by the author
selection depends on where the World
Championships will be held the following
year. There was better than average turnout
when it was to be held in Canada.
The first biennial USA FAI Scale
Championships was held the weekend of
September 20-23 at the International
Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
It offered a prize purse of $10,000, which
the National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers (NASA) was able to award
because of a generous gift to FAI Scale. A
total of $5,000 per class—F4B (CL Scale)
and F4C (RC Scale)—was distributed at
the end of the competition.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 11:57 AM Page 2728 MODEL AVIATION
Jack Buckley brings
his de Havilland
Tiger Moth in for a
landing during F4C
competition.
Chuck Snyder’s Hs
129 spans 76 inches
and is powered by two
Thunder Tiger .46
engines.
Al Kretz built his Douglas SBD Dauntless from Jerry Bates plans. A Saito 2.70 twin engine powers the big World War II bomber.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:09 AM Page 28February 2008 29
Allen Goff flew his classic WACO YMF-5 in F4B. The model
spans 48 inches, uses a Saito .91 engine, and is finished with
Brodak paint.
This event was Mike MacCarthy’s first FAI Scale competition. He
competed in F4B with his Grumman S-2 water tanker.
Dale Campbell (L) receives his $2,000 F4B winnings from Event
Director Mike Welshans. Dale donated his prize money to the FAI
Scale Team Fund.
Steven Couch’s S.E.5a took first place in CL Scale at the 2007 Scale National Championships in Muncie IN.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 12:08 PM Page 2930 MODEL AVIATION
Dave Johnson’s scratch-built, 1/3-scale Albatros D.III spans 118 inches. The German fighter
model weighs just less than 33 pounds and is powered by a Zenoah G-62 engine.
Mike Slaughter, Fred Gregg, and George Buso examine the documentation for Mike
MacCarthy’s Grumman S-2. Note the large number of photos.
The Team USA members who are going to Poland in 2008 (L-R): Dale Campbell,
Richard Schneider, Chuck Snyder, Jack Buckley, Dave Johnson, and Al Kretz.
Static judging was held Thursday after
everyone checked in at the L-Pad pavilion
on the AMA site. F4B and F4C classes
were scored at this location by three judge
teams.
The FAI Scale rules for flight are so
similar to those for the many types of
AMA Scale competition that one may
wonder why there seems to be such a
stigma about competing in FAI Scale in
the US. The one main difference is the K,
or difficulty, factors in flight and static
scoring.
The K factors are weighted so that the
competitor is rewarded a possible higher
number for more difficult maneuvers such
as Takeoff, Landing, or Figure Eight. The
judges’ score is multiplied by a higher K
factor for those maneuvers. A pilot who
receives an 8 for a Takeoff, which has a K
factor of 9, will receive a score of 72.00
points. Many contestants will practice
only the Takeoff and Landing to nail
them.
In RC Scale your model can take off
into the wind as long as it doesn’t cause a
safety problem. A great thing is that there
are never more than two airplanes in the
air at the same time, and there is usually
one unless the contest is huge.
Static judging is where the main
difference between FAI and AMA Scale
can be found. This is where you have to
prove what you’ve done. You are allowed
to compete with three photos of the fullscale
aircraft you modeled, but you need
many more to place, to show your work
and craftsmanship in building and
detailing.
Presenting a good set of three-views
and paint chips helps. There are plenty of
sources for paint chips, including the
federal government. Make your
documentation presentation easy to follow
so the judges can complete their tasks
quickly.
Modelers who tried out for the F4B
team brought a variety of aircraft types.
There was everything from World War I
biplanes to multiengine aircraft.
Richard Schneider brought his simple
J-3 Cub, which was built as a clippedwing,
aerobatic version. It spanned 56
inches and was powered by an Enya 46
four-stroke engine. The model was
finished with Nelson paint and covered
with Coverite polyester fabric. Richard
flew his Cub to third place and a spot on
the team.
Chuck Snyder competed with his
scratch-built Henschel Hs 129B-2/R2
“tank buster” and earned a Silver Medal
and a place on the team. He made a
fiberglass mold for the fuselage and a
foam-core wing covered with balsa and
fiberglass.
Chuck’s model was 56 inches long and
spanned 76 inches. Power was provided
by two Thunder Tiger .46 engines
swinging 12 x 5 Zinger propellers.
The Hs 129’s finish consisted of a
variety of epoxy paints including K&B,
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:16 AM Page 30Mike Gretz’s Model
Aviation Hall of
Fame Induction
February 2008 31
Hall of Fame members (L-R) Charlie Bauer (AMA District VI vice president),
Mike Gretz, George Buso, and Jack Sheeks participated in the team-selection
event.
Hobby Poxy, and Klass Kote. Chuck used
those brands to mix the colors to match
the paint chips in his documentation
packet. Paint chips are documented and
stamped for their authenticity.
Dale Campbell took first place with
his seemingly simple Spacewalker
because of its high level of detail. He
made his own scale drawings and had
them documented, and he took countless
photos of the full-scale aircraft.
Dale flies his contest model on a
regular basis, which some Scale modelers
don’t want to do, but planning and
practice are how you win contests. He
graciously donated his winnings to the
FAI Scale Team Fund.
In the F4C class Al Kretz flew his
Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber to
capture a good static score and make two
good flights. He earned a Bronze Medal
and qualified for the third spot on the
team.
The 85-inch-span Dauntless was built
up and covered with fiberglass, and then
it was painted with automotive paint.
Jerry Bates, who has many large-scale
designs, drew the plans.
The big dive bomber featured sliding
canopies, retracts, flaps, dive brakes,
bomb drop, and full cockpit details down
to the floorboards. An O.S. 1.60 engine
with a Tatone muffler powered the model.
Jack Buckley competed with his 1/4-
scale, 88-inch-wingspan de Havilland
Tiger Moth. He powered it with a Laser
1.50 four-stroke engine from Great
Britain and controlled it with a JR X9303
radio system. He finished the model with
Stits covering and paint.
Jack flew a barn burner of a last round
and finished in second place by less than
40 points. The Tiger Moth is one of the
more popular aircraft in Scale
competition. They exude character and
have the potential of performing
aerobatics for the flight routine.
Dave Johnson had been toying with
the idea of competing in FAI Scale for a
few years, and he made the jump from
Designer Scale to F4C at the 2007 Nats.
Dave worked up his flight routine in
several months and had it down for this
competition. Good flight scores along
with a fine static score moved him into
the first-place position.
Dave powered his 1/3-scale Albatros
with a Zenoah G-62 engine and covered it
with Sig Koverall. The model spanned
118 inches and had an overall length of
100 inches. It flew surprisingly slowly,
and part of the reason was Dave’s
homemade 28 x 8 propeller. He won the
$2,000 first-place prize and a place on the
team.
Congratulations to all the competitors
and team members. If you’re interested in
assisting the team or contributing to it in
any way, please contact Lisa Johnson at
AMA Headquarters. A trip to Poland
would be nice next summer! Support the
At the USA FAI Scale Championships,
Mike Gretz received a plaque commemorating
his induction into the Model Aviation Hall of
Fame. Other Hall of Fame members at the
contest were AMA District VI Vice President
Charlie Bauer, George Buso, and Jack
Sheeks.
Mike started his modeling career with an A-J
Interceptor and an A-J Hornet. In his childhood he went
through many of those models during his summer
vacations. His family members were instrumental in
helping Mike develop an interest in model aviation. In
1960 his family relocated to Waterloo, Iowa, where he
watched others fly CL models at the park just a block away from his home.
Mike saved enough money to purchase a Sterling Ringmaster with a Cox Babe Bee
.049 engine in 1968. To finish the model he sent a mail order to Sig Manufacturing,
Inc. because of the company’s offer of a free can of dope if you placed an order
exceeding $3. This was the start of his lifelong relationship with that company.
In 1970 Mike entered his first competition—the Mankato Modelers AAA Control
Line Contest—and placed first in Senior Stunt. There, he and his dad met Arnold Stott,
who was instrumental in helping Mike realize that models could be more than just a
hobby. In 1972 Mike went to work for Sig Manufacturing.
After only six years in the hobby Mike competed in his first World Championships,
in 1974, and placed fourth overall. He went on to become a six-time AMA Nats
champion and the only modeler to date to have won the both CL and RC Scale Nats
championship. He has won many awards for High Flight Score and NASA’s Flight
Achievement Award multiple times.
Mike is a seven-time FAI Scale team member, and he has been a team manager. He
has also received AMA’s FAI Distinguished Performance Award at multiple Scale
World Championships.
In his professional career at Sig Mike has designed 27 commercial kits. He has held
several positions with the company through the years including product engineer,
design engineer, advertising director, administrative assistant, and product design
systems engineer.
Drafting, technical writing, and graphic arts are some of the tools Mike uses in
designing kits, instruction manuals, and new products for the industry through Sig. He
brought the company’s ARF to market, brought cyanoacrylate hinges to market, and
designed the first cowling for a J-3 Cub with a molded engine into the side.
To top all that off, Mike co-founded the Experimental Aircraft Association’s
KidVenture, which happens each year as part of AirVenture Oshkosh. He also belongs
to numerous aviation and modeling groups and is an avid aviation historian.
Congratulations, Mike! MA
—Stan Alexander
Mike Gretz with his
Model Aviation Hall of
Fame plaque.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:23 AM Page 3132 MODEL AVIATION
team and go. Check out the NASA Web
site for team updates.
The next USA FAI Scale
Championships will take place in 2009.
The site is still to be determined. It’s
rumored that the 2010 Scale World
Championships will be held in Australia.
We’ll know more about that next spring.
Thanks to all those who worked at the
team trials, including F4B Event Director
Mike Welshans, F4C Event Director Jim
Rediske, Scale Subcommittee Chairman
Narve Jensen, Bonnie Rediske, Fred
Gregg, George Buso, Steve Buso, and
Scale Team Selection Committee Chairman
Mike Gretz. And thanks to AMA Executive
Director Jim Cherry for joining us at the
competition.
Sponsors for this contest were Brodak
Manufacturing Inc., Airborne Media,
Dynamic Balsa, Midwest Products, WW1
Aero/SKYWAYS, PrecisionCutKits.com,
Micro Fasteners, Futaba, Master Airscrew,
and NASA. MA
Stan Alexander
[email protected]
Sources:
Lisa Johnson
(765) 287-1256, extension 231
[email protected]
National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers
www.nasascale.org
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:27 AM Page 32

February 2008 25
BY STAN ALEXANDER
Richard Schneider competed in F4B with
his 56-inch-wingspan Piper J-3 Cub.
THIS IS A new contest, and it was open
only to AMA members. FAI Scale,
Aerobatics, Soaring, FF, etc. are flown
around the world. Contestants who make
the team that participates in the World
Championships have reached the pinnacle
of FAI Scale competition in the US.
The American team will travel to
Wloclawek, Poland, in July to represent
its country, AMA, its members’ clubs,
and their hometowns. It’s quite an honor
to participate in this international mix of
pilots for the Gold, Silver, or Bronze
medals and other awards in individual and
team categories.
AMA has wanted a stand-alone team
selection for sometime. The US FAI Scale
team has been determined at the Nats the
past several times, and usually with a fair
amount of competitors.
Much of the participation at the team
The US team selection for the 2008 Scale
World Championships paid out big money
Chuck Snyder entered his scratch-built Henschel Hs 129 in F4B. It
is a well-documented World War II tank buster.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 9:53 AM Page 2526 MODEL AVIATION
Jack Buckley’s D.H.82A Tiger Moth was built from plans off of
the old Duncan Huston kit, which hasn’t been produced for
several years.
The radiator on Dave Johnson’s Albatros is located on the top
center wing. The full-scale radiator’s location varied depending on
the aircraft version.
Chuck Snyder uses a transmitter system that sends its signal
through the lines to control his Henschel’s mechanical
functions.
Left: Twin machine guns swing up
from their cover for action in Al
Kretz’s SBD, which he flew in F4C.
Notice the radio headset and safety
harness, rivet details, and slidingcanopy
panels.
Below: Al Kretz (L) and Dave Johnson
show off their trophies, provided by
Airborne Media, and Dave’s slightly
oversized $2,000 check for his F4C
win. Al placed third.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:01 AM Page 26February 2008 27
Dale Campbell’s seemingly simple F4B-class Spacewalker has many realistic small touches. Inset: In addition to the engine and cowling
detail, shown, the model features full cockpit details, which are necessary for maximum points.
The Henschel’s thick windscreen is part of the pilot area’s
bulletproof tub.
Steven Couch competed in F4B with his scratch-built S.E.5a.
Notice the detail work on its radiator grill and the propeller hub.
Photos by the author
selection depends on where the World
Championships will be held the following
year. There was better than average turnout
when it was to be held in Canada.
The first biennial USA FAI Scale
Championships was held the weekend of
September 20-23 at the International
Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
It offered a prize purse of $10,000, which
the National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers (NASA) was able to award
because of a generous gift to FAI Scale. A
total of $5,000 per class—F4B (CL Scale)
and F4C (RC Scale)—was distributed at
the end of the competition.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 11:57 AM Page 2728 MODEL AVIATION
Jack Buckley brings
his de Havilland
Tiger Moth in for a
landing during F4C
competition.
Chuck Snyder’s Hs
129 spans 76 inches
and is powered by two
Thunder Tiger .46
engines.
Al Kretz built his Douglas SBD Dauntless from Jerry Bates plans. A Saito 2.70 twin engine powers the big World War II bomber.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:09 AM Page 28February 2008 29
Allen Goff flew his classic WACO YMF-5 in F4B. The model
spans 48 inches, uses a Saito .91 engine, and is finished with
Brodak paint.
This event was Mike MacCarthy’s first FAI Scale competition. He
competed in F4B with his Grumman S-2 water tanker.
Dale Campbell (L) receives his $2,000 F4B winnings from Event
Director Mike Welshans. Dale donated his prize money to the FAI
Scale Team Fund.
Steven Couch’s S.E.5a took first place in CL Scale at the 2007 Scale National Championships in Muncie IN.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 12:08 PM Page 2930 MODEL AVIATION
Dave Johnson’s scratch-built, 1/3-scale Albatros D.III spans 118 inches. The German fighter
model weighs just less than 33 pounds and is powered by a Zenoah G-62 engine.
Mike Slaughter, Fred Gregg, and George Buso examine the documentation for Mike
MacCarthy’s Grumman S-2. Note the large number of photos.
The Team USA members who are going to Poland in 2008 (L-R): Dale Campbell,
Richard Schneider, Chuck Snyder, Jack Buckley, Dave Johnson, and Al Kretz.
Static judging was held Thursday after
everyone checked in at the L-Pad pavilion
on the AMA site. F4B and F4C classes
were scored at this location by three judge
teams.
The FAI Scale rules for flight are so
similar to those for the many types of
AMA Scale competition that one may
wonder why there seems to be such a
stigma about competing in FAI Scale in
the US. The one main difference is the K,
or difficulty, factors in flight and static
scoring.
The K factors are weighted so that the
competitor is rewarded a possible higher
number for more difficult maneuvers such
as Takeoff, Landing, or Figure Eight. The
judges’ score is multiplied by a higher K
factor for those maneuvers. A pilot who
receives an 8 for a Takeoff, which has a K
factor of 9, will receive a score of 72.00
points. Many contestants will practice
only the Takeoff and Landing to nail
them.
In RC Scale your model can take off
into the wind as long as it doesn’t cause a
safety problem. A great thing is that there
are never more than two airplanes in the
air at the same time, and there is usually
one unless the contest is huge.
Static judging is where the main
difference between FAI and AMA Scale
can be found. This is where you have to
prove what you’ve done. You are allowed
to compete with three photos of the fullscale
aircraft you modeled, but you need
many more to place, to show your work
and craftsmanship in building and
detailing.
Presenting a good set of three-views
and paint chips helps. There are plenty of
sources for paint chips, including the
federal government. Make your
documentation presentation easy to follow
so the judges can complete their tasks
quickly.
Modelers who tried out for the F4B
team brought a variety of aircraft types.
There was everything from World War I
biplanes to multiengine aircraft.
Richard Schneider brought his simple
J-3 Cub, which was built as a clippedwing,
aerobatic version. It spanned 56
inches and was powered by an Enya 46
four-stroke engine. The model was
finished with Nelson paint and covered
with Coverite polyester fabric. Richard
flew his Cub to third place and a spot on
the team.
Chuck Snyder competed with his
scratch-built Henschel Hs 129B-2/R2
“tank buster” and earned a Silver Medal
and a place on the team. He made a
fiberglass mold for the fuselage and a
foam-core wing covered with balsa and
fiberglass.
Chuck’s model was 56 inches long and
spanned 76 inches. Power was provided
by two Thunder Tiger .46 engines
swinging 12 x 5 Zinger propellers.
The Hs 129’s finish consisted of a
variety of epoxy paints including K&B,
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:16 AM Page 30Mike Gretz’s Model
Aviation Hall of
Fame Induction
February 2008 31
Hall of Fame members (L-R) Charlie Bauer (AMA District VI vice president),
Mike Gretz, George Buso, and Jack Sheeks participated in the team-selection
event.
Hobby Poxy, and Klass Kote. Chuck used
those brands to mix the colors to match
the paint chips in his documentation
packet. Paint chips are documented and
stamped for their authenticity.
Dale Campbell took first place with
his seemingly simple Spacewalker
because of its high level of detail. He
made his own scale drawings and had
them documented, and he took countless
photos of the full-scale aircraft.
Dale flies his contest model on a
regular basis, which some Scale modelers
don’t want to do, but planning and
practice are how you win contests. He
graciously donated his winnings to the
FAI Scale Team Fund.
In the F4C class Al Kretz flew his
Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber to
capture a good static score and make two
good flights. He earned a Bronze Medal
and qualified for the third spot on the
team.
The 85-inch-span Dauntless was built
up and covered with fiberglass, and then
it was painted with automotive paint.
Jerry Bates, who has many large-scale
designs, drew the plans.
The big dive bomber featured sliding
canopies, retracts, flaps, dive brakes,
bomb drop, and full cockpit details down
to the floorboards. An O.S. 1.60 engine
with a Tatone muffler powered the model.
Jack Buckley competed with his 1/4-
scale, 88-inch-wingspan de Havilland
Tiger Moth. He powered it with a Laser
1.50 four-stroke engine from Great
Britain and controlled it with a JR X9303
radio system. He finished the model with
Stits covering and paint.
Jack flew a barn burner of a last round
and finished in second place by less than
40 points. The Tiger Moth is one of the
more popular aircraft in Scale
competition. They exude character and
have the potential of performing
aerobatics for the flight routine.
Dave Johnson had been toying with
the idea of competing in FAI Scale for a
few years, and he made the jump from
Designer Scale to F4C at the 2007 Nats.
Dave worked up his flight routine in
several months and had it down for this
competition. Good flight scores along
with a fine static score moved him into
the first-place position.
Dave powered his 1/3-scale Albatros
with a Zenoah G-62 engine and covered it
with Sig Koverall. The model spanned
118 inches and had an overall length of
100 inches. It flew surprisingly slowly,
and part of the reason was Dave’s
homemade 28 x 8 propeller. He won the
$2,000 first-place prize and a place on the
team.
Congratulations to all the competitors
and team members. If you’re interested in
assisting the team or contributing to it in
any way, please contact Lisa Johnson at
AMA Headquarters. A trip to Poland
would be nice next summer! Support the
At the USA FAI Scale Championships,
Mike Gretz received a plaque commemorating
his induction into the Model Aviation Hall of
Fame. Other Hall of Fame members at the
contest were AMA District VI Vice President
Charlie Bauer, George Buso, and Jack
Sheeks.
Mike started his modeling career with an A-J
Interceptor and an A-J Hornet. In his childhood he went
through many of those models during his summer
vacations. His family members were instrumental in
helping Mike develop an interest in model aviation. In
1960 his family relocated to Waterloo, Iowa, where he
watched others fly CL models at the park just a block away from his home.
Mike saved enough money to purchase a Sterling Ringmaster with a Cox Babe Bee
.049 engine in 1968. To finish the model he sent a mail order to Sig Manufacturing,
Inc. because of the company’s offer of a free can of dope if you placed an order
exceeding $3. This was the start of his lifelong relationship with that company.
In 1970 Mike entered his first competition—the Mankato Modelers AAA Control
Line Contest—and placed first in Senior Stunt. There, he and his dad met Arnold Stott,
who was instrumental in helping Mike realize that models could be more than just a
hobby. In 1972 Mike went to work for Sig Manufacturing.
After only six years in the hobby Mike competed in his first World Championships,
in 1974, and placed fourth overall. He went on to become a six-time AMA Nats
champion and the only modeler to date to have won the both CL and RC Scale Nats
championship. He has won many awards for High Flight Score and NASA’s Flight
Achievement Award multiple times.
Mike is a seven-time FAI Scale team member, and he has been a team manager. He
has also received AMA’s FAI Distinguished Performance Award at multiple Scale
World Championships.
In his professional career at Sig Mike has designed 27 commercial kits. He has held
several positions with the company through the years including product engineer,
design engineer, advertising director, administrative assistant, and product design
systems engineer.
Drafting, technical writing, and graphic arts are some of the tools Mike uses in
designing kits, instruction manuals, and new products for the industry through Sig. He
brought the company’s ARF to market, brought cyanoacrylate hinges to market, and
designed the first cowling for a J-3 Cub with a molded engine into the side.
To top all that off, Mike co-founded the Experimental Aircraft Association’s
KidVenture, which happens each year as part of AirVenture Oshkosh. He also belongs
to numerous aviation and modeling groups and is an avid aviation historian.
Congratulations, Mike! MA
—Stan Alexander
Mike Gretz with his
Model Aviation Hall of
Fame plaque.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:23 AM Page 3132 MODEL AVIATION
team and go. Check out the NASA Web
site for team updates.
The next USA FAI Scale
Championships will take place in 2009.
The site is still to be determined. It’s
rumored that the 2010 Scale World
Championships will be held in Australia.
We’ll know more about that next spring.
Thanks to all those who worked at the
team trials, including F4B Event Director
Mike Welshans, F4C Event Director Jim
Rediske, Scale Subcommittee Chairman
Narve Jensen, Bonnie Rediske, Fred
Gregg, George Buso, Steve Buso, and
Scale Team Selection Committee Chairman
Mike Gretz. And thanks to AMA Executive
Director Jim Cherry for joining us at the
competition.
Sponsors for this contest were Brodak
Manufacturing Inc., Airborne Media,
Dynamic Balsa, Midwest Products, WW1
Aero/SKYWAYS, PrecisionCutKits.com,
Micro Fasteners, Futaba, Master Airscrew,
and NASA. MA
Stan Alexander
[email protected]
Sources:
Lisa Johnson
(765) 287-1256, extension 231
[email protected]
National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers
www.nasascale.org
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:27 AM Page 32

February 2008 25
BY STAN ALEXANDER
Richard Schneider competed in F4B with
his 56-inch-wingspan Piper J-3 Cub.
THIS IS A new contest, and it was open
only to AMA members. FAI Scale,
Aerobatics, Soaring, FF, etc. are flown
around the world. Contestants who make
the team that participates in the World
Championships have reached the pinnacle
of FAI Scale competition in the US.
The American team will travel to
Wloclawek, Poland, in July to represent
its country, AMA, its members’ clubs,
and their hometowns. It’s quite an honor
to participate in this international mix of
pilots for the Gold, Silver, or Bronze
medals and other awards in individual and
team categories.
AMA has wanted a stand-alone team
selection for sometime. The US FAI Scale
team has been determined at the Nats the
past several times, and usually with a fair
amount of competitors.
Much of the participation at the team
The US team selection for the 2008 Scale
World Championships paid out big money
Chuck Snyder entered his scratch-built Henschel Hs 129 in F4B. It
is a well-documented World War II tank buster.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 9:53 AM Page 2526 MODEL AVIATION
Jack Buckley’s D.H.82A Tiger Moth was built from plans off of
the old Duncan Huston kit, which hasn’t been produced for
several years.
The radiator on Dave Johnson’s Albatros is located on the top
center wing. The full-scale radiator’s location varied depending on
the aircraft version.
Chuck Snyder uses a transmitter system that sends its signal
through the lines to control his Henschel’s mechanical
functions.
Left: Twin machine guns swing up
from their cover for action in Al
Kretz’s SBD, which he flew in F4C.
Notice the radio headset and safety
harness, rivet details, and slidingcanopy
panels.
Below: Al Kretz (L) and Dave Johnson
show off their trophies, provided by
Airborne Media, and Dave’s slightly
oversized $2,000 check for his F4C
win. Al placed third.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:01 AM Page 26February 2008 27
Dale Campbell’s seemingly simple F4B-class Spacewalker has many realistic small touches. Inset: In addition to the engine and cowling
detail, shown, the model features full cockpit details, which are necessary for maximum points.
The Henschel’s thick windscreen is part of the pilot area’s
bulletproof tub.
Steven Couch competed in F4B with his scratch-built S.E.5a.
Notice the detail work on its radiator grill and the propeller hub.
Photos by the author
selection depends on where the World
Championships will be held the following
year. There was better than average turnout
when it was to be held in Canada.
The first biennial USA FAI Scale
Championships was held the weekend of
September 20-23 at the International
Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
It offered a prize purse of $10,000, which
the National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers (NASA) was able to award
because of a generous gift to FAI Scale. A
total of $5,000 per class—F4B (CL Scale)
and F4C (RC Scale)—was distributed at
the end of the competition.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 11:57 AM Page 2728 MODEL AVIATION
Jack Buckley brings
his de Havilland
Tiger Moth in for a
landing during F4C
competition.
Chuck Snyder’s Hs
129 spans 76 inches
and is powered by two
Thunder Tiger .46
engines.
Al Kretz built his Douglas SBD Dauntless from Jerry Bates plans. A Saito 2.70 twin engine powers the big World War II bomber.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:09 AM Page 28February 2008 29
Allen Goff flew his classic WACO YMF-5 in F4B. The model
spans 48 inches, uses a Saito .91 engine, and is finished with
Brodak paint.
This event was Mike MacCarthy’s first FAI Scale competition. He
competed in F4B with his Grumman S-2 water tanker.
Dale Campbell (L) receives his $2,000 F4B winnings from Event
Director Mike Welshans. Dale donated his prize money to the FAI
Scale Team Fund.
Steven Couch’s S.E.5a took first place in CL Scale at the 2007 Scale National Championships in Muncie IN.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 12:08 PM Page 2930 MODEL AVIATION
Dave Johnson’s scratch-built, 1/3-scale Albatros D.III spans 118 inches. The German fighter
model weighs just less than 33 pounds and is powered by a Zenoah G-62 engine.
Mike Slaughter, Fred Gregg, and George Buso examine the documentation for Mike
MacCarthy’s Grumman S-2. Note the large number of photos.
The Team USA members who are going to Poland in 2008 (L-R): Dale Campbell,
Richard Schneider, Chuck Snyder, Jack Buckley, Dave Johnson, and Al Kretz.
Static judging was held Thursday after
everyone checked in at the L-Pad pavilion
on the AMA site. F4B and F4C classes
were scored at this location by three judge
teams.
The FAI Scale rules for flight are so
similar to those for the many types of
AMA Scale competition that one may
wonder why there seems to be such a
stigma about competing in FAI Scale in
the US. The one main difference is the K,
or difficulty, factors in flight and static
scoring.
The K factors are weighted so that the
competitor is rewarded a possible higher
number for more difficult maneuvers such
as Takeoff, Landing, or Figure Eight. The
judges’ score is multiplied by a higher K
factor for those maneuvers. A pilot who
receives an 8 for a Takeoff, which has a K
factor of 9, will receive a score of 72.00
points. Many contestants will practice
only the Takeoff and Landing to nail
them.
In RC Scale your model can take off
into the wind as long as it doesn’t cause a
safety problem. A great thing is that there
are never more than two airplanes in the
air at the same time, and there is usually
one unless the contest is huge.
Static judging is where the main
difference between FAI and AMA Scale
can be found. This is where you have to
prove what you’ve done. You are allowed
to compete with three photos of the fullscale
aircraft you modeled, but you need
many more to place, to show your work
and craftsmanship in building and
detailing.
Presenting a good set of three-views
and paint chips helps. There are plenty of
sources for paint chips, including the
federal government. Make your
documentation presentation easy to follow
so the judges can complete their tasks
quickly.
Modelers who tried out for the F4B
team brought a variety of aircraft types.
There was everything from World War I
biplanes to multiengine aircraft.
Richard Schneider brought his simple
J-3 Cub, which was built as a clippedwing,
aerobatic version. It spanned 56
inches and was powered by an Enya 46
four-stroke engine. The model was
finished with Nelson paint and covered
with Coverite polyester fabric. Richard
flew his Cub to third place and a spot on
the team.
Chuck Snyder competed with his
scratch-built Henschel Hs 129B-2/R2
“tank buster” and earned a Silver Medal
and a place on the team. He made a
fiberglass mold for the fuselage and a
foam-core wing covered with balsa and
fiberglass.
Chuck’s model was 56 inches long and
spanned 76 inches. Power was provided
by two Thunder Tiger .46 engines
swinging 12 x 5 Zinger propellers.
The Hs 129’s finish consisted of a
variety of epoxy paints including K&B,
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:16 AM Page 30Mike Gretz’s Model
Aviation Hall of
Fame Induction
February 2008 31
Hall of Fame members (L-R) Charlie Bauer (AMA District VI vice president),
Mike Gretz, George Buso, and Jack Sheeks participated in the team-selection
event.
Hobby Poxy, and Klass Kote. Chuck used
those brands to mix the colors to match
the paint chips in his documentation
packet. Paint chips are documented and
stamped for their authenticity.
Dale Campbell took first place with
his seemingly simple Spacewalker
because of its high level of detail. He
made his own scale drawings and had
them documented, and he took countless
photos of the full-scale aircraft.
Dale flies his contest model on a
regular basis, which some Scale modelers
don’t want to do, but planning and
practice are how you win contests. He
graciously donated his winnings to the
FAI Scale Team Fund.
In the F4C class Al Kretz flew his
Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber to
capture a good static score and make two
good flights. He earned a Bronze Medal
and qualified for the third spot on the
team.
The 85-inch-span Dauntless was built
up and covered with fiberglass, and then
it was painted with automotive paint.
Jerry Bates, who has many large-scale
designs, drew the plans.
The big dive bomber featured sliding
canopies, retracts, flaps, dive brakes,
bomb drop, and full cockpit details down
to the floorboards. An O.S. 1.60 engine
with a Tatone muffler powered the model.
Jack Buckley competed with his 1/4-
scale, 88-inch-wingspan de Havilland
Tiger Moth. He powered it with a Laser
1.50 four-stroke engine from Great
Britain and controlled it with a JR X9303
radio system. He finished the model with
Stits covering and paint.
Jack flew a barn burner of a last round
and finished in second place by less than
40 points. The Tiger Moth is one of the
more popular aircraft in Scale
competition. They exude character and
have the potential of performing
aerobatics for the flight routine.
Dave Johnson had been toying with
the idea of competing in FAI Scale for a
few years, and he made the jump from
Designer Scale to F4C at the 2007 Nats.
Dave worked up his flight routine in
several months and had it down for this
competition. Good flight scores along
with a fine static score moved him into
the first-place position.
Dave powered his 1/3-scale Albatros
with a Zenoah G-62 engine and covered it
with Sig Koverall. The model spanned
118 inches and had an overall length of
100 inches. It flew surprisingly slowly,
and part of the reason was Dave’s
homemade 28 x 8 propeller. He won the
$2,000 first-place prize and a place on the
team.
Congratulations to all the competitors
and team members. If you’re interested in
assisting the team or contributing to it in
any way, please contact Lisa Johnson at
AMA Headquarters. A trip to Poland
would be nice next summer! Support the
At the USA FAI Scale Championships,
Mike Gretz received a plaque commemorating
his induction into the Model Aviation Hall of
Fame. Other Hall of Fame members at the
contest were AMA District VI Vice President
Charlie Bauer, George Buso, and Jack
Sheeks.
Mike started his modeling career with an A-J
Interceptor and an A-J Hornet. In his childhood he went
through many of those models during his summer
vacations. His family members were instrumental in
helping Mike develop an interest in model aviation. In
1960 his family relocated to Waterloo, Iowa, where he
watched others fly CL models at the park just a block away from his home.
Mike saved enough money to purchase a Sterling Ringmaster with a Cox Babe Bee
.049 engine in 1968. To finish the model he sent a mail order to Sig Manufacturing,
Inc. because of the company’s offer of a free can of dope if you placed an order
exceeding $3. This was the start of his lifelong relationship with that company.
In 1970 Mike entered his first competition—the Mankato Modelers AAA Control
Line Contest—and placed first in Senior Stunt. There, he and his dad met Arnold Stott,
who was instrumental in helping Mike realize that models could be more than just a
hobby. In 1972 Mike went to work for Sig Manufacturing.
After only six years in the hobby Mike competed in his first World Championships,
in 1974, and placed fourth overall. He went on to become a six-time AMA Nats
champion and the only modeler to date to have won the both CL and RC Scale Nats
championship. He has won many awards for High Flight Score and NASA’s Flight
Achievement Award multiple times.
Mike is a seven-time FAI Scale team member, and he has been a team manager. He
has also received AMA’s FAI Distinguished Performance Award at multiple Scale
World Championships.
In his professional career at Sig Mike has designed 27 commercial kits. He has held
several positions with the company through the years including product engineer,
design engineer, advertising director, administrative assistant, and product design
systems engineer.
Drafting, technical writing, and graphic arts are some of the tools Mike uses in
designing kits, instruction manuals, and new products for the industry through Sig. He
brought the company’s ARF to market, brought cyanoacrylate hinges to market, and
designed the first cowling for a J-3 Cub with a molded engine into the side.
To top all that off, Mike co-founded the Experimental Aircraft Association’s
KidVenture, which happens each year as part of AirVenture Oshkosh. He also belongs
to numerous aviation and modeling groups and is an avid aviation historian.
Congratulations, Mike! MA
—Stan Alexander
Mike Gretz with his
Model Aviation Hall of
Fame plaque.
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:23 AM Page 3132 MODEL AVIATION
team and go. Check out the NASA Web
site for team updates.
The next USA FAI Scale
Championships will take place in 2009.
The site is still to be determined. It’s
rumored that the 2010 Scale World
Championships will be held in Australia.
We’ll know more about that next spring.
Thanks to all those who worked at the
team trials, including F4B Event Director
Mike Welshans, F4C Event Director Jim
Rediske, Scale Subcommittee Chairman
Narve Jensen, Bonnie Rediske, Fred
Gregg, George Buso, Steve Buso, and
Scale Team Selection Committee Chairman
Mike Gretz. And thanks to AMA Executive
Director Jim Cherry for joining us at the
competition.
Sponsors for this contest were Brodak
Manufacturing Inc., Airborne Media,
Dynamic Balsa, Midwest Products, WW1
Aero/SKYWAYS, PrecisionCutKits.com,
Micro Fasteners, Futaba, Master Airscrew,
and NASA. MA
Stan Alexander
[email protected]
Sources:
Lisa Johnson
(765) 287-1256, extension 231
[email protected]
National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers
www.nasascale.org
02sig1.QXD 12/20/07 10:27 AM Page 32