Application of Windshields
APPLYING the windshield and windows can be the factor that most emphasizes craftsmanship in our hobby. No matter how well the plane is finished, the windshield gets more than its share of attention from everyone who sees the model. This is true of all types, sport as well as Scale. Producing the correct shape is only part of the problem. Fastening methods and finishing techniques also need consideration. The windshield that pops off during the first hard landing can be a pain, especially to someone who has driven 10 miles to the flying field. Most kits and plans give the windshield shape pattern as a detail on the drawing. However, the exact shape needed for your particular model may not be precisely what was shown, due to our tendency to be individualistic in building, and so it is best to know a method for determining shape.
Radio Control: Scale
TRADE OFFS: How much should the Scale modeler be willing to pay for true-scale appearance? Sacrificing engine life and performance to garner extra static points is often considered a satisfactory trade-off when the engine must be buried in the nose of a model that has no openings for cooling. This is partially understandable when the model is to have only a few flights in contests which are sufficiently important to the modeler to warrant risk of permanent damage to the engine. It is part of the win-at-all-costs technique. Rather than make non-scale cooling openings in the nose, or leave portions of the engine exposed to view, the modeler elects to take a chance on damaging his engine, particularly if it must be flown in hot weather. Most probable candidates for this treatment, that we have seen, were in the Precision Scale class, with a few in Sport Scale.
Radio Control: Scale
NEWS FROM PARIS: As in the previous three years, I was again asked to attend the annual plenary session of the International Aero Modeling Committee (CIAM), a subdivision of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the rules-making and records-keeping body for sporting aeronautical activities throughout the world. The purpose of my attendance was to serve as technical consultant on the Scale Subcommittee, to permit U.S. modelers to have a voice in rules making. Rules are published in the FAI Sporting Code, similar to our AMA rule book. Dolly accompanied the AMA group at her own expense, as did other wives, and did not attend the meetings.
'81 AMA Texas Nats: RC Scale
NATS RC SCALE participation was down this year. Even though 1981 was a team selection year, only about 36 contestants competed-about half the number as in previous Nats competitions. Quality, particularly in Sport Scale, was higher than we have seen at any Nats. It became evident that the flying portion of the program would decide the outcome. Three U.S. team members would be selected in each of the two classes, Precision Scale and Sports Scale, to compete in the 1982 World Championships-which could be held in the U.S.S.R. or at Reno, NV, depending upon the FAI choice.
Radio Control: Scale
FLYING TECHNIQUE: Our Wisconsin winters usually shorten the flying season to six or seven months. The long idle period in the frigid months gives us plenty of time for model building, but also results in some loss of proficiency during first flights in the spring. Using a trainer-type plane helps to re-establish confidence in the early going, rather than risk a newly-finished Scale model.
