Control Line: Scale
WHAT'S THE STATE of CL Scale? There seem to be two schools of thought. Based on reports and newsletters, the answer may depend on where you look. Some areas, like the central and midwestern parts of the country, report that activity in general is in decline. Aside from a few active CL Scale clubs, interest is down compared to a couple of years ago. While activity may be down in some parts of the country, the East and West Coasts have considerable amounts of Scale activity. There is great emphasis on preserving current Scale events, as well as promoting the fun aspects. It's the fun portion of these efforts I'll talk about this month.
Control Line: Scale
CONTROL LINE ELECTRIC Flight: A recent letter from Grant Heistand (Burbank CA) prompts me to ask the following question: How many of you have successfully used electric power in your CL Scale models? While I've mentioned electric power in past columns, the information was often based on experimentation and couldn't be used for competition purposes. Grant, on the other hand, has been experimenting with electric-powered Scale models for some time, and has successfully flown an electric-powered Sig Spacewalker in competition. He captured first place in Precision Scale at the 1993 Nats, and has also won West Coast meets.
Control Line: Scale
CONGRATULATIONS GO to Bob Furr of Omaha Nebraska's Orbiting Eagles. In July 1994 Bob was honored with membership in AMA's Aero Honor Society for newsletter editors. Bob was honored because the newsletter he edits is a quality product, and is very enjoyable reading. Bob is in his twelfth year as editor of the Orbiting Eagles newsletter; the April/May 1995 installment was his 100th issue. The Academy has inducted fewer than 60 newsletter editors into the Aero Honor Society; Bob is one of only five control line newsletter editors so honored.
Control Line: Scale
FUN SCALE, TEAM SCALE, and other ways of promoting Scale activity were the subjects of the September column; ideas came from Bill Reynolds (of the New Jersey's Garden State Circle Burners) and Fred Cronenwett (of the West Coast's 101st Screaming Eagles). A report from Bill Reynolds noted that the Circle Burners tried fun scale events at their April 1995 Profile Scale meet and their June 1995 Carrier meet. The April meet drew 16 entries; 9 of which were in fun scale. The June meet's fun event also brought out 9 entries. A good beginning. Reynolds noted that the Scale purist may not agree with such events, but this type event is starting to bring out more entrants-especially those that haven't previously tried their hand at Scale contest activity. The object of these fun-type events is to introduce the newcomer (and not-so-new modeler) to Scale activity-without the pressure that usually accompanies a full-blown Scale meet. The main theme here is having some fun while trying something new (and perhaps even going home with an award).
Control Line: Scale
MAKING PINKED-EDGE RIB TAPE from silkspan or paper to simulate the rib-stitching covering on fabric-covered models was mentioned in last month's Workshop Hints. The process involves using the saw-toothed metal strip that's found on waxed paper and plastic wrap boxes. One problem involves how to hold the flimsy steel edge while making the pinked-edge tape strips. The solution for holding the metal strip (and the paper from which the tape is made) is shown in the accompanying sketch. The idea for this tool originated with the Chicago Scale Masters Club back in the 1970s; it was featured in this column in November 1984. That was more than 11 years ago, so I thought we might revisit the subject and provide the information to some of our newer Scale modelers.
