Radio Control: Scale
SCALE DOCUMENTATION: Requests for information regarding documentation material continue to arrive in our mailbox. Doubts usually arise in their hearts when competition Sport and Giant Scale modelers are faced with having to supply photos of obscure aircraft, or those that have been neglected in historical information. If a three-view drawing is available, and the drawing shows color data, photos aren't required. When a three-view drawing alone is the complete documentation, it becomes a one-sheet presentation. To supplement this drawing, some modelers will include several additional sheets of printed data about the prototype, not realizing that judges have very little time to do extensive reading.
Radio Control: Scale
MEASUREMENTS: A letter from a reader in Finland asks for elaboration on methods of taking measurements of full-scale airplanes. We have, in past columns, expounded the virtues of having the prototype available for examination, photos and dimensional data, but then neglected to explain procedures. We made the incorrect assumption that everyone knew the necessary steps. Juhani Sederholm asks specifically for the method of determining exactly the shape of an unknown airfoil, without damaging the surface of an airplane, after permission is granted to make dimensional checks. When the airfoil designation is known, its outlines can be copied from a standard reference source such as our Handbook for Airfoil Sections by M.S. Rice.
Radio Control: Scale
TOLEDO AIRPLANES: This was a bountiful year for high-quality airplanes at the Toledo show. Judges selections of winners in all Scale classes would be based upon a concerted search for minor imperfections and slight variations in quality between the top airplanes. All were fine examples of Scale modeling at its best. Winner of first place, as well as the Best-of-Show award, was Steve Sauger's familiar Stinson A Trimotor. A commonly-heard remark from viewers around the table for Precision Scale models was that they are pretty, but never flown. This expressed opinion was securely put to rest at Toledo. Steve's Stinson has not only been flown, it has placed him on the FAI Scale team. We have watched while Steve made a landing with two dead engines. Only the right outboard continued to run, and there was no apparent loss of stability.
Radio Control: Scale
AERONCA K lives again! Forty-three years ago, we were young newlyweds in search of adventure, and the lure of flight became irresistible when a four-year-old Aeronca K was offered for sale at the low price of $650. With a couple of Scale-modeling friends, the K was acquired and flight training began, each of us investing the tremendous sum of $217. After 50 hours of training, the Department of Commerce flight inspector punctured our dream bubble with his ultimatum that we get a better airplane for our flight tests. His reasons: the Aeronca's two-cylinder engine, single ignition, and the absence of wheel brakes.
Radio Control: Scale
FRANCE AND ENGLAND. Our trip to the Paris Scale World Championships included many experiences. Scale models seen, and modelers met. Our report of the meet couldn't possibly have touched on all of these events and airplanes, particularly the follow-up, which included crossing the Channel for a visit to a Scale contest at Abingdon, England. At the LeBourget World Meet, Peter McDermott's Sopwith Snipe had the second highest static score, and for good reason. A two-year project, the 7F.1 Snipe is an exquisitely detailed, 1/5-scale reproduction of the WW I figther in the Canadian National Aeronautical Collection at Ottawa. The model's 1 1/2-lb., dummy Bentley rotary engine is mounted on a large ball bearing race, with cylinders turned from aluminum. It is actually rotated by the exhaust stream from the Magnum .91 four-stroke engine that it hides from view!
