Nats Radio Control: Scale
THE BICENTENNIAL YEAR and the 50th AMA Nationals arrived on the same year and, as spectacular as the Bicentennial is, so were the Nats' Scale events. I'm sure it is stated every year about this time that the Nats were the biggest and best ever, but it is definitely true in connection with AMA and Stand-Off Scale for 1976. Would you believe there were 18 AMA Scale and 80 Stand-Off Scale entries? That's right, 80 Stand-Off Scale! At least 70 scale models actually flew. We were fortunate in having the FAI Scale Champion, Bob Nelitz, from Canada to compete in our 1976 Nats. I'd bet that when the Scale static judges saw all of those RC aircraft they felt they had a nightmare in judging so many fine models.
Radio Control: Scale
I'M SURE by now every weekend is taken up throughout the country with a Scale contest, and in many cases the problem is to select which one to attend. It seems where we have a class of competition we also have some controversy and our new AMA Stand-Off Scale class and rules are no exception. This I believe is healthy and differences of opinions that are sensible make for better rules and regulations. While talking to Scale people at Toledo and at different contests, I have compiled some interesting ideas on Scale rules, mostly Stand-Off rules. The following are suggestions from scale modelers from all over the country and not necessarily my own. This I may comment on later in the season when most of the contests are over for this year.
Radio Control: Scale
Here it is, a new year, a new magazine, and above all for me a new column writer - and I mean new! As this is my first attempt at putting together a column every month. I have done articles in several magazines on building and designing of RC Models, but never as demanding as this undertaking. The really bright spot is the subject Scale which is, to me, what it's all about in RC modeling. You know that no matter how simple or how complex the model you are building may be, realism always comes to the surface in paint jobs, trim, extras such as wheel pants, canopied pilot or whatever meets your fancy.
Radio Control: Scale
BY THE TIME you scale fans are reading this the spectacular Toledo Trade Show will have come and gone. And spectacular it was! I wonder how it can outdo itself each year but it seems to do just that. A real credit to the many hours of hard work I'm sure the Weak Signals club has put into this annual affair. Each year one facet of our hobby is the highlight of the show, or it seems so to me, and I have attended many of the Toledo Trade shows throughout the years. One year it may be helicopters, the next racing aircraft, or even boats, etc. Without a doubt this year, Scale or mostly Stand-Off Scale seemed to be the most spectacular from a show and sell standpoint. The majority of kit manufacturers are producing, or have in the works, some sort of Scale or Stand-Off Scale kit and many scale accessories.
Radio Control: Scale
SINCE I STARTED doing the Scale column for Model Aviation I have received many letters requesting information. Some I could answer and some I couldn't. Probably most asked is where to obtain three-views and information on this or that airplane. One of the most difficult to obtain is the home-built aircraft. Believe it or not, many don't exist. The home builders are much the same as Scale model builders. An idea is simply scratched out on paper using known aerodynamic data and built to the individual's idea or taste. The many plans that may be procured usually consist of material, dimension and placement. So no need for three views. Many "homebuilts" have simply been drawn (would you believe) on a work-shop floor with little or no drawings.
