AMA Nats 1983: RC Scale
THIS WAS a recovery year for RC Scale at the Chicopee Nats. After the disappointment of only 32 entries in 1982, it was encouraging to find an overwhelming total of 91 aircraft in all classes at Westover Air Force Base. Giant Scale had the greatest increase with 35 entrants. Precision (FAI) Scale, which had fallen to great depths in 1982 with only two planes flying, rebounded to a respectable total of nine participants actually making flights. Some expected FAI modelers didn't appear because of the team-selection event that was to follow two weeks later. Most notable was the pronounced upgrading of quality, both in the models and in their flight. Accidents seem to be inevitable in Scale flying, but their numbers are diminishing. Onlookers who came to be entertained by a succession of crashes, common in the past, had long waits between accidents, and the high-quality action in the sky kept them satisfied.
Radio Control: Scale
BRACE WIRES: Authentically-shaped, streamlined brace wires for Scale models can contribute a considerable amount to realism. It is to the modeler's advantage to know the exact shape that is being duplicated, and a trip to the local airport can be a revelation. Streamlined wires aren't flat, nor do they have a teardrop-shaped cross section like steel struts. They are made from round stainless steel wire that has been rolled to a symmetrical convex curved shape that is quite sharp on both leading and trailing edges. The curved airfoil is essentially a true radius.
Radio Control: Scale
RENO NATS: High altitude and hot weather in August will have an influence on our flights at Reno. Stead Field, site of the Nats outdoor activity, is at an altitude of about one mile above sea level and this height, combined with expected temperatures of 80º or more, will place the density altitude in the range between 8,000 and 9,000 feet. Combined high temperature and altitude will affect models here as though the field height is over 1 1/2 miles! Modelers who regularly fly at Reno, as well as those in Colorado and New Mexico, tell us that the altitude has little effect. Having witnessed a few problems at the Reno Scale World Championships in 1982, we are aware that there is an effect.
Radio Control: Scale
PARIS FAI MEETING: For modelers planning future FAI contest projects, the most important development of the December FAI plenary session in Paris was news that rules are frozen for four years. In effect, this means that our present FAI scoring system of aircraft complexity bonuses applied to flight scores will continue without change for the 1984, 1986, and 1988 World Championships. With present AMA rules tied to FAI rules for Precision Scale class, there will be no changes for U.S. Scale modelers who contemplate construction of a complex airplane.
Radio Control: Scale
AS USUAL, the throng of enthusiasts filled the aisles at the Toledo Expo, and the single most tightly-packed area surrounded Dave Brown's exhibit. His radio-control flight simulator for the Apple II computer was in constant use for the full three days. A large percentage of pilots, who attempted to control the flight of the model image on the picture tube had their joy abruptly interrupted by a shattering crash, followed by the bad news of the cash amount for damage repairs. We saw one demonstration, by Dave himself, of a difficult Rolling Circle maneuver which was completed successfully, to prove that the model image could be flown.
