FREE FLIGHT SCALE - 2003/04

STARTING WITH THE January 2003
issue, the Free Flight (FF) Scale column
will be published every three months
instead of every other month. Model
Aviation wants to target more of the
neophytes in modeling and get them secure
in this wonderful hobby. Specialized
columns such as mine don’t reach enough
of the majority—therefore the cutback.
What I offer is definitely geared toward the
individuals who like to build from scratch
and want their end products to look more
realistic and fly well.

Flying Aces Club Nationals

THE FLYING ACES CLUB (FAC) Nationals (Nats) Mark XIII,
held July 19-21, 2002, at Geneseo, New York, is in the books. It is
hard to believe that it has been 24 years since Dave Stott and Bob
Thompson created this event. (Neither one of them was there in 2002).
Going by memory, I believe the first Nats, which was held at Willow
Grove Naval Air Station in Pennsylvania, had approximately 70
contestants. This year there were more than 160!

FREE FLIGHT SCALE - 2003/01

hoW does ThAT old saying go? “There
is no fool like an old fool”? Boy, do I fit the
bill! I took a perfectly good model to the
Flying Aces Nationals (Nats), only to wipe it
out with my stupidity.
One problem, among many, in California
is that there is no tall grass. We average 11
inches of rain each year, but this past season
we received less than four inches. Those of
you who experience loads of rain each year
can imagine how scant four inches is. The
flying site I have access to is surrounded by
fields that rely on rain for their crops. Last
year the crop was approximately three feet
high and was terrific for testing new
models—not so this year. All this is my way
of conveying that I had not tested my model
before going to the Nats.

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