Radio Control: Scale
MY TRIP to Indiana last summer was a lot of fun. In Indianapolis, I spent a Friday afternoon with Bev, Jimmy, and Jim Goad of ISC International-distributors of Tartan, Zenoah, GMS 2000, Asp, and Tiger Shark engines. The rest of the weekend was spent at the RC Scale portion of the National Aeromodeling Championships in Muncie. My visit with the Goads was fun and informative. They run a very healthy RC distributorship; it's pumped full of quality products and unparalleled customer service. Instead of just selling RC products, these folks also design, engineer, and fly many of the products they sell. You can find Jimmy Goad on the flightline at Madera and Houston; Jim Sr. spends most of his time in the company's research-and-development rooms, inspecting, refining, and doing whatever else is needed to assure modelers will receive the perfection they've come to expect from the engines ISC handles.
Radio Control: Scale
RCHTA SHOW: The Radio Control Hobby Trade Association's National Model & Hobby Show was recently held in Rosemont, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). This show is always packed with innovative new products for every category of the hobby industry. I promise to have photos and descriptions of many of the best of them for you next month. Industry News: There is already a long list of new products that have been recently released, so here are a few items to whet your whistles and prime you for the Rosemont show:
Radio Control: Scale
Thefollowing news was received by Model Aviation's editorial department, and perhaps it can help you. The US Air Force has recalled its Pre-1954 Still Photo Collection. It was on loan to the National Air & Space Museum (NASM) until it could be permanently placed at the National Archives. The NASM is no longer processing orders for photos from this collection, and is performing only limited residual reference support. The collection will be closed until the National Archives completes its acquisition process, expectedly before the end of December 1996.
Radio Control: Scale
Spitfire Build-along: Last month the Dynaflite Spitfire was announced as the next build-along subject. The model and its destination, Fun Scale, are creations of RC industry icon Mark Smith. His big Spitfire was engineered just like his .40-class pseudo fighters-to be built quickly and effortlessly, to fly forgivingly, and to bring modelers with little or no Scale technique experience a relatively low-dollar project with which they could most likely succeed. The classic Spitfire was the perfect airframe for such a project. Mark's choice of the Spitfire was absolutely correct- the knew that few modelers could resist the airplane's graceful outline, its glorious contribution to history during the Battle of Britain, or one or more of the many color-and-markings it exhibited throughout its long service life. The Spitfire is perceived by many to be the perfect airplane. Even if a modeler is not particularly a fan of WW II aircraft, it's still hard not to fall victim to the Spitfire's charm.
Radio Control: Scale
SHOW SEASON is here and it seems as though this might be a very powerful year for Radio Control aircraft. The Radio Control Hobby and Trade Association's annual Model and Hobby Show in October at Rosemont, Illinois had record consumer attendance, its trade days were busy, and international attendance was very strong. I'm getting ready for a trip to California for the Endless Horizons Show in Long Beach and the International Modeler Show (IMS) in Pasadena. On the rare occasions when home and scholastic schedules allow, I get to bring my wife and daughter on these roads trips - they've really been looking forward to this one. My daughter Devin is six, and she's finally going to meet Mickey, Donald, and Goofy on their own ground. I'll get to see great models on the shows' static tables and an endless sea of products and craftsmanship in the manufacturers' exhibits.
