Radio Control: Scale
MANUFACTURERS' NEWS: If any aircraft was to challenge Piper's J-3 Cub for the distinction of being the most-recognized airplane of all time, it would have to be the Dakota-the Douglas DC-3. In commercial service, the DC-3 carried passengers and cargo to every corner of the globe. In military service, the DC-3 was designated C-47, and was affectionately known by all who came in contact with it as the Goony Bird. Goonies flew transport duty, they dropped supplies to troops in the field, and they dropped the troops themselves-most memorably over the skies of Europe during World War II. The DC-3 has always been a popular modeling subject. Almost every plastic kit and die-cast company has issued a model in one form or another. More recently, the Radio Control world has become enamored with the DC-3. Top Flite has brought us a traditional wood kit; Kyosho offers a slightly larger airplane in an Almost Ready to Fly version; and Hirobo offers the graceful twin in a glass-and-sheeted-foam version for Electric power.
Radio Control: Scale
Docu-Search: There's only one Docu-Search request this month: it comes from Walt Buskey. Walt is searching for a photograph of the Ord-Hume OH-7, an early British homebuilt airplane that looks much like a miniature J-3 Cub. Walt currently flies an OH-7 in Indoor Rubber events, but would enjoy building a larger model for RC. If you know of this airplane and have a photo available, please contact Walt Buskey at 100 King Road, Etna NH 03750-3521. Simulators Part Two: If you're anything like me, your building skills enjoy some degree of superiority over your flying capabilities. Today's RC flight simulators have come a long way, and the good ones can really capture the feel of a large number of actual Scale model airplanes.
Radio Control: Scale
I've often heard our sport-type counterparts quip that Scale modelers don't fly very well. That's a very broad statement, but admittedly there's more than just a hint of truth behind it. In the days when many of today's Scale fliers got their start in the hobby-long before the time of instant adhesives and laser-cut parts-there was no such thing as an Almost Ready to Fly or Almost Ready to Cover model airplane. There were only kits and plans. Anyone who wanted to fly a model airplane was positively required to build one, and not everyone enjoyed that end of the hobby to an equal degree. As newcomers joined the hobby, they would either regard the building process as a necessary evil or fall captive to the challenge and rewards of constructing a flying machine with their own hands.
Radio Control: Scale
Model Aviation's December issue was packed from cover to cover with reports on the AMA National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats). As much as I wanted to attend this year's contest, I had already spent almost a week in Muncie for the Grand Event, and business commitments rarely permit me to make more than one summer trip to AMA's International Aeromodeling Center. Stan Alexander graciously handled the Radio Control (RC) Scale event coverage in my stead. When you see him, don't forget to thank him for his blow-by-blow, first-hand account in the December issue.
Radio Control: Scale
THE NATIONAL AEROMODELING Championships' Radio Control Scale competition was conducted under the expert guidance of RC Director Wayne Yeager and Contest Director Dale Arvin. The contest began with the static judging portion, which took place on Friday, July 11 at the Horizon Convention Center in Muncie. This spacious center is directly opposite the charming Radisson Hotel Roberts, where many of the officials and competitors dug in nightly for the duration of the contest. Four classes of AMA RC Scale competition were available to contestants: Fun Scale, Sportsman, Expert, and Designer. International-class competition, FAI F4C, was also available. Fun Scale is primarily a flying event. Models are very loosely judged on a most general basis, with a five-point do-or-die reward. If a Spitfire wears a set of roundels and looks more like a Spitfire than a B-25, it is awarded five static points. If some model is claimed to be a B-25, but looks more like a Kaos, no points are awarded. "Fun" is the key word in static judging here, but Fun Scale's flight rules are the same as for entries in the other RC Scale AMA events.
