FF Power
ONE of the largest bones of contention to plague recent Nationals contests has been the question of an acceptable site for flying Outdoor Free Flight events. The critical nature of that site selection decision has been pivotal to the point that last year's National's Free Flight Duration events were canceled when the preselected site was found to be unavailable at contest time. Given the immediate past history of Free Flight site problems in Virginia and before that in Nebraska, special care was taken by the AMA site-selection committee to find a location that would suit the needs of the Free Flight community.
AMA National Fun Fly
THE NOTION that modelers can and should get together for the sheer joy of flying their airplanes in each other's company is probably as old as modeling itself. During the last few years, this notion has become somewhat more formalized than in the days when flying sites were to be had on vacant lots or on the outskirts of every town. In lieu of the many impromptu flying sessions of earlier times, the scarcity of available flying sites has given rise to organized gatherings of modelers at specific local and regional locations-the fun fly format that has become so familiar to today's modelers.
Boston Coupe
DESIGNED AS A SEMISCALE model of the Monocoupe 90A, the Boston Coupe is also geared to the current west coast (Mooney) Bostonian rules. The prototype has flown for 48 seconds indoors under a 28-ft. ceiling, and I anticipate that flights exceeding one minute can be achieved as further testing is conducted. Building this model presents no real problems for those with at least a few Scale ships to their credit. The brief construction notes that follow, however, will explain anything unclear on the plans as well as guide the uninitiated.
A Tiny Revolution: Pistachio Scale
WHILE RC GIANT SCALE has garnered the lion's share of the model press over the past several years, there has been a minature revolution at the other end of the spectrum. Free Flight Scale models, as they've gained truly international acceptance, have gotten smaller and smaller. Spurred by the worldwide popularity of the Peanut Scale class, pioneers such as Dr. John Martin in Florida and Bill Hannan and Walt Mooney in California have introduced and promulgated an even smaller class of Free Flight Scale model-the Pistachio Nut. While Peanut models have a wingspan of 13 inches, Pistachios are allowed a maximum wingspan of a mere eight inches.
AMA Nats: FF Indoor Scale
INDOOR SCALE had a slightly different feel to it this year due to a rule imposed by AMA specifically for this Nationals. The rule simply states, "The same model cannot be entered into more than one event, except in Free Flight Indoor and Outdoor Peanut Scale events." The net effect of the rule was to eliminate what has been the common practice of entering a single aircraft (ordinarily a Lacey or Fike, for some reason) in four events: Indoor Scale, Outdoor Scale, Indoor Peanut Scale, and Outdoor Peanut Scale. Whether it is a good rule or not remains to be seen, but it did relieve the judges of the monotony of judging numerous versions of the same aircraft up to four times, which can be a mind-numbing experience. It also eliminated the rather opportunistic "trophy collecting" practices evident in past contests by a select few individuals. It may also have had another effect (which I'll address later).
