AMA Nats 1983: FF Outdoor Glider
THE EIGHTY ENTRIES in Outdoor Hand-Launched Glider was not a record number for a Nationals, but it was certainly an indication that interest in this deceptively simple event is very strong on the East Coast. If you went down the list of contestants, you wouldn't find many west of the Mississippi who participated. Consequently, names like Stoy, Lueken, Matsuno, Boyer, and others we're used to seeing in Nats listings were not in evidence-but they were replaced by those having eastern seaboard addresses. The weather on Thursday, HL Glider day, was anything but conducive to good scores. A stiff, steady breeze blew out of the southeast from 8 a.m. until the close of competition, without letup. Those who sought to fly early to take advantage of "dew thermals" didn't find `em. Those who waited to fly until later in the day, hoping for warm bubbles of air, suffered the same fate. Streamers, soap bubbles, cattail fuzzies, and electronic detectors all indicated the same thing-light, spotty lift moving downfield with the wind.
AMA Nats 1983: FF Outdoor Rubber
A LOT OF FOLKS had their money on "Gentleman George" Perryman to repeat a considerable portion of his 1982 Nats performance and put most of the first-place marbles in his bag, then saunter back to Georgia. But the capricious thermal god, Hung, must have stepped away from George's side for a moment or two and let other folks just slip right on into first place in a couple of events that had "Perryman" written all over them. Open Mulvihill was a three-way battle that literally went down to the last few seconds of time before it was decided. By late in the afternoon, Perryman, Guenther Nowak, and Bob Lipori all had 780 sec., having maxed on their first five flights. Perryman's bent-wing bird needed five full minutes for its sixth max, but it dropped below the tree line at 198 sec. Lipori had just returned from his fifth flight, and he was furiously preparing for his sixth. Nowak was already in the air and back down with a max before Lipori was able to launch. As Lipori released his model into what looked like good air, it was Nowak's turn to start furious preparations, even as time was ticking down to the last few minutes. Kibitzers were taking bets on whether or not Lipori could retrieve his model, get back in time, and wind and launch before the contest was over. In the meantime, Nowak stood ready to fling his ship into the air again, should it be necessary.
AMA Nats 1983: FF Power
LIKE A WANDERING BAND of Gypsies, the Free Flight tribe moved from one corner of Westover Air Force Base to another, literally whichever way would give them the longest chase room according to the way the winds blew. Early on Tuesday morning, the FF events were located in essentially a central position on the base, only to find that test flights were drifting precariously close to the RC Pylon Racing area. After a bit of confusion as to what was supposed to happen next, tents, tables, and awnings were folded and repitched on a more westerly location. From then on, change of site became a way of life.
Twin Comanche
Do you have two .25 engines that you'd like to put to good use? Put them in this CL Sport Scale model (or add more details for CL Precision Scale), and get ready to pick up some contest "hardware." The Piper Twin Comanche came into being late in 1962 as a replacement for the Piper Apache when the first version of the Comanche, designated PA-30, was tested. By 1965 the Comanche was available as a six-seater which could be equipped with tip tanks and a turbo-charged option.
Master Modeler's Workshop
SOMETIMES we get so wrapped up in our current building projects that we overlook some ways of making the building task simpler, easier to accomplish, or less time consuming. One of the areas we spend too little time and effort on is our respective work areas or workshops (if we have the kind of space needed for a complete workshop). Affectionately referred to as the "boar's nest" or that "disaster downstairs," the work area doesn't have to fit either of those descriptions. With a little time, a bit of scrounging for odds and ends, and some ingenuity, the workshop can be a very attractive and efficient place-rather than an eyesore hidden away to save embarrassment.
