Control Line Scale:

2023 AMA CL Scale Nats

By Fred Cronenwett | [email protected]

As seen in the February 2023 issue of Model Aviation.

THE DATES FOR the 2023 AMA Control Line (CL) Scale Nats have been set as July 6-9. The normal events will be flown, except for F4B, which will take the place of Authentic Scale. The F4B Team Trials will be held during the 2023 Nats for the 2024 FAI F4 World Championships for Scale Model Aircraft.

F4B Static Judging is judged from 5 meters, but you will still want a detailed cockpit so that the judges can see that an effort was made to add that detail. The documentation requirements are quite different from Sport Scale. Read the rules so that you can get it right.

Some of the options that are flown in Sport Scale are not considered as options in F4B. The rules explain the differences between how the flight is done, what items are mandatory, and what can be selected as F4B flight options. Be prepared to fly round one on Friday, July 7.

For those who have never flown at the Nats before, consider entering the 100th anniversary of the event. With Fun, Profile, Sport, Team, 1/2A, and F4B CL Scale classes, there will be something that will match your goals and the models that you have available. Fun Scale is the only event that does not require the Builder of the Model rule. You can enter an ARF or a model that you purchased from another person in the Fun Scale class. Figure out what flying options you want to use, and then practice them to make sure that the model flies as the full-scale aircraft would fly.

Remember that throttle control and having multiengines are options. Performing a touch-and-go and having retracts count as two options. I usually add "touch" on one line and "go" on the next.

The other thing to be aware of is that throttle control, flaps, and retractable landing gear are judged throughout the entire flight. You will list the option on your score sheet, but you don’t have to call out a dedicated demonstration of it during the flight. If you use flaps, you will be judged on how they are used during takeoff, a touch-and-go, and landing.

The landing approach needs to look like how the full-scale airplane would land. Practice the flaps ahead of time so that you can work the throttle and the flaps at the same time during the landing. The AMA CL Scale Competition Regulations (listed in "Sources") has details on what the judges are looking for with all of the options.

My first Nats was in 1993, and to say that I learned a lot is an understatement. Just going through the experience of the Nats means you walk away with a much better understanding of how to approach things so that when you build your next competition model, you will improve your static and flight scores.

Remember to register early. The number of trophies that are ordered is based upon the number of registered pilots approximately a month before the Nats starts. You can register the week before the event, but your entry will not be used to determine how many trophies will be provided.

56th Annual Midwest Regional C/L Championships

Jeff and Maddy Jensen both flew at the 2022 Midwest Regional C/L Championships that was held Labor Day weekend.

The Aurora Municipal Airport in Sugar Grove, Illinois, located west of downtown Chicago, was the site of the Midwest Regional C/L Championships that was held Labor Day weekend 2022. Hosted by the Tree Town Modelaires CL club, Scale, Racing, Carrier, and Stunt were flown. The wind was on the high side this year, so the 1/2A models did not fly. The entries included a Golden Age racer and military and civilian aircraft.

Jeff Jensen and his daughter, Maddy, both flew in the contest. Pete Mazur, who normally flies CL Navy Carrier, flew his foam ARF Bearcat with flaps and retracts.

Aircraft are lined up at the Midwest Regional C/L Championships.

Maddy is shown flying her Profile Hellcat.

Pete Mazur’s Fun Scale foam ARF Bearcat is shown with the gear retracted. You can see the linkage for the flaps.

Maddy displays the Profile Hellcat she flew in the contest.

He uses a highly modified RC car transmitter for the 2.4 GHz control of the throttle, flaps, and retracts. When Pete first flew this model, it required some trimming to make it ready for CL Scale. I saw him fly it in late August at the Lafayette Esquadrille fun-fly.

The goal of any CL Scale flight is for it to look like the full-scale aircraft. If you have a Bearcat, fly it like a Bearcat. Pete has been practicing when to drop the flaps and when to retract the landing gear. He retained the servo-controlled flaps and electric retracts.

I flew my B-29. I could tell the wind was rough, but the 14-pound model penetrates the wind, so it handled it better than Pete’s Bearcat. The big difference between the Bearcat and the B-29 is that the B-29 has high wing loading.

2023 Contest Season

Plan ahead if you want to attend and fly at a 2023 contest near you. On the West Coast, the Northwest Regionals is held Memorial Day weekend in Oregon and it is worth attending. In the Midwest, you have the Nats, Broken Arrow, the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) Scale Classic, and the Midwest Regional C/L Championships on Labor Day weekend.

2023 Contest Calendar

• Northwest Regionals: May 26-28; Roseburg, Oregon
• CL Scale Nats: July 6-9; Muncie, Indiana
• Midwest Regional C/L Championships: September 2-3; Aurora, Illinois
• NASA Scale Classic: September 15-17; Muncie, Indiana
• Broken Arrow CL Stunt & Scale Contest: September 16-17; Buder Park, Valley Park, Missouri