50TH ANNUAL Mint Julep SCALE CONTEST

Half a century of flying Scale models

By Stan Alexander | [email protected]
Photos by the author
As seen in the October 2022 issue of Model Aviation.

john boykos — **01.** John Boyko’s T-34B has a 114-inch wingspan.

finishing first in open scale — **02.** Finishing first in Open Scale, Jeremy Arvin’s Britten- Norman Defender twin was originally built by Al Kretz, and then rebuilt by Jeremy. It is powered by two DLE-20 engines.

jeremys fokker — **03.** Jeremy’s Fokker D.VII bears Lithuanian colors.

This year’s 50th Anniversary Mint Julep Scale Contest was held at the beautiful Bill Beach Airfield in Rosewood, Indiana. For many years, this event was held at the Rough River (Falls of Rough) State Park in Kentucky. Because much of the park has been closed for renovations, which have taken more than several years, the decision was made to move the event.

The new venue now has a better runway with 1,200 feet of grass and 800 feet of pavement. A paved parking area, concrete pits, permanent shelters, as well as parking areas for spectators, are just parts of this great facility. Rosewood is west of Louisville, Kentucky, and slightly north of the Ohio River.

The event director, Dale Arvin, personally paid for the trophies in tribute to his late wife, Mary, who passed away earlier this year. Mary was the behindthe-scenes mover and shaker in previous contests. She sent out invitations, sponsorship requests, managed the paperwork, and worked in scoring during the gatherings throughout much of the event’s history. She is missed by friends, and especially by her family!

Changes

Imagine how much aeromodeling has changed in 50 years. In power options, we’ve gone from twostroke engines to four-stroke engines, gas power, and now electrics. Radio systems have completely changed with the advent of 2.4 GHz, and they are much safer as well.

The Mint Julep soldiers on with the Rosewood RC Flyers club providing a great site, food, fellowship, and fair competition all in one weekend. Extremely high temperatures and fuel prices kept the attendance down this year, but those of us who did attend had a fantastic time. The pulled pork sandwiches and potato salad were great, as was the competition.

The site features room for several campers or motorhomes in available, level spots. It is dry camping (no water or electric), but it really puts you close to the pit area. There is nothing better for modelers wanting to get together after the last two years of the COVID pandemic.

some of the crew at the 50th annual mint julep included — **04.** Some of the crew at the 50^th Annual Mint Julep included contestants and judges, and some of the workers are scattered in there. Great times!

john received a plaque from jeremy — **05.** John received a plaque from Jeremy for his first-place finish in Fun Scale Open class.

al kretzs ziroli stearman has a us — **06.** Al Kretz’s Ziroli Stearman has a US Engines 41cc powerplant and a Futaba radio system for guidance.

earl devers clippedwing cub finished — **07.** Earl Dever’s clippedwing Cub finished first in Fun Scale Novice. The 1/3-scale model features a functional smoke system.

charles grays de havilland tiger moth — **08.** Charles Gray’s de Havilland Tiger Moth sports civil registration markings. It features an 80-inch wingspan, is powered by an O.S. 90FS engine, and is covered with MonoKote.

The Contest

There were the usual AMA Scale classes, such as AMA Fun Scale, along with a Fun Scale Foamie electric-only class (with one mechanical option). In these classes, there are only seven maneuvers instead of the normal 10. Static judging was completed under the permanent canopies on Friday afternoon for all classes. Fun Scale classes were static judged by the flight judges. You can only score 5 points for this class.

Some of the outstanding aircraft included Jeremy Arvin’s 1/4-scale Balsa USA Fokker D.VII with an NGH GF38 gas engine and a Futaba radio system. The wingspan is 88 inches and the model is painted with Klass Kote paint. The dummy engine, machine guns, and other details really make this Fokker stand out, but gremlins sneaked in and kept the model grounded after its first flight. A control cable on the aileron broke off, but Jeremy was able to land the model easily with the rudder.

Jeremy finished in third place in Division 2 with a Fokker D.VII model painted in Lithuanian colors. The paint looks factory fresh. In researching the airplane, he discovered that it only flew one time, crash-landed, and was never rebuilt, thus the fresh paint scheme.

Dale Arvin’s Fokker D.VII won the class this year. Dale’s model features a Laser 2.4-volt twin engine.

Another impressive model was John Boyko’s T-34B, which was built from wood and fiberglass with Deltron Automotive paint and Sierra Giant Scale retracts. The 114-inch wingspan model is powered by a Zenoah GT-80 twin engine fitted with a spring starter. The Navy trainer is controlled by a Spektrum radio system. The model weighs 54 pounds. John flew it in all four rounds of competition and placed first in Fun Scale Open.

Several sharp models competed in Fun Scale Novice, including Earl Dever Jr.’s 1/3-scale clipped-wing Cub, which finished first. Ron Pound, flying his 1/3-scale Balsa USA Fokker D.VII, finished second, and Dale finished third with his clipped-wing Cub.

I hope to see everyone at next year’s Mint Julep event!