RC Scale - December 2016
Written by Stan Alexander Contributed column Extended content from the December 2016 issue of Model Aviation.
2016 RC Scale Nats Sponsors
Horizon Hobby Futaba Brodak Manufacturing ZAP Glue Barbee Concrete RCScalebuilder.com Fellowship of Christian Modelers IFlyTailies Tru-Turn ElectroDynamics Warbird Pilots Indiana Warbird Campaign Modeler’s Reference Bob Banka’s Aircraft Documentation Balsa USA Falcon Propellers Westerville Model Aeronautics Association Toys Forever Models & Hobbies
There have been so many things happening in RC Scale that finding column space for them is a problem! The Nats, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, and other events have all kept me busy. I’m using the online portion of the magazine to expand the coverage of a few items that might interest you.
One of the best RC Scale Nats that I’ve attended in several years was held on Site 4 at the AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center this year. The condition of the grass was great, and AMA put a lot of work into the site.
The weather was nice. The June 24-26 event was well organized, with John Boyko serving as the event director this year.
NatsNews, available on AMA’s website (http://nats.modelaircraft.org/nats-news-newsletter), has daily reports, so I won’t go into that here. Mike Barbee won the 2016 RC Scale Nats championship this year, flying in Team Scale with Frank Noll at the sticks of his Wildcat.
On the subject of the Wildcat, who designed and fabricated all of those fiberglass/foam parts that made up three of the winning aircraft at the Nats? All were Bob Patton designs: Mike Barbee’s T-34B in Expert class and his FM Wildcat in Team Scale, and Will Berninger’s T-34C in Open Scale. All three won their classes—that’s a feat I haven’t seen in years.
Horizon Hobby Futaba Brodak Manufacturing ZAP Glue Barbee Concrete RCScalebuilder.com Fellowship of Christian Modelers IFlyTailies Tru-Turn ElectroDynamics Warbird Pilots Indiana Warbird Campaign Modeler’s Reference Bob Banka’s Aircraft Documentation Balsa USA Falcon Propellers Westerville Model Aeronautics Association Toys Forever Models & Hobbies
One of Bob’s designs is this FM Wildcat, built by Mike Barbee and flown by Frank Noll. Mike and Frank won Team Scale at this year’s Nats.
Bob also designed Will Berninger’s T-34C that won the Open Scale class. Three of Bob’s designs won their respective classes this year.
Bob’s designs are accurate, large, and fly well! Most of his creations are 100-inch wingspan and larger. He currently campaigns a Cessna C-152 with a 171-inch wingspan. Bob’s company is called Aeromagic RC. His contact information is included in the “Sources.”
Bob and Tina Patton stand with Mark Lanterman (R) behind Bob’s 171-inch wingspan Cessna 152 at the 2015 Mint Julep. Three of Bob’s designs won in Expert, Team Scale, and Open Scale at this year’s Nats.
Nats sponsors were generous this year, and were a cross-section of the hobby industry. A Hangar 9 Corsair, which was raffled off Saturday night at the banquet, was a fantastic prize. The package had everything needed for the model, including a Futaba radio system, a Saito three-cylinder engine, and all of the electronics. The winner only needed to add gas and it was ready to fly!
Coffee Airfoilers Warbird Fly-In
I went to Tullahoma, Tennessee, for the Coffee Airfoilers Model R/C Club Warbird Fly-In the weekend of July 16-17. Although I was only able to attend for one day, I had a great time. Contest director Paul Green, club president Don Cleveland, club secretary Bonny Jenkins, and a host of volunteers made everyone feel welcome. The weather was hot and muggy, but the field was great with a 20 x 500-foot paved runway and a large grass runway. There was a variety of warbirds at the event and flights went on all day except during the noontime show when all of the aircraft were put on the runway. Everyone selected his or her favorites for the “Best Of” awards.Bonus event photos
There was a gaggle of P-47s, similar to what you would see at many Scale gatherings, along with World War I, World War II, and post-WW II models. I brought my new Horizon Hobby T-28. There were three there that day. I’d never flown mine and did the maiden flight there with a pilot who had flown at that field before. The model is a pussycat in the air and seems to have no bad vices. I added extra hinge tape to the flaps, which was recommended in most of the articles that I have read about the aircraft. Using a 5,000 mAh six-cell LiPo battery for power, it seems to work fine for seven- to nine-minute flights. There were a few campers, including my friend Al Kretz. I hope to take my camper there next year for the event. It’s dry camping with no electric hookups, and the sites are close to the runway. The flying site is on the Arnold Air Force Base, approximately 12 miles from I-24. I’ve already marked this one on the calendar for next year. Hope to see you there.
Cessna C-165 Airmaster Update
I’ve been looking at the photos that I have of the Cessna and trying to figure out some of the mounts, brackets, hinges, and the dummy radial. I’ve seen a few models with a dummy engine that came from a Super Stearman ARF. It’s not correct for this airframe’s nine cylinders. I wanted to photograph the full-scale aircraft up close and get all of the detail shots that I needed—especially the door, cockpit interior, aileron, rudder, and elevator hinges. The full-scale pilot of this Cessna, Vernon, told me he planned to have it at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh all week. Amazingly, I had no plans that week (July 25-31), so we were able to get together!Taking photos at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
Many aeromodelers, especially Scale modelers, dream about going to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin, at least once. Others try to attend as often as possible, even if they have to skip other events to make the trip. If there is a holy site for all forms of aviation, it has to be AirVenture. AirVenture is held each year at the end of July. The wonder of Oshkosh is a combination of the sheer number and incredible variety of aircraft that show up each year. None of this would be possible without the large army of volunteers that makes it all happen. I worked at the event for several years with Jim Parker, doing flyby operations. Because this is one of the largest aviation events in the world, it attracts people worldwide in huge numbers. Most know the event simply as Oshkosh. For many modelers, the lure is meeting the pilots and seeing aircraft perform in daily air shows. Others tend to check out the aircraft at the seaplane base, take the bus back to the classic and antique section, or trek to the warbird section at the north end of the airport. To photograph airplanes while you are there, you need a strategy so you can get your shots. I like to get there early, at 6 or 6:30 in the morning. Why? If I spot an airplane that I want to photograph, the sun is usually up and there aren’t crowds standing around the airplanes. I shoot eight-point walk-arounds of the aircraft by 7:30 a.m. or so, and then go back and shoot my detail shots. By 10 or 11 a.m., people begin to crowd around the airplanes.Bonus scale photos
I use a good digital camera, a memory card with plenty of storage, and extra batteries. Take along a monopod for photos of the top of the cabin or wing and other shots that you can’t get while standing on the ground. A good carbon-fiber monopod is lightweight and will fold down small enough to fit in a backpack. Begin by shooting a set of photos of the nose, front left quarter, side, rear left quarter, the tail, right rear quarter, right side, and right front quarter. For detail shots, start at the nose and work your way around to photograph hinges, rib tapes, joints, filets, interiors, and all of the other pieces you might want to build on your model. It doesn’t mean that you need to have these in the documentation for the judges, but you definitely want these photos for building the model. It gives you a good idea of how the full-scale airplane was assembled and how it works. You can also see where model designers make changes or modifications. I was only able to photograph a few aircraft during AirVenture because my wife, Esther, and I were there for merely two days of the weeklong event, held July 25-31. We hadn’t attended Oshkosh in a few years, and I was surprised at how it had grown. Nearly every classic and antique aircraft imaginable was there. World War I and World War II warbirds were among the many and varied airplanes in the warbird section. Russian warbirds are more popular because they are, in many cases, cheaper to own and operate than the heavy iron of WW II. AMA was also at Oshkosh AirVenture. I ran into Tony Stillman, AMA’s flying site assistance coordinator and technical director, behind the EAA Museum in the KidVenture area. AMA’s education trailer was there with flight simulators set up. Volunteers were at the Control Line (CL) circles helping novice pilots learn the basics of CL flight. RC models, including Giant Scale WW I airplanes, were flown too. AMA members flew RC electric-powered aircraft in the KidVenture area in the evenings. I wish I could have gotten in on that as well! If you decide to go, take some time and map out what you want to see. Make hotel reservations now! Don’t wait because you won’t find a room later, and plan to stay at least 30 minutes away. Many of the hotels that are close impose a minimum seven-night reservation, whether you stay that long or not. One option for overnight accommodations is to camp. We saw everything from tents under the wings of aircraft to 44-foot RVs at AirVenture. You must be an EAA member to stay on the EAA grounds at Camp Scholler. There were thousands of campers there. You’ll need some form of air conditioning during the week because it’s hot—no question about that! There is a free 24-hour RV dump station. Each time that we’ve gone to Oshkosh, we’ve enjoyed it. You should go at least once and plan to stay the entire week because you’ll never see it all unless you do! Enjoy! Fair skies and tailwinds.
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