Radio Control: Scale
MY TRIP to Indiana last summer was a lot of fun. In Indianapolis, I spent a Friday afternoon with Bev, Jimmy, and Jim Goad of ISC International-distributors of Tartan, Zenoah, GMS 2000, Asp, and Tiger Shark engines. The rest of the weekend was spent at the RC Scale portion of the National Aeromodeling Championships in Muncie. My visit with the Goads was fun and informative. They run a very healthy RC distributorship; it's pumped full of quality products and unparalleled customer service. Instead of just selling RC products, these folks also design, engineer, and fly many of the products they sell. You can find Jimmy Goad on the flightline at Madera and Houston; Jim Sr. spends most of his time in the company's research-and-development rooms, inspecting, refining, and doing whatever else is needed to assure modelers will receive the perfection they've come to expect from the engines ISC handles.
Radio Control: Scale
RC SCALE was held Friday, July 12 through Sunday, July 14. Friday was set aside for the very difficult task of static-judging some of the finest RC Scale models in the land, while Saturday and Sunday played host to four rounds of precise Scale flying from these very same airplanes. Four classes were offered: Sportsman Sport Scale, Expert Sport Scale, Designer Scale, and FAI. Sport Scale is where the majority of the entrants are found, separated by the competitive experience levels of Sportsman and Expert. Designer Scale is open to contestants who have designed-that's designed, not built from plans-their own aircraft. FAI is judged by international rules.
Radio Control: Scale
FABRIC COVERINGS: Many Scale models are covered with fabric, then primed and painted to precisely match the full-scale aircraft they're emulating. Without a doubt, fabric coverings are some of the easiest-to-handle model finishing materials, but they still have their share of quirks. Have you ever covered a model with a polyester fabric (such as Colortex, Solartex, Super Coverite, or Worldtex), painted it with more than one color, then experienced a major disaster when the masking tape pulled away every layer of the paint job when it was removed? If it's happened to you, and it has probably happened to most of us, don't be too quick to blame the products you're working with. The problem is more often caused by the method than by manufacturing. Even if the products you selected were individually the best, the combination of the products may not have been the best.
Radio Control: Scale
THIS YEAR, the previously titled "youth issue" of Model Aviation has been more accurately dubbed the "Newcomer issue." The purpose of this special annual issue was never to compile topics relating only to children, but rather to provide useful first-step information in each of aeromodeling's many categories to neophyte modelers of any age group. You don't have to be a beginner to modeling, but if you happen to be a beginner to a specific discipline, like RC Scale, then this is your issue and you've got your nose in the right place. Radio Control Scale modeling is considered by many to be taboo territory for those who are relatively new to the hobby. I'm here to let you know that this doesn't have to be the case; you can fly a Scale model as a low-time RC pilot if you pick your subject carefully. At its upper levels, RC Scale can be a difficult and wholly consuming discipline, but with more casual involvement, it can be easy, fun, and especially rewarding. The prerequisite to success in Scale (or any other undertaking) is primarily dependent on knowing your abilities and choosing appropriate projects that will complement your skills.
Choose the Correct Finish
The kit box is empty, the instruction manual has all of its little boxes checked, but your airplane's still in bare bones. Now what? What do you do when construction is done and finishing time comes around? A countless number of techniques and an even greater number of materials are available for finishing model aircraft, but how does one decide which is the best material or method? Choosing finishing methods and materials has long been one of modeling's major dilemmas and one of its most controversial battlegrounds. Every modeler you speak to has his or her own idea of which finishing methods and materials are best. Who's right? Who's wrong? What do you use and why do you use it?
