Radio Control: Giant Scale
HERESY, heresy, heresy! We're going to talk heresy this month. And Bob Benjamin's the cause. On a toasty day last September Bob called to say that he was passing through Colorado Springs en route to the Scale Masters Final in Texas. He figured that we'd get together for lunch and a spot of hangar flying before he resumed his drive. Bob, of course, is the artist who does those great covers for Model Builder magazine. I'd met him at the ROC's flying field up in Washington state awhile back. He's a master model builder and flier-a very talented guy.
Radio Control: Giant Scale
SURE THEY'RE BIG! That's the name of the game-Giant Scale. Fuselages are massive, and the wings seem to go on forever. Building a Giant model poses a space problem that won't quit. Normal sized workbenches tend to restrict the Giant Scale modeler and hangar rash is the inevitable result. It's rather frustrating when your model develops nicks and dings even before it's covered, painted, or flown! I more or less solved the space problem early on. It was relatively simple to build a giant workbench that seems to have solved the space problem. With an electric drill, some plywood and other easily-acquired materials, it only took about half a day to construct an efficient work space. Here's how to do it.
Radio Control: Giant Scale
AH, THE GOOD OLD DAYS. Would you believe that in the Thirties and Forties you could buy a model airplane kit for a nickel? A tube of glue went for the same price. If you really wanted to splurge, you might plunk down a dime and get a rubber-powered kit that produced an 18-in. wingspan Scale flier. If you really wanted to go first class, fifty cents would get you a Cleveland Dwarf (1/2-in. scale) kit. That was two week's allowance for some kids-a young fortune! As time passed and gas engines came into vogue, you might save up your pennies and invest $16.50 in an Ohlsson .23 to power your allbalsa Jim Walker Control Line Fireball kit that cost all of $10. With the advent of real radio control, the engine of choice was the K&B Greenhead .45 that'd set you back a staggering $27.95 at the hobby shop. It was just the engine to power your $24.95 Scale Spitfire kit in the mid-Sixties.
Radio Control: Giant Scale
"Complex problems require complex solutions," someone once said. Whoever that someone may have been, he certainly wasn't a Giant Scale builder. While there are some Giant Scale designers who adhere to the line that complicated is better, happily they're in the minority. After all, most airplanes (model or otherwise) have two things in common. First, under their skins they have basic structures that tie wing, fuselage, stabilizer, and rudder together into their proper relationships. This load-bearing structure is where the strength of the airframe lies. It need not be complex to perform its basic function. Second, the skin of the aircraft gives it its character. It's where we Scale modelers add the detail that makes a Mustang a Mustang, or a Cub a Cub. Too often, though, we'll go overboard and add nonfunctional weight to our models in an attempt to duplicate the prototype.
Radio Control: Giant Scale
'TWAS our good luck last September to attend the National Championship Air Races in Reno, NV. Things certainly have changed since I first attended the National Air Races back in 1938. That year Tony LeVier won the Greve Trophy flying the Schoenfeldt Firecracker, and Roscoe Turner triumphed in the Thompson in his Pesco Special. Today, there are four classes of pylon polishers compared to the two of '38. The F1 racers most closely approximate the racing aircraft of yester-year since they're primarily home-builts and are powered by a common engine. The other Reno classes include the racing bi-planes, AT-6s and Unlimiteds. The later attain speeds that regularly exceed the 1938 World Speed record. The winner of this year's Gold Race among the Unlimiteds was Rare Bear, a modified Grumman F8F that tore around the nine-mile-plus course at a staggering 469 mph!
