Top Gun
RC SCALE COMPETITIONS in the US are characterized by different skill levels. In AMA competition, fliers can enter fun Scale or Sportsman class, and work their way up to Expert. With the US Scale Masters series, there are 19 qualifying events around the country-an Expert-class contestant has to finish in the top 30% of the field at that meet to qualify to go to the championships each fall. In the international (F4C) FAI Scale program, a competitor must qualify for one of the positions on a three-person team. The best filers at these events are watched, judged, and picked to compete at the Top Gun Invitational in West Palm Beach, Florida each spring. This event regularly draws more competitors from different parts of the world than any other event except the FAI World Championships. The pilots who are invited try to best each other with the "wow factor"-building large, complicated, unique aircraft that expand the technical envelope of Scale aeromodeling. Giant Scale models with radial engines or turbines are not uncommon, as competitors try to add to their realism score. Aircraft are only eligible for three years.
'96 Scale Masters: Garland Hamilton Takes Top Honors in Mesa, Arizona
Qualification for the US Scale Masters Championships is a thrill for many Scale competitors. This year there were 19 Masters Qualifiers from Alberta, Canada to Long Island to Dallas to King Orange in Florida, the Mint Julep in Kentucky, and Mile Square Park in California. The 1996 Championships was held October 31-November 3 at Mesa, Arizona by the Arizona Model Aviators at the beautiful Spook Hills flying site. The ramrods of the event were veteran Manager Roy Pratt and Contest Director Jeff Demming. This Spook Hills facility, with a 600-foot paved runway, covered pit area, and safety barriers on all flightlines, is another flying site in danger of being closed because of encroaching urban development.
Top Gun
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida was the scene April 24-27 of the Ninth Annual Top Gun Invitational, directed by Frank Tiano and sponsored by West Palm Beach Aero Club. Major sponsors were Pacer Technology, Robart Manufacturing, and Model Airplane News. A contestant can enter a model for three years, then he or she must replace it. Not only does this keep the field fresh, but it encourages pilots to build new models to be ready for the next event, or to have a spare in case of a mishap. Competitors at the Palm Beach Polo Club came from as far as Canada, Germany, and South America. Ed Gutierrez and Pedro Serco came from Bolivia to compete in Team Scale at their first Top Gun. Their SNJ-5 was built from Nick Ziroli plans during a three-year period. The 101-inch-span museum-quality model was powered by a G-62 engine.
Scale Masters
IT WAS still summer in Texas for the 18th annual US Scale Masters Championships in September 1997. The city of Irving welcomed everyone to beautiful North Lake Park, with Mayor Morris H. Parrish presiding over the opening ceremony. This was the third time the Masters has been hosted by the IRCFA. The mayor flew an RC trainer (for the first time, I'm guessing). The Irving RC Flyers Association, with president and Contest Manager Tom Coe, may have another new member from this experience. The city's involvement and support of model aviation competition and the Irving RC Flyers is very apparent in this park. Static competition started things off at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, where quite a few airworthy WW II aircraft receive tender loving care. The museum staff was very courteous to everyone involved in the Scale Masters. With their clean hangars, beautiful aircraft, and gift shop, it's a 4.0 operation.
Scale Flight Routines: For a Winning Combination
IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN to a Scale meet, watching a champion modeler finesse his aircraft through a flight routine, you realize very soon that the pilot knows his aircraft extremely well. There are no unexpected dives or swerves to the ground or toward the crowd. The entire flight is like a movie in time of the prototype aircraft's flight characteristics, realistic in every detail, right down to the three-point landing with flaps and landing lights. To attempt to copy this type of performance is the goal of every competition Scale pilot. They want to impress the judges with knowledge of their aircraft and show everyone in the crowd of fellow modelers and spectators that they "have the right stuff." Even if you don't fly Scale competition, this article will help you fly your Scale model more realistically at the local flying field or a Scale Fly-In. Who knows, you might try Scale competition and decide that it's really fun - which it is!
