RC Scale
ALMOST READY TO FLY (ARF) is a term that drives veteran modelers crazy at times. "Those rookies don't know how to build," they might say. "These guys we see at the field don't even know how to rebuild their own models. Some of them don't even know how to set their engines." Many of us have heard it before.
Let's face it: whether it's Scale models, sport models, or now even Old-Timers, ARFs are here to stay.
Almost all, if not all, ARFs sold in the USA are constructed in another country.
That's okay by me, but times and the economy always change. When the value of the dollar falls off, and it will, the cost of producing ARFs overseas will skyrocket, as will the retail prices. At that point we will see an increase in building. As many modelers saw in the 1930s to 1950s, expense will be the most significant factor.
There is a great deal to choose from in the current market. In a recent catalog that came to the house, the first 35 pages were ARFs. One Sport Scale kit I've seen for sale in the past year is the Sig CAP 231EX. Several modelers have flown these aircraft locally with engines as large as SuperTiger 2500s under that big cowl.
The Sig CAP's airframe is expertly covered with UltraCote®. I was surprised to see how light the airframe was right out of the box.
After looking through the engines available to me in the drawer in the shop, I selected an O.S. 90 FSR; it should pull the CAP just fine and do any aerobatics I want it to do. Several modelers have told me that the .90 won't give the CAP enough power to do the wild aerobatics seen at today's contests. That's okay though, because I'm really not into the Rolling Circles or square vertical maneuvers that some pilots perform.
The photos give you a good idea of what comes from the box and what you have to work with, which are a fully painted fiberglass cowl, hardware, engine mount, landing gear, tires, painted wheel pants, and more. Basically the only things not included are the pilot, the instrument panel, and the glue.
If you want to try Fun Scale at the next local event, the CAP is a good airplane with which to start. It will do almost any aerobatic maneuver you want it to, and it builds quickly into a nice-flying model.
If you have never been to a Scale contest, right now you're probably asking what the heck Fun Scale is.
It is the newest Radio Control (RC) Scale class in the AMA Competition Regulations booklet. Fun Scale has been around for a few years, and it is just that. It's designed to introduce beginners to Scale competition. You compete against other modelers in the same general skill level, as in any other Scale class.
However, in Fun Scale you don't have to build the model with which you compete. You can even go to the local hobby shop or to the field and buy someone else's Scale model and compete with it.
In Fun Scale you can earn five static points with a model that is finished in a color scheme and with markings that the full-scale aircraft had or has. You are awarded five or zero points—nothing in between. You need to have a drawing, a photo, or some other simple documentation such as a plastic-model box top to receive your five points.
That really makes the static part of competition simple, but your model must be Scale; you can't use an Ugly Stik, a Kobra, or something like that.
For the Fun Scale flight portion, all you have to do is learn to fly 10 flight maneuvers which include a few you have to do to fly anyway. The five required maneuvers are Takeoff, Fly by, Figure Eight, Landing, and Realism. The judges score Realism after the flight.
Then you add five maneuvers you like to fly that are typical for that Scale model. For an aerobatic aircraft you might include a Loop, a Stall Turn, a Split 'S', a Half Reverse Cuban Eight, and a Snap Roll. These are just a few options; there are many ways you can add or delete flight maneuvers to mix up a routine.
At some Scale contests, such as the Mint Julep held at the Falls of Rough State Park in Kentucky, two divisions of Fun Scale are held: Novice and Open (Expert).
Why Open, or Expert? Scale modelers want to fly as many times during the contest as possible, and getting in 12 or 16 flights compared to four in a normal meet helps them get more time in front of the judges to practice. The novice pilot may be working on a Sportsman-class model, and many contests will let them enter both classes.
The Mint Julep Scale contest is held each spring; this year it will be May 17-19 and is hosted by the Southern Indiana RC club. For more information about this meet, check out "Contest Calendar" in the back of the magazine or contact Dale Arvin via E-mail at darvin8094@aol.com.
The Internet is a great tool for researching aircraft. You can meet modelers from around the world and gain valuable information about certain airplanes that is not generally available in the USA. You can check out Web sites anywhere in the world.
One great source of information on the Web is www.scaleaero.com; there are many links and sites listed on this page for documentation, Scale organizations, parts, kits, plans, and other goodies for those of us who enjoy Scale models.
With regards to E-mail, there are some very nasty viruses out there—roughly 3,000 of them. Those of us who use the Internet for communication on a daily basis have some very real concern when we try to contact fellow modelers, shop online, or check out the AMA Web site. Since my system has been down for approximately two months because of some bad stuff out there, I’ve come up with a few suggestions.
Get on the Internet and select a Web site, such as www.mail2bkc.com, where you can preview your E-mail messages before you download them. If you don’t recognize the sender or title, delete the message. This way you can download your E-mail more safely and get rid of all of the trash.
Update your antivirus system at least weekly. Update your Web browser at least monthly.
Don’t accept E-mail messages without a title/subject or a title/subject "Re:"; there is a very good chance that messages are infected if they are without titles.
If you receive E-mail with an attachment, reply to the sender—no matter who it is—before you open the attachment to confirm that he or she did actually send it to you. Some viruses attach after they infect your machine then send the same virus to everyone on your mailing list, and you don’t even know it’s happening.
Good luck!
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation is a great source of information for Scale modelers. Bob Bakats has spent years of research building the largest collection of documentation from around the world. His new 288-page, soft-bound book/catalog is packed with Scale-related articles and listings for aircraft, helicopters, airplanes, aircraft engines, rockets, and bombers. Some of the variety Bob offers includes 246 different Foto Packs of P-51 Mustangs, 100 WACO, 50 B-25s, and 115 P-38 pictures. There are drawings abound, with more than 35,000 drawings available. The catalog is $8 in the USA, and more for those outside the country. Visa® and MasterCard® are accepted for orders of $20 or more. Contact Bob at 5114 Yuca Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; Tel.: (714) 979-8085. You can also look at his Web site at www.bobsaid.com.
Some modelers choose subjects that are well out of the ordinary, and they are usually very interesting to build and beautiful models when finished. One such example is John Symborski’s RWD-8—a Polish trainer from 1932.
John added the hood latches he made from brass and wire. The rivets came from straight-pin heads. He added scale hinges from split bamboo. The fuel gauge came from a toothpaste cap, and the fuel gauge came from a small thermometer.
I first included John’s effort in the November 2000 column. His RWD-8 is powered by an .12 engine and is built from Steve Schreffler Airdrome Plans and a partial kit from Arizona Modelers. You can see from the photos that John really used his imagination and that’s a strong point; he looked for all of the parts and found them in some of the oddest places.
You don’t have to choose a model we don’t see every day to make it stand out. Recent US Scale Masters winner Jeremy Furman built a common British trainer: the de Havilland Tiger Moth.
However, instead of putting a regular British camouflaged color scheme or a one- or two-tone civil color scheme on his model, Jeremy chose a design from a book and did some research on the aircraft. He found it in Australia, under the sun, and had more plywood made from which to build the model. This was a true international project.
Jeremy built the Tiger Moth from a Duncan Hunter kit which, to my knowledge, is no longer available, but the Tiger is relatively rich in this color scheme. The wings were painted by hand with paint from Nelson Hobby Specialties. The System Three paint is a polyurethane used in boat construction. It’s very durable and resists fuel, or anything else for that matter. What’s great about this paint is that you can apply it with a brush and it will level and dry to a hard, water— It shocked me, but it’s true; I’ve tried it. Jerry Nelson has a number of different colors, and he can match most any R/C or military color.
For more information about this paint or other products, contact Nelson Hobby Specialties at 3425 W. 21st Ave., Aloha OR 97006; or call Jerry at (503) 629-5271.
Fair skies and tailwinds. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
