CL Scale Nats 2016
by Fred Cronenwett
clscale7@gmail.com
This year’s Control Line (CL) Scale Nats was different because it was flown in June instead of July. The only other event that was being held on site was the RC Scale Nats, and the venue was quiet.
Authentic Scale has found a following. All of the events had many entries except for Team Scale, which had fewer than in the past. Allen Goff was the contest director (CD) for the last time and he handed over the responsibility of running the 2017 CL Scale Nats to Bob Heywood. If you have ever CDed a contest, you understand the amount of effort it takes to organize and run an event the size of the Nats.
Several new models flown at the Nats attracted attention, including Ed Mason’s new B-29, Robert Storick’s Shoestring, and Mike MacCarthy’s Call-Air A-9 crop duster.
The 1/2A Scale event continues to grow and there were more single-engine models than multiengine aircraft, despite the bonus points that the multiengine machines can earn. If you have ever tried to get a 1/2A engine to run, a single-engine model is not a bad compromise.
Mike MacCarthy’s Call-Air A-9
Mike MacCarthy, from California, pulled out his Call-Air A-9 crop duster. It had every detail in the right place with a fully detailed cockpit, and everyone was excited to see how the model performed. Powered with a .91-size four-stroke engine, it sounded great and it flew well. I have flown with Mike at the Northwest Regionals in Oregon, so it was good see him again.
Mike had some trouble making it through the flight because of some balance problems, so after he landed, everyone helped to get him and the model back to the pit area. We have a rule that allows for a proxy pilot to fly a competitor’s airplane if the pilot is physically unable. Mike asked me to fly the model for him on the second flight, so after he briefed me on his setup, I felt as though I could do it justice.
To state that I was nervous about flying his model as a proxy pilot, and returning the model to the pit area undamaged, is an understatement. Mike had the model trimmed out well—it flew level, as though it was on rails, and worked perfectly. I often report on how airplanes fly based upon what I see from the outside of the circle, but in this case, I saw it from the outside and from the handle. Thank you, Mike, for letting me fly your Call-Air A-9. I enjoyed every minute of it!
The full-scale Call-Air A-9 has a generator on the sprayer unit with a small propeller. The propeller spins because of the airflow pressurizing the sprayer unit. Mike made this feature work. You could see the little propeller on the generator spinning away while the model flew. He used down-the-line electronic controls for throttle and flaps. Controls are attached to the handle so you can fly with one hand and reach up
to operate the switches with the other.
Mike earned a commanding first place in Authentic Scale, and the top static award for his efforts.
Sport Scale
The static competition in Sport Scale took place during the flying portion. Static points were spread out from 75.50 all the way up to 96.25, with the flying points determining first through fourth place.
Richard Schneider took the top static award with his de Havilland Tiger Moth.
He had one flight score at 97.25 points. With no less than nine flights earning 90 points or more, the competition was tight. Ed Mason held on to second place, flying his Lockheed Constellation, but the real battle was for third and fourth places. Robert Storick flew his Shoestring (see my October 2016 column) in his second CL Scale contest. Typically, not everyone flies all four rounds, but Robert and Charlie Bauer put in all of the possible flights to see which of them would take third place. Despite a 99.70 flight score from Charlie and his Islander, Robert held on to take the third-place trophy with a .75-point lead.
Fun Scale
Joe Gilbert flew Ed Mason’s B-17 in the Fun Scale event for a second-place finish, while Mike McHenry flew his P-39 into first place. Mike had another P-39 with the same paint scheme that he flew in ½A Scale.
There was only a four-point difference between first and third place, so the competition was strong. With 10 entries and eight pilots getting flights in, the winning scores were not known until Sunday when all of the flying was complete.
Jason Pearson
Jason Pearson, who was a member of the Lafayette Esquadrille CL Club in St. Louis, passed away on Tuesday, August 30, 2016. He was flying his full-scale ultralight in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and crashed.
Jason did not fly CL Scale, but he flew CL and RC models. He was living the dream of pursuing what he loved to do and supported everything that our CL club did. Jason was the crew chief for Dan Buchanan Airshows in Dayton, Nevada.
I also belong to the Lafayette Esquadrille CL Club and I want to extend condolences to his wife, Angela. Jason is also survived by his parents, Joe and Mary Pearson. He was 39 years old.
Changes Ahead for 2017
There are a number of rules proposals going through the rules cycle and by now, all of the votes are in. If you go to the AMA website, you can see the voting results and read the proposed changes.
If the rules changes were approved, they will be incorporated into the official rules for the 2017-2018 Competition Regulations. Be sure to read the 2017-2018 regulations if you plan to attend or run a CL Scale contest in 2017.
I hope everyone has a project on the workbench that he or she is working on to get airborne when the weather warms up in the spring. I always welcome contest reports, upcoming contest flyers, and pictures of projects you are building and flying.
Have a great Christmas and see everyone in 2017.
Land softly!
SOURCES:
National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA)
www.nasascale.org
Lafayette Esquadrille CL Club
www.lafayetteesquadrillecl.wordpress.com
AMA Nats
nats.modelaircraft.org
AMA Competition Regulations
www.modelaircraft.org/events/compreg.aspx
AMA CL Scale rules change proposals
www.modelaircraft.org/events/ruleproposals.aspx
