RC SCALE
THE MINT JULEP
By Stan Alexander | onawing4602@att.net
IN READING A COLUMN from a 40-year-old Model Builder magazine the other night, I came across the late Cliff Tacie’s article on the Mint Julep Scale Meet. This year marks the 52nd year of the contest. Many things have changed in the last 40 years. The location and dates have changed, as have some of the rules and classes, but the driving forces behind the contest haven’t changed: the Southern Indiana RC Modelers and Dale Arvin and family. Dale has continued to support the classes and divisions that make it unique and one of the premier events in the country.
I’ve attended this contest in all types of weather. In April, you could have snow, rain, and sun all in one weekend. To get away from some of the wet weather, it was moved to its current date in June.
Division One is for aircraft where the prototype has retracting landing gear, more than one mechanical option, or was designed specifically for racing. Division Two is for aircraft where the prototype has fixed gear, no more than one mechanical option, or was not designed specifically for racing. These rules are now standard AMA Scale rules for Pro-Am (Fun Scale).
I’m looking forward to seeing all of you on June 14-16 at the Rosewood RC Flyers’ Bill Beach Airfield in Rosewood, Indiana. For more information, check out the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) website, listed in “Sources.”
Promoting Events
This might be something for other contest directors to try out and see how it works. Be sure to advertise what you are doing and why. One thing that I continually see on social media is that those who run events don’t advertise all of the particulars! Be sure to include the who, what, when, and where in all flyers. Include as much information as possible.
From the Shop
Where do you find Trexler Balloon Wheels if you have a model such as an Aeronca C-3 or another Golden Age model, where they would be appropriate to set the scale look? These things are antiques, and we haven’t seen them in hobby shops for many years.
The good news is that they are still being produced! The Trexler Rubber Company still makes balloon wheels that are available from Radical RC and Stevens AeroModel. Some scale applications and Old-Timer-type models could easily use these as well. Sizes are available from 1-3/8 inch up to 6 inches, including the original wooden hubs. You have to pump up the tires and seal off the valve, but it’s so simple.
Upcoming Events
There are several Scale competitions, including the Mint Julep, coming up around the country, and most are NASA Scale Classic competitions.
A first-time contest sponsored by the Memphis Prop Busters, the Mid-South Memphis Belle Scale Classic will be held May 24-26 at Bragg Field in Arlington, Tennessee. The club lists eight different classes, including Scale Sailplane. The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday night, May 25.
The field is grass, and while I don’t have
the dimensions, it appears to be a very long runway with a generous overfly area. Dry camping is allowed as well.
RC and CL Scale AMA Nats
The RC and Control Line (CL) Scale Nats will take place on July 11-14, 2024, at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. One of the things that I love about the Nats is being able to park and camp back at Site 4, right across from the flying field. If you haven’t made camping reservations yet, it might be too late.
There have been some rules and name changes in some of the classes for this year. The old class of Fun Scale is now called Pro-Am, with two divisions for different types of aircraft. The other major change is the deletion of the combination of a straight flight out, procedure turn, and straight flight back. You can still do the procedure turn, but a combination of the three maneuvers isn’t an option. This was voted on by the RC Scale Contest Board.
For beginners with non-aerobatic aircraft, I still think that Scale competition is a good way to, as they say, “get your feet wet.” There are those who disagree, and that’s okay too. As Cliff would have said, “Keep it scale and simple.”
SOURCES:
Rosewood RC Flyers
www.rosewoodrc.com
Trexler Rubber Company
(800) 860-0082
www.trexlerrubber.com
Radical RC
(937) 256-7727
www.radicalrc.com
Stevens AeroModel
(719) 387-4187
www.stevensaeromodel.com
Memphis Prop Busters
www.memphispropbusters.com
AMA Nats
https://nats.modelaircraft.org
