1982 AMA Nats: FF Outdoor Scale
Larry Kruse
Overview
Outdoor Scale day dawned beautifully calm, with only a wisp of haze that burned away by 10 a.m. The previous two days had been buffeted by southerly winds around 15 knots, but a front moved through early that morning and left almost ideal flying conditions.
Runway and Launches
As in 1979, the takeoff area for Rubber and Power Scale presented a problem—there was no runway apron close to the Mead flying site. The judges decided to forego hand launches in favor of by-the-book ROG (rise-off-ground) launches. The concrete road running east–west parallel to the flying site was employed. A locally obtained weed-eater was used to knock down weeds and grasses inside a 3 × 75 ft strip on both sides of the road. Flights took off—or tried to take off—from there.
For most fliers the short runway was not a major problem. Rubber ships tend to leap off the ground, and CO2 ships can be throttled to suit most runway conditions. Mike Welshans, however, flying the only glow-engined entry—a Cub powered by a Cox .020—ran into trouble. He eventually got airborne, but the model’s ground-looping tendencies on the short strip used up his allotted ROG attempts.
Events and Equipment
Many of the same Laceys and Fikes seen in the Indoor competition appeared in Outdoor Peanut Scale. Several enlarged Laceys powered by Telco CO2 units were entered in the misnamed Gas Scale event.
A note on terminology: glow (gas) engines have been in the minority in FF Scale events for the last four or five years. Their place has largely been taken by electric, CO2, and even diesel engines. It may be time to rename the event “Power Scale” to better reflect what’s being flown.
Junior Results
- Melanie Sanford and David Brown copped both AMA Rubber and Gas Scale in Junior (in that order) — and then reversed themselves in Peanut Scale.
- David bested Melanie in one of the few events she didn’t win.
- Peanut Scale totals: David Brown 117.00 pts., Melanie Sanford 107.00 pts., Carl Linstrum 101.00 pts.
- Carl Linstrum also placed third in Junior Rubber Scale.
Senior Results
- Susan Brown won Senior Gas Scale and Senior Rubber Scale (she was the only contestant in those events).
- Senior Peanut Scale drew five entrants. The Fulmer brothers continued their strong showing: Bryan Fulmer edged brother Brad Fulmer for first place. Ronny Call of Jacksonville, FL, finished third.
Open Results
Open Peanut:
- Bob Willey (Lincoln, NE) — slightly beefed-up Indoor Fike — 219.00 pts.
- Perry Peterson (Lincoln, NE) — Eaves Cougar
- Keith Fulmer — 121.00 pts.
- William Rogers — 121.00 pts. (fewer static points than Fulmer)
Open Rubber Scale:
- Curt Sanford (Lacey) finished first.
- Mike Welshans (blue-and-white Citabria) finished second. Mike is primarily a control-line flier but says he’s come to enjoy Scale Free Flight for its more relaxed atmosphere.
- Perry Peterson (Daphne) finished third.
Open Gas Scale:
- 1st: Larry Kruse — LWF Butterfly
- 2nd: Mike Welshans
- 3rd: Curt Sanford
Organization
Although entries were not large in Outdoor Scale, Bill Pepin and his crew ran the events smoothly and kept competitors happy despite the less-than-ideal field conditions.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
