Author: L. Kruse
Edition: Model Aviation - 1983/11
Page Numbers: 68, 163
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AMA Nats 1983: FF Outdoor Scale

Larry Kruse

Weather and atmosphere

Beautiful weather, crowds of spectators, and applause — Leon Bennett's huge Moth, airplanes circling slowly in lift, more applause, and the sheer magic of unfettered flight all drift through memory's kaleidoscope when one thinks about Outdoor Scale at this year's Nats.

Unlike what's normally expected on Scale day, the weather was absolutely perfect. A light morning haze burned away by 10 o'clock, and the air warmed to create light thermal activity. The most common question from all the fliers was unusual: "Which way is the wind from?" In truth, it was difficult to tell. The almost non-existent breeze shifted to all points of the compass within the space of a few minutes. On several occasions, fliers found themselves trying to ROG (rise off ground) downwind after having carefully chosen their launch locations to take advantage of the oncoming wind on the runway area and adjacent grass.

Notable flights and highlights

  • Leon Bennett and his giant rubber-powered De Havilland Moth Minor were crowd favorites despite finishing ninth overall. Leon's 91-in.-span, 1/5-scale behemoth drew an entourage that followed him all over the field every time he flew. The plane was so large it required Leon and a helper to launch it: Leon would let go of the prop and then jump out of the way while the helper, lying flat on his belly on the hot pavement, released the tail wheel at Leon's signal. Leon received the NASA Flight Achievement Award for his effort.
  • Don Srull set the pace in Open Rubber Scale with his meticulously constructed Alco Sport. The model performed well despite suffering a hard collision with a steel rafter beam during the earlier Indoor competition.
  • Walt Eggert played the waiting game with his Farman Sport biplane, flying later in the day in hopes of more buoyant air. The strategy paid off; he nosed out Larry Kruse's Miles Sparrowhawk for second place. The Sparrowhawk flew well under power, but its glide wasn't fully trimmed and stalled out of lift on two occasions.
  • Dave Aronstein's Bellanca Air Cruiser sesquiplane repeated its Indoor performance by taking first in Senior Rubber Scale. Bryan Fulmer and Steven Seifert followed. Seifert's Flyline Rearwin Speedster showed evidence of having been flown considerably on its very wide-bladed, high-pitch prop, yet remained one of the prettiest and most graceful planes in the air.
  • Junior Rubber Scale resembled the Indoor results, with the same three pilots—Aaron Markos, Walt "Watty" Eggert, and David Brown—placing strongly in somewhat shuffled order. Bruno deLapparent finished seventh overall with a fine total of 472, just ahead of mentor Chuck Markos, who was eighth with 440.

Gas Scale notes

  • Only two Juniors, Walt Eggert and David Brown, qualified in Gas Scale. Eggert's junior score of 425 would have placed him fourth in Open.
  • Only one Senior, Susan Brown, qualified.
  • The event, often called Gas Scale, actually allows Electric and CO-2 power and therefore is not a favorite with the younger set.

Results by category

#### Open Rubber Scale

  1. Don Srull — Alco Sport
  2. Walt Eggert — Farman Sport
  3. Larry Kruse — Miles Sparrowhawk

#### Senior Rubber Scale

  1. Dave Aronstein — Bellanca Air Cruiser
  2. Bryan Fulmer
  3. Steven Seifert — Flyline Rearwin Speedster

#### Junior Rubber Scale

  • Top competitors included Aaron Markos, Walt "Watty" Eggert, and David Brown (order similar to Indoor; somewhat shuffled).
  • 7. Bruno deLapparent — 472 points
  • 8. Chuck Markos — 440 points

#### Open Gas Scale

  1. Dave Rees — Hiperbipe (CO2)
  2. Larry Kruse — CGS Hawk ultralight
  3. Walt Eggert — (third place, solid 501 points noted for Eggert elsewhere)

Notes: The CGS Hawk experienced motor icing due to humidity and required several ROG attempts before qualifying on its final attempt. Rees worked patiently with his little biplane and won on his third attempt.

#### Peanut Scale

  • Junior winners (in order): David Brown, Aaron Markos, Walt Eggert.
  • Senior winners: 1. Dave Aronstein 2. Bryan Fulmer 3. Susan Brown.
  • Open winners: 1. Dave Rees 2. Keith Fulmer 3. George Meyers.

Final observations

Peanut Scale remained the most popular Outdoor Scale event, with many Cougars, Fikes, Laceys, and Tailwinds on display. The high-wing configuration continues to be hard to beat in outdoor conditions. Overall, skilled construction, careful trimming, and timing one’s flights to the light lift available were decisive factors in the day's results.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.