CL Scale
Mike Gretz
I went to the 1980 Nats with great expectations. First, we were returning to Ohio, the scene of the '76 Nats at Dayton where we'd seen the largest CL Scale entry of the past ten years. Second, at the Lincoln, NE Nats the previous year, while most other events were down in entries, there had been an encouraging jump in the number of CL Scale contestants. I felt this indicated renewed interest in Scale and not just coincidence. To top it off, Scale Category Manager John Preston had arranged for two full days of CL Scale flying, reducing the chance of a repeat of the prior year's wind problem that grounded many contestants. As you can tell from the flight shots printed here, the 1980 Wilmington Nats fulfilled my highest expectations.
Event summary and entries
The CL Scale activities began on Wednesday morning with turn-in of all models for static judging. The steady stream of viewers and admirers around the Scale area evidenced the enormous appeal of these miniature replicas. There were 38 total entries in the CL Scale events: 29 in Sport Scale and nine in Precision Scale. Many competitors were new faces and new airplanes; only ten of the models entered had ever been at the Nats before. As usual, about one-third of the total entry was by Junior- and Senior-age contestants.
Judges
- Static judges — Precision Scale: Ford Lloyd, Art Johnson, Bill Knepp.
- Static judges — Sport Scale: Joe Fallo, Dale Drew, Bill DiVerna.
- Flight judges: Chuck Dial, Ralph Hoebner, Bob Heywood.
The volunteer static judges had the unenviable job of scoring all those models in just two days. Their judging was tough, by the book, and very consistent.
Weather and flying
The weather during the Nats week was threatening with on-again, off-again drizzle, but the wind remained practically dead calm most days. Contestants took advantage of the calm air to put up an almost uninterrupted parade of spectacular flights. Most official flights were completed on Friday, which was fortunate because Saturday turned very windy.
Friday afternoon provided a sensational show of Scale at its best — miniature glimpses of aviation history recreated before large, appreciative crowds. All entries flew well; not one was destroyed or seriously damaged. Military subjects were especially popular this year, and we saw an abundance of retracts, flaps, bombs, and multi-engine ships — and they all worked. All official flights were made from one flight circle so everyone had a good view. Scores were tabulated and posted quickly to provide a blow-by-blow account of the competition.
Open Precision Scale
- First: Bill Boss, DH Mosquito. Bill's static score of 357.7 was by far the highest of any Precision Scale entry. He also received the prestigious Air Force Award, given to the best model of an Air Force aircraft among all FF, RC, and CL classes at the Nats. The Mosquito had a 62-inch wingspan, weighed almost 14 lbs, and was powered by two Webra .40s. Bill also flew a P-39 Airacobra to 8th place in Sport Scale.
- Second: Ed Rhoads, AD-7 Skyraider. Ed used operating flaps, an arrestor hook, dive brakes, and bomb drop, along with a smooth touch-and-go and taxi, to earn the highest Precision Scale flight score of the contest and the Flight Achievement Award given by the National Association of Scale Aeromodellers (NASA).
- Third: Jeff Perez, B-17 Flying Fortress. Jeff nonchalantly fired up all four of the Fortress' OS .25s with just five flips of the props (one engine required two flips), then walked out to the handle and delivered the second-highest flight score overall.
There were no Junior Precision Scale contestants this year. The Senior division was hard-fought among the three Bauer kids: Paula took 1st with her familiar Bristol; Peter's colorful Shoestring came in 2nd; and Matthew placed 3rd with his OS Max .30-powered P-40 Warhawk. All three airplanes flew very well and were past Nationals winners.
Sport Scale
Junior Sport Scale:
- First: Julie Abel, Nesmith Cougar — a neat model she built in just one month before the Nats.
- Second: Bob Anderson Jr., F4U Corsair.
Senior Sport Scale: The six senior contestants had static scores within seven points of each other, and the final order mirrored their flight score rankings.
- First: Walter Umland, Messerschmitt Bf-109G. Walter combined the highest static score and the highest flight score among all Seniors.
- Second: Matthew Bauer, new Cessna Skymaster. The Skymaster featured a unique combination of a ST .46 for the nose engine and an Astro .20 electric motor for the rear.
- Third: Peter Bauer, scratch-built P-61 Black Widow, powered by two ST .35s.
- Fourth: Paolo Bianchini, P-47 Thunderbolt — hampered by several premature engine failures.
- Close behind: Jim Abel, Sterling Corsair; and Dan Abel, a new ducted-fan MiG-15 that was a real stunner.
There were 21 contestants in Open Sport Scale — more than any other class — so the competition was very close.
Open Sport Scale
- First: Dick Byron, Japanese Zero. Repeat Nats winner from last year. The Zero weighed 8 lbs, had a 63-inch wingspan, and was powered by an OS .60. It used flaps, bomb drop, touch-and-go, and taxi, and flew nearly flawlessly. Dick posted a 76.3 static score and a 91.3 flight score for a 167.6 total.
- Second: Jack Sheeks, twin-engined Piper Commando. Jack, a well-known author and stunt flier, made his first mark in Nats Sport Scale competition with this smooth-flying model. It weighed 10.5 lbs, had a 72-inch wingspan, was powered by two OS .35s, and was built from a Jack Stafford kit.
- Third: Ed Rhoads, P-47 Thunderbolt (tied).
- Fourth: Bob Anderson, Hawaiian Airlines DC-6 (tied). Rhoads and Anderson tied at 158.6 total points; the tie was broken by comparing each pilot's next-best flight score, giving Rhoads 3rd and Anderson 4th.
- Fifth: Ed Schwertl, Spitfire.
- Sixth: Don Holfelder, scratch-built F3F Wildcat. Schwertl and Holfelder tied at 157.9 total points; the tie-breaker favored Schwertl. Ed's .35-powered Spitfire delivered three consistently high flight scores with flawless options and earned the NASA CL Sport Scale Flight Achievement Award. Don's OS Wankel .30-powered Wildcat achieved the highest static score in the entire Sport Scale event.
There were many other noteworthy entrants in Open Sport Scale, but space does not permit a full accounting.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
