CL Scale
Mike Pratt
FOR THOSE OF YOU who didn't make it to the 1989 Nationals, you missed a good one! The Tri-Cities area (Pasco, Richland, and Kennewick, WA) is located in a high desert surrounded by rolling mountains. The weather was near-perfect for this event with 5 mph winds, temperatures in the low 90s, and low humidity.
The flight circles were laid out on one of the main taxiways of the Pasco Airport.
Sport Scale
- National Champion — Mike Weishans (Ferndale, MI): Mike flew a smooth Howard DGA-15P. The engine exhaust in Mike's ship was ducted out through scale exhaust locations, giving it a unique and scale-like sound.
- Second Place — Charles Bauer (Norridge, IL): Charlie flew a Top Flite J3 Cub powered by a geared Astro Cobalt 25 electric motor. Although it was slightly underpowered (according to Charlie), it flew at a very realistic speed and was extremely quiet.
- Third Place — Gerald Deneau (Aurora, CO): Jerry took third with his Curtiss P-6 Hawk. He started building this airplane back in 1957 and finished it when he retired in 1988. Jerry said, "I didn't want to rush it, but I wanted to finish it before I die."
Sport Scale Juniors
The Carson family of Las Cruces, NM had a great time competing at the 1989 Nationals. Margo Carson, age 13, took first place in the Junior Control Line Sport Scale event with her Evans Volksplane. Her sister Sally, age 11, flying an identical Volksplane, was close behind in second place. Along with their father, David Carson, they also competed in the Navy Carrier event.
Precision Scale
Top honors went to Charles Bauer flying his veteran Douglas Dauntless II. The model is equipped with electronically operated flaps, throttle, and retractable landing gear.
Second place in Precision Scale was won by Orin Humphries (Lynnwood, WA), who flew his A-26. Though Orin's model is a little on the small side by today's standards, it's rock-steady in the air.
Nats CL Scale/Pratt
FAI Scale
The National Champion for 1989 was the ubiquitous Charles Bauer. For this event Charlie flew a ducted-fan F-86 Sabrejet built from a Bob Volet kit. The .67 K&B outboard fan engine in the model proved it had more than enough power to fly on control lines. The F-86 had electrically operated flaps, retractable landing gear, and droppable fuel tanks.
Charlie really had his hands full with this high-speed model. On the 10th lap the plane kissed the blacktop and then pancaked in on the next lap. Fortunately, the droppable fuel tanks absorbed most of the impact, resulting in very little damage to the aircraft itself.
A big thank you to the following officials:
- Burt Duggan, event director
- Al Culver, judge
- Rich Schneider, judge
- Randy Glenn, timer
- Carol Culver, tabulator
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
