Competition Newsletter

New Nats Trophy

Joining the ranks of the Nats' Perpetual Awards this year is the George Meyer Craftsmanship Award. It will be awarded for the first time in 1985 to the RC Scale model judged to have the best craftsmanship.

The trophy is named in honor of George Meyer, a long-time modeler remembered for his design of the full-scale Little Toot biplane. His son, Tom Meyer, has created the new award and expects to be on hand at this year's Nats to make the presentation personally.

The recipient will be selected from among the RC Scale entries at the Nats. Aircraft with top static points will be judged with respect to craftsmanship. The winner must also have made an official flight at the Nats.

What are FAI Pylon Racers Like?

F3-D class models are much like typical AMA Formula 1 pylon racers. However, they must use mufflers (or tuned pipes) and standard, no-nitro fuel. The course layout is quite similar to the AMA Formula 1 course, except it is slightly shorter (590 ft. vs. 608 ft.) and wider (131 ft. vs. 100 ft.). The scoring system is also different: models are timed for 10 laps (each model's time starts at the moment the starter flags the model off—models are flagged off at one-second intervals). The race time (in seconds) is subtracted from 200; the resulting score is accumulated over several heats, and the flier with the largest score wins (which effectively means he had the fastest times).

Team Selection Meet Results

Keeping in mind the FAI scoring system, the contestants finished with the following scores:

• 1. David Shadel (Carlsbad, CA) — 458.82
• 2. Tom Christopher (Santa Ana, CA) — 428.66
• 3. Ernest Nikodem (Lockport, NY) — 428.36
• 4. Arthur Arro (Ann Arbor, MI) — 426.48
• 5. Pete Reed (Avon, CT) — 420.24
• 6. Bernie Workman (Van Nuys, CA) — 419.60
• 7. Tom Strom (Seattle, WA) — 415.98
• 8. Bruce Brown (San Diego, CA) — 411.62
• 9. Henry Bartle (Santa Ana, CA) — 391.59
• 10. Ron Schorn (N. Hollywood, CA) — 378.53
• 11. Don Rice (Issaquah, CA) — 360.74
• 12. Ted Burns (Lawndale, CA) — 255.73
• 13. Robert Wallace (Avon, CT) — 207.94
• 14. Chuck Brown (San Diego, CA) — 196.51
• 15. Roger Morrill (Redondo Beach, CA) — 180.51
• 16. Gary Hover (Los Osos, CA) and Keith Davidson (San Diego, CA) — tied with zero scores

An inspection of these scores shows that David Shadel was well out in front: his four-flight average time was 1:25.95—about seven seconds faster than the next average time (1:32.35 for Tom Christopher). The next six places were extremely close: Christopher's average flight time was only 0.07 seconds faster than third-placer Ernest Nikodem. Tom Strom, in seventh place, had an average flight time only 3.17 seconds slower than second-placer Tom Christopher.

The AMA President John C. Grigg reports that the SLO Flyers, Inc. put on an excellent race; CD Tom Wiggin and Starter Wayne Scour did outstanding jobs. Spectators are admitted to the World Championships free. The World Championships will be held at Westover AFB, Chicopee, MA, during August 3–7, 1985 (right after the 1985 AMA Nats). See the article “RC Pylon World Champs Supporter Package Available” in the June 1985 Competition Newsletter for information on attending the World Champs.

Submitting FAI Rules Proposals

Modelers wishing to submit proposals for FAI international competition rules are reminded that current AMA procedures require proposals to be sent to AMA Headquarters first. Address them to the attention of Micheline Madison; they must be received by September 1, 1985.

The AMA's internal procedure for handling FAI rules proposals was given in the July 1982 edition of the Competition Newsletter.

There is no official AMA or FAI form for submitting such proposals; however, a proposal submission must refer to the appropriate sections and paragraphs of the FAI Sporting Code (rule book) using the numbering system found in the Code. (Note: the 1979 edition of the FAI Sporting Code is no longer valid.) A limited number of the current edition of the Sporting Code is available ($3.00) from AMA HQ. Modelers who want copies of only a section of the code can obtain photocopies of the section at no charge upon request (please enclose a business-size SASE with your request).

Proposed FAI rules must also state briefly the reason for the proposed change. A sample of typical (but imaginary) rules proposals was provided in the original newsletter.

Sponsors of national contests in 1986 (and those who want the contests listed in the FAI International Calendar) should send a letter of particulars to AMA HQ, Attention: Competition Dept., no later than October 15, 1985. The letter should include a summary of the contest organization—especially location, dates, entry fees, and the address and telephone number of the Contest Director or other key contact person.

CONTEST BOARD TABULATIONS — FINAL VOTE

Y = Yes N = No P = Passed D = Defeated

RC Racing

• 4 — QM: Safety — Clarify collision/contact (G.E. Jacobson)
• 8 — QM: End "engine legality" confusion (D.T. Latshaw)
• 9 — QM: Revise the Aircraft Contact rule (W. Yeager)
• 12 — F-1: Revise handicap judging system (W. Yeager)
• 14 — F-1: Delete Flight Requirements demonstration (W. Yeager)
• 16 — QM: Adopt exclusion to "builder-of-the-model" rule (W. Yeager)
• 18 — QM: Revise safety statement (G.R. Hover)
• 20 — QM: Clarify intent of safety inspection (G.R. Hover)
• 21 — F-1: Align rules with QM on safety (G.R. Hover)
• 22 — F-1: Limitation on backup plane (G.R. Hover)
• 24 — Primary and backup model: can't interchange parts (G.R. Hover)
• 25 — F-1: Eliminate exhaust restrictor test (G.R. Hover)
• 27 — F-1: Further clarification of fuselage width measurement (G.R. Hover)
• 29 — F-1: Adopt NMPRA handicap system as an option (G.R. Hover)
• 30 — F-1: Clarify scoring procedures (G.R. Hover)

Indoor

• 2 — Modern covering for Paper Stick (C. Stevens)
• 9 — Delete Indoor Cabin class (D.J. Lindley)
• 10 — Hand-Launched Stick: Remove wing area limit (E. Rodemsky)
• 12 — Replace Pennplane with Novice Pennplane (T. Rimmer)
• 20 — Only airborne time is scored (C. Mather)
• 22 — Ornithopters (R.B. Meuser)
• 23 — Biplane Ornithopters (R.B. Meuser)
• 24 — Easy B weighs 1 gram (W.P. Van Gorder)
• 25 — Longer Easy B (Provisional) (W.P. Van Gorder)
• 26 — Any Indoor model with wheels must ROG (R.W. Doig)
• 27 — No time for ROG if plane not airborne (R.W. Doig)
• 28 — Minimum volume for Cabin models (R.W. Doig)
• 29 — No lighter-than-air gases in Indoor models (R.W. Doig)

Free Flight

• 4 — Cat. III: Sixth (and subsequent) flights have 2½-minute max (H.S. Murphy)
• 9 — Change model specifications for Ornithopters (R.B. Meuser)
• 10 — Multi-wing Ornithopter rules clarification (R.B. Meuser)

Scale

• 3 — Change Giant Scale status to Official event (R. Karlsson)
• 4 — Sport: Clarify rules (C.C. Arnold)
• 5 — CL: End no-pilot-visible waiver (C.C. Arnold)
• 6 — CL: Contestant has option for official flight (C.C. Arnold)
• 8 — CL Precision: Promote use of four-stroke-cycle engines (D.G. Copeman)
• 9 — CL Sport: Promote use of four-stroke-cycle engines (D.G. Copeman)
• 10 — Change time-of-flight rules for Giant Scale (R. Karlsson)
• 11 — Increase flight time limit in Sport and Giant Scale to 12 minutes (R. Karlsson)
• 12 — Allow larger three-view plans in Scale documentation for Sport Scale (C. McCullough)
• 13 — Sport: Increase maximum displacement for four-stroke engines (C. McCullough)
• 14 — Giant Scale: Increase maximum allowable displacement for four-stroke engines (C. McCullough)
• 15 — Clarify model size in Giant Scale (C. McCullough)
• 16 — Giant Scale characteristics: Delete use of scale fractions (A. Johnson)
• 17 — Don't fly with projecting sharp objects mounted (A. Johnson)
• 19 — Make Giant Scale an official event (C. McCullough)
• 22 — Peanut: Revise scoring for covering (G.A. Goodell)
• 23 — Outdoor Gas: Revised flight scoring allows unusual subjects (C.A. Godel)
• 24 — FF Gas gets unlimited flight attempts (C.A. Godel)
• 25 — No scale rule in Peanut (R.L. Clemens)
• 26 — Eliminate 9-inch length criterion from Peanut (R.L. Clemens)
• 27 — Clarify intent of Peanut static judging rules (C.A. Godel)
• 31 — Giant Scale: Change time limit to 12 minutes (D.R. Platt)
• 32 — Sport Scale: Allow flight schedule to be done in any order (D.R. Platt)
• 33 — RC Flight Plan: Different option selections allowed in succeeding flights (D.R. Platt)
• 34 — Static scale judges assigned specialist categories (D.R. Platt)
• 35 — New events: CL Electric Scale, Indoor and Outdoor (T. Naccarato)
• 36 — New event: RC Indoor Scale Electric (T. Naccarato)
• 37 — New: Indoor RC Scale Rubber (Provisional) (T. Naccarato)
• 38 — New: Indoor Rubber Scale, Powered RC H.T.A. (Provisional) (T. Naccarato)

General

• 6 — CD response to "petty" protests (D.J. Lindley)

Abbreviations:

• IN = Indoor
• CL = Control Line
• FF = Free Flight
• SC = Scale

Other event acronyms: RCA = Radio Control Aerobatics; RCH = Radio Control Helicopter; RCR = Radio Control Racing; RCS = Radio Control Soaring

FAI Rules Proposals (continued)

Sponsors of national contests in 1986 (and those who want their contests listed in the FAI International Calendar) should send a letter of particulars to AMA HQ, Attention: Competition Dept., no later than October 15, 1985. The letter should include a summary of the contest organization—especially location, dates, entry fees, and the address and telephone number of the Contest Director or other key contact.

CL Team Finals Set for Speed, Team Race

Team-selection contests for the Control Line Speed and Team Race teams will be held in the near future. Competitors selected at these meets will participate in the CL World Championships in 1986.

Two Speed Meets

• West Coast: August 17–18, Whittier Model Park, Whittier, CA.
• East Coast: September 14–15, Flushing Meadows Park, Long Island, NY.

One Team Race Meet

The Team Race contest will be held on the West Coast in connection with the West Coast Speed meet.

Contact People

• East Coast meet: Ed Gifford, 63 Gamenwell Ln., Willingboro, NJ 08046.
• West Coast meet: John McCollum, 21842 Bass Lake Circle, El Toro, CA 92630.

Entry Information

The entry fee for either contest is $50 per event, payable to AMA no later than 30 days prior to the date of the contest. Send the entry to AMA HQ, Attention: Micheline Madison. Contestants must have a current AMA license with the FAI stamp ("$10 stamp") affixed.

Soaring Team Selection Committee News

Larry Jolly (Santa Ana, CA) has been elected as the AMA District X representative on the F3B team selection committee.

Indoor Team Finals Site Selected

Richard Doig, chairman pro tem of the FAI Indoor Team Selection Committee, has announced that the site for the team-selection finals will be the Goodyear Airdock, Akron, OH, during the period August 31–September 2, 1985 (Labor Day weekend).

This site was selected because the existing hangars at Lakehurst NAS will not be available for such use in 1985. Akron afforded the nearest Category IV site known to be available to the East Coast.

Competition Newsletter (Mailing)

ACADEMY OF MODEL AERONAUTICS 1810 Samuel Morse Drive Reston, VA 22090

Additional Notices and Items

CL Event — Old-Time Stunt at the 1985 Nats

With the cooperation of PAMPA, Garden State Circle Burners (New Jersey) will sponsor/run an Old-Time Stunt event at the 1985 Nats. It will be held Monday, July 29, starting at 9:00 a.m. Awards through fifth place. A special Spirit 52 award will be given to the aircraft that best exemplifies the essence of Old-Time Stunt. Glow ignition categories will be combined. Mulvihill Trophy winner: 10 bonus points awarded ignition entries. Garden State Circle Burners rules prevail. A copy of rules may be obtained from Event Director John Miske, 415 Clifton Blvd., Clifton, NJ 07013.

Contest Board Emergency Interim Resolution

Scale Contest Board Chairman Dave Platt reports the Board has approved the following Emergency Interim Resolution affecting RC Sport Scale Sailplanes (Scale Soaring Event) weight rule: for 1985, 1986, and 1987 the weight limit shall be 25 lb ready-to-launch.

The necessity for the resolution arises from the fact that present AMA rules specify a model weight limit in that event; the general 55-lb limit mentioned in the Official AMA Safety Code raised apprehension that winches might not be able to safely launch a 55-lb sailplane. LSF and other glider experts consulted felt present-day launch gear could not handle a 55-lb model; 25 lb is considered safe. The Interim Resolution will remain in effect until the matter can be handled in the normal rules-change cycle for the 1988–89 rule book.

F3E Electroflight Rules Error

FAI Electric Team Selection Committee Chairman Joe Beshar calls attention to a typographical error in the F3E course layout diagram that appears in both the 1984 FAI Sporting Code (current edition, page 94) and the 1984–85 AMA Rule Book (page 116). The correct value for the length of the course is 150 meters, not 100 meters as shown in the existing drawings.

FAI RC Pylon Team Selected

A three-man U.S. F3D team to participate in the 1985 F3D World Championships was selected at the team finals meet held May 19 in San Luis Obispo, CA. Seventeen fliers entered; 15 posted times.

• Team members: David Shadel (Carlsbad, CA); Tom Christopher (Santa Ana, CA); Ernest Nikodem (Lockport, NY).
• Team Manager: Gary Hoover (Los Osos, CA).
• World Championships: Westover AFB, Chicopee, MA, August 3–7, 1985 (right after the 1985 AMA Nats).

Note on FAI Pylon Racers (summary)

F3D-class models are similar to AMA Formula Pylon racers but must use mufflers/tuned pipes and standard no-nitro fuel. The FAI course is slightly shorter and wider than the AMA course. Models are timed for 10 laps with one-second interval starts; race time is subtracted from 200 to yield a score accumulated over heats. The highest total score (i.e., fastest times) wins.

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