Control Line: Scale
Stan Alexander 3709 Valley Ridge Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
Making the trip to the AMA National Championships is always an adventure. The location of the Nats changes from year to year, and this year the event returned to the Lawrenceville–Vincennes site for the third time in the last four years. Repetition has advantages and disadvantages: you learn where to eat, how the flying site lays out, and where to set up for your event. Such familiarity proved useful for the Control Line Scale competitors this year.
Static Judging
Static judging for the Nats Scale events was held Monday at Lawrenceville High School. Static judging covered Control Line Scale, Scale Soaring, R/C Scale, Scale Helicopter, and Free Flight Scale. Aircraft were weighed and checked in by an experienced crew: Elaine Welshans, Anne Underwood, and Carol Culver. Static judging continued into the afternoon and ended about 2:00 p.m.
Steve Ashby’s de Havilland Mosquito took top static honors in Sport Scale with a static score of 89.52 — a score that proved valuable in the final results.
Notable Static Entries
- Grant Hiestand (Burbank, CA): a 1/3-scale Sig Spacewalker finished in Hazel Sig’s personal-color scheme. The large model used an electric scale motor (Astro Flight 90 motor, 24 cells) and was throttle-controlled via an Airtronics radio converted for control-line use. The model weighed about 18½ lb and had a 104-inch wingspan.
- Charlie Bauer: a new Lockheed U-2R built from a three-view projection, finished at 10 ft 3 in wingspan and weighing about 16 lb.
- Jim Fruit: a rarely-modeled Heinkel He 219 “Uhu” (entered in Profile Scale) in a speckled WWII paint scheme.
- Other static and profile entries included veteran and newly finished models across the scale categories.
Judges and Support
Static judges:
- Wayne Frederick, Hank Cavasso, Hal Parenti, Darlene Frederick, Ron Sears, Steve Ashby, Jack Sheeks, Richard Schneider, Ed Rhoads, Vernon Altamirano, Ken Wilson.
A special thanks to the many modelers’ wives and ladies who assisted during the event. Their help and support make it easier for competitors to focus on their aircraft.
Acknowledged assistants:
- Kathy Ashby, Elaine Welshans, Lone Rhoades, Phyllis Winters, Anne Underwood, Darlene Frederick, Carol Culver, Pat McMillian, Elsie Abel, Shirley Sheeks, Nancy Reeves.
Scale Category Manager John Guenther and Event Director Andy Sheber established the flying site, setting up two circles and pits on excellent asphalt — arguably the best site the author has seen at the airport in five years.
Weather and Flying Site
The weather forecast predicted two beautiful days, and the site produced two great days of competition. On Tuesday the flying portion began in light wind, and after the second round a few competitors had separated themselves as top contenders.
Competition Results and Highlights
Sport Scale
- Winner: Steve Ashby — de Havilland Mosquito
- Wingspan: 60-3/4 in
- Power: two O.S. .35 two-stroke engines
- Covering/finish: silkspan, AeroGloss dope
- Performance: four flights of 89 points or better, combined with the 89.52 static score, giving Steve a narrow victory.
- Runner-up: Jack Sheeks — Grumman F6F Hellcat
- Wingspan: 64 in; finished weight about 10.5 lb
- Power: four-stroke engine for realistic sound
- Notable: Hellcat flight controls used a converted World Engines seven-channel radio modified for control-line use.
- Notable entry: Bill Logan — Caproni Ca.5 “Spaghetti Bomber,” powered by three O.S. .25 engines (Bill is known for selecting obscure subjects).
Junior
- Jeremiah McMillin (Florissant, MO): Fw 190 A-4 — First in the Junior category and 10th overall in Sport Scale. His family attended and supported him.
FAI F4B Scale
- Winner: Bill Logan (Ontario, Canada) — Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b
- Inspiration and sources: Windsock Data Files (#18) for three-views, color and detail information.
- Notes: The subject is large by WWI standards (full-scale wingspan over 47 ft); Bill’s model presented a notable flight display.
- Second place: Dave Abel — Loving’s Love (own design)
- Power: O.S. 1.2 Surpass four-stroke, 16x6 prop
- Finish: blue-and-white finish duplicated with Randolph dope. The prototype is in the Kermit Weeks Restoration Facility at Oshkosh, WI.
- Entries in F4B were light; proximity of the U.S. F.A.I. Team trials in Muncie likely reduced attendance.
Precision Scale
- Winner: Grant Hiestand — converted large RC Spacewalker powered by an electric motor (Astro Flight 90, 24 cells). Wingspan: 104 in; weight about 18½ lb.
- Other entry: Charlie Bauer — Skyraider, 80 in wingspan, powered by a Super Tigre .60 with Rhom air retracts; covered in natural aluminum.
Profile Scale
Profile Scale continues to grow in popularity and produced the second-highest number of entries among Control Line Scale classes.
- Winner: Steve Ashby — Profile P-47 (included a bomb-drop mechanical option). Steve achieved the top static score and first place in the event; his bomb-drop performances were especially realistic (one dummy bomb was blown onto a parked car with no damage to either).
- Second: Mike Welshans — Handley Page Hampden (“Tadpole”); 52 in wingspan; two Enya .25 engines.
- Third: Gerald Deneau — Loving WR-1.
- Fourth: Fred Cronenwett (first-time Nats competitor) — Douglas A-20G Havoc, powered by two O.S. 20 FP engines; finished with Sig Coverall and Sig dope camouflage.
- Sixth: Jim Fruit — He 219 Owl.
Flight Achievement Award
- N.A.S.A. Flight Achievement Award: Bill Logan (for his flight presentation with the Caproni Ca.5).
- The award is decided by the flight judges for the most outstanding flight presentation — judged on realism, skill, and uniqueness rather than scores or number of flights.
Seminars and Techniques
Scale seminars were held Wednesday night for Nats Scale competitors, hosted by Ron Sears, Charlie Bauer, and Hal Winters.
- Ron Sears: shared building tricks for his F.A.I. Lake Renegade 270T, including using 1/16" plywood embedded between balsa skins on wingtips and trailing edges, and using doll-house brass hinges cut to length for trim tabs and other small control surfaces.
- Charlie Bauer: demonstrated using an overhead projector with three-views on transparencies to draw full-size patterns.
Officials, Judges, and Thanks
A special thanks to all officials and judges who worked the Control Line Scale category:
- Andy Sheber, John Guenther, Wayne Frederick, Hank Cavasso, Hal Parenti, Bill Logan, Darlene Frederick, Ron Sears, Steve Ashby, Jack Sheeks, Richard Schneider, Ed Rhoads, Vernon Altamirano, Ken Wilson, Elaine Welshans, Anne Underwood, Carol Culver.
Also acknowledged: many N.A.S.A. members who competed and/or worked at the Nats.
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This year’s Control Line Scale at Lawrenceville offered interesting subjects, new construction and power techniques (notably electric-powered scale), and strong flight presentations — continuing traditions of craftsmanship and skill in scale aeromodelling.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
