CONTROL LINE SCALE
Bill Boss 77-06 269th Street, New Hyde Park, NY 11040
A Name to Remember
It is with a heavy heart that I report the passing of George Gaydos, one of our most ardent control-line modelers on the East Coast. On Sunday, September 19, 1993, George succumbed to a heart attack while serving as contest director for the Garden State Circle Burners Annual Scale Meet at Teterboro Airport, New Jersey.
George was best known for his love of CL Scale events and for promoting them at every opportunity. His attention to fine detail and his flying skills brought him many victories. In 1985 and again in 1992 at Westover AFB, George earned top honors as National CL Scale Champion in the Precision event flying his Yippee P-38 Lightning. As a GSCB member, organizer, and director, he worked tirelessly to promote the club and to guide Scale event activities. He taught Scale to both new and experienced members and was instrumental in designing, promoting, and achieving acceptance of Profile as a Scale event now popular nationwide.
George was a great modeler and competitor and will be missed. Our deepest sympathy goes to his wife Dianne and to the entire Gaydos family.
Photo Documentation
Fred Cronenwett, Canoga Park, California, notes that publications commonly advise photographing full-scale subjects from rear, side, and front views and enlarging the pictures so judges can see details. However, large aircraft (for example, a B-29) can appear very small in standard prints when the entire fuselage must fit in the viewfinder.
Fred recommends using a camera that delivers both good overall photos and close-up detail shots. He photographed his profile Douglas A-20G Havoc with an Olympus 220 point-and-shoot 35mm camera that has a built-in panoramic feature. The lens zooms from 28mm to 56mm and allows standard 3.5 x 5 prints as well as 3.5 x 10 panoramic format. The camera sells for about $250. While the camera can shoot either format on a roll, Fred advises using one format per roll for consistent developing. The panoramic profile photos produce images in which model details are readily discernible and would do the same for full-scale subjects.
Fred sent standard-size photos of Scale models flown at the 1993 Northwest Regional Championships, held at the Eugene, Oregon Airport over Memorial Day weekend. Sport, Profile, and Precision Scale were among the CL events offered; the accompanying photos show several entries.
1993 Northwest Regional Championships — Contest Highlights
- Fred Cronenwett — 1st place, Profile (Douglas A-20G Havoc)
- Tom Moore — 1st place, Precision (Aircoupe)
- Ed Shrunk — 2nd place, Sport (Tipsy Jr.)
- Bill Darkow — 3rd place, Profile (autogiro in a Japanese color scheme)
Model details:
- Fred’s Douglas A-20G: based on plans from a 1992 issue of Flying Models. The plans called for a full fuselage, but Fred used the side-view outline to make a profile fuselage. Span: 54 inches. Power: two O.S. .20FP engines. Control: two-line, single-channel electronics.
- Tom Moore’s Aircoupe: weighed under one pound. Powered by an .049 with a modified carburetor. Controlled by a homemade three-line bellcrank that operated a needle valve to run the engine rich or lean, permitting realistic takeoffs and touch-and-goes.
- Ed Shrunk’s Tipsy Jr.: span 38 inches, powered by an Enya .35, controlled by a standard three-line system. Considered to have the best finish among Sport entries.
One contest highlight was the Saturday-night dinner hosted by the Eugene Prop Spinners. Guest speakers included a WWII P-38 ace and Paul Walker, an FAI Stunt champion, who discussed preparing for and winning world championships. Ed Shrunk also received an award for the Longest Driving Distance, having driven from New Mexico to attend.
CL Electronics — Jomar Products
Jomar Products (3440 Riverhills Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45244; phone (513) 271-3903) makes specialty electronic items generally aimed at RC modelers but useful to CL Scale and sport modelers as well. Two items of interest:
- Gear Door Closer
- Purpose: "Split" retract door sequencing for P-51 Mustangs and similar aircraft.
- Installation: wired with a Y connector in the retract channel to control the retract servo and the door servo.
- Operation: each retract cycle opens the doors, waits, then closes them.
- Delay: adjustable from 1 to 9 seconds.
- Weight: under 1/2 ounce.
- Autoretract Controller
- Purpose: allows installation of a retract switch system in Sport or Stunt models without needing a digital or modified radio, a third line, or external controls.
- Operation: helper flips a switch to arm the system. A built-in delay of 5 to 15 seconds allows time for takeoff; a tiny microphone monitors engine sound. While the engine runs, the gear stays retracted; when the engine quits and sound disappears, the gear automatically extends and remains down until reset.
- Power: can be powered by an onboard 225-mAh NiCad pack (which can double as wingtip weight) sufficient for standard retract servos.
- Weight: about 3/4 ounce.
- Price: $39.95 each plus $2 shipping and handling.
For more information or other Jomar products, write to the address above or call (513) 271-3903.
Contact / Submissions
Please send ideas, notices of upcoming CL Scale events, contest reports, and especially photos of CL Scale activity to:
Bill Boss 77-06 269th Street New Hyde Park, NY 11040
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
