CONTROL LINE: SCALE
Bill Boss 77-06 269th Street, New Hyde Park, NY 11040
What's the state of CL Scale?
There seem to be two schools of thought. Based on reports and newsletters, the answer may depend on where you look.
Some areas, notably the central and midwestern parts of the country, report that activity in general is in decline. Aside from a few active CL Scale clubs, interest is down compared to a couple of years ago.
While activity may be down in some parts of the country, the East and West Coasts have considerable Scale activity. There is great emphasis on preserving current Scale events as well as promoting the fun aspects. It's the fun portion of these efforts I'll talk about this month.
East Coast activity
On the East Coast, the Garden State Circle Burners Club of New Jersey holds Scale events at its local contests several times a year. Annually in September the club stages a major Scale event: the George Gaydos Memorial Meet.
The meet includes Profile, Sport, and Precision events and draws contestants from New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. This Circle Burners event attracts 20 or more Scale entries annually.
This year the club has added two events to promote the fun side of Scale and encourage modelers who have put Scale aside to come out and have some fun.
- Team Scale
- Designed to allow novice fliers (with little or no building experience) to team up with a skilled builder to gain contest and flying experience.
- Also allows experienced builders with little flying skill (or physical impairment) to participate.
- Virtually any combination of builder/flier will be allowed to enter.
- The event will be judged using the Sport Scale rules (Event 509), except the Builder/Flier rule will not apply.
- Fun Scale (patterned after RC Fun Scale, Event 520)
- Builder Model Rule will be enforced.
- Guidelines:
- Emphasis on simplicity.
- Minimal static judging.
- Emphasis on flying ability.
- Combined maneuvers and/or operations for CL Scale, CL Aerobatics, and CL Carrier.
These new events (as well as Profile, Sport, and Precision) will be offered at the 18th Annual George Gaydos Memorial Meet. The event will be held Sunday, September 18 at the Bendix Co. parking lot at Teterboro Airport, New Jersey.
For information, rules, or scoresheets for these Garden State Circle Burners events, contact: Bill Reynolds 18 Myrtle Ave., Caldwell, NJ 07006 Tel: (201) 226-5611
West Coast activity — Control Line Bomb Drop
On the West Coast, Fred Cronenwett of the 101st Squadron Screaming Eagles reported another new "fun" event to promote CL Scale models in competition: Control Line Bomb Drop (not to be confused with Supplemental Control Line Event No. 333, Dive Bombing and Strafing).
- Eligible models: any land- or water-based military aircraft (single- or multi-engine) that carried torpedoes or bombs, from WWI to the present. Rotary wings/helicopters are not permitted. Models may be profile or full scale.
- The Builder of the Model Rule will not be enforced.
- Target: a cardboard profile military-type ship designed by club member Ken Long (Ken's cardboard Stuka was featured in last month's column). Merle Mohring drafted the event rules.
- The ship target is marked with vertical lines denoting scoring sections:
- Center section hit: 75 points.
- Sections fore and aft of center: 50, 25, and 10 points (progressing outward).
- Each contestant has four attempts on torpedo bombing runs; maximum possible is 300 points.
- Bonus points (total up to 35):
- Good scale outline of model: 5 points.
- Multi-engine model: 5 points.
- Color markings: 5 points.
- Four properly executed bomb drops/torpedo runs: 20 points.
The event provides challenging flying and was used recently by the 101st Squadron in connection with the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Program; the entry fees were donated to Toys for Tots.
For a copy of the Bomb Drop rules, write: Fred Cronenwett 7352 Independence Ave., Apt. 210, Canoga Park, CA 91303
Getting more people involved
These events help promote the fun aspects of Scale activity and, more importantly, help novice Scale modelers get involved. The March–April 1995 National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) newsletter, Replica, contains an editorial that sums up the situation: "As a group we are getting older than dirt. The average age of the Scale competitor is over 40 years of age—this is not a good sign." We need an influx of young people. Now is the time to try new events, hold Scale classes, and pay attention to youth outreach.
P-38 Lightning — book and kit request
P-38 Lightning lovers: a great book is available. Jess Alexander's P-38 Lightning: Restoring a Classic American Warbird documents the restoration of "Joliet," an aircraft delivered to the Air Corps in mid-1944, later sold to a flight school, and ultimately displayed at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, CA. The book uses more than 200 photos to tell the story of how the airplane was restored and flown after more than 20 years on display.
Available from Zenith Books: 729 Prospect Ave., Osceola, WI 54020 ISBN: 0-87938-441-7
Also: Don Howard of Marietta, GA is looking for a Wen-Mac kit of the P-38 Lightning from the early 1960s. If you can help, write to: Don Howard, c/o Lockheed, Box 121, Marietta, GA 30063
About this month's photos
Both profile models shown have seen double duty.
- Scott LeFevre's Hellcat started with two lines and a Fox .35 engine. After Scott learned the basics, the model was converted to a three-line system with an O.S. Max .40 engine—a good way to start any youngster in CL flying.
- Mike Ostello's Staggerwing is flown in both Stunt and Profile Scale events. It is powered by an O.S. Max .40 and can be converted for both events: for Stunt a 2-line bellcrank and straight-through venturi are installed; for Profile a three-line system (with the appropriate carburetor) is installed for speed control. Color and markings are from a Bob Banta FOTO-PAAK. More on Mike's Staggerwing will appear in a future column.
Closing / Send material
Please send ideas, notices of upcoming CL Scale events, contest reports, and especially photos of CL Scale activities to the address at the top of this column.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
