Control Line: Scale
Dick Byron
I received a letter this month from Mr. Doug Dahlke in Oshkosh, WI. I have known Doug for several years and find him to be a very interested competitor. He has been flying stunt for a number of years: full scale, old-timer, and 1/2A. In Doug's letter he asks for information on how to get into sport scale. Obviously, the easiest way is simply to select a good kit which you can document properly, and go from there. In my original columns in the April and May issues there was much more insight on this.
Doug brought up a very good point about the EAA week in Oshkosh. This is the major yearly event for full‑size homebuilt aircraft. It seems that every year the EAA Fly‑In is the same week as the Nats. That's a real shame for scale modelers, as we would all love to attend this event to get a good look at full‑size planes. Some people have even chosen to forego the Nats to attend. In Doug's letter he suggests the AMA change its Nats schedule so that it doesn't conflict with the EAA Fly‑In.
Editor: A reading of the RC Scale column by Bob and Dolly Wischer shows that Mr. Dahlke made a similar suggestion to them. The biggest factor in determining Nats dates is the availability of facilities — primarily flying field and dormitories.
Correction. In the September 1981 issue of this column a mistake was made in identifying one aircraft at the Nats held in Wilmington, OH. The F4U‑1A Corsair pictured actually belongs to Mr. James Deutsch of Chagrin Falls, OH. It is a Top Flite kit with operating flaps, retracts, lights, sliding canopy, and full cockpit detail. Power is a Fox Eagle .60. My apologies to Mr. Deutsch for this error. (This picture was given to me by Mike Gretz, and the information he had was on another aircraft.)
Where it all began
I received a letter recently from Mr. Sam Abdow in Fall River, MA. If you remember several months ago, we had some of his aircraft pictured. In Sam's letter he was surprised that I referred back to my days of watching him fly at South Weymouth Naval Air Station. Sam did not realize that I was born about a mile from South Weymouth NAS. My hometown is Weymouth, and I started flying airplanes there back in 1952. We had a very large control‑line club then and had many Junior and Senior participants. My love of airplanes started with the Corsair and Hellcat that flew from South Weymouth, and I would watch with my heart yearning to be up there with them.
I would really like to hear from some of my old friends who still live back there or any modelers who belong to the Weymouth Model Airplane Club. I do know that Mr. Dave Cook of Brockton, MA is back in the hobby again and would like to hear from him. The hobby touches such a diverse cross section of American interests and careers.
T28A
I received a very interesting letter from Ted Amico of Mt. Sinai, NY. Ted's pictures show his handiwork. Over two years in construction, the T‑28A is made from the Dave Platt RC kit. It has a two‑piece sliding canopy, electric independent landing flaps, and handmade shock‑absorbing landing gear. Ted hand‑painted all the numbers and letters — a truly outstanding job. It is powered by a K&B .61 RC and weighs in at 12 lb. The engine exhaust is directed through the scale exhaust ports — very realistic (note: more scale models could try this to gain some ingenuity points). The shock‑absorbing landing gear gives it a very realistic approach in landing and assists in ground handling over rough terrain. Ted competes regularly in contests around the East Coast, and I am sure several of you are familiar with his aircraft. He is also an excellent photographer, as the pictures reflect. An outstanding aircraft.
Profile Publications
It has come to my attention that Profile Publications are being put back into print again. They are outstanding modeling assistance for all scale modelers. I am looking forward to acquiring the entire series; I now have about 70 of them. This is something every scale modeler should have because of the value of the 5‑views which come with each publication. They will probably be more expensive than they were in the past, but they will be worth every penny for the serious scale modeler and historian. Look for them to be advertised in upcoming issues of many of the model magazines. Don't let them slide through your hands like I once did.
Richard P. Byron 2506 So. 161st Circle Omaha, NE 68130
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
