CL Scale
Bill Boss
Fabulous. That was the word I used to describe the 1983 Nats held at Westover AFB, Massachusetts. Now, here I am in 1985 trying to find another short superlative to describe this year's Westover Nats. It was super. Once again, the competition/convention theme was stressed by the Academy, as there was always something to do or see—both day and evening. Away from the flying sites there were seminars and demonstrations by manufacturers, meetings and banquets of special interest groups, and various other activities, which included a very well-attended AMA general membership meeting.
Participation
CL Scale at the Westover Nats enjoyed another increase in participation. There was a total of 44 models entered (four more than in 1983): 24 in Sport, 11 in Precision, and 9 in FAI. Even though participation was greater than in the past several years, I am sorry to report we only had two Senior and two Junior contestants.
A review of past Nats Open entries shows that about 10 Scale modelers who normally attend were not present; they were replaced by those entering Nats Scale competition for the first time. For the Open-class events, this is certainly a good sign. I can only hope that clubs, fathers, brothers, and others will encourage Senior- and Junior-age fliers to participate in Scale. If our current trend continues, we may find ourselves at the Nats without any Senior or Junior participants.
Judging and schedule
- All models had to be turned in on Thursday for static judging.
- Precision and FAI static judging: George Buso, Bob Karlsson, Cliff Tacie, and Bill Kleinhans.
- Sport static judging: Burt Duggan, Bob Kennedy, and Mario Yederlinic.
- CL Scale event director: Mike Gretz.
- Assisted on the flying field by Doris Gretz and Melissa Gretz, who tabulated and posted all scores.
- Mike Pratt handled all pull-testing; his wife, Barb Pratt, assisted flying-circle judges Burt Duggan and Bob Adair with contestant timing.
Before reviewing the competition by class, let me say for myself and all the contestants a sincere "thank you" to Mike and his crew of judges and helpers for a job well done.
Junior and Senior results
Junior and Senior-class contestants Stephen MacBride (Clifton, NJ) and Julie Abel (Florissant, MO) both dominated their respective age classes in all three Scale categories. Stephen MacBride bested seven-year-old Billy Force in all three Scale events. Julie Abel was uncontested in Senior FAI and Precision and bested the only other Senior, Raymond Audet (Simsbury, CT), in Sport.
Julie Abel has to be one of the winningest Junior/Senior competitors we have seen in a long time; this was the fifth straight year she has placed first in more than one Scale category. She has taken 12 first-place awards since 1981.
Open Sport Scale
Open Sport Scale had 20 entrants and was by far the most hotly contested category of this year's CL Scale events. After the first official flight scores were posted, we found that of the 18 who posted official scores, only 17 points in static separated the top man from the bottom, making the average static score about 85 points. This meant almost everyone on the list had a chance at being in the top five by putting in a good flight.
Final results in Sport found Steve Ashby (Indianapolis, IN) repeating his 1983 winning performance with 183 points for his DH Mosquito. John Patrolia (Marshfield, MA), a first-time entrant in Nats competition, took second place with 181.5 points—only 1.5 points behind Ashby. After all flights were completed, only nine points separated the first 10 places.
Open Precision
The Open Precision category was won by George Gaydos (Elmwood Park, NJ) with an excellently executed P-38 that received a near-perfect static score of 418 out of a possible 450. His overall score of 563.5 beat Steve Ashby's DH Mosquito, which received a total of 548.5 points for second place. Bill Reynolds (Caldwell, NJ), while not new to Nats competition, entered the Open category for the first time and captured third place flying a well-executed DC-3.
FAI
Ron Sears (Pontiac, MI) took top honors in the FAI event with his PT-17 Kaydet.
Miscellaneous
- Weather for the two days of flying was the best I have ever encountered at a Nats Scale competition: temperatures in the eighties, sunny most of the time, and almost dead calm winds.
- Of the 44 models entered, 39 were different. Duplicates included two each of the B-25, P-47, P-38, PT-17 Kaydet, and DH Mosquito.
- The Garden State Circle Burners Club (a New Jersey club) had six members entered in Scale events; four of them won six awards. Junior contestant Stephen MacBride won three of the six awards garnered by the GSCB group.
- The placards used electronic control systems; one used an electric servo system—both systems have been featured in this column during the past year.
One problem surfaced during the competition: a rule-book contradiction concerning the time allowed to start multi-engined models and the maximum allowable flight time. The issue came to light during the starting of Joe Satta's six-engined B-36. He took more than 10 minutes to start his engines (the rules say he can have 13), but was charged with an attempt because another rule states he must complete his flight within 10 minutes, which is inclusive of starting time. This problem will be brought before the Scale Contest Board for resolution.
Closing
Thanks to all the CL Scale officials for a great job, and to the contestants—it was a pleasure to see the good sportsmanship displayed by all. My thanks also to the Nats staff and to those who helped me. Special thanks to Pete Bianchi (who turned his Spitfire back to me) for his assistance during the flights.
See you all again sometime. Hope to see all of you at Lake Charles, LA, in 1986.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
