RADIO CONTROL: COMBAT
Greg Rose, 3429 Elm, Orion, MI 48359
Rochester Scale RC Combat Meet
While on vacation in upstate New York this summer I had the opportunity to accept an invitation to the Radio Control Club of Rochester's first Scale RC Combat meet. The RCCR meet's Contest Director was Jim Warner; the event went quite smoothly, due in no small part to the planning the club put into the event. Each model was inspected by Ed Dickinson, the safety officer for the meet; a preflight briefing was held to ensure every pilot understood the 704 rules and maintained the proper focus on safety.
Pilots and helpers attending the meet included:
- Jerry Joseph
- Ed Dickinson
- Paul Hanlon
- Tom Salvemini
- Bob James
- Bill Stauber
- Rodney Boatman
- Don Steeb
- Mike Hatch
- Greg Kesel
- Jim Warner
- Conrad Kantor
- Wayne Jeffries
Every model flown in the Rochester meet was from a Zigg's Original kit; the RCCR made a club purchase. Zigg's: 3822 Hoover Dr. #4, Madison, WI 53714; Tel.: (608) 249-4480.
For a first-time meet the competition was fierce, resulting in several cuts and even a midair collision. Conrad Kantor, Bill Stauber, and Greg Kesel placed first, second, and third, respectively, but the consensus was that everyone who flew was a winner. Thanks for inviting me, guys — I had a great time!
Reference: Flying Model Warplanes
Anyone who has seen the book Flying Model Warplanes: An International Guide to Plans and Kits knows that it is an invaluable reference for scale modelers.
The author, Dr. John C. Fredriksen, is compiling a new edition and is asking for help. Anyone with information on kits or plans available in England, France, Germany, Italy, or other countries can write to him at:
- Dr. John C. Fredriksen, 461 Loring Ave., Salem, MA 01970.
There is no other book like this for modelers, so give Doc Fredriksen a hand if you can.
D.SIGN Models: Piper L-4 Grasshopper
D.SIGN Models (3519 10th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407; Tel.: (612) 724-6614) is offering a wing-core and plan combo for the Piper L-4 Grasshopper. The model was designed by Dan Stensby, who has been featured more than once in this magazine for his scratch-built beauties.
Initially Dan didn't intend to offer the L-4 as plans, but club members loved the way it flew and the easy way it launched. For those who might not think of the L-4 as a "Combat" aircraft, Hardy Cannon's book Box Seat Over Hell helps illustrate how much combat these little "Maytag Messerschmitts" saw. From tank-busting to being the only airplane to bring down an Axis aircraft with a handgun, thousands of Grasshoppers served with honor during WWII, making the L-4 perfectly legal for 704 Combat. Contact D.SIGN Models for kit and plan availability.
Cottage Companies and Details
Two cottage companies are helping modelers build the plans and parts:
- Marvin Banka — 17 Rutledge Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618; Tel.: (609) 883-1490. Marvin will cut wood for Morfis' design if you prefer to custom-build the model.
- Air Kill Products — 14 Shady Lake Ct., Sacramento, CA 95834; Tel.: (916) 425-9933. Air Kill offers vacuum-formed canopies and details such as exhaust stacks. Gus Morfis' MiG-3/Yak-9 series company also offers canopies, cowl sets, La-5, F8F Bearcat, and F4U Corsair designs. Air Kill Products will also offer set plans and possibly a hardware kit.
Catapult Sources and Safety
The club's catapult is their own design — a rather sturdy wooden affair built with 2x4 and 4x4 framing. I've seen video of the catapult launching a number of different models successfully.
Other proven designs and sources:
- Merlin Gorowsky — 1483 Birmingham St., St. Paul, MN 55106; Tel.: (612) 774-6129. Merlin's design rides a 15-foot 2x4 ram and launches extremely smoothly.
- Dr. Mike Fredricks — 1129 Madison St., Beaver Dam, WI 53916; Tel.: (414) 887-3225. Dr. Fredricks' design is constructed from aluminum angle stock rather than wood.
I've seen video of all three designs and can attest they can help launch models successfully. A word of caution: these devices are capable of inflicting serious injury on a careless user or bystander. Use them carefully and safely.
New Non-Scale RC Combat Model: Exterminator
A new non-scale RC Combat flier is the Exterminator from Bulletproof Models, 1099 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach, FL 33409; Tel.: (407) 689-7664. The 15–25-sized Exterminator is conventional in layout but focused on RC Combat. Its construction features a fiberglass/kevlar/carbon-fiber fuselage, removable/replaceable wings and tail, and a titanium-reinforced wing spar that produces a light-but-tough airframe.
Scratch-Built Award: Seattle Radio Aero Club
The scratch-built award for this issue goes to a whole club rather than an individual. The award goes to the Seattle Radio Aero Club in Snohomish, Washington, for the unbelievable amount of plan design and building effort the club put forth.
The photo from one of their meets in June shows (left to right, standing):
- Jason Milsom — scratch-built Fw 189 of his own design
- Van Caryl — scratch-built Fiat G.55 of his own design
- Pete Arrivey — holding John Barton's scratch-built, own-design Hurricane
- Chuck Bowers — Zig's F4U
- Terry Birkholz — holding Chris Christensen's own-design, scratch-built I-16 Rata (unique in design and construction)
- Mark Metge — his own-design scratch-built Me 163
Kneeling:
- Syd Russell — holds Mark's Hurricane, scratch-built from John Barton's plans
- Chris Christensen — holds his House of Balsa Mustang
- an unidentified flier — holds Jason Milsom's scratch-built Fieseler Storch
- John Barton — holds the Rogozarski IK-3 that he built from his own plans
With 80% of the pilots competing at the club's 704 events flying their own scratch-built beauties, no one at this club suffers from flying the same Mustang or Messerschmitt as everyone else!
Have fun, fly safely, and don't forget to check your six!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
