RADIO CONTROL COMBAT
Greg Rose 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond OK 73003
Arkansas Combat Championships — event summary
There are so many great combat events throughout the year that it is impossible to cover them all. I attended the Arkansas Combat Championships, hosted by the Ozark Flyers Radio Control (RC) Club of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Unfortunately, early-November weather did not cooperate: the day began, as the two previous days had, with dark low clouds and constant light rain.
Despite the weather, 11 pilots showed up for the event, and almost every one came equipped to fly in the Scale and Open classes. Participants included:
- Scott Fitzgerald
- Nikita Clark
- Neal Rohrke
- Gene Smith
- Wes Parmenter
- Dave Goetz
- Daniel Vought
- Rod Bauer
- Greg Rose (author)
The drizzle finally stopped, causing only a slight delay to the scheduled start time. However, the dark, low clouds remained and made orientation and identification difficult all day. One positive side to the wet conditions was that the soft soaked ground saved several engines from serious damage — a few fliers, myself included, tested this feature more than once.
Scale Combat (2610) — summary and results
Six pilots flew in the 2610 Scale portion of the meet, including four Radio Control Combat Association (RCCA)-ranked competitors trying for late-season adjustments in the national standings.
Scale Combat was hotly contested but produced low final scores; the damp weather played havoc with the streamers, and several airplanes lost theirs without any opponent’s propeller contact.
Neal Rohrke traveled from Nebraska and had a tough day in Scale. In round one he lost one of his three identical Me 109H models in a midair with Gene Smith’s Ki-84 Frank. Another of Neal’s Me 109Hs went down in round two after a midair with Rod Bauer’s Macchi MC.205. Despite those losses, Neal battled back in later rounds to place second in 2610, behind Contest Director (CD) Daniel Vought. Gene Smith placed third.
Open Class — summary and results
Eight fliers competed in Open Class. Neal’s luck reversed in this event: the only Open Combat model he brought enjoyed a charmed life and put him firmly in first place without a scratch. Daniel Vought finished second, and 14-year-old Scott Fitzgerald, an Ozark Flyers member, took third place.
Demonstration flight
Between rounds we saw the first flight of a prototype for a new scale-combat kit. Ron Bauer of Warbirds Ltd. flew the company’s new 44-inch-span 1/12-scale Ilyushin Il-10. Flown only for demonstration, the model performed very well and should be available soon (details follow).
Club notes
Talking with event CD Daniel Vought, I learned that in the 28 years the Ozark Flyers has been an AMA-chartered club, this meet and the Scale Combat contest held earlier this year were the first two sanctioned events the club has ever hosted. Daniel said the club has attracted many new members because of the excitement RC Combat has generated. Two club members who flew in the meet, Scott Fitzgerald and Nikita Clark, are only 14 years old!
The Ozark Flyers did a great job hosting the event. They asked me to thank sponsors Pica Enterprises and Warbirds Ltd. for their support. The club has decided these meets will be annual affairs.
Warbirds Ltd. — company and kit news
Warbirds Ltd. 11111 East 67th St., Tulsa OK 74133 Tel.: (918) 850-6805 Web: www.warbirdsltd.com
Warbirds Ltd. is back in production after a company reorganization. The Hawker Hurricane design has been discontinued, but the Macchi MC.205 Veltro, the twin-engine Fw 189 Uhu army-cooperation aircraft, and the Fw 190 Wurger should be back in production by the time this issue is released.
Two new designs, the Ilyushin Il-10 and the Grumman F6F Hellcat, will be added to the product line.
All Warbirds Ltd. kits will feature:
- Foam-core wings with all sheeting material supplied
- Seamless fiberglass fuselage using Kevlar-reinforced composite construction
- Clear PETG plastic canopies
- Full-size plans and a detailed building manual
- Hardware that includes prebent aileron torque rods
Call or write for exact release dates, or check the Web site for kit status.
Combat Goblin Models — kits available
Combat Goblin Models 1099 Albion St. N.W., Palm Bay FL 32907 Tel.: (321) 956-1814 Web: www.flytog.com
Combat Goblin Models has three kits available for the RC combat flier.
- Spitfire Mk II (for 2610 Scale Combat)
- Enlarged 10% from 1/12 scale to increase wing area
- 40½-inch span, 334 in² wing area
- Weight: 2–2½ pounds
- Designed for .21–.25-size engines
- Kit features preshaped foam wing with torque rods preinstalled, clear vacuum-formed canopy, complete hardware set, full-size plans, and detailed instructions
- Sanjiyan (Class B Open Combat)
- 42-inch wingspan, 357 in² wing area
- Weight: 2½–3 pounds
- Designed for .21–.30-size engines
- Kit features presheeted foam wing, Lite Ply fuselage and rudder, reinforcing carbon/fiberglass dowels, complete hardware kit, plans and instructions
- Combat Goblin x 2 (Class A Open Combat)
- Builds two complete models
- Single model: 30-inch span, 218 in² wing area
- Weight: 1–1½ pounds
- Designed for .049–.10 engines
- Construction: balsa and plywood with presheeted foam wings; fast, easy assembly
Combat Goblin also offers fully built Ready-to-Fly versions of the Spitfire and Sanjiyan that require only radio and engine installation. Check the Web site for details.
That's all for now. Until next time, fly safe, fly combat, and be sure to check your six! MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
