RADIO CONTROL COMBAT
Greg Rose 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond OK 73003
RC Combat that takes place late in the flying season has a different feel. Everyone knows they can rebuild any losses by the next season, so why not take a chance? Late-season fliers tend to accept losses with a devil-may-care attitude. Combine that with a growing sense of urgency as opportunities to address your standings in the Radio Control Combat Association (RCCA) National Points System rapidly diminish, and you get wild, aggressively flown rounds full of surprises.
Midwestern Nationals (Waverly, Nebraska)
One of the premier late-season events is the Midwestern Nationals held in Waverly, Nebraska. Hosted by the Sky Knights, the event can be almost as large as the Nationals held in Muncie, Indiana. The 2002 Midwestern Nats drew 31 fliers for the Open Class B event on Saturday and 16 pilots for the Scale event on Sunday.
For those who have never flown at the Sky Knights' field in Waverly, it has a unique and prominent feature.
Field feature: Lake Fredricks
In golf, hazards are sometimes placed to make a hole more difficult. The Sky Knights upped the ante by locating a large pond—nicknamed Lake Fredricks—in the center of an otherwise wide-open field. It is hard not to be intimidated by the large water hazard waiting directly under the Combat box.
Weather and contest progress
On the first day of Combat, Open fliers were met by a pleasant day, but winds rose steadily as the meet progressed. By the final rounds a gusty 15 mph wind was blowing. Like the Muncie Nats, the big names in Open Class fought hard. The lead changed several times:
- Lee Little held the lead for the first two rounds.
- Mike Fuller took the lead in the third round and kept it for two rounds.
- A.J. Seaholm grabbed the lead in the fifth round and held it through the end.
Final scores put A.J. Seaholm in first, Mike Fuller in second, and Don Howard pulled off an upset for third place with a fantastic 568-point final round—the highest scoring round in the entire contest—pushing Lee Little into fourth by only eight points.
Open Class B results (top 4)
- A.J. Seaholm — 1st place
- Mike Fuller — 2nd place
- Don Howard — 3rd place (568-point final round)
- Lee Little — 4th place
The larger-span designs dominated Open Class B, including:
- Avenger 8.0
- Skull Bandit
- Choker
- Falcon 72
Scale Event (Sunday)
The Scale event on Sunday started as a nice-looking day, but the gusty winds that built during Saturday's match returned before the first round and increased throughout the day. Several rounds had to be directed back to center field (over Lake Fredricks) as combat action was continually blown to the left.
A.J. Seaholm took first place by the second round and never relinquished it. He topped his day by scoring high in the final two rounds, finishing nearly 800 points ahead of second-place Jeff Smith, who had led after the first round. Less than 250 points separated the next five positions.
Scale results (top 4)
- A.J. Seaholm — 1st place
- Jeff Smith — 2nd place
- Mike Fredricks — 3rd place
- Jim Bodnar — 4th place
Losses and advice
Unfortunately for me, it was not a good day for Japanese aircraft from Oklahoma. Gene Smith and I lost five models in the meet, although mercifully all missed Lake Fredricks. It was an outstanding meet, with as many twists and turns in the scoring as there were in the air.
The event was great fun, but if you plan to fly with the Sky Knights at their next Combat meet, consider bringing a floatplane fighter!
New Open designs
#### Falcon 72 (GRS Models)
- Manufacturer: GRS Models, 36 Antigua Dr., Kenner LA 70065
- Web site: http://pages.prodigy.net/gleveland_grsmodels
- Type: Long-span flying wing with winglets
- Span: 72 inches
- Wing area: 740 square inches
- Power: Designed for .25–.30 engines
- Features: Plug-in wing panels for transport; three-piece precovered wing; winglets taped in place; centerline rudder clamped in place
- Assembly: Ready-to-Fly (RTF) version scheduled; advertised 20 minutes from box to flight (install radio and engine)
A smaller Falcon 64 is also planned for release.
#### Rapt-Air .25 (Northeast Aerodynamics)
- Manufacturer: Northeast Aerodynamics, 5 Pine St., Suite F, Nashua NH 03060
- Web site: www.ne-aero.com
- Type: Conventional low-wing design
- Span: 48 inches
- Wing area: 440 square inches
- Weight: 2.8–3.5 pounds depending on engine and radio gear
- Handling: Described as "docile"
- Notes: Kit designed with a minimum number of parts for very quick assembly
That's all for this column. I need to rebuild some airplanes. Until next time, build straight, fly safely, and be sure to check your six! MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
