Radio Control: Giant Scale
Bob Beckman
Vacation slide show
I've been bemoaning the fact that I haven't been able to get in on the activity this year. I didn't make it to Toledo last spring, and I had to pass up the STARS rally in Olean in July. To make it worse, I haven't even been out to our local flying field all year. My modeling has really been suffering from malnutrition.
When I finally managed to break out of the rut, I did it with a vengeance. A happy combination of business and a little free time made it possible for Evelyn and me to go to the Labor Day Giant Scale Fly-in at the Merwin Ranch. This is one of the premier flying sites in the country, and one of my two favorite locations. (The other one is the STARS Rally site in Olean, NY.) Imagine, if you can, a pool table about half a mile long and a quarter mile wide. Substitute dichondra grass for the green baize, and you've got the flying site at Merwin Ranch, near Sacramento, CA.
Some people might be wondering why there is such a big patch of just grass right in the midst of some of the most intensively farmed land in the country. The answer is that this isn't just ordinary grass. It's actually a dichondra seed farm, and it's one of the largest of the Merwin family's agricultural efforts. Would you believe tomatoes and Christmas trees, also? The grass is cultivated and allowed to go to seed. Then chemicals are applied that kill the grass without harming the seed. Huge vacuum cleaners then suck up the seed and leave the area ready to be reseeded for another crop. Only a small portion of the field is being harvested at any one time, and the field itself is so large that you can drop that one-half by one-quarter-mile flying site in anywhere and almost lose it. All in all, it makes an ideal location for Giant Scale and other RC activities.
Some of the earliest Giant Scale activity took place at the Merwin Ranch, and IMAA Chapter One, the Eagle Squadron, has hosted this affair for the last five or six years. Ken Runestrand and the rest of the gang have got this down to a science now. They have just enough organization and control to make it possible for a large group to enjoy a relaxed weekend of flying and companionship. Over 150 aircraft showed up this year.
We particularly enjoy our trips to the West Coast since we have so many good friends out there. Some are new friends we've made since getting into Giant Scale, and some go back to when we lived out there in the Fifties. Our first stop was in Santa Clara with Bob and Iris Morse. Bob is the most prolific—and in my opinion the best—Giant Scale designer and plan-producer there is. I've shown you a lot of pictures of his designs in the past, and I will continue to do so in future columns—not because he's my friend, but because he's good.
Friday morning I helped Bob load his monster Skyraider into his van, and then we all headed for Sacramento. On the way, we stopped for lunch in Rio Vista. As I'm writing this, the TV news is talking about the whale that went all the way up the river to Rio Vista. This area is really into Giant Scale.
A few more miles on up the levee road along the river and we arrived at the Merwin Ranch. Although the fly-in didn't officially start until Saturday morning, there was already a quarter mile of campers and motor homes lined up beside the field. At one end of the line was a one-to-one Cessna. That gives you another idea of the size of this facility: several times during the weekend, full-size lightplanes set down and stayed awhile.
The flying had already started, of course. One aircraft caught my attention immediately. It was a Laser 200, and it was putting on quite a show. I've seen a lot of Laser models, and with a halfway-good pilot, they all look great in the air. This one was different, though. The pilot was very good, but the thing that intrigued me was the engine noise—or lack of it. Obviously, it was a four-cycle engine, with that beautiful, quiet purr. But this one would yank that big Laser straight up with less commotion than one of our regular big bangers idling.
Now, I've seen four-cycle engines before, and I know there has been a lot of interest in them in the last few years. Up to now, my interest has been academic, since I'm hooked on Giant Scale and ignition engines. But here I was witnessing the melding of all the advantages of both Giant Scale and four-cycle engines. This was my first look at a Saito 2.7 cu. in. four-cycle twin in action. It's a far cry from our "inexpensive" converted chainsaw engines of a few years ago, but it does look nice, sound beautiful, and perform superbly.
Before the weekend was over, I got another introduction to four-cycle, multi-cylinder engines. I'd told you last month about Forrest Edwards' five-cylinder radial. After watching these two engines perform, I'm really getting the four-cycle bug. If things go well, I hope to do more Big Banger articles in the next few months and try to concentrate on the four-cycle engines. And I keep getting this vision of my Sparrowhawk with an Edwards engine in the nose. That should really give it scale performance!
You've heard me babble on many times about how the real value of flying is the chance to talk to people, make new friends, and renew old friendships. This weekend was particularly valuable in that last category. I got to talk with an old friend I hadn't seen in 30 years. Back in the early Fifties, I was privileged to work with, fly with, and learn from one of the RC greats of the time, Alex Schneider. Alex won the Nationals three times and ushered in the era of the multi-reed control systems. Like many of us have from time to time, Alex dropped out of modeling some years ago. It's an addiction you can't really kick forever, though, and he's getting back into the swing of things. And Giant Scale isn't anything new to him—the models we were flying in the Fifties had wingspans of 7½ to 9 feet.
All in all, it was a perfect weekend. I may not be getting into the activity as much as I would like, but when I do, I do it right.
Correction
In the December issue, a photo got credited to me by mistake. That insightful character study of George Privette was actually taken by STARS member Ed Bush at the STARS Rally last July.
Bob Beckman 8248 Holly Grove Ct. Manassas, VA 22110
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
