RADIO CONTROL SCALE
Jeff Troy 19 East Mt. Pleasant Avenue, Ambler, PA 19002
ISC International visit
My trip to Indiana last summer was a lot of fun. In Indianapolis I spent a Friday afternoon with Bev, Jimmy, and Jim Goad of ISC International — distributors of Tartan, Zenoah, GMS 2000, Asp, and Tiger Shark engines. The rest of the weekend was spent at the RC Scale portion of the National Aeromodeling Championships in Muncie.
My visit with the Goads was both fun and informative. They run a very healthy RC distributorship: it's stocked with quality products and backed by unparalleled customer service. Instead of just selling RC products, these folks also design, engineer, and fly many of the products they sell. You can find Jimmy Goad on the flightline at Madera and Houston; Jim Sr. spends most of his time in the company's research-and-development rooms, inspecting, refining, and doing whatever else is needed to assure modelers receive the performance they've come to expect from the engines ISC handles.
I toured the entire ISC operation. There are plenty of parts on hand, plenty of know-how, and plenty of hands-on experience available for the asking within the company's walls.
The Muncie site and AMA Headquarters
The December issue concentrated on the Nationals, so I'll take a little space here to give some personal comments regarding the Muncie site.
I lived in Reston, Virginia, from 1986 to 1989, working full-time for AMA in the Public Relations department and as a Nats assistant. At that time, several communities around the U.S. made impressive relocation pitches to the Academy, and the final nod for Muncie came (I believe) right around the end of 1989.
Until my recent trip to AMA Headquarters for the '96 Nats Scale events, I was among those who didn't think much of AMA's plan to trade the visibility and sophistication of the Washington, D.C. area for a piece — any piece — of the Midwest. After visiting Headquarters and seeing the operation firsthand, the move to Muncie is much easier to understand.
The flying sites
The Muncie flying sites — all of them — are intelligently constructed and properly equipped. There is ample parking at each site, with plenty of elbow room for equipment, contestants, and contest personnel. There's even more room if you just want to kill an afternoon with a little fun flying. Areas are paved where needed, and the sites' grass areas are green and well kept.
Having first-class flying sites available for AMA and FAI events means that there is finally an element of control over the contest conditions. In the past, when modelers traveled to the U.S. for an FAI World Championships, "Olympic"-quality flying sites were expected but were rarely available. More often than not, world-class competitors found themselves on some grudgingly donated field where flying, management, equipment availability, and conditions were seldom as "perfect" as promised. If and when FAI events are held in Muncie, control over everything but the weather is assured.
Muncie was originally intended to be the national site, not the site of the Nationals. There is a difference. The original plan was for the Nats to continue as before, roaming the country year after year, with events held at the Muncie site every few years.
I don't know if there has been any change in that plan, but if there has been, and the events are to be held in Muncie every year from now on, competitors and officials will be able to bank on first-class conditions and a totally dedicated flying site. I don't believe any modeling venue can offer our membership a better deal than that.
The museum
Then there's the museum. As far as model museums go, Reston was pretty good, but the Frank V. Ehling Museum in Muncie is fantastic. Instead of just heaping models and equipment into cabinets and corners, Muncie is set up with a designated place for everything; everything is put in its place. There is rhyme and reason behind the displays so that a museum visitor gets the full impact as soon as he crosses the threshold. The Lee Renaud Library is actually a library instead of a file room like Reston. You've seen pictures; they can't create the drama of seeing it in person.
Photo captions
- Jimmy Goad keeps ISC's engine stock under control. Jimmy's shown here at the foothills of "Zenoah Mountain."
- ISC CEO Jim Goad. That's a new prototype on the front of Jim's Cub (but I promised not to tell you anything else).
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
