RC Combat
Greg Rose 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond, OK 73003
The Texas Club Combat Series
The Texas Club Combat Series is one of the largest round-robin Radio Control (RC) Combat campaigns held anywhere. The series is hosted by the Paris Radio Control Association, the North Dallas Radio Control Club, the Richardson Radio Control Club, the Greater Southwest RC Club, and the Metro East Radio Control Club, all in northern Texas. Using Radio Control Combat Association rules, one event is flown each month from March through November.
The Elan Allen Memorial
I flew in the inaugural event for this season: The Elan Allen Memorial, hosted by the Paris Radio Control Association. Elan, a longtime Texan Combat flier and a strong RC Combat promoter, passed away earlier this year in a tragic accident.
In addition to honoring Elan, the Paris club auctioned several donated items during the event with all proceeds going to the Elan Allen Fund. You can contribute to the fund aiding Elan's family by sending donations to:
- Elan Allen Fund
in care of the First State Bank of Texas Box 1000, Grapevine, TX 76051
Participation and Results
Since the Texas Club Combat Series has been held for the past several years, participation was great and the competition was fierce. In Class B Open, 33 pilots showed up to compete; that’s just a few fewer than the number of pilots who participated in last year’s Combat Nationals in Muncie!
Although the Texas series is a local event, participation wasn’t just local; almost half of the fliers came from out of state. All told, nine states were represented:
- Arkansas
- California
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Texas
The weather was great, if a bit windy, and the clay soil had recently been softened by warm rains. That was lucky, since there are several areas in Texas and Oklahoma where baked clay turns flying fields into something resembling a paved parking lot—only harder!
After five rounds of combat, several fliers, including myself, had run out of airplanes, but the final rounds were just as hotly contested as the first. Final standings:
- 1st: A.J. Scaholm — 2,116 points (flying his own Avenger design)
- 2nd: Daniel Vaught (Arkansas) — 2,077 points
- 3rd: Dean "Tattoo" Tuinstra — flying SPAD designs
- 4th: Ben Morrow — flying the Lil' Bull design
Scale Combat
Scale Combat was contested for the first time in the Texas Club Combat Series, although turnout was low for this portion of the event. Terry Harner, Cash Hargett, Colin McGinnis, and Chet Carpenter put on quite a show despite the small field; they were assured of finishing no lower than fourth by virtue of the low turnout. They finished in the order listed above, with Terry leading the pack flying his unique Davis Manta fighter.
Terry’s use of the Manta—the full-scale design of which was built but apparently never flown—raises an interesting question for the rule book about what constitutes a Scale design. During the event no one worried about rules debates; the focus was purely on fun.
Manufacturing News — New Kits and Designs
#### Pica Products Pica Products (2675 N.E. 188 St., Miami, FL 33180; Tel.: [305] 932-8008; Web site: www.picaweb.com) already offers 1/12-scale versions of:
- P-51D Bubbletop Mustang
- Me 109G
- F-82 Twin Mustang
- F4U Corsair
- Mitsubishi Zero
The company recently introduced a new, larger P-51B Razorback Mustang. Taking advantage of the increases in size and weight allowed in the new 2610 Scale Combat rules, the Razorback Mustang is approximately 10% larger than the original bubbletop kit. Wingspan on the new kit is 40 inches (compared to 35.5 inches on the earlier Mustang), and wing area has been increased from 220 sq. in. to 278 sq. in.—a 26% increase in wing area over the P-51D.
The new kit retains standard Pica features: laser-cut wood, PETG vacuum-formed canopies, full-size interlocking glued-in wing and fuselage construction, the Eppler 203 airfoil, and the patent-pending "Laser-Lock" construction for fast building. With the larger size, a larger engine is required; the new 2610 Mustang takes a .21- to .26-size engine.
Hot on the tail of the 2610 Mustang will be the new Pica 2610 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk kit. Like the Razorback Mustang, the P-40 Warhawk will be roughly 10% larger than 1/12 scale to take full advantage of the new rules and will include the same features as current Pica designs.
#### WarZone Models WarZone Models (17 Essla Dr., Rochester, NY 14612; Tel.: [585] 227-0592; Web site: www.rccombat.com/warzone) has introduced a new Curtiss P-36 Hawk kit for Scale RC Combat. As with WarZone’s P-47 Thunderbolt, Ki-84 Frank, F8F Bearcat, and P-40 Warhawk, the P-36 is constructed from cut foam for the fuselage and wings, with impact-resistant PETG cowls, clear vacuum-formed canopies, and balsa tailfeathers.
The Curtiss P-36 Hawk (Mohawk in British service) spans 42 inches and has 300 square inches of wing area.
One interesting historical note: the full-scale Hawk served as a fighter for more than a dozen nations during World War II and fought on both Allied and Axis sides. A famous example occurred during the invasion of North Africa when U.S. Navy F4F Wildcats went into combat with Vichy French Hawks during the Torch landings. The Hawk’s varied service provides many interesting paint-scheme options—my favorites are some used by the Finnish Air Force.
WarZone has also introduced its first Open Combat design: the P-51 Mustang. The Open Combat P-51 looks like a simple block foam model but is constructed differently from WarZone’s Scale designs. The block fuselage is made from density-graded polystyrene (EPS) foam covered with Coroplast, and Coroplast tailfeathers are used. The carbon-chord wings, which can span up to 48 inches, feature a leading-edge section of expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam.
EPP is much more forgiving than EPS: it bounces back after impact rather than retaining a dent like EPS. The squarer fuselage may not have the smooth lines of a Mustang, but from a distance your Open design can still look like a Mustang.
That is 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.
