Scale Masters
By John Oliver
An amazing array of RC scale aircraft was present at the 1985 Scale Masters, including entries from as far away as Australia and New Zealand. The event was held October 18–20 at "Spook Hills," a model-flying field built by the Arizona Model Association in the desert near Mesa, AZ (near Phoenix). The One-Eighth Air Force, with long experience running large fly‑ins, handled the meet.
The runway is approximately 60 x 600 ft., brand new with a flawless surface — great for takeoffs but unforgiving on landings. The surrounding desert terrain (rocky ground, cactus, bushes, and mesquite trees) proved beautiful but hazardous to models.
Against this backdrop, 66 of the world's best RC scale modelers competed. This was the first year the Scale Masters was open to foreign fliers, and while participation was light, teams from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand attended — a promising sign for the event's future as a true world-class contest.
Contest overview
- Format: Three days. Friday — static judging; Saturday and Sunday — four rounds of flying.
- Conditions: Low humidity caused some competitors difficulty in properly adjusting engines during static judging. With the runway available for test flights, pilots had a chance to acclimatize and many test flights were made Friday.
- Standards: Build standards for "stand-off scale" models continue to rise; judging became more difficult and scoring tightened. At the 1985 event scores were generally three to five points lower than at other contests.
Notable flights and entrants
Tom Cook's new F-4 Phantom attracted attention. Rumors in the pits anticipated dramatic performance gains from new fan units, and Cook's first flight did not disappoint. His F-4 (about 24 lb., some 7 lb heavier than Nationals winner Bob Fiorenzi's version) out‑accelerated, outclimbed, and outflew any ducted-fan ship seen to date.
Many top fliers posted strong scores in later rounds. Kent Walters demonstrated remarkable consistency — every flight he made scored over 90 — and he finished in a commanding position. Other notable entries and builders included Dave Platt (whose new 1/5-scale FW 190 A-8 took top static points), Tom Cook, Jeff Foley, Chuck Fuller, Ramon Torres, and Dr. Ken Lawson (Australia).
Saturday evening featured the traditional banquet and light-hearted after-dinner entertainment by Frank Tiano, whose good-humored barbs are a Scale Masters staple. The event also continued the annual "Being Last Sucks" T-shirt tradition; this year the prize went to Greg Namey, who had a strong static score but was prevented from flying by radio problems. Namey remarked at the awards that "It is better to come last among the best in the world, than not to have come at all."
During a demonstration while scores were tallied, Cook and Bob Fiorenzi flew their F-4s together in a memorable Blue Angels–style routine with close passes, bomb-burst climbs, and simultaneous formation loops.
Analysis and trends
- Weights and spans: Contrary to some expectations, average wingspans and weights were not extremely high despite a 40 lb. limit. Only one entry reached 30 lb., and just 13 of 66 planes exceeded 20 lb.
- Engines: The two-stroke glow engine (~1.5 cu in.) remained the most popular. Few contestants used gasoline spark-ignition or four-cycle engines.
- Subjects: WWII fighters remained the dominant subject. Civilian subjects showed a slight increase, making up about 24% of entries.
- Implications: These figures suggest FAI rules and the scale community may not be as far apart as believed. If FAI limits were adjusted (for example, to a 25-lb. limit with 2.0 cu. in. two‑cycle engines allowed), participation in FAI contests and U.S. team selection might increase.
Scale Masters Results
- First Place — Scale Masters Champion: Kent Walters
- Second Place: Tom Cook
- Third Place: Ramon Torres
- Top Static Score: Dave Platt
- Pilots' Choice Award: Dave Platt
- Best Single Flight: Kent Walters
- Last-Place T-Shirt: Greg Namey
Equipment Data (selected entries)
(Entries and source codes abbreviated as printed; some fields are unavailable.)
- Apojan — Aircraft: M-10 — Engine: ST 2000 — Radio: Kraft — Retracts: — — Wingspan: 84 in — Weight: —
- Baker — Aircraft: Bristol — Engine: ST 3000 — Radio: JR / Kraft? — Retracts: Airways — Wingspan: 80 in — Weight: —
- Barbee — Aircraft: P-47 — Engine: Tartan Quadra — Radio: Kraft? — Retracts: — — Wingspan: 65 in — Weight: —
- Bender — Aircraft: Jungmeister — Engine: OS 90/45 — Radio: JR? — Retracts: Byron — Wingspan: 80 in — Weight: —
- Buckley — Aircraft: P-47 — Engine: Enya 60 — Radio: Kraft? — Retracts: — — Wingspan: 93 in — Weight: —
- Carper — Aircraft: Cub — Engine: OS 60 — Radio: Futaba? — Retracts: Romair — Wingspan: 65 in — Weight: —
- Casey — Aircraft: FW 190 — Engine: OS 90 — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: Romair — Wingspan: 72 in — Weight: —
- Cavanaugh — Aircraft: MiG-3 — Engine: OS 108 — Radio: Kraft? — Retracts: Plafi? — Wingspan: 74 in — Weight: —
- Cleis — Aircraft: Spitfire — Engine: ST 2500 — Radio: JR / Futaba? — Retracts: — — Wingspan: 93 in — Weight: —
- Collier — Aircraft: Piper Tomahawk — Engine: Rossi 65 — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: — — Wingspan: 81 in — Weight: —
- Cook — Aircraft: P-51 (F-4 Phantom entry elsewhere) — Engine: Rossi 81 — Radio: JR — Retracts: — — Wingspan: 56 in — Weight: 24 lb (F-4)
- Cordes — Aircraft: P-38? — Engine: ST 2500 — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: Platt — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Couch — Aircraft: Cub — Engine: OS 108 — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: JMP — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Crooks — Aircraft: P-? — Engine: Quadra? — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: Platt — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Deweese — Aircraft: TBM 109 — Engine: K&B 75 — Radio: Kraft — Retracts: Platt — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Dorman — Aircraft: 109 — Engine: OS 108 — Radio: JR — Retracts: Platt — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Elston — Aircraft: Zero — Engine: Bully? — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: Romair — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Erwin — Aircraft: P-51? (P-S 10?) — Engine: ST 60 — Radio: Kraft? — Retracts: Pro Line — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Fingler — Aircraft: Super 109 — Engine: SD 37 — Radio: JR? — Retracts: Kraft — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Fiorenzi — Aircraft: F-4 — Engine: OS 61 — Radio: Futaba? — Retracts: JR — Wingspan: — — Weight: (lighter F-4 compared to Cook)
- Foley — Aircraft: 109 — Engine: Tartan Twin — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: Futaba — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Forrester — Aircraft: Gee Bee — Engine: Webra 90 — Radio: Kraft? — Retracts: Kraft — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Fey — Aircraft: Spitfire — Engine: OS 108 — Radio: JR — Retracts: JR — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Fuller — Aircraft: Waco Taperwing — Engine: Rossi 81 — Radio: Kraft? — Retracts: Kraft — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Hanft — Aircraft: Fokker EV — Engine: OS 120 — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: JR — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Hansen — Aircraft: A-4 — Engine: ST 75 — Radio: Kraft? — Retracts: JR — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Hatch — Aircraft: Cessna Ag-Truck — Engine: Kraft 61 — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: Kraft — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Izzo — Aircraft: Laser Cub — Engine: ST 2500 — Radio: JR — Retracts: Futaba — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Jensen — Aircraft: CAP 21 — Engine: ST 3000 — Radio: JR — Retracts: JR — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Job — Aircraft: P-? — Engine: — — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: Futaba — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Jones — Aircraft: CAP 21 — Engine: — — Radio: JR — Retracts: JR — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Kitchin — Aircraft: Storch — Engine: — — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: JR — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Kleinhaus — Aircraft: Spitfire — Engine: — — Radio: JR — Retracts: Futaba — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Kretz — Aircraft: Spire — Engine: — — Radio: Futaba — Retracts: Kraft — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Lawson — Aircraft: FW 190 — Engine: — — Radio: Kraft — Retracts: Romair — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
- Loin — Aircraft: — — Engine: — — Radio: — — Retracts: Plafi / Platt — Wingspan: — — Weight: —
(For full equipment and source references, consult contest records and tables.)
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
