By Stan Alexander (onawing4602@att.net)
Wow! What a perfect day! Yes, there was a little wind from the southwest, but everyone had a great time flying the first two rounds of competition Saturday in Designer Scale, Expert, Open class, Sportsman, and Open Fun Scale and Novice Fun Scale classes.
One member, John Borton, with his scratch-built electric Pietenpol Air Camper did have an accident. He accidentally bumped the throttle on the radio with his hand. It was live and it cut three fingers, both legs, and other areas before he could get away from the thing. Always, but always, when you work on electric-powered models, especially large electric-powered aircraft, remove the propeller before working on them or powering them up. A quick trip to the hospital by RC Event Director Carl Handley and some first aid by Joe Vermillion got things taken care of. I’ve had the same exact thing happen—not fun at all!
Hal Parenti was the “youngest” competitor at the Nats this year entered in Designer Scale with his Ryan Fireball. Hal has a new model of this aircraft waiting for test flights and next year, we hope to see Hal back with it in competition. If you’ve ever researched a Fireball, they were a post-World War II fighter powered by both a turbine and a piston engine. This was done due to turbines not being very powerful at the time. Hal is attending with Gary, his son, and Hal is now 93 years young. He has been a Nats winner 18 times.
We had a visit from Hazel Sig out at the field and Hal Parenti and her got together and talked about good times at the Nats, Hazel’s involvement in AMA and aeromodeling in general and, of course, SIG Manufacturing. Great to see her always.
The Saturday evening banquet was held at the Minnetrista Cultural Center here in Muncie, Indiana. Control Line Scale Event Director Allen Goff set all of this up and it is a great venue. The meal was the best banquet I’ve attended anywhere in Muncie.
National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) inducted 11 members into the RC Scale Hall of Fame Saturday night, and unfortunately, many are gone from us already. The inductees include Bob Underwood, NASA’s founder and first president, Hal Parenti, Dave Platt, Frank Tiano, and of course Mrs. Hazel Sig, who was inducted into both the CL and RC hall of fames, the late Bob Wischer, Dolly Wischer, George Buso, Steve Sauger, Skip Mast, and Claude McCullough.
More on the competition tomorrow with the final results in all classes as well as some good photos in the sunny weather we are having here in Muncie!
Hazel Sig and Hal Parenti having a great time talking about past Nats and modeling experiences. Great to see them both back here again.
Mike Barbee shutting down his Team Scale entry with Will Berringer as the pilot this year.
Terry Nitsch’s BVM EDF MIG 15 entered in Fun Scale Open features air brakes and a drop tank, as well as an electric-ducted fan and a DX18 Spektrum radio system.
The Wilga by Adam Grubb makes a pass, with a wingspan of 146 inches. It’s one of the largest models at the Nats this year. Great detailing Adam!
Working on models in the pits is sometimes necessary to make that next round of flight competition!
Dale Arvin’s Fokker DVII on a take-off roll on some very smooth grass. The ¼-scale model is powered by a Laser 240 V twin controlled with a Futaba radio system. It was built from a kit by Balsa USA.
Larry Folk’s 1/3-scale Top Cub on a flyby. This veteran model has some fantastic detail and is one of several 1/3-scale Super Cubs in competition this year.
Mike Barbee’s Beech King Air lifting off on the first round of competition. The electric-powered motors each use four 5000mah 6-cell packs.
Cockpit details of David Folks’ 1/3-scale Piper Cub from a Balsa USA kit.
The Laser 200 by Joe Grubb, father of Adam Grubb, is built from a Lanier kit with a wingspan of 102 inches and power from a 3W 70cc gas engine.
The morning glint of the sun on silver dope and aluminum is breathtaking on Jack Buckley’s 1/3-scale Tiger Moth entered in Expert class. Great details on this one.
The J-3 Cub by Tim Dickey from Chandler AZ traveled farther to this year’s Nats than anyone. The striking paint scheme of black and yellow really stands out with the 3-cylinder radial engine. The full-scale Cub was one of 10 built by Piper for testing for this engine set up.
The Marquart Charger MA-5, by Darrell Abby of Bedford TX, entered in the Open class. The full-scale aircraft is based in South Carolina and won the 2009 Oshkosh Grand Champion Plans Built aircraft.
This BVM F-16, entered by Jason Bauer in Open Scale, makes a pass before blasting by the pits.
Hal Parenti’s Ryan Fireball with scale exhaust exiting the tail from the simulated turbine engine on the taxiway before flight in the first round.
This Top Flite P-40, entered in Fun Scale by Dan Landis, is making a military roll during his second flight on Saturday. It is powered by a DA-50 using a JR radio system.
The T-34B, built by Mike Barbee and flown by Will Barringer in Team Scale, coming in for a landing. The 155-inch wingspan model is completely detailed with fiberglass construction.
The Pitts S2B, entered in Fun Scale Open by Tim Lovett from Texas, has a wingspan of 68 inches and is flown with an Airtronics SG10 radio system powered by a DLE 55.
Dale Arvin and son Jeremy working together as pilot and caller. These two are true teammates and work to help each other in competition. Glad to see them here!
Hazel Sig, NASA President Mike Barbee, and Allen Goff Saturday night at the induction ceremony for RC and CL Scale hall of fames.
Add new comment