Event Report

By Oscar Weingart

Scale Masters Qualifier RC Scale Contest

August 17-19, 2007

Apollo XI Field, Sepulveda Basin, Encino, CA

Hosted by the San Fernando Valley RC Flyers

(Please note that these event reports were originally prepared for use in the Riverside RC Club monthly newsletter, Prop talk, and are not intended to be comprehensive coverage of the event. Rather they are reports, for our club members, of my personal experiences and perceptions.)

    This was my second try to become qualified for the Scale Masters 28^th Annual Championships, which will be hosted by the Hemet Model Masters, at Hemet Model Air Park, Hemet, CA on October 11-14, 2007. My first abortive Open Class attempt, at the previous Qualifier at Hemet in April, is detailed in another event report on this web site. Basically, the foul weather and my unfamiliarity with the Ercoupe’s flying characteristics, plus a serious lack of preparation on my part, doomed my first effort to failure.

    But several good things resulted. First, I got a feel for the Scale Masters Competition environment. This had been my main goal in entering the Hemet meet. Then, after the meet, I was able to make several improvements to the Ercoupe, such as adding nose ballast for better stability, the addition of electric brakes, and correction of a plumbing problem that was leading to premature dead stick landings. Also, we now had time to do a good deal of test flying. Best of all, Carl Lindou convinced me that the aircraft was good enough for a Team Scale entry, with Carl piloting. Carl is an extremely capable pilot, and has lots of scale competition under his belt. He is also a very likeable, laid-back guy, very easy to get along with.

    In my perception, Team Scale tends to draw those incredible, museum scale models, built by little gnarled gnomes who labor in dark caverns all year long, and who are often are not the best pilots. With these superlative aircraft, the addition to the team of an expert pilot makes for a very competitive package, because current Scale Masters rules put a lot of emphasis on realistic flying. The average of the best three of six official flights is given equal weight with the static judging score.

    My Balsa USA 1/3 Scale Ercoupe was not built with competition in mind, but it is a big, attractive model, with lots of that "Wow" factor. Also, it is a very easy to fly, stable, model with practically no vices. Several wins, at Canadian and local fun-flies, along with discussions with Carl, Don Lien, and other experienced scale builders and judges, finally convinced me that the Ercoupe might be competitive, after all.

    Don Lien says that a scale model is never finished. Between meets, I added scale running lights to the model, and there remain a number of little "lumps and bumps", like gas tank caps, tie-down rings and a radio whip antenna, that could be added before the championships. But I digress. Let’s get to the event report.

Ercoupe on the Bench, Ready to Rock and Roll

Note the Hi-Tech Wheel Chock to Prevent Unplanned Roll

First Day

    Friday, August 17, 2007, was devoted to registration and static judging. I was not sure about exactly when things would get started, so I decided to get an early start on the roughly 60 mile trip from Riverside to Encino. I forgot that this was a weekday, and wound up in typical early morning traffic. It took two hours to get there. On arrival, I found that I probably could have waited even another two hours, as things took a while to get organized. I believe that this was the first time that this event was being hosted by the Valley Flyers.

The first set of judges, at the next table, were acting quite professionally, staying well distant from the beautiful Stinson model and taking their time. Because of a traffic jam of models waiting to be judged, a second table was started, and the Ercoupe was the first to be judged on this new table. Only two judges were provided, so one judge handled both color and markings and craftsmanship. You can imagine my chagrin when this fellow, supposedly a trained static judge, walked up to my Ercoupe, as close as he could get! I was expecting him to pull out a magnifying glass next! I did not know what to do, since one certainly does not want to antagonize one’s judges!

I sought out the CD, Don Goeschl, who had directed me to the second table, and explained what I had seen. He walked over to the judges and spoke to them, and then they resumed judging. The craftsmanship judge now kept his distance; while the outline judge had always stayed at a respectable distance. My final score was 88.75 out of a possible 100. Out of the 11.25 lost points, 5.25 were from the craftsmanship judge, so I didn’t know how the illegal close-up inspection, and my "ratting him out," may have affected his scoring.

By 1:30 PM, I was ready to leave, the static judging and registration being the only planned events. Carl was not present and was not needed for the static judging. I was hungry and had some time on my hands, so I drove over to Brendts, a fine Kosher-style deli in nearby Northridge. I had a mile-high pastrami on rye sandwich and some pickles and Dr. Brown’s Cel-ray Tonic, and I was a happy camper! It is still not New York City, but it is as close as you can come out here in the sticks.

The weather continued hot and fairly calm. Some static judging models did not turn up until the morning, which delayed the start of flying. Although we were told to be there for a pilot’s meeting at 8 AM, it didn’t happen until much later, and we did not start flying until after 10 AM. We had a similar experience at Hemet. It is evidently caused by the problem of scheduling two flight lines without frequency interference. I know that IMAC and Pattern meets have similar scheduling problems, but I thought that there was software available to handle this situation. In the event, I could again have slept a couple of hours later. Sixteen models wound up flying, eight on each flight line.

Carl had not flown the Coupe for about two months, but his first flight was very good, with an 85.75 score. This improved for succeeding flights, and we wound up with a final average of the best three flights of 90.25. His best score was 91.75 on the third flight. This was the second best individual flight score for all pilots in the meet! We flew three rounds on Saturday and two more on Sunday.

1. Take off*
2. Fly Past*
3. Figure 8*
4. 180 degree Climbing Turn
5. 360 degree Descending Circle
6. Overshoot
7. Touch
8. Go
9. Landing*
10. Realism*

* Scale Masters mandatory maneuvers.

The realism score is not a maneuver, but rather the judges rating of overall realism of the flight. Carl incorporated a "mag check" and other stops during ground handling to demonstrate the brakes and add to the realism score.

An interesting little see-saw situation developed between the Ercoupe and the other Team Scale entry, a rare, parasol-wing Citabria Pro (only one full-scale was ever built.) The Citabria got a slightly higher static judging score, but tended to trail a bit on flight scores. A few bad landings by the low wing loading, tail dragger Citabria, flying in gusty conditions, finally clinched the Team Scale First Prize for the tricycle-gear Ercoupe. The Citabria was already qualified for the Championships, so the Ercoupe had been assured of at least second place, and qualification, in any event.

This Parasol-Wing Citabria Gave the Ercoupe a Run for Its Money

My son, Dan, and grandson Joshua, 6, attended and saw the Ercoupe fly. Josh now states that the Ercoupe is his favorite airplane. Dan really liked the Spitfire MK XIV, which was the one with the big Griffon engine and five-bladed prop. He is a Battle of Britain buff, but loves Spitfires of any mark. Both voted in the People’s Choice election, which I am sure helped the Ercoupe to finally win. Josh is flying a small electric foam RC plane, and Dan says that he is a natural!  Must be those Weingart RC genes at work.

Grandson Josh Weingart Poses with Grampa and the Coupe

There was a lot of pilot and spectator interest in the Ercoupe. At least a half dozen old codgers excitedly related tales of early flight experiences in Ercoupes, and one man actually still owned a Coupe.

I was in a good mood, and took Dan, Karen, Josh and Bridget, 4, out to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.

Another notable winner was Tom Wolf's incredible scratch-built DeHavilland Mosquito, which won First Place in Expert Scale, as well as the Pilot's Choice Award. Tom is a member of the Santa Barbara RC Modelers club. He entered another amazing model, a Grumman Avenger Torpedo Bomber, in the previous Qualifier at Hemet.

Tom Wolf and His Incredible Mosquito

A shocking incident happened that afternoon. I heard a loud bang, and turned around to see the aforementioned Mk. XIV Spitfire on its back on the runway! A clueless vendor, who spoke no English, had a couple of (hopefully not stolen) transmitters for sale in the parking lot. One of the units, on channel 56, same as the Spit, was found to be turned on! The Vendor and his companion were interviewed by some of the Spanish-speaking modelers who were present. They seemed to have no idea of what they were selling, or what it was for, let alone the safety implications. Evidently they knew that it had something to do with model airplanes, so they were trying to sell the equipment at the flying field. This accident cast a pall on the remainder of the flight judging.

The Shoot-Down of the Spitfire Mk. XIV Caused Consternation

However, this event was the most fun I have had at a Model Aircraft competition, and hats off to the Scale Masters and Valley Flyers for a lot of hard work. The hamburgers were yummy, too.

Another Pristine Model, a Stearman

This FW-190 Flew Beautifully, But Was Accused of Shooting Down the Spitfire

A Naval Reserve Bearcat That Gave Oscar a Twinge of Nostalgia for the U-Control Navy Carrier Event of 50+ Years Ago (See August, 2007 Prop Talk)