Scale RC Modeling The 80th National Aeromodeling ... - Sport Aviator

Scale RC Modeling 

The 80th National 

Aeromodeling Championships 

(NATS) 

by Benny Lanterman 

(Ed. Note: One of the most frequent questions we receive from Sport Aviator readers concerns just what 

is a “Scale” model. The Scale model world, models of actual full size aircraft, is wide, varied and 

fascinating. In addition to RC scale, there are control-line models of full size airplanes, Free Flight models 

and RC aerobatic models such as those competing in the International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) 

contests. 

Since the Scale NATS has just ended, we thought Sport Aviator readers would be interested in learning 

more about the world of Scale modeling using this national contest as an example. So we asked one of 

the contestants who is also a very skilled writer and excellent photographer, Benny Lanterman, to 

introduce us to the world of scale modeling as it shows itself at the National level.) 

I have just arrived at home after flying at the NATS and now I am sitting in front of the computer thinking 

about what to write in this article. The article is to be directed toward the beginning modeler to help in his 

or her consideration of whether or not to get into scale modeling – a worthy direction, I think. 

“Scale models” are miniature versions of full size airplanes. They are built to a certain scale, such as 1:6. 

This means that 1 inch on the model equals 6 inches on the full-size airplane. Another way to say this is 

that the model is 1/6th the size of the full-size version. 

Putting myself in the shoes of a newer model pilot is easy for me because I have only been flying scale 

models for just 2 years with a grand total of two contests (flying in the Fun Scale event) under my belt. I 

am definitely a beginner in this field of modeling. Oh yes, flying scale models has proven to be both 

challenging and a great deal of fun! And you will meet the nicest people flying model airplanes and most 

will be willing to help the beginner with tips and by sharing their secrets. 

Let me give a bit of background – I am an aeronautical engineer and I have been flying RC airplanes for 

40+ years. I have always thought that the big aerobatic airplanes were the “best and most desirable” kind 

of airplane to build and fly. Performing multiple rolls and spins were certainly appealing to me (and still is) 

while scale seemed to be something that old men that have lost their edge in flying skills participated in. 

The typical scale contest of many years ago also seemed to result in far too many crashes to cause me to 

become very interested in pursuing this aspect of the hobby. 

Guys and girls - scale modeling has changed. With the reliability of modern RC equipment and the 

availability of some really fine kit offerings, including the Almost-Ready-to-Fly (ARF) varieties, scale 

modeling has become practical for all of us. If you have ever dreamed of flying your own P-51 (this 

writer’s personal favorite), or if watching a low altitude high speed pass performed by one at an air show 

makes your hair stand on end, perhaps you should take a look at building and flying scale models. Oh 

yes, there are some outstanding scale aerobatic airplanes that serve to fulfill both the aerobatic and scale 

requirements of all of us. (Ed. Note: If you really want to fly a P-51 Mustang, check out the Hangar 9 

Mustang PTS Basic Trainer in Sport Aviator’s “On The Flight Line” Section.)

Radio controlled scale models of almost all airplanes have been built but some configurations are more 

practical than others. Perhaps the most difficult airplanes to model are the very early designs such as the 

Wright Brothers’ airplanes with their many struts and wires that tend to be a little more fragile than a more 

modern design. 

Certainly a twelve-engine powered flying boat would present some engineering challenges that would 

make it a less desirable airplane to deal with. The beginning modeler, looking for a scale airplane to build, 

would be advised to look through a model airplane magazine and survey the kits that are offered by the 

various manufacturers. They have generally discovered the airplanes that work well for everyone. (Ed. 

Note: In addition to the Mustang PTS, Hangar 9 also produces a Plug-N’-Play Piper Cub that is an 

excellent Basic Trainer. This airplane is also reviewed in Sport Aviator’s “On The Flight Line” Section.) 

Scale models of a plane like the Piper Cub fly so much like a basic trainer that the transition to scale 

flying is very easy. However a scale model of an F-104 powered by a modern model jet engine will 

require mechanical and flying skills that the beginner might not have. If you are interested in scale 

modeling you should be very realistic about your flying skills and about your choice of airplanes to model. 

However, don’t give up your dream of that perfect airplane – there is a scale modeling class in 

competition called Team Scale. Team Scale was designed for those of us that build better than we fly – it 

allows you build that perfect scale model and but permits a steady-nerved experienced pilot to fly your 

model in the actual competition. This event has probably saved a lot of beautiful scale model airplanes 

from the bad flying skills of their creators! 

There are several classes of scale modeling ranging from the beginner’s event of Fun Scale to the very 

difficult Designer Scale class. The classes are defined in the AMA Rulebook, Page 149, and there is a 

class in competition just right for you. 

OK, you say you don’t want to fly in competition. That is fine of course. It isn’t necessary to enter a scale 

competition to enjoy flying scale models – but to be honest about it -- it is just plain fun to display your 

work to other modelers and have them appreciate it. Also, at the end of the day, it is great to be rewarded 

with a neat trophy that is representative of your abilities. I’ll present some photos of the winners of this 

year’s NATS at the end of this article. I believe there is a big wide smile on the face of all of them and you 

definitely couldn’t pry the winner’s plaques from their hands. 

The 80 th National Aeromodeling Championships (all of us hard core modelers call it the Scale NATS and 

it is easier to roll off of the tongue as well as type) is a good place to take you through a typical contest 

and to look at some different kinds of successful scale models. Years ago, the NATS were sponsored by 

the Navy and the NATS would move to a different naval base each year. Winning the Nationals 

Aeromodeling Championships in scale was the most desirable goal attainable if you were interested in 

scale competition. Today, the NATS is held at the AMA’s great facility in Muncie, Indiana and winning the 

NATS is still a desirable goal. 

One thing let’s do - I must confess that I will want to be using terms like “beautiful”, “awesome”, 

“fantastic”, “shiny”, “marvelous”, etc. to describe each and every one of these airplanes. However, after a 

while it will start to be repetitive, tiresome and the words loose their impact. So I won’t use those words in 

this article! Even in these tiny photographs you will be able to see for yourself how beautiful these models 

are. Just imagine the impact that these models have in the flesh (or paint and covering). Of course you 

can come to the Scale Masters contest which will be held in Muncie from October 18-21 of 2006 and see 

some more great examples of this art form. 

Two other things – 

1. I wish to apologize to the three guys that I don’t have a photo of but in my defense I have to say it is 

very difficult to keep track of all of them! 

2. If I didn’t get your model data sheet I can’t say much about it.

Photo 1 

One of the first things to be done at a contest is to put your model together, not too many of us have 

cars/trucks big enough to leave the airplanes assembled! Claude McCullough and Scott Christensen are 

assembling Claude’s Waco biplane in the parking lot. The actual “scale judging” will be held indoors in the 

basketball arena in the background where it is nicely air-conditioned. This is Indiana in the summer 

remember! 

Part of each models total “score” for a contest is made up of what the “scale judges” think of the model’s 

appearance and workmanship. The builder must supply information about the full-size airplane, color 

charts, 3-view drawings, photos and the like, that will be used to judge just how accurately the builder is 

recreating the full-size aircraft. The second part of the total score is made up by just how well the model 

performs in flight. These airplanes are not “hangar queens” meant for museum display. They fly! 

Claude has been building scale models since I was a teenager (several decades ago) and still produces a 

new high quality model almost every year. With a biplane the size of the Waco, he must attach wings and 

flying wires individually and it is a time consuming process - but the results are worth it. One of the 

challenges of scale models like this one is to make the attachments for the wing, etc. without detracting 

from the scale fidelity of the model. 

Claude’s model is of the full-size Waco that was sold to the Cuban Air Force during the pre-WWII period. 

The full-scale Waco was designed to carry a machine gun on the lower wing and it can release bombs. 

The Waco was entered in the Team Scale event and was ably piloted by Mike Gretz. The Waco is 

Claude’s own design and spans 99 inches, weighs 33 pounds and is powered by a Saito 300 4stroke 

glow engine. 

Photo 2 

Greg Hahn is busy preparing his B-25 Mitchell bomber for judging and apparently has a lot of help! Greg’s 

experience with the model and this process will help prevent the mistakes that these kinds of distractions 

might cause. Greg always seemed ready to talk about his B-25 and the model certainly attracted a crowd 

whenever it was brought out. A beginner should be careful of being distracted by other people while he is 

preparing his model for flight - trust me I learned this from personal experience and we won’t go into the 

details here. As with full scale airplanes, a checklist of things to do before flight is a very good idea for all 

flyers.

Greg’s B-25 is a great example of a large multi engine airplane. The B-25 has operating flaps, retracting 

landing gear and is capable of dropping scaled bombs from its operating bomb bay. An airplane of this 

size requires a lot of work to build and campaign in contests but all that work results in a model that is 

difficult to differentiate from the real thing while on the ground or in flight. 

Photo 3 

Sometimes you have to get down on the model’s level! Dave Turner is verifying that all is ready on his T- 

34 for the static judging. The T-34 has been kitted in several sizes over the past few years and always 

results in a good flying model. This version is from the Top Flite kit and weighs 16 pounds. An OS .91 2 

stroke powers the airplane. It has retracts and an onboard glow system. Another benefit of this model is 

that the full-size aircraft has been used successfully in many full-scale aerobatic displays. This gives the 

modeler a large choice of maneuvers to choose from and to perform in the flying part of the contest. 

Airborne maneuvers must be representational of what the full size airplane could do. Scale B-17 Flying 

Fortress bombers do not get points for doing loops or rolls but T-34 fighter trainers do. 

In all classes of scale at a scale contest, there are five mandatory maneuvers to be performed during 

flying and the modeler has a choice of five other maneuvers to add to his flight routine. As long as you 

can prove that the full-scale airplane performed the maneuvers in flight, the maneuvers will be allowed. 

This means that a 1903 Wright Flyer shouldn’t be seen performing three loops as one of its elective 

maneuvers while a slow flyby would seem reasonable. 

Photo 4 Photo 5 

What are these guys staring at so intently? They are the Scale Judges and they are looking at Art 

Shelton’s Eindecker as it is being presented during the scale-judging portion of the contest. Their job is to 

analyze the scale models using the guidelines in the AMA Competition Rule Book and their decisions are 

based on the data presentation that the contestant must provide. Judging these models accurately is a 

time consuming job and the judges do it well. The contestants all thanked them for doing this job with 

thoughtfulness and care.

Photo 6 

In the judging process the judges look for scale fidelity in all respects. However, in the AMA classes, they 

must remain a set distance away from the models as seen in the photo above. The builder of the model 

can rotate the model at the request of the judges but that is all. Scale judges always seem to have good 

eyesight – they save the guys with bad eyes to judge the flight maneuvers. (Easy guys, that’s an attempt 

at a joke). 


Photo 7 is the cockpit of Larry Folk’s Super Cub. Not only does the airplane look real in all respects, but 

also the pilot appears to be having a great time too. On the wing you can see the details of the airplane’s 

vortex generators. If the scale modeling is well done, you will have the impression that the total airplane 

has just been shrunken. Even the radio control equipment will be hidden from view. 

Photo 9 

This is Larry Folk’s Super Cub in a fly-by. These are the times that all of the hard work to make a quality 

scale model seems worth it. The Piper Cub or Piper Super Cub airplane makes an excellent first time

scale airplane. The airplane has simple lines, it can be well documented and it has good flight stability. 

This enables it to be flown by a pilot fairly new to the sport. 

Photo 10 

These airplanes are Art Shelton’s Eindecker, William Thompson’s Sopwith Pup and Michael Laible’s 

Morane Saulnier. These World War I fighters have a great appeal to the scale modeler but at times it can 

be difficult to obtain scale data to build them accurately and to document what you have done. However, 

when done well the result is a bit of historical recreation that usually flies very nicely. 


These photos show the WWI Eindecker of Art Shelton again. Art’s model was entered in RC Scale 

Expert. The full –size Eindecker used wing warping at the wing tips for roll control and this model has 

duplicated it. Art has duplicated the pull-pull control cables to the flying stabilizer and rudder making the 

control system a full scale copy. When the modeler has attempted a model like this and it looks and flies 

nicely. It is worth all the time and effort. The wingspan is 116 inches and the big model weighs 39 pounds. 

It is covered with Solar-Tex linen and painted with Rustoleum paint. The engine is a Zenoah 74cc gas 

engine.

Photo 13 

This second Eindecker was built by Larry Folk and was entered in the Fun Scale competition; a less 

demanding class than Expert Scale. Larry’s airplane uses “conventional” ailerons for roll control and is a 

smaller sized model than Arts. Both airplanes fly nicely but each one is aimed toward a different level of 

scale competition. Larry’s airplane would be at a disadvantage if it were entered in one of the higher 

classes of scale competition due to the addition of the non-scale aileron control system. 

Photo 14 

You can hear the engine roar and the rigging sing as the Nieuport 28 dives out of the sun to blast the Red 

Barron out of the sky. Sorry, I got carried away. Watching these models perform prototypical maneuvers 

against a blue sky with billowing clouds will make most any modeler’s heart beat a little faster. This 

Nieuport is an effort of the Steward Brothers and finished in Second Place in the Team Scale class. Jack 

built the model and Jay is the pilot. Jay has nerves of steel while Jack doesn’t so the Team Scale event is 

perfect for them. (Ed. Note: Nerves of steel are easier for the pilot when he didn’t have to spend all winter 

building the thing!) 

Photo 15 Photo 16

William Thompson’s Sopwith Pup is shown as it takes off and climbs into the morning sun. It is easy to 

imagine that this is a real airplane that is taking off on another early flight to do battle with the adversary. 

The feelings it produces in the viewer are what flying scale models is all about. The Sopwith Pup finished 

in First Place in the F4C Sportsman Scale class. It was built from the Balsa USA kit and is all wood with 

fabric covering. A Fuji 86cc gas 2-stroke engine pulls the 32 pound model nicely. The big airplanes wing 

span is 109 inches. 


Photo 17 is the 33 pound Albatross D-III built by Dave Johnson, which finished in Third Place in Designer 

Scale and on the right is the Moraine Saulnier of Michael Laible. While both airplanes are very good flying 

machines the Morane Saulnier presents a bigger challenge to the builder of the model because of the 

very short nose moment arm. The full-size Albatross had an in-line, water-cooled engine and the fuselage 

required a long nose to fit around it. A good result of this is that it makes the model of the airplane easy to 

balance. 

On the other hand, the Morane Saulnier had a very heavy radial engine in a shorter nose, which was OK 

on the full sized airplane. But when building a model of the Morane Saulnier with a light glow engine, you 

may find it will require a lot of extra nose weight to make the model balance correctly. Always consider 

such details when choosing an aircraft to model. 


These two scale models are the Beta Minor built by Gary Parenti and the DeHavilland Moth Minor built by 

Kim Foster. Kim’s model finished in second place in the Expert Class. Both full-size aircraft are very 

similar in design and are a result of either intentional or unintentional copying. Or, perhaps the similarity is 

the result of a two similar solutions to an aerodynamic problem given the same available technology. 

Regardless of how the original designs came about, both models are very good flyers. The long nose 

makes balancing the airplanes very easy and the fixed landing gear is not prone to giving the pilot the 

problems that can sometimes come with a retracting landing gear.

Photo 21 

The DH Tigermoth is a popular airplane due to its graceful lines and great flying qualities that carry 

through to model form. (Ed. Note: The Great Planes Tigermoth is reviewed in Sport Aviator’s “On The 

Flight Line” Section as well.)This entry built by Jack Buckley uses a Lazer 150 four stroke engine and 

spans 88 inches. It was entered in the FAI F4C scale class and is another good example of the kind of 

model that results when care is given to building the airplane. It has a working landing gear system, 

working hatches and doors and you can almost hear the wind as it whistles over the wing bracing wires! 

The particular full-size airplane that Jack modeled possessed wheel pants. This is unusual for sport 

biplanes of this age, as they aren’t considered high-speed airplanes that would benefit from the drag 

reduction that wheel pants would provide. They certainly look great though! Jack’s model finished in first 

place in this scale class. 


The Curtiss Helldiver F8C-4 by Jay Steward which was entered in Designer Scale and the Stearman N2S 

by Scott Miller which was entered in Fun Scale are examples of models approximately the same size but 

entered in the opposite extremes of competition. Jay designed the Helldiver himself and Scott’s Stearman 

was assembled from an ARF kit produced by Great Planes. Both models fly very well and Jay’s model 

had adequate scale detailing to score quite well in the Designer Scale event. 

The Stearman weighs 13.5 pounds and has a wingspan of 71.5 inches. It has an OS 1.2 cu. in. 4-stroke 

engine for power.

Photo 24 

The Stearman biplane built by Kevin Knebel rests in the early morning sun, as Kevin gets ready for 

competition in F4C Sportsman Scale. A more interesting photo might result of this writer could bend over 

a bit more ☺ The Stearman has solid flying qualities and presents to the judges well and this allowed 

Kevin to finish in Second place in F4C Sportsman Scale. The Stearman is built from a Flair Kit and is all 

wood with Nelson Lite-Fab covering and painted with Nelson water based paint. With a wingspan of 89 

inches and weighing 27 pounds this is a big airplane. He used a Saito 1.80 four stroke glow engine. 


This Waco YMF-5 is from a Genesis kit and was built by Mike Barbee. The Waco is an entry in the 

Expert Scale class. This is one of the bigger models at the NATS. It has a 10 foot wingspan and weighs 

51 pounds. During this early morning flight it is impossible to find fault with how realistic the airplane 

appears in the sky and the judges agreed by awarding Mike Third Place in the Expert Class. One of 

Mike’s scale options is the working smoke system. The Waco is large enough that the smoke disperses in 

a very scale-like manner enhancing the illusion of realism. A smaller scaled model would have a smoke 

trail that wouldn’t look quite as realistic due to a lower Reynolds number effect. 

Photo 27 Photo 28

Moving from the era of biplanes we come to the North American SNJ (the Navy version of the great AT-6 

Texan) entry by the team of Dale and Jeremy Arvin. The SNJ, which finished in Third Place in Team 

Scale, is a classic trainer from the WWII era and consequently has very good flying characteristics. This 

will allow it to be flown successfully by a modeler with just a little more experience than the airplane types 

we have looked at so far. 

A bonus is that the retracting landing gear gives a scale operation that can be used to replace a flying 

maneuver. The second photo shows a traditional event that happens during a scale event. During the 

lunch break (we have found the judges are much more agreeable and give higher scores if they are fed 

and allowed an occasional rest break) the airplanes are brought to the centerline of the runway and the 

spectators are invited to look, take photos and ask questions. It is quite a sight to see 50 or more beautiful 

scale airplanes in a line. 


The smallest model brought to the Scale Nationals was this T-34 built by Ben Lanterman (Hey, that’s me!) 

and was entered in the Fun Scale event. This model was unique in that it was one of three models at the 

NATS that was electric powered. The motor was an AXI 41/30-16 and was powered with 2 Kokam 3400 

mAh 11.4 volt lithium polymer batteries. 

You don’t have to worry about the motor quitting during ground maneuvers. The full-size airplane is used 

for primary training and also is sometimes used for aerobatic presentations. This allows the modeler a 

wide choice of maneuvers to present to the judges. This model has a fixed landing gear and would have 

benefited from the addition of a retracting landing gear system both during flight maneuvering and in 

getting points due to a scale operation option. Although the model is small it is a smooth flyer and has the 

potential of scoring well in the Fun Scale event. 

Photo 31 Photo 32

Not modeled too often is the Rawdon T-1 low wing sport airplane. This entry by Charlie Baker was 

entered in FAI F4C and proved to be a good flyer as it finished in second place. The wingspan is 80 

inches and it weighs 14 pounds. The airplane is powered by a Laser 120 4-stroke engine. 

The layout of the Rawdon is almost ideal for a slow flying airplane whether it is a model or full-scale 

airplane. The airplane in the dramatic takeoff photo on the right is a Stinson SR-9 built by Steve Ort. 

The Stinson is a popular choice of airplanes due to the availability of a good kit from Top Flite. It is a large 

airplane with 100 inch wingspan and is powered by a US 41 gas engine. The airplane looks great in the 

air. 


Ron Hemphill brought this colorful Fun Scale entry of a Citabria Pro. Ron’s model weighed 13 pounds 

and has an 80 inch wingspan. It was built from the Balsa USA kit and flew nicely. The full-size Citabria 

Pro was designed as an inexpensive, unlimited aerobatic airplane and it opens up a large variety of 

possible maneuvers for the modeler to choose from. The airplane still retains a good measure of roll 

stability due to the high wing position, which makes it easier for the beginner to fly than a low wing model. 

An open cockpit is unusual in modern airplane designs and just yells “come and have fun” to its pilot. 


Dave Pinegar took some time off from flying the big AEW radar airplane and entered this Piper Arrow in 

Fun Scale. Notice the operating flaps and retracting landing gear, which make this a good choice for the 

event. It will start the model off with 20 flight points before it leaves the ground. Each flight maneuver or 

scale operation has a potential maximum of 10 points and it is easier to get 10 points for operating flaps 

than 10 points for an aerobatic maneuver. Tom Poole’s Piper Tri-Pacer in the photo on the right finished 

in Third Place F4C Sportsman. The Tri-Pacer has a wing span of 87 inches, weighs 16.5 pounds and is 

powered with a 1.20 OS 4-stroke engine. 

Dave’s Piper Arrow PA-32R was built from a Top Flite kit and has an 80 inch wingspan. An OS 91 powers 

the 15 pound model realistically.

Both airplanes share one advantage – a tricycle landing gear. For the average flyer the tricycle landing 

gear makes ground handling and takeoff or landings much easier especially when a strong cross wind is 

present or when operating from a paved runway. 


David Andersen brought this model of the Grumman American Lynx to the Designer Scale event. The 

Lynx isn’t modeled too often but it does have the qualities that make for a good flying model airplane. The 

wing dihedral gives good additional roll stability to the low wing configuration and the airplane should fly 

very comfortably for the not too experienced modeler. David’s model was one of the larger models at the 

Scale Nationals and to this writer it seemed to have a realistic presence while sitting on the runway and in 

the air. It is a large airplane with a weight of 32 pounds and a 96 inch wing span. A Zenoah GT-80 gas 2 

stroke engine pulls the airplane through the sky. The airplane is built of wood and fiberglass and painted 

with KlassKote epoxy. 

(Ed. Note: Sorry but I can’t resist this as I owned the full-size version of this airplane in this color scheme. 

The model looks just like the airborne photos of my full-size Lynx. Trust me, the model flies much better 

than does the original which needed a constant hand on the controls to stay level, dropped like an anvil 

chained to a rock when the power was reduced and would flat spin after just 2 turns. But it could roll, loop, 

out climb (with the 150 hp engine) and out-turn anything in the sky. The cockpit opened in flight too! 

Relating scale models to the full-size airplanes you know is one of the great attractions scale modeling 

has to offer.)) 


Dick Konkle was able to accomplish a rare thing in the Designer Scale event. His Aeronca 7AC 

Champion scored a perfect 100 in the scale judging scoring. With good flying he was able to finish in 

second place in Designer Scale. This indicates that a model doesn’t need to be fancy or jet powered to 

score well. It just needs to be made as close as possible to the original airplane – warts and all. Dick was 

able to do that even down to the scowl on the pilot’s face. You would think he would be smiling a bit more! 

Dick’s model weighed 35 pounds with a wingspan of 12 feet. It is powered by a Kavan 3 cubic inch, 4stroke 

engine.


Dave Pinegar was one of the busiest pilots at the Scale National Championships. He flew in Fun Scale, 

Expert, and Team Scale and also flew some demonstrations for the judges. You might think he loves to 

fly airplanes if the smile on his face was any indication. His twin engine powered Beech Baron model was 

flown in Fun Scale. The use of twin engines puts a lot of emphasis on having a reliable set of engines 

with similar characteristics. Dave’s model performed nicely during the contest and like all multi engine 

equipped airplanes, it sounded great. As you can see in the second photo, the airplane is very realistic 

looking in the air. 

Photo 43 

Bob Patton’s big Cessna 150 was entered in Designer Scale. It is another smooth takeoff into the calm air 

in the early morning of the contest. The large size of this airplane makes its flying characteristics similar to 

the full sized airplane resulting in a smooth flying model airplane. Bob’s model does take good advantage 

of the scale flaps in both take off and landing maneuvers. To pull the 131-inch wingspan model through 

the air, he used a 3W 85cc gas engine. The model weighs 47 pounds and is large in anyone’s rating 

system. 

Photo 44 Photo 45

A lot of modelers are flying scale models of full sized aerobatic airplanes in radio control sport and 

aerobatic competition however they forget that these models are also fine entries in a Fun Scale event. 

The above airplanes are the Edge 540 by Jack Buckley and the Extra 300XS by Chris Hass, which 

finished in First Place in Novice Fun Scale. 


This Lanier Laser 200 by Bob Underwood and one of the two Extra 330’s that were brought by Dale and 

Jeremy Arvin are also scale aerobatic airplanes that are entered in the Fun Scale event. The Extra 330 

allowed Jeremy Arvin to finish in second place in a hard fought Fun Scale class. Both are good examples 

of why the Fun Scale event is so popular. It allows pilots to go to a scale contest and fly more than twice a 

day while using an airplane that doesn’t have a lot of sweat and effort invested in it. This extra flying also 

keeps the mind and fingers exercised at the same time it tends to relieve some of the boredom of waiting 

for the next regular flight. 

Photo 48 

Ed Terry’s Chipmunk Special is quite a colorful scale model. He entered this one in Fun Scale. The full 

scale Chipmunk is a military pilot training airplane from the post WWII period. The Chipmunk was 

designed to be fully aerobatic. Art Scholl modified the full-scale airplane somewhat to produce the full 

scale version in this color scheme and flew it in aerobatic demonstrations for a number of years.


Mark Lanterman brought his old Great Planes Shoestring to the Fun Scale event after the new airplane 

he had planned on bringing had problems. Although the Shoestring was the second smallest airplane at 

this year’s Scale Nationals it proved to be a good choice for Mark. The Shoestring allowed him to win first 

place in Fun Scale and to win the coveted Scale Flight Achievement award. This award is given to the 

modeler/airplane that performs the most scale like flight presentation. Mark was very comfortable flying 

the Shoestring to the point that one of his maneuvers was a touch and go. One thing that helped was the 

great idle that the Saito glow engine was capable of. The Shoestring seemed to find the centerline of the 

runway every time and looked great proving that a large, exotic airplane isn’t needed to do well in a scale 

contest (although it might not hurt either!). 


Speaking of an exotic airplane - Dennis Crooks finished in first place in the Expert Scale class with his big 

P-38. This is a large model with three extra scale options – retracting landing gear, flaps and droppable 

wing tanks. The model has a wingspan of 114 inches and uses two 3.3 Husky Chainsaw engines. The 

airplane was made from Ziroli construction plans. The airplane is quite spectacular and produces a great 

sound in the air as the twin engines go a bit in and out of synchronization. His flight scores matched his 

static scores and made the model a formidable competitor. The fine P-38 has had many flights and 

should be around for many more flights.


Bob Underwood and Al Kretz both brought an Illulshin Stormuvik to the NATS. I honestly don’t know who 

belongs to which model but both were entered in the Designer Scale class and both flew well in a closely 

contested event. The Stormuvik has good qualities with a relatively large wing and retracting landing 

gear. Bob has flown a Stormuvik model for a number of years. It helps to build several models of the 

same airplane since with each version you find more scale features to add and learn how to better fly the 

airplane. Both models are in the 80+ inch wingspan range and weigh around 18 pounds. 

Photo 55 

Greg Hahn brought two B-25’s to the NATS. This B-25 was entered in the Fun Scale class and was one 

of the three electric powered models entered at the NATS. The B-25 flew well - with Greg at the controls it 

should. Greg has been flying a B-25 of some kind for a number of years and the constant practice on that 

type of airplane certainly shows in his excellent flying. The B-25 finished in third place in Fun Scale. 

Photo 56 Photo 57

Bob Bush brought this large F4U Corsair to the Fun Scale class. Notice the folding wings in the folded 

position during the static judging in the Wortern Arena. Flaps and retracting landing gear make the model 

a great Fun Scale model. The Corsair finished in fifth place in Fun Scale. Fun Scale had the most 

contestants entries of any class and those contestants were very good fliers making the top places very 

close - the difference between first place and fifth place was only about 3 points out of 100. 

The F4U is scratch built (the builder makes the plans and then cuts the wood) and weighs 36 pounds. It 

has a 93 inch wingspan and is powered by a Saito 450 4-stroke engine. Construction is wood and 

fiberglass with fabric covering. The paint is automotive Urethane. 

Photo 58 

This big P-51 Mustang was entered in Fun Scale by Kevin Knebel. The airplane is from a Top Flite ARF 

all-wood kit. A 50cc Fuji 2 stroke engine pulls the Mustang around nicely. He has added a scale cockpit 

and drop tanks. The early morning light looks great reflecting from the model. The Mustang is a favorite of 

many modelers including this writer. This model has the flying qualities that come with a large model that 

help make a very smooth flying model. Of course, the pilot must take advantage of the model’s 

characteristics. This might be difficult for a relatively new modeler. The Mustang is oriented toward an 

experienced flyer. 


Greg Hahn’s B-25 is shown both in the landing configuration and again as he drops a load of model 

bombs on a low pass. This is a very big model and it has a great sound as it roars by. It gets the attention 

of every modeler along the flight line with a great presence in the air. Greg finished in fourth place in the 

Expert class which indicates how closely fought the Expert class was. The B-25 is another one of my 

favorites.


After each round of flying, there is a pause while the flyers search the grass for the external stores that 

have been dropped during the flying presentations. Dennis Crooks has found his fuel tanks already – one 

of the benefits of having very large external stores is that they really stand out in the grass. The second 

photo shows some of the bombs that Greg Hahn’s B-25 dropped. These are small and except for the 

yellow markings are completely painted in olive drab paint. It makes them a little hard to find against the 

green olive drab grass so it usually takes more than just a few minutes to find them all. Luckily, there are 

usually several volunteers to help in the effort. 


George Maiorana’s Tu-4 Chinese Turboprop AEW aircraft weighs 26lbs and is powered with 4 - MaxN32- 

13Y Brushless Geared Motors. Dave Pinegar flies the model in the Team Scale class. The first photo 

shows some of the surface detail of George Maiorana’s AEW. George is not only a great person but he is 

willing to share his techniques with other modelers. He made putting rivet details onto the model seem 

easy until you considered the number of rivets that he applied. It is a formidable task no matter how it was 

done. Dave Pinegar flies the Tu-4 with skill and the airplane performs nicely for him - the team finished in 

first place in Team Scale. 

(Ed. Note: Ben took the photos of the demonstration flight that George’s airplanes performed for the 

crowd during one of the breaks in the competition. Go to http://public.fotki.com/benlanterman/ to see 

them. At the top of the web page, click on the icon and chose the Slideshow setting. Greg Hahn and Dave 

Pinegar flew George’s airplanes in formation. The pilots (two of the best in scale model flying) were very 

careful and didn’t get too close together. The visual appearance of these two great models together was 

tremendous. George is to be congratulated on his scale efforts.)

Photo 65 

The photo above shows the Ryan Fireball that was designed and flown by Hal Parenti in Designer Scale. 

Hal’s experience with this design was evident with his first place finish in Designer Scale. The full –size 

Fireball was built in the very early days of jet powered flight and had a radial piston engine in the nose 

and a jet in the rear. The jet was used to increase attack speed during the bomb run but used too much 

fuel to be constantly turned on. Hal ducts the exhaust from his engine through the jet exhaust nozzle and 

the smoke gives a bit of the effect of having an operating jet. The Fireball has all of the standard 

operating features you would expect at this level of competition and is also a great flying airplane. It does 

require the pilot to be experienced in flying a low-wing model airplane to be successful. The Fireball 

weighs 19 pounds and the wingspan is 72 inches. 

Photo 66 

The only jet at this year’s Scale National Aeromodeling Championships was this model of the Euro 

Fighter built by Dennis Crooks. This is a great model and as you can see it has a speed brake and 

retracting landing gear. Powered by a P-120 Jet Kat Turbine, the 24 pounds of the Fighter were pushed 

along very nicely. The Euro Fighter is typical of this kind of jet and it is very smooth in flight. Dennis’ Euro 

Fighter finished in fourth place in Fun Scale. 

The beginner that is interested in getting into scale modeling and perhaps into flying in a scale contest 

should be reminded of something though. A very simple model of the Shoestring racer powered by an 

inexpensive glow engine with no extra scale options won first place in the Fun Scale event by virtue of 

some very good flights. Regardless of the airplane type if the flight maneuvers are properly executed the 

model can do well. The accuracy of that execution comes as a result of a lot of practice. There aren’t any 

short cuts. All of the winners in the various classes are experienced with their airplanes. Even though they 

might have contest jitters, the hours of practice will overcome those jitters – most of the time.

Photo 67 

Here are the winners of the Fun Scale class. From left to right we have – Bob Bush, 5 th place. Dennis 

Crooks, 4 th place. Greg Hahn, 3 rd place. Jeremy Arvin, 2 nd place. Mark Lanterman, 1 st place. Kneeling is 

Chris Hass who finished in Novice Fun Scale, 1 st place. 

Photo 68 

Here are the winners of the Team Scale class. From left to right we have – Jeremy and Dave Arvin, 3 rd 

place. Jack and Jay Steward, 2 nd place. George Maiorana and Dave Pinegar, 1 st place. 

Photo 69 

Here are the winners of the F4C Sportsman Scale class. From left to right we have – William Thompson, 

1 st place. Kevin Knebel, 2 nd place. Tom Poole, 3 rd place.

Photo 70 

Here are the winners of the Expert Scale class. From left to right we have – Greg Hahn, 4 th place. Mike 

Barbee, 3 rd place. Kim Foster, 2 nd place. Dennis Crooks, 1 st place. 

Photo 71 

Here are the winners of the Designer Scale class. From left to right we have – Hal Parenti, 1 st place. Dick 

Konkle, 2 nd place. Dave Johnson, 3 rd place. 

The full details of all of the contestant’s scoring flights can be seen at the NASA web site. 

http://www.nasascale.org/NATS06-rcresults.htm 

Photo 72 

Finally we have Mark Lanterman with his first place in Fun Scale and his NASA Flight Achievement 

Award. This was quite a feat considering that Mark had the second smallest airplane at the 2006 event 

and it had a fixed landing gear and no flaps. All flight points had to be made during the flight portion of the 

contest and not from scale options. He was able to smoothly fly his model in a most realistic manner

including some of the nicest touch and goes this writer has ever seen. It doesn’t require a big, complex 

airplane to compete in Fun Scale but it does require that the pilot be familiar with his airplane and know 

how to fly it well. The same line of thought can be applied to the other scale classes but in those classes 

the scale static score is going to be an important factor also. 

Photo 73 

The sentiment on Mark’s back is apparently the feeling of all of the pilots at the NATS. There were no 

Ugly Airplanes there! 

(Ed. Note: This was a National Competition bringing the top Scale pilots, and their airplanes, from all over 

the country. But look carefully. At least 18 airplanes that Ben photographed are great first or second 

airplanes. Today, “scale aircraft” no longer means heavy, difficult to fly and short-lived models. Many of 

the sport airplanes reviewed in Sport Aviator are “scale” like the P-6E Hawk, the Tigermoth and the Piper 

Cub. The P-51 Mustang PTS is actually a Basic Trainer. Don‘t avoid this fascinating and challenging facet 

of Model Aviation just because it may look hard. Be careful about your first scale project and you will have 

some great flying times and a really nice looking airplane.) 

The Grabber: 

Have you wondered just what “scale” models were and how they fly? Ben Lanterman details the world of 

shrunken full-size airplanes at the same time as he covers the 2006 Scale National Championships. Look 

just Over the Horizon to find out what scale model flying is all about.

Scale RC Modeling The 80th National Aeromodeling ... - Sport Aviator

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