South Carroll Aero Modelers

We take off in my Explorer, Firestone ATXs rippling down the highway, Willie Nelson blaring on the radio, and we're headed towards Sykesville, Maryland, to learn all about pattern flying. Before I left I looked up "pattern" in the dictionary. According to Webster, a pattern is a form or model proposed for imitation. Sounds pretty simple . I almost canceled the whole trip. Fortunately, I still went, because as I was about to find out, getting from point A to point B, as usual, is more complicated than you think.

CLUB OF THE MONTH: SOUTH CARROLL AERO MODELERS (SCAM)

SCAM Field

SCAM is located on the grounds of the Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville, Maryland. They pay the hospital $1 a year for use of the land. It's great when you have such patrons. SCAM, for its part, maintains the field and the Spot-A-Pot (that's fair).

Pattern flying is governed by the National Society for Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA). The President of NSRCA, Eric Henderson, put it this way in the NSRCA web site, "The NSRCA is a society dedicated to the promotion of aerobatics, period. The NSCRA is the SIG (Special Interest Group) appointed by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) for Pattern in the USA." You can learn all you want to know about pattern flying by going to their web site on www.nsrca.org. It's first-class.

Richard and Frank Bis

Frank Bis and Ewing (Skip) Board were co-Contest Directors for the pattern fly this weekend (Sept. 12th-13th). I managed to talk to Frank a little, but he was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, registering pilots, taking their pictures, lining up judges, and also doing some judging. Frank's son Richard was helping out, but he had to get ready to fly.

So I wandered around sucking up the ambience, looking at planes and talking to pilots and spectators.

It was that English chap what explained it all to me. In the middle of this new environment, I must have looked like a country boy in the big city wondering, "What's it all about Alfie?" Nick Middleton must have sensed my wonderment, and we gradually got into a discussion of the fine points of pattern flying.

Nick Middleton

Nick came from Oxford, England, six years ago and picked up pattern flying here. He presently lives in Staunton, VA, Woodrow Wilson's birthplace (but you knew that), and flies for Expoland.

He said that pattern flying is a process of executing a series of specific acrobatic maneuvers within an imaginary box in the sky. The flier is judged on each maneuver according to its difficulty. Pilots can compete in various class levels of increased difficulty. Classes begin with the lowest, Sportsman, and go to Intermediate, Advanced, Masters and F.A.I., which has international recognition. Pattern is like watching skating competition . they go through their maneuvers and are graded on them.

Nick said that they could fly any plane up to eleven pounds with a maximum two-meter wingspan. He said many of the planes are professionally built and, when equipped with an engine, can cost on the order of $1,800 - $2,000. YS engines, while not exclusive, are believed to be among the most powerful and are very popular. All the planes have very expensive mufflers, as they are limited to a noise level of less than 94 db. Most planes have retracts. Pattern flyers can fly in winds up to 40 mph; so except for rain, they can fly almost anytime.

In order to make a proper assessment of the maneuvers, it is necessary to fly far out. Accordingly, good eyes become extremely crucial to this hobby. There are not many pattern flyers over the age of 55. Also, Nick said that rudder and throttle control are at the root of good pattern flying . they help you conserve fuel and, properly controlled, assure that you enter a maneuver at the proper speed and position for its most accurate execution. He said don't be deceived, it may look like they're going through their maneuvers smoothly and accurately, but as you learn what to look for, you start to see little flaws and deviations from the menu.

With all this newly learned information, I was ready to deal with these pattern flyers. They wouldn't be putting anything over on me now. Nick, thanks for the tutorial.

Eric Henderson

We take to the skies. There were eight flyers this day. Frank Bis gathered them all around and explained the rules of engagement . takeoffs, judging, and a lot of technical stuff. They would each try to fly six rounds over the weekend. But they would only be judged on their best four flights. Two judges would assess each flyer and then average their score for each round. Every maneuver of the round was judged - takeoffs, landings, and everything in between.

Todd Siegel

A round could include Cuban 8's, stall turns, Immelmans, split S's, loops, rolls or whatever, depending on the level of the competition.

The flying was very structured and precise. A caller would take the pilot's plane, engine running, to the precise point of takeoff on the air strip. Then he would return to stand behind the pilot to call out the sequence of maneuvers that he was to perform. Some pilots used neck straps, and one even used a transmitter tray. On landing they would deliberately kill their engines just before touchdown in order to save their very expensive carbon-filled props. One round of events - I think it was Masters - took about eight minutes to complete.

I took the opportunity to speak to some of the pilots. Nick Middleton, my tutor, was flying a two-meter plane. And of all people, who should I run into but Eric Henderson, the President of NSRCA.

Lou Olsen

There he was in line, just like a regular guy, signing in and getting ready to fly. Eric came here from England in 1982 and now resides in Cherry Hill, NJ. He currently writes a column for Model Aviation called "RC Acrobatics". It's a good read, check it out. Eric flies a "Sequel", a two-meter plane powered by a YS 140. Wojtek Tomanek, a resident flyer, was flying the Omen, another two-meter plane powered by a YS 120 AC. Todd Siegel, who flies with the Ocean City Modelers from Lakehurst, NJ, was flying the "Elan", also a two-meter plane powered with a YS 120. Lou Olsen was flying his "Rolling Thunder", a two-meter plane powered with a YS 120 NC. Oh they just love those YS four-strokes.

Well, class, what did we learn today? I've been around RC modeling for the last ten years, and I must tell you this day was like no other. What can I say . pattern flyers are different from the rest of us. How can I explain it? Let me try this. Remember some time ago there was that play the "Odd Couple"? It eventually became a long-running TV series. Oscar Madison (played by Jack Klugman) was the slovenly one, while Felix Unger (played by Tony Randall) was the neat one. Now cut me some slack. I'm not saying that most of us are like Oscar, but if we were to make a rough separation, that would be us, and the pattern fliers would be like Felix. They are so precise, every thing is so orderly, their engines start on time, their maneuvers are just right, they don't have any flapping monokote, even their field boxes are clean, with everything in its properly organized place. Does the word antsy or obsessive come to mind? Well, that's not a bad thing. Their hobby is very disciplined. If it were not that way, there would be no pattern flying. I must say, once I learned what to look for it started to get to me. There is real satisfaction in seeing a perfect Immelman, a precise half-reverse Cuban eight, or well-executed stall turn.

Is pattern flying for all of us? Probably not. But don't be too quick to write it off. It might be just right for you. They are a small, prideful bunch . they only make up 1% of the RC modeling hobby. They take great pleasure in seeing themselves as different from the mainstream. If you have a chance to go to one of their fly-ins, you definitely should. There's a lot to learn.

THE MAMBO KID RIDES AGAIN
Sometimes someone drops out of sight and we wonder, "What became of what's-his-name?" Well, we tracked down one of these what's-his-names, Carroll Brennan, a.k.a. the Mambo Kid, and found him very well retired in Florida. He gave this explanation for his absenteeism:

Carroll Brennan

"Greetings from Florida, known for sunshine, palm trees and oranges, but for RC modelers Sarasota is a flying paradise. Let me explain why. Having just moved here from Maryland, I left many friends in the three clubs of which I was a member. Sadly, however, the clubs were experiencing assaults by various interest groups opposed to our hobby, as many others are suffering throughout the country. Here in Sarasota, the public officials, County Executive, Recreation Department Head, etc. have a totally different attitude. They bend over backwards to meet the needs and requests of the community and its citizens. When the local landfill reached capacity and had to be closed down, it meant that the airpark that was located there would have to be moved. The county officials moved heaven and earth to find a suitable replacement area, and put $40,000 into a 500' by 100' paved runway and four buildings for a meeting room, supply room, training room and a repair room. Local newspapers gave extensive coverage to the grand opening in May, and numerous public officials participated in an elaborate ribbon-cutting ceremony. Keep the faith, RC modelers. Some people still love us.

"My wife Janet and I love this area. There is an eternal vacation atmosphere and, indeed, Sarasota is beautiful vacation land . great swimming and fishing, golf courses galore, unbelievable housing, and so many splendid eating facilities at ridiculously low prices that it almost doesn't pay to cook at home. As they say in TV land, 'Come on down!'"

RESTORATION OF THE GRUMMAN TBF AVENGER
Some members of the Radio Control Modelers of Baltimore (RCMB) went on a field trip. Milt Peacock filed this report:

"The Avenger was a WWII torpedo bomber built by both Grumman Aircraft and Eastern Aircraft, a Division of General Motors. The airplane saw service with the Navy, and participated in the "Battle of Midway". Jack Kosko of Fawn Grove, PA, had the opportunity to purchase an Avenger that later served with the Canadian Navy. It had crashed in the water returning from a mission in New Brunswick, Canada, on May 29th, 1978, and was later salvaged.

Grumman TBF Avenger

Mr. Kosko brought it home in trucks and trailers, and built a building large enough to restore the plane to its original WWII USN condition. A crew of volunteers go there a couple of days each week and are well into the process of restoration. So far they managed to get the landing gear into operating condition. Also, the engine, which has been restored by another organization, will be delivered soon. It was a privilege on July 14th that 10 members of RCMB were allowed to observe their work in progress. The whole process will probably take about five years.

We took a lunch for the crew and ourselves. Everyone enjoyed an hour break. A lot of stories went around . what would you expect. It was a great day."

TELL ME ABOUT IT
Thanks to Frank Bis, Nick Middleton, Eric Henderson, Carroll Brennan and Milt Peacock for their inputs to this month's column.

I can't impress on you how interested other RC modelers are in what you have to say. Things that may seem trivial to you often make good talking points. If you have an event, activity or individual you wish to promote, e-mail the information to me at axsilvestri@earthlink.net.

WHAT'S COMING
The Harford County Miniature Aircraft Operators Association will hold their annual Big Bird Fly-In at Swan Farm, Havre de Grace, MD, on Sept. 9th. For more information check the CD at 410-638-2895 (Steve Snyder). Last year's show was a great success.

Our next featured club will be The Radio Control Modelers of Baltimore. They are having a great flea market and fun fly combination on Sept. 16th. Can it get any better? For more information and to sign up for tables, call Larry 410-343-1125, Bob 410-526-4875 or Jerry 410-879-4806.

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Courtesy Links Baltimore Area Soaring Society   District of Columbia Radio Control Club   Harford County Radio Control Modelers   Patuxent Aeromodelers   Prince Georges Radio Control Club   Radio Control Modelers of Baltimore   Sunday Flyers of Baltmore   Swan Harbor RC   Westminster Aeromodelers