Radio Control: Scale
STRANGE AIRCRAFT are known to emerge from my workshop. Model Aviation's publisher called me and asked me if I would write a short piece on RC Scale models. He mentioned that I was "...known for building strange models." However, I prefer to say that I build models of strange aircraft, and I agreed to write about experiences with some of these. Of course I also consider this a license to expose favorite prejudices and other misconceptions. I've always favored WW I-era prototypes for the simple reason that they are simple. Also, when my poor flying is evident on an official flight, I can complain that the judges should not expect a light aircraft to do perfect figures in a scale hurricane. (This ploy seldom works.) There is a fascinating diversity of available configurations: monoplanes, biplanes, triplanes, quadraplanes, landplanes, floatplanes, flying boats, and even amphibians. How about a twin-engined quadraplane with a biplane tail (Supermarine PB31E)?
Radio Control: Scale
ONE of Sport Scale's attractions-for both spectators and contestants-is the fact that models of interesting but obscure aircraft can compete even if available documentation is too sparse for more exacting AMA Precision Scale and FAI Scale standards. Designed in 1915, the DFW T-28 is such an aircraft. The design was represented by a sole prototype, and its configuration is bizarre. Yet in many ways it was quite advanced for the time, as it sported a full engine cowl, flush wing radiator, and a wingspan of little more than 20 ft. Perhaps the T-28 was more short than fat.
