World War II Fighter Combat

1. Objective To recreate the excitement of W.W.II era fighter combat in an enjoyable, safe, 1/12th scale competition that will be interesting for spectators and challenging for the contestants.

2. General All AMA and FCC regulations covering the RC flier, his/her plane and equipment, shall apply to this event, except as noted herein. There shall be no limitation on the type of equipment fitted to the model, or the number of controls, except as specified in the following sections. The contestant shall be allowed only one (1) model per round, but may switch to an alternate model of his/her choice for any following rounds. The builder-of-the-model rule does not apply for this event. All models flown must be safety inspected for airworthiness by the Contest Director or a CD appointed representative prior to competition.

2.1 Safety Consideration of safety for spectators, contest personnel, and contestants is of the utmost importance for this event. Any conduct by a contestant, deemed by the CD to be hazardous will be cause for immediate disqualification of the contestant from the event at the discretion of the CD. Anyone on the flightline shall wear protective head gear, as outlined in the Official AMA National Model Aircraft Safety Code, while flights are in progress. Each pilot is responsible for obtaining such head gear and shall have the sole responsibility to provide for his/her own protection.

3. Model Aircraft Requirements

3.1 The model must be a 1/12 scale replica of a Pursuit, Fighter or Attack aircraft produced or in service between 1935 and 1955. For the purpose of this contest, an aircraft shall be considered a Pursuit, Fighter or Attack aircraft if its missions routinely involved, or its designer intended any of the following: a) interception of enemy aircraft, b) high speed ground or sea attack, c) dogfighting, d) long and short range escort. The aircraft must have been originally designed to have had onboard guns installed. Aircraft that had guns mounted for defensive purposes only shall not qualify as Pursuit, Fighter or Attack aircraft.

2105: 3.2 Aircraft must resemble their full-scale counterparts. No more than plus or minus 5 (five) percent deviation from overall scale outline will be allowed.

2610: 3.2 Any aircraft legal in event 2105 shall be legal in event 2610. Aircraft must resemble their full-scale counterparts. No more than plus or minus 10 (ten) percent deviation from overall scale outline will be allowed.

3.2.1 The Contest Director shall determine accuracy-of-scale by simple visual inspection at 15ft, and may, at his discretion, request from the pilot a 3-view drawing or photo, to help in determining scale fidelity. Minor modifications that improve flight characteristics will be allowed as long as those modifications do not alter the basic resemblance to the original aircraft. Aircraft are to be finished in prototypical or unit/squadron colors for that type of aircraft of the period. Unusual color schemes are allowed when supported with simple photograph, or drawing documentation supplied by the pilot of the aircraft. The burden of proof of scale fidelity shall reside solely with the pilot of the aircraft.

3.2.2 Fuselages must be three-dimensional. Profile fuselages will not be allowed. Any part of the engine and/or muffler not concealed by the cowl or fuselage shall be ignored when considering the scale outline of the aircraft.

3.2.3 Landing gear is allowed but is not required unless the full scale aircraft had a fixed gear. Protrusions on the leading edges of the wing, scale or nonscale, shall not be allowed. Canopies, either structured or painted on, are required. 'Me aircraft must begin the event with a cowling.

3.3 A maximum dry weight of (3) pounds for any single engine design and (4) pounds for a multi engine design shall be in effect.

2105: 3.4. Maximum total nominal displacement for single engine designed aircraft shall be .15 cu. in. where the prototype had an inline engine and .21 cu. in. where the prototype had a radial engine, reaction engine (rocket), or turbine engine. Tuned pipes are not allowed.

2610: 3.4. Maximum total nominal displacement for single engine designed aircraft shall be .26 cu. in.

3.4.1 Maximum total combined nominal displacement for multi engine designed aircraft shall be .30 cu. in. Multi engine model aircraft must have more than one engine as per its full scale counterpart. A muffler or tuned silencer is required and may not exceed 8" in length. No other engine restrictions are in effect. Two(2) stroke, four(4) stroke, or diesel engine, stock or modified, that satisfy the displacement requirements are acceptable. The use of electric motors is acceptable as long, as the aircraft meets the weight requirements as detailed in 3.3. with batteries in place. 3.5. Engine Shut Off. The pilot must be able to shut off the model's engine(s) by radio control with the plane in any position, (e.g., a servo dedicated to throttle control or a kill switch).

4. Contest Rules

4. 1. Contest Site. The combat arena shall be an area of limited width and depth to be determined by the constraints of the flying facility and the discretion of the Contest Director. The minimum width shall be 420 feet. The "safety line" will divide the pilots and spectators from the combat arena. Pilots and judges shall be located on the "flight line" at least 25 feet behind the "safety line". Spectators must be at least 150 feet behind the "safety line". The Line Marshall will call any Safety Line or Flight Line violations. At no time during launch, flight, or landing, should a pilot's model cross the Flight Line.

4.2 Contest Structure. The contest shall consist of at least 4 non-elimination rounds. Each round shall include as many heats as necessary to allow all contestants to fly the round. At least two (2) or more aircraft will be flown against each other in each heat. After each pilot has had the opportunity to compete in at least four (4) rounds, the scores will be totaled. The pilot with the highest total score throughout the competition is the winner. In case of a point tie, the total of the previous rounds will be used to determine the winner of the tie. If a tie break can not be found in previous rounds scores, then a simple coin toss shall be used to break the tie. The CD may option for a fly off or spot landing to break the tie if the pilots are in agreement.

If more than 18 pilots are entered the CD may, at his/her option, use a preliminary and finals format wherein the top scoring pilots from the preliminary four or more rounds advance into a series of at least three Finals rounds. The number of pilots advanced to the Finals will be at least one-third and at most one-half of the total entries, based on the total scores from the preliminary rounds. Final scores will be determined by adding the total scores for each pilot from the Finals rounds to one-half of his total score from the preliminary rounds. The CD must inform pilots of the intention to use a Preliminary/Finals format prior to the start of the event.

4.3 Launching Aircraft may be launched by hand, dolly, landing gear or catapult. Every contestant is allowed the use of one (1) assistant to help with starting and launching.

4.4 Round Structure Each round shall consist of:

4.4.1 Preparation/Preflight The CD/Safety Officer/Timer shall ensure that each pilot has a pilot judge, then announce one (1) minute until the "Start Engines & Launch" signal.

4.4.2 Scramble/Launch A call/signal to "Start Engines & Launch" begins a window of ninety (90) seconds for launching aircraft into the combat arena (no combat is allowed in this period). The period ends when the last aircraft is airborne, or ninety (90) seconds has elapsed, by the call/signal to "Start Combat".

4.4.3 Duration/Combat The Combat period has a duration of seven (7) minutes. The Combat period and any scoring begins at the call/signal to "Start Combat". The Combat period and any flight scoring ends after the call/signal to "End Combat". The CD/Safety Officer/Timer is responsible for keeping the time and advising the pilots of the time left or time passed during the round. The CD/Safety Officer is responsible for encouraging, or reminding the pilots to keep their aircraft near the center of the Combat Zone and at a reasonable distance and altitude in relationship to the safety line.

4.4.4 Restarts/relaunches If a contestant's aircraft fails to launch on takeoff or must land any time during the combat period and is still airworthy, an unlimited amount of restarts are allowed within the seven (7) minutes, provided the aircraft is down in an area that allows its safe retrieval. Aircraft that are down under the combat arena after "Start Combat" has been called may not be retrieved.

4.4.5 Landing/Stand Down Landings will begin after the phrase/signal to "End Combat" has been given. Aircraft will land in an area designated by the CD/Safety Officer. Safety line rules are enforced. Aircraft known to be low in fuel are given first opportunity to land.

4.5 Change of Aircraft During a round, no change of aircraft is allowed once the pilot has launched or attempted a launch. In

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between rounds, the contestants may freely choose from any aircraft available to them. All aircraft switched during a round, prior to an attempted launch, must be on the same frequency.

4.6 Inter-round Safety Inspection The CD or his/her appointed representative, may, at his/her discretion, reinspect any aircraft that he/she suspects may have been made unsafe for flight. If the CD pronounces the aircraft as unsafe, it will not be flown, until the aircraft has been repaired and resubmitted to the CD for inspection. The CD is obligated to inspect an aircraft resubmitted for safety inspection as soon as the aircraft is presented to him/her. If it passes inspection the aircraft is immediately available for use. The judgment of the CD on safety matters can not be protested.

4.7 Streamer Streamers and string are provided by the CD to ensure uniformity. Crepe paper and cotton string are recommended. Streamers will be 30ft long and one inch (I") or less wide, attached to the model by a cotton string extending at least five (5') feet from the tail of the model.

5.1 Officials.

5. 1.1 Contest Director: A CD (contest director) will be in charge of each event. The CD or his/her representative will, lay out and prepare the field, check each aircraft for conformance to scale, displacement, and safety requirements. The CD or his/her representative will be responsible for the making of flight matrices for all heats and rounds of the contest. The CD or his/her representative will use the start signal once the 90 second launch window has elapsed or if all aircraft are airborne. At the end of the seven(7) minute heat duration the CD or his/her representative will signal to the pilots to cease combat. The CD or his/her representative shall also tally scores from the individual aircraft judges for each individual in the competition. Streamers for the event will be supplied by the CD or his/her representative.

3. 1.2 Judges: There will be one (1) judge for each aircraft flown per round. Each judge Will register points gained or lost by the aircraft being judged, according to the scoring list. After the landing of that aircraft, the judge will inspect the streamer for final determination of points.

5.1.3 Line Marshall: The Line Marshall will signal all safety line and flight line infractions. The individual judge scoring any plane confirmed as having crossed the safety. line or flight line by the Line Marshall is to inform the pilot of the infractions. If a pilot is disqualified for that round the judge will ask the pilot to land immediately.

6. Scoring

-300 and disqualification for the match. Pilot must land immediately!

6.1 Loss of streamer. A streamer shall be considered lost if it was improperly secured or broken in any way other than being cut by an opponent. In these cases the pilot must land and secure another streamer. If a streamer is cut by an opponent prior to Start Combat, it shall be considered lost, and the pilot must land a re-attach another streamer. If the streamer is lost during launch, the pilot may land, secure another streamer and relaunch. If the subsequent launch is made with a complete streamer before Start Combat is called, the pilot is eligible to receive start and continuous flight points. Any time a pilot lands after Start Combat is called, continuous flight points will be lost (see exceptions to this in 6.2). Streamers lost or cut during launch for any reason shall be considered to have launched without a complete streamer, and pilots must land and re-attach a complete streamer.

6.2 Midairs Any pilot involved in a midair must disengage from combat, and leave the combat arena to the left, right or above, if possible. At the moment of impact of the midair, the plane shall be considered dead from scoring or being scared- against. If the plane crashes as a result of the midair, the pilot shall earn +20 points for continuous flight- If the pilot can maneuver safely to an area outside the arena, and he/she and the Line Marshall both agree that the plane can safely continue, the plane shall be deemed alive and the pilot may re-engage and becomes subject to continuous flight scoring. If the plane is deemed unsafe to continue, the pilot shall land immediately beyond the safety line and he shall earn +20 points for continuous flight. If a flying facility makes the safe landing impossible, due to its size restrictions, the pilot shall remain airborne in an area away from the combat arena, pilots and spectators. After the round is complete and all other aircraft have landed, the pilot may be given clearance to land the crippled aircraft. It is the CD's responsibility to give a "heads up" warning in such case. At no time shall a pilot attempt to land a crippled aircraft inside the safety line or near the pilots during the round. Aircraft that midair during launch are considered failed launches, and shall be treated as if the plane failed to launch.

6.3 Optional Carrier Shall take place after completion of round and score +25 points. The plane must land within and remain within the designated area. The carrier deck (size and location to be determined by the CD) shall be located on the runway in the combat area. After each aircraft has landed the carrier shall be cleared for the next aircraft to land.

See the Scoring Supplement in the Contest Package for helpful scoring guidelines

RCCA Approved Scale Kits/Plans List

Last Updated: Monday, August 16. 1999

In order to save time, a Contest Director may, if he or she chooses, use the following list of kits and/or plans, to speed the checking of size requirements and determination of scale fidelity. It is important to note that there are many other kits and plans that may very well be suitable, and pilots are not required to participate with aircraft from this list.

Note: All kits are legal for both 2105 and 2610 classes except where noted.

From Northwest Tool Supply kits or plans:

Macchi-202

Me-109G

Hurricane

Ki-61

From House of Balsa kits or plans:

Me- 109E

P-51D. 10 size

AT-6.20 size

FW190D

From Collins Scientific (formerly

Precision Aero) kits or plans:

Focke Wulf FW-190D

From Progressive Miniature Aviation kits or plans:

P-51 Mustang

P-63 Kingcobra

Supermarine Spitfire

Mitsubishi A6M Zero

Messerschmitt Me- 109

P-40E

From Ziggs Originals kits:

Vought F4U Corsair

Supermarine Spitfire

Messerschmitt Me- 109

Focke-Wulf FW- 190A

Mitsubishi A6M Zero.

F-6F Hellcat

From Al Culver kits:

KI-84 Frank

From Eric Mey:

P-5 I D Mustang

F4U Corsair

From Robby Hangar:

P-47D

From K & A Models:

P-51D

P-40 Warhawk

FW-190A

From Ron Daniels Designs:

Sea Fury

Tempest

Typhoon

From Royal:

Mustang

Spitfire

From Steve Hergett:

Hergett Mustang

Hergett Ta- 152

From Gus Morfis plans and includes AirKill short-kits:

Curtiss P-40B

P47 Thunderbolt

F-9F Panther

F-86 Sabre

Hawker Sea Fury

Lavochkin La-5 FW-190 A or D

Me-163 Ki-61 & Ki-100

P-38 Lightning

F-6F Helicat

F4U Corsair

Hawker Hurricane

Supermarine Spitfire

Yak 1, 3,7, & 9

TA- 152C & H

Me-262A

Macchi MC-202

P-5 I D Mustang

F-8F Bearcal

Ryan Fireball

Hawker Typhoon

Martin Baker MB-3

Dewoitine D.520

Me-109G

Mitsubishi A6M Zero

Mig-15

Vultee Vanguard

From Model Airplane News Plans:

Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat

P-47 Thunderbolt

P-51 Mustang (by Tom Stryker)

ME- I 09E (by Tom Stryker)

P-38 Lightning

From Model Aviation plans:

FW-190D

From RCM plans:

Fokker D-XXI

Arsenal VG-33

Supermarine Spiteful

From Quad Model Designs:

P-5 I D Mustang

Grumman F8F Bearcat

Curtiss P-40F Warhawk

Supermarine Spitfire

Hawker Sea Fury Mk II

Hawker Hurricane IIC

Vought F4U-5 Corsair

Hawker Tempest V

From War Zone:

Bearcat

P-47 (Bubble)

Ki-84 Frank

Hergett Bf 1 09 2610 only)

From JDB Aerotech:

Wildcat

Sea Fury

Curtiss P-40F Warhawk

SBD Dauntless

Grumman F8F Bearcat

Grumman F3F

Kawasaki Tony

P-51B

P-51D

Ki-100

From Check Six Plans

AD2 Skyraider

P40

P51

P39

Dewoitine D520

Yak9

Henschel HS 129

112 Stormovik

Bf I09

Fiat G55

FW190

Ki6l

Polikarpov 116

From Airkill

Hawker Hurricane

Grumman Bearcat

Hawker Sea Fury

P-51B Mustang

Macchi c.200

Ta-152H

Hawker Tempest MK 11

Boomerang

From DBW Models

Wirraway

P-39

Oscar

IAR-80

Hergett Mustang

N I K2 "George"

From Martin Eimberg

P-39 (26 10 only)

Spitfire

Bf 109

P40F

FFVS 122

From Pica

P-5 I D (26 10 only)

Bf 109

F-82

From Mike Leasure

Me 163 Komet (26 10 only)

From Warbirds Ltd

FW 190-A3 (26 10 only)

Macchi 205