OK... what classifies as a scale build? if you enter scale competitions do they only look at scratch builds and not kits? no ARF's i assume. what about laser cut forms, in other words short kits?
i've only seen one scale event in Vernon and assumed a lot of those planes were scratch builds.

thanks

Build it!
Used glue and pins. Tape and clamps.
Sandpaper, razor planes and fret saws.
Invent solutions to problems, customized and personalise the build.
But build.
come home from work, go to the workshop and let the real work begin.
More clue, more balsa and pins.
Loose track of time, miss holidays birthdays .... sun light.
But build.
And after 500 hours you come out holding a basic shaped model... and then the real work begins.
Finishing, detailing, refinishing redetailing and so on and so on.

Or you can just go to the shop and buy one finished.

Which one do you thing you're going to get the most satisfaction, the most rewards or the highest praise for?

You can build if from a kit, or scratch it from your own plans.
Doesn't realy bother me. Just don't assemble it and then say:
"I built it."

i wonder?

You will find answers to your question at the AMA's website. I build scale planes; however, I don't compete. It used to be that along with your membership information from the AMA when you joined, you got a Competition Rule Book, this is no longer true. However, the AMA Official Rule Book is available at the AMA's site in PDF format. I do know that Sport Scale Rules allow ARFs. The planes are not statically judged on the ground and only flying points are awarded.

ahh...OK.. that makes sense!

thanks

If you are really a Pilot at heart, who cares about what or how it is built.

Builders never look up at the sky.

Nothing difficult to figure out.

Pilot or builder ?

The only person who cares is the one that built it. Personally I look up at the sky serveral times daily. Its not to difficult to build and its just as rewarding as doing the perfect touch and go or beautiful cuban eight. You just have no idea what your missing, a builder who flies does it all.

Carl

For me, the flying keeps me honest. It's a constant reminder that at the end of the day this is not just about gluing and painting. It's about create machines that actually fly. And about flying them in ways that capture the spirit of the age.

And which one do you sweat more over when you fly it?

BTW, a question for you "flyers" out there: Do you fly even (usually/mostly/exclusively) when you're the only person at the field? That is, there's no one to "talk shop" with. No one to "trade stories" with. No one to admire your model or your flying. It's just you, your model, and the sky.

More and more I find myself enjoying the "solo" sessions. At first this was mostly becasue I wasn't willing always to fly during the ugliest hours of the day (and only on weekend) just so I could be with a crowd. Then I really began to appreciate the peacefulness of the solo experience. No one to perform for -- except myself. Nothing but the distance sound of a motor and the wind rustling through the grass. No one else in the sky. And no damn helis hovering just beyond my range of concentration. Though, I have to admit, it's usually the heli guys who are the lone wolves.

So I'd say there are really three types of RC hobbyists out there. Those who love to build. Those who love to fly. And those who just love hanging out at the field with friends (and having a model to fly is just the price of admission).

It's a rare modeler who's all of these.

well put! i understand all three of those types.

i am pretty new the building but have always been involved somehow in this hobby. i also enjoy the flying and especially the solo days too. perfect weather and not a sole out there.... so relaxing really! the social aspect is something that is very valuable to me too.... i can learn so much from everyone's ideas, suggestions,etc. but i don't get many of those days out here. not too many people into the hobby!

Generally if it's a kit, plans or scratch built you can fly it in most scale comps. - John.

If you built it, not if you paid someone else to build or purchased it already built. There is a "builder of the model" rule. Except in the fun scale classes that allow ARFs.

I build, fly and love to fly by myself or with my 11 year old son. I am semi-retired so I fly in the early afternoon I get there at about 1pm and fly till 4pm and when the worker bees get to the field I might or might not stay about a half hour and shoot the breeze with them and then I leave. I love the solitude of being alone or bonding with my son.

Gibbs

When I pack up and go to the field, I always hope somebody is there; I enjoy sitting and talking as well as watching others fly, but I'm going to fly whether anyone else is there or not. I don't know if I enjoy it as much, after a while, to me it's my big social event of the week. One thing for sure, you don't have to wait for your turn for the pin.

I notice allot of people in this thread say they "fly alone". Although not an issue with the AMA safety code many true and horrific stories are out there on why this is a bad idea. Let's say on a bright calm perfect sunday morning you get to the field unpac all your equipment, put the wing on, fuel up, do a good range check, put on your glow driver, touch the starter to the spinner and WHAP!!!! a piece of a finger is laying on the ground. What would you do? Profuse bleeding, pain and shock. Would you have the mind or ability to get to medical treatment? Allot of flying locations are farther out than closer to these facilities. Also say your engine surges and slams into your thigh tearing the femoral artery, would you survive if you were alone. These cases are documented and true. I myself have had my finger tore up by an unforgiving prop being 20 or so miles from the stitches that I needed. I was alone then and haven't flown alone again. Just something to think about. Remeber it is not always the "other guy".

Very good point. Flying alone is begging for the worst case, should the worst happen. While we can't live our lives worrying about what might happen, all too often the unexpected does happen. Why tempt fate. Use the buddy system. My Uncle was trying to run an Ignition engine (a GHQ) back in the late 30's. The engine backfired, threw the prop which severed an artery in his arm. He would have bled to death, had his sister not gone to check on him. He survived. The GHQ did not.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

Getting back the the original question, the answer is it depends on the contest. In Scalemasters there is expert, team and open class. Expert class requires you to be the "builder of the model". What does that mean you ask? Well basically you have to have done most of the work. You can legaly start with an arc or even an arf, and strip the covering and refinish it and be good to go, from there it's all the way through kits, plans built and scratch built. So while you can legaly compete with a plane that started life as an arf, you won't be competitive regardless of how good a pilot you are. The ARC/ARF's work fine for Open class though, where all you need is a minumum of documentation for a maximum of 30 points static score. The same builder rules apply to team as expert, just you have a team mate do the flying. AMA is similar except instead of open class they have a fun scale class, which is open to any scale model regardless of petigree.

well i will always fly when i can. people say that kind of thing all the time. i ski in the backcountry alone and ride my mountain bike alone, windsurf alone, hike alone...not because that is the way i want it but because it's hard to find people all the time willing to go at certain times,etc. you have to be smart about what you are doing....and let people know where you are,etc. i refuse to let the fact that i can't find a buddy to go out with to stop me from doing a lot of things.
anyway, this thread is getting to become a little off topic or it's going to get yanked to the sofa pile!


thanks for saving it birdman...and thanks for the info!

I do admit that I'm very aware of the safety problem when I'm alone at the field. I"m always doubly, doubly careful. But you're right that accidents can happen. Still, I agree that you can't waste your life waiting for a "buddy."

Anyway, my point, which was already off-topic, was that an awful lot of people who like to think of themselves as "flyers rather than builders" are actually more into socializing at the field than anything else. I do all my RC socializing online so the field is really just for flying.

And of course all of MY socializing at the field has to be in Japanese!

Ok Back to topic, Scale build is that you build it and not recover it.