S.M.A.L.L.--Small Model Aviation Lovers' League: Where less is more

Model Airplane News, Nov 1998 by Marshall, Larry

I was in for some surprises at this event, as I had heard these guys were pretty laid back and non-competitive. Having spent a weekend with them, however, I know that this is not true; the competitive nature of SMALL members is as intense as any I've seen. Though there didn't seem to be any trophies given to the winners, there were, I'm convinced, several prizes being sought.

For instance, there were many entrants in some event that had to do with generosity. Everywhere you looked, guys were giving up their own stick time to help someone else into the air. If you didn't have a plane, no problem; they'd let you fly theirs. But if they had let me vote in the generosity contest, the award would have gone to Keith Tucker, who kept me (and others) supplied with Diet Coke and Butterfingers. Another competition-and this one must have been the "biggie"-was the "Had the most fun" award as the guys scrambled all weekend to "out-fun" one another. I think, in the end, everyone won that award.

Another surprise was the flying field; it's smack-dab in the middle of the town of Maumelle, a beautiful, "family-oriented" (according to the press) community. And the Maumelle City Council and mayor really live up to this moniker. Ron Stanfield, CD for the event, told me that the city gave the Maumelle Sky Tigers use of the land and the right to build a model airport there. When they saw the club members working to level an area for a runway, the city sent out a bulldozer to help them. That would be surprising enough, but Ron pointed to the spectator stands that had been set up for the event and said, "The city brought that out for us, set it up, and they'll be back to pick it up when we're through. They set up this tent, too [referring to the huge impound/ registration tent we were standing under]." During the event, the local newspaper ran front-page coverage of it and earlier had run a major article promoting the Sky Tigers and the upcoming event. Now, that's a "family-oriented" community if I've ever seen one; my hat is off to Maumelle.

SMALL is also run a bit differently; more like events were run 20 years ago. They flew free flight, control-line as well as R/C during the event. It really brought back memories of a different time when, if it flew, it was good and with many folks doing it all. And these planes were powered by rubber, C02 electric, diesel and glow powerplants. While SMALL's .25-size limit on engine eliminates most commercially available helicopters, even they were represented by Dan Walton's Lite Machines* LMHl OO, and he flew up a storm with it.

And speaking of Dan Walton, he's really a master with little engines. He flew a big Spruce Goose, powered by eight Cox* .010 engines. Not only did it fly well; it was amazing to watch Dan start all those engines with nary a hiccup from any of them.

Ed Stephens of Norvel* was there with his buddy Bob Abete. Because of the popularity of the Norvel engines, Ed and Bob were busy giving advice and selling engines. With all the Norvels on the field during the weekend, they might vie for the prize of the engine type that burned the most fuel over the weekend. Ed and Bob helped in that regard by flying their two new airplanes, a .061 -powered Tutor and House of Balsa's* Texan, powered by its new .15-size engine.

You can't have an event for small airplanes without a Lazy Bee contingent. This Clancy Aviation* design is one of the most popular designs of the decade, and it and its spinoffs, the Speedy Bee and the Handful, were in force at this event. I had never flown a Handful before, but Keith Tucker let me fly his, which he powers with a PAW .03 diesel. It was so much fun, I hunted down Eric Clutton (Dr. Diesel) and bought myself a PAW .03. I was actually surprised at how easy it was to fly, given its agile nature.

CO2 is a power source you don't hear about all the time; it's mostly associated with the flying of free-flight airplanes. But a bunch of folks were there flying RIC using COZ motors. I would have said "guys," but one of those "folks" was Cindy Malinchak, who was flying the first R/C plane she has ever built: a Peck Polymers* Cougar. For those who are unfamiliar with this kit, it's a peanut-scale model with a wingspan of 13 inches. Her husband, Joe, is a diehard COz guy, but I'm afraid he lost the "level of excitement about the hobby" contest to Cindy ... sorry, Joe.

Joe's planes are pretty neat, though. One that really caught my eye was his Herr Engineering* Pitts Special. Yep; the free flight kit, with a wingspan of 24 inches. Joe converted it to a full-house R/C plane and powered it with the new GM500 COZ motor that sports throttle control. He's flying the plane with a Cannon* receiver and WES-Technik servos.

As long as we're talking C02, I have to mention Henry Pasquet, the king of small airplanes. Henry has taken the concept of "small R/C" to the point at which most models we mere mortals call "small" are very large by comparison. When you can start resting R/C planes in the palm of your hand, that's small.