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To SPAD Or Not To SPAD
Mark "AZ SPAD Man" Jennings
February 4, 2002
In October of 2000, I started to investigate throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area who was flying combat because I have seen several articles in RC magazines about combat flying. To my great disillusionment, I found that there is nothing! nada. zip. going on in the Phoenix area, other than a demonstration team. So I decided to organize a combat match of my own. I made out snazzy fliers with my own artwork, inviting wannabe combat pilots to the first Dirt Patch Combat Fliers competition. After many discouraging comments from elder RC modellers that I asked for advice, I chose, with my impotent wisdom, who gives a ***explitive censored*** / cavalier attitudes! I decided to go ahead anyway. Thus giving birth to the first combat competition in the Phoenix area in many years.
Little did I know that it would continue on, now into it's 14th month of continuous combat insanity. We meet once a month and have a core group of 10 pilots. Usually 8 are able to make it each month.
Before the first meet, I saw an article in RC Report about different type of combat aircraft available. The SPAD caught my eye, authored by Colin McGinnis in Kansas. I gave him a call, and he was very helpful and informative, explaining how to set up the combat matches. He showed me the website where I got the rules and plans for my first Saturday Night Special. The rest, as they say, is history.
Many a fine balsa plane have met a grizzly demise from the skies brought forth by my SPADs of death, including ripping off wings, slicing fuselages in half, seperating wings, and enjoying the screams as the lawn dart does its death plunge. Yes, a balsa plane will out-fly me and out-turn me, but it will not out-burn me when we go wing to wing. It ain't pretty, son! One midair comes to mind: slicing the entire wing off Mike's junkyard dog, which is a midwing stick type of airplane from Maryland. Well, it was a midwing stick. Now it's firewood. After the midair, my total damage included 2 splinters in my leading edge. *grin* After three of these types of balsa reductions, Mike has decided to fly anything but a SPAD! He's flying foam now.
So Why Fly A SPAD?
As I grow older, I have observed that most of our lives are spent in search of happiness and the lack of stress. Building an airplane that takes at least $100 and 100 hours to complete is not my idea of low stress flying! Yes, it may be beautiful. Yes, it may fly like a dream. And truly, the great flying planes are balsa. But the reality of the matter is we're out here to have fun! And increasing stress does not increase fun. So I see the SPAD (Simple Plastic Airplane Design) as an answer to many of our problems. If you can build an airplane for $10 and spend 5 hours building it, you won't experience a whole lot of stress putting it in the air.
I am an aggressive pilot - I like to push the envelope. I like to go where no Marky has gone before! And this can be expensive and stressful! But with SPADs, who gives a hoot? If you put it in the ground - if you smash into the big round hard thing (called the planet Earth) - most of the time, you're just in for a new fuselage job. These are not the toughest airplanes available, but they are the cheapest. And they can take heavy abuse. Many SPAD landings (as we so affectionately call them) would rip apart a balsa plane. This is why I think they make good trainers. I make a good Saturday Night Special (SNS) with 36" fuselage and reduce the controls some. We have found these to be good trainers because the students are not nearly as nervous, and they quickly are able to fly combat if they wish.
I do have balsa planes, at last count 12. I fly sport. I enjoy my Sunday Fliers. Right now, I've got a Cadet Senior and enjoy flying it, even if it's in the hospital for now. Let's just say it's a bad idea to combine 10-year-old monokote with a "minor" crash - the term "exploding skin" comes to mind!
Now let's talk about Combat.
The idea of spending weeks to build a combat balsa plane - just to smash it up - is crazy. With the SPADs, we've developed a new mindset. You have stop thinking that your airplane cost you $100, and you spent months to build it! If you can get past this and realize that your SPAD was cheap and easy to put together, you can fly with very little stress and improve your skills rapidly. You can only go "up, left, left and land" so many times before you become bored and move on to even more expensive phases of your hobby.
Combat flying isn't as expensive as you might expect! Yes, sometimes our planes get smashed up. But the SPADs have reduced repair cost and gotten us back in the air quickly. We do this by using 30 feet of kite string, then 10 feet of streamer. This places the intended target far behind the plane. On average, we have only one midair per meet, and only one of those planes are seriously injured. Even in a bad crash, the motor mount may snap, and the landing gear may walk away from the wreckage. A new motor mount will cost you all of $4 to buy, and gluing the mount and wheels back on is half an hour at most. It only takes an hour and a half to make a wing, and the fuselage is even quicker. Each of these pieces are cheap, too.
The real expenses of the airplane are the engine and the radio. Using a soft motor mount / firewall, the mount is designed to snap away from the fuselage instead of sacrificing the engine. The radio is protected with 1 1/8" foam pipe insulation. Simply cut a piece 2 inches longer than your receiver. Using contact cement, glue one end shut. Then, after placing your receiver in a plastic bag, stick it inside and use a zip tie to close. It will fit snugly inside the fuselage. Use another zip tie to hold it into place.
The Joys Of Combat
Simply put, this is the most fun you can have with your airplane. Just about every pilot on our field will swear to that. You will find yourself doing maneuvers that you never imagined were possible! The excitement you feel during the heat of combat will revitalize your RC experience, as long as you keep in mind that it takes practice and patience. Often a new combat pilot may not get a kill for several matches, but the practice will pay off. The comeradery that I have experienced among this group of men is outstanding. Everyone is helpful and willing to lend a hand or some extra glue to get you in the air that much sooner. This is a good group of guys.
So come out and join us for our next Combat match! We fly on the first Saturday of the month from 8:00 to 12:00. Check the map for directions.
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