The Oxford MFC Kit Scale competition is taking place over the summer.
Any free flight scale model built from a kit or kit plan is eligible to enter for this precision event. The competition is being flown to old BMFA Kit Scale Rules (see below for Bill Dennis’s outline of the rules)
The static part of the competition was on 18 May at Begbroke. There are some photos of the models and award winners below. With such a gap between static and flying rounds there were some interesting models on show…Simon assures me some of his bare bones airframes will be flying in time
The flying part of the competition took place on August 6th 2022 during the Cloud Tramp Mass Launch and Summer Competitions event
It was flown to old BMFA Kit Scale rules ( see below for more details) with a target time of 25 seconds. Each second of deviation from that time counts as a point, lowest points wins
| Position | Name | Model | Flight 1/diff | Flight 2/diff | Flight 3/diff | Total
difference |
| 1 | Bill Dennis | KK Lysander | 22/3 | 24/1 | 26/1 | 5 |
| 2 | Andy Blackburn | KK Stinson | 26/1 | 22/3 | 20/5 | 9 |
| 3 | Mike Stuart | Howard DGA8 | 30/5 | 21/4 | 21/4 | 13 |
| 4 | Simon Rogers | Comet Lockheed Vega | 14/11 | 21/4 | 19/6 | 21 |
| 5 | Alan Trinder | WW Westland Widgeon | 18/7 | 12/13 | 16/9 | 29 |
| 6 | Simon Milan | KK Ercoupe | 16/9 | 12/13 | 13/12 | 34 |
| 7 | Lurk | Bird Dog | 13/12 | 15/10 | 11/14 | 36 |
| 8 | Peter Smart | Comet Hurricane | 13/12 | 12/13 | 7/18 | 43 |
Peter Smart winds his Comet Hurricane. Bill Dennis’s winning Keil Kraft Lysander
Mike Stuart’s Howard DGA Andy Blackburn’s Pfalz (all photo’s by Lurk)
There’s more photos from the rest of the Club’s summer events in the gallery below
Full Oxford MFC Kit Scale rules can be found here
Bill Dennis outlined the rules recently in Meadow Flyer
The Outdoor Rubber Kit Scale event was devised about six years ago to provide a ‘fun’ event to be run at the May Nationals, alongside the other low-key scale competitions held there. There was no similarity at all to Indoor Kit Scale, other than the requirement that the model must be from a kit design. More recently the Scale Technical Committee decided to change the name to ‘Precision’ and open it to any scale model. I am not aware of any groundswell of opinion in favour of this change but there we are; however this event will be to the original. Kit-themed rules. Henceforth I shall shorten the name to ORKS!
It is essentially a Bowden-type comp where a flight has to be made to a pre set time, with penalties for being under or over time with no static judging. Within a defined period, usually one hour, the aim is to make three flights, each as close as possible to 30 seconds. The winner is the person with the smallest deviation from the target. For example, if you record flights of 28, 24 and 36 seconds, your score is 2 + 6 + 6 =14. The smallest total wins.
The beauty of the rules is that, within reason, no model should have an advantage over another, provided the duration is achievable. However, there are ways to improve your chances. A stable high wing monoplane should be more consistent than low-wingers in all weathers. It all comes down to practice and knowing how many turns on the rubber motor will get you to that target.
Picking the air is also vital, although in this case you will be avoiding thermals! Many contests have been lost when a model hooks lift. Perhaps the best approach is a high-wing design with limited potential once the turns run down. Two successful designs have been the KK Auster
Arrow and the Guillows Fairchild 24. By the way, DTs or any nefarious gadgets intended to drop the model out of the sky ‘on time’ are not permitted!
Now, can I get my Lysander to reach 30 seconds before it turns into an anvil?