Spectrum III (oz10161)

About this Plan

Spectrum III. Control line stunt model, for Supertigre 60 power.

Quote: "Spectrum Mk III - '85. A champion's odyssey. By Jim Casale.

The 1985 Nationals was the 'Mother Nature Nats'. Rain, wind, calm, heat, cold, turbulence were all part of it. Mother Nature threw everything she had at us. She took her toll on airplanes; five of them were damaged or destroyed in Thursday's gale strength winds. When it was over, all the competitors learned a lot about extreme conditions in a 2 to 4 day period. All the contestants did a fine job, with the top 20 and especially the top five adapting to the changing conditions best. My store of knowledge and experience was tapped to the fullest in this one, my toughest Nationals to date.

A plan of action. After the 1984 World Championships I returned home to the drawing board. My goal was to build new airplanes for the 1985 season. After careful consideration of what I learned in the World Championships my building goals for the 1985 contest season were set: four new airplanes.

Two of the new ships were to be copies of my 1979 Lincoln Nebraska Nats entrey, a fine wind and all-condition airplane. Of course, all my new airplanes would contain the latest technological advancements. One of the four new ships would be a small .40 size plane with a .60 motor. This idea was generated from the Chinese Team. Our Oriental counterparts did not run .60's, but their smaller, quick turning airplanes impressed the FAI judging panel. The fourth and final project was to be a slightly modified version of my 1983 Nats winner. Not a bad new arsenal to have ready at the start of a flying season. Also, waiting in the wings, were the 1983 Nats winner, the Spectrum MkIII which also took fourth place overall at the Worlds.

There were no plans to build another 'world' ship. One might ask why? Honestly speaking, at the end of the World Championships, I was not sure about the design's consistencey. Although this Lou Dudka/Glen Meador brainchild was the best wind airplane I had ever flown, I never got the consistency in other conditions. Too many trim changes had to be made from day to day, or condition to condition. That would have been disastrous at this year's Nationals..."

Spectrum MK III, 1983 Nats Winner.

Update 15/06/2018: added article, thanks to RFJ.

Supplementary file notes

Article.

Corrections?

Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan (especially the datafile)? That happens sometimes. You can help us fix it.
Add a correction