top of page

About the NSW Scale Aircraft Society

We aim to encourage and develop radio control flying scale aircraft modelling activity – building, competing and flying. The radio control scale activity is currently dominated by the availability of an array of ready built or 'ARF' aircraft, which are quick to assemble and satisfy the needs of the "flying only" modeller.
 

There are a smaller, but significant number of people that get their satisfaction from building the models that they fly. Indeed, many national and international competition events will only permit models that are built (from scratch or a kit) to enter.  Apart from the satisfaction of having created something for yourself, another attraction to building your own is that you can select a full size aircraft that no one else has and finish it in a unique colour scheme.

What Types of Scale Activities do we Focus On?

One of the objectives of our Scale Aircraft Society is to encourage modellers to start by participating in scale events with ARF models and then to move on to build their own models and compete with them. Anyone can take part in any event, but, if you are new to this element of our sport, then it makes sense to start with low key rallies and then move up into competition flying.

Who Are We?

Our Society was formed in November 2001 to serve the needs of aeromodellers in New South Wales who are interested in Scale Aircraft.  Many of our activities are carried out in conjunction with Model Aircraft Clubs, at Club flying sites, and generally need participants to be a member of a Club for insurance purposes.


We work to encourage and develop scale aeromodelling activity in all its forms – building, competing and flying.

What are our objectives?

  • To promote participation in the creation and flying of scale model aircraft.

  • To promote own design and building activity.

  • To promote building and flying of partially preassembled scale aircraft kits (scale ARF's of all types).

  • To encourage and assist beginners to have a go at scale model building and flying.

  • As the recognised Scale Special Interest Group for New South Wales we provide input to the state body (Aeromodellers NSW) and the national body (MAAA) to ensure our activity evolves to meet our needs.

What do we do?

The principle ways of achieving our objectives are:

  • Regular meetings & Show & Tell days (approx 3-4 per year) to permit the members to share knowledge and develop the Society to meet their interests.

  • A schedule of competition events is run through each year to cater for all levels of skill and build standard. The events run are detailed below.

  • Workshops for members to help the evolution of all aspects of our aeromodelling activities.

Documents on this page are provided in PDF format and require free Adobe Reader software to open and view the documents. Clicking on the download links above will open the form in a new Browser window allowing you to save the form to your PC. Free Adobe reader software can be downloaded from www.adobe.com

Are there different classes of radio controlled scale models?

NSW R/C Scale Model Classes.

 

The two classes of scale model competition below are Flying Only classes, and do not have a static judging component.  The fidelity to scale of the model is not considered in the scoring.  The models are only judged on how well they perform the required scale flying manoeuvres.

 

Clubman Scale class is for all sizes of scale models up to a maximum of 25 Kg.  The Clubman Scale class is the entry level for scale competition.  ARF or prebuilt models are welcome, as well as models built by the competitor.  Clubman has been developed with the novice competition pilot in mind.


Open Scale class is for all sizes of scale models up to a maximum of 25 Kg.  The Open Scale class is considered the intermediate level for scale competition.  ARF or prebuilt models are welcome, as well as models built by the competitor.  Open Scale is for more experienced competition pilots who may not have the time or inclination to build there own model from scratch, from plans or from a kit.

 

The general rules for these two classes are as per the Flight Judging sections of the FAI F4 Scale Rules: 

FAI sporting code class F4 (scale).

International R/C Scale Model Classes.

 

F4C is the international class for Scale models. Modellers who compete in this class are competing not just for personal satisfaction but may be trying for selection to represent Australia at the World Scale Championships held every 2 years. F4C models are judged from a distance of 3m for general accuracy but are then inspected very closely for the finest details, cockpit interiors, dummy engines and surface texture, etc. The only limitation is that the judges must not touch the model. These models must be built by the competitor. The weight limit for an F4C model is 15 kg. 

 

F4H is the international class for Stand Off Scale models.  Models are judged from a distance of 5 metres only.  Models need not be built by the competitor but, as a minimum, the surface finish (colour and markings) must be applied by the competitor.  The weight limit for an F4H model is 15 kg.

​

F4G is the international class for Large Scale models. Modellers who compete in this class are competing not just for personal satisfaction but may be trying for selection to represent Australia at the World Scale Championships held every 2 years. F4G models are judged from a distance of 3m for general accuracy but are then inspected very closely for the finest details, cockpit interiors, dummy engines and surface texture, etc. The only limitation is that the judges must not touch the model. These models must be built by the competitor. The weight limit for an F4G model is 20 kg + fuel (to maximum 25 kg). 

 

The most up to date rules for these classes, as well as the flying rules and manoeuvres for all R/C scale flying competitions can be found here:

FAI sporting code class F4 (scale).

What manoeuvres are flown in R/C scale competitions?

The FAI sporting code class F4 (scale) is a large and complex document covering a wide range of scale competiton classes. An extract from the sporting code listing only the manoeuvres flown in R/C scale competition can be found here:

 

Scale manoeuvres

​

In our Club Scale social competitions we also fly the 'half cuban eight' and the 'reverse half cuban eight'.

All events are friendly and give the newcomers a chance to learn from others so that they can take on greater building and flying challenges. If you would like to participate in any of these events or just come a long to observe and chat with the participants then please look at the Upcoming Events on this website or the Aeromodellers NSW Rolling Calendar at: 

http://nsw.aeromodellers.org.au/index.php/event

The New South Wales Scale Aircraft Society Inc.

bottom of page