Photo Collage - NEW - updated 8/14/01

BVM Jets Score well
at the
AMA Nats 2001
by Bob Violett

The AMA National Scale meet is a serious and fun competition for us to attend. Serious, because it is the Nationals after all, and now a 75 year old event. Fun, for us because we can enter multiple events per pilot if desired.
As the following article (BVM scale jets are competition proven) explains, the more we compete with our products, the better they become for the consumer. So, besides enjoying the travel, flying and visiting with friends and customers, we have the opportunity to advance the state-of-the-art.

Terry Nitsch wins again

Terry and his BVM Rafale B-O1 with twin AMT AT-180's are a tough combination to beat. Attention to every detail, practice and determination have allowed Terry to win every event he has attended in the last few years.
It's no easy ride either in the Expert division with competitors like Greg Hahn, always in the hunt with his superb WWII models.
We are sure glad that Terry is on the BVM team. His next project is a BVM F-100 D in Thunderbird markings. It will be hard to out score a Rafale - but if anyone can do it with an F-100, Terry can.

Joe Grice, Scooter, BV, Tom Dodgen and Richthofen

Tom flew the RAM 500 powered TV-1 (F-80 in NAVY markings) to 2nd place in Fun Scale (open class) showing what a great combination this airframe and engine is. The take off's and landings are extremely realistic. Of course Tom is a great pilot, but this model makes it even easier for him.
I had the opportunity to fly 3 events using the F-4 Phantom (with smoke) for Fun Scale and squeaked by Tom by less than 1 point.
The prototype Hun won 2nd in the Designer Scale division with some very impressive realism of flight scores (all 10's I think). The leading edge slats and its very unique sound impressed even the toughest of the judges. Congratulations again to Jeff Foley for his 1st place win with his BF-109.
Joe Grice joined us for the fun to facilitate a team entry of Grice/Violett with the Rafale that Joe built.
The model flew great but there was an issue with the static judges that restricted our placement to fifth.
It is easy to bitch about the judges but since they are volunteers and give their time to the event, we can only hope that they can get better with practice.
The issue was with the scale outline. When the same molded parts and the same 3-view have been presented numerous times in front of numerous judges for the last 5 years (including Franz Walti's efforts) and won multiple times, one has to wonder about the view point of a dissenting judge(s).
However, this is the nature of a subjective event, so if one is to enjoy the competition, one must accept these little bumps in the road.
My philosophy about competition has become: "Do your homework, attend a lot of events, and you will win your share."
Scooter and Richtofen also attended the Nats but Scooter spent a lot of time in the trailer - she just can't be trusted around wooden propellers.

Tim Redelman helped with the BobCat demo flights - I think he really likes it.

We flew both BobCats (RAM 500 and the XL) during scale practice day Friday, at the day's end on Saturday and once during the judges break on Sunday - a total of six flights.

One of the greatest supporters and participants in our hobby is Ralph Braun. He arrived Sunday in his Bell 407 heli to observe the last day of the scale competition. Tim Redelman flew Ralph's BVM T-33 to 5th place in Fun Scale (open class)

BVM Scale Jets
are
Competition Proven

We know that maybe 10% of our customers really care about competing in a scale competition. But it is nice to know that if you want to, the scale outline will get a good score. That's because we do our homework on the real aircraft before we complete the tooling.
A BVM customer benefits from using products that have succeeded in the competition arena. The wings and tails stay on during high speed and high "G" flight, the landing gear and doors work and the fuel system is reliable etc. etc. It is pretty safe to say that if a model passes the tests of competition, it will serve you better.
A list of all of the accomplishments of BVM Jets in scale events during the last 10 years would take pages. Certainly most jet modelers are familiar with the results of recent major events like Top Gun, Scale Masters and the AMA Nats.
When each new BVM jet enters the scale competition arena we learn about little things that could be improved and we then introduce those upgrades into the kit, plans and instructions.

BVM Jets in Action
at the Nationals

Jim Reed from Dunlap, IL sent along some great airborne photo's of the F-100, F-4 and F-80. He really captured them in action so we thought you might enjoy looking at them as much as we did.

The F-100 taking off - notice the opposite rudder and wing down to handle the crosswind.

The F-100 on a few fly-by's.

The F-100 in a perfect landing approach attitude and touch down.

The F-4



If the wind wasn't blowing in our faces (and the judges) I used the smoke on take-off.

The F-80

The tip tanks were used for the first half of the flight, then pickled for certain maneuvers.