Line options for Profile Carrier
July 2006 143
Also included in this column:
• Nostalgia Carrier is on the rise
[[email protected]]
Control Line Navy Carrier Dick Perry
Eric Conley prepares his Me 109T .15 Carrier model at the Southwest Regionals. Ron
Duly is pit crew, Ted Kraver is photographer, and Pete Mazur is timer.
Keith Trostle’s Class I Grumman F8F Bearcat at the Southwest
Regionals. With a SuperTigre G-21/40, it has been a winner in
Nostalgia Carrier.
Electronic control systems for throttle and other auxiliary
controls are compact and reliable. A rheostat at the handle
controls the servo at the model.
ONE OF THE rules-change proposals this
year was to allow the use of two-line control
systems in Profile Carrier. As it turns out, the
proposal was redundant.
Although the current Competition
Regulations rule book, and the previous
Navy Carrier rules, specifies three-line
control systems for Profile Navy Carrier, the
1999-2001 rules correctly included
specifications for all three control-system
configurations in all three events. Nobody
knows what happened during the printing of
the rule book in 2002, but it has been wrong
for two cycles.
During the rules-change cycle for
effectiveness in 1999, Fred Cronenwett of
Washington proposed allowing monoline and
two-line control systems in Profile Navy
Carrier. His proposal passed. In subsequent
rules-change cycles, there were no proposals
to return to the three-line-only rules that
existed before 1999.
Check the AMA Web site at www.model
aircraft.org/comp/competition.htm for the
official notification. As this is being written
the correction has not been published, but it
should be available before this column is
published.
The current policy of having the official
version of the Competition Regulations
published on the AMA Web site allows for
07sig5.QXD 5/25/06 1:21 PM Page 143updates to the rules in a much more efficient
manner than in the past, when necessary for
emergency actions or error corrections.
Fred’s reason for submitting the proposal
was to accommodate the electronic control
systems that have become extremely reliable.
The electronic control systems used for throttle
and other auxiliary functions on CL models
have been described in earlier Navy Carrier
columns.
The specifications for two-line control
systems for Profile are identical to those for
Class I; i.e., .020-inch-diameter lines. As
Speed modelers learned decades ago, smaller
lines produce higher speeds with all other
factors being equal.
The difference can be significant because
line drag is a major contributor to total drag.
The effect in Speed is more pronounced than
in our event because of the lower drag of the
model alone.
To ensure that the control signal isn’t shortcircuited
by the control lines touching one, the
lines must be insulated. The additional
diameter required for the insulation negates the
advantage of the two-line system for Carrier
compared to the three-line system. Modelers
144 MODEL AVIATION
who want to use a two-line system with
mechanical elevator control and electronic
throttle control do so for the ease of
adjustment and installation rather than the
performance potential.
The lightest systems are single-channel
types that would be used for electronic
throttle control. Since the actuating force
needed for a throttle is low, the newer
ultraminiature servos could be used to save
weight for a throttle-only system.
Systems with more channels are popular
in CL Scale and could be used in Carrier for
independent control of flaps, tailhook, or any
other function a contestant can dream up.
The weight of the electronic decoder
itself is only slightly more for the
multichannel systems. Battery weight would
be changed little for multichannel
applications in Carrier; the weight of an
additional servo or two would be the
predominant weight factor.
Considering the weight of pushrods,
bellcranks, and other mechanical actuating
systems for auxiliary functions, the overall
weight gain for multichannel Carrier
applications might not be significant.
Batteries could substitute for wingtip weight
with single-channel or multichannel systems,
making the weights even more comparable.
The control systems are available from
Clancy Arnold (4006 Eagle Cove Ct.,
Indianapolis IN 46254; E-mail: clancy
[email protected]). He had constructed a
Vought Kingfisher based on my design
published in MA in the April 1984 issue.
Clancy uses two channels: one for throttle
and one for flaps, aileron, and line slider.
Nostalgia Carrier: It looks as though the
Nostalgia Navy Carrier events are gaining in
popularity. More contests are offering these
classes, and more modelers are building for
the events.
Joe Cservenko is assembling a
Smurthwaite (Brodak) Skyraider for this
season, and others have asked for rules and
advice. I’m looking forward to seeing some
new Nostalgia models at the Nats this
summer.
The Nostalgia event is flown with the
scoring system used through 1976 that places
a significant advantage on high-speed
performance. Historic models and non-
Schnuerle engines receive bonus points. I’ll
gladly provide rules for anyone who requests
them.
I hope to see many of you at the Nats this
summer flying Carrier. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/07
Page Numbers: 143,144
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/07
Page Numbers: 143,144
Line options for Profile Carrier
July 2006 143
Also included in this column:
• Nostalgia Carrier is on the rise
[[email protected]]
Control Line Navy Carrier Dick Perry
Eric Conley prepares his Me 109T .15 Carrier model at the Southwest Regionals. Ron
Duly is pit crew, Ted Kraver is photographer, and Pete Mazur is timer.
Keith Trostle’s Class I Grumman F8F Bearcat at the Southwest
Regionals. With a SuperTigre G-21/40, it has been a winner in
Nostalgia Carrier.
Electronic control systems for throttle and other auxiliary
controls are compact and reliable. A rheostat at the handle
controls the servo at the model.
ONE OF THE rules-change proposals this
year was to allow the use of two-line control
systems in Profile Carrier. As it turns out, the
proposal was redundant.
Although the current Competition
Regulations rule book, and the previous
Navy Carrier rules, specifies three-line
control systems for Profile Navy Carrier, the
1999-2001 rules correctly included
specifications for all three control-system
configurations in all three events. Nobody
knows what happened during the printing of
the rule book in 2002, but it has been wrong
for two cycles.
During the rules-change cycle for
effectiveness in 1999, Fred Cronenwett of
Washington proposed allowing monoline and
two-line control systems in Profile Navy
Carrier. His proposal passed. In subsequent
rules-change cycles, there were no proposals
to return to the three-line-only rules that
existed before 1999.
Check the AMA Web site at www.model
aircraft.org/comp/competition.htm for the
official notification. As this is being written
the correction has not been published, but it
should be available before this column is
published.
The current policy of having the official
version of the Competition Regulations
published on the AMA Web site allows for
07sig5.QXD 5/25/06 1:21 PM Page 143updates to the rules in a much more efficient
manner than in the past, when necessary for
emergency actions or error corrections.
Fred’s reason for submitting the proposal
was to accommodate the electronic control
systems that have become extremely reliable.
The electronic control systems used for throttle
and other auxiliary functions on CL models
have been described in earlier Navy Carrier
columns.
The specifications for two-line control
systems for Profile are identical to those for
Class I; i.e., .020-inch-diameter lines. As
Speed modelers learned decades ago, smaller
lines produce higher speeds with all other
factors being equal.
The difference can be significant because
line drag is a major contributor to total drag.
The effect in Speed is more pronounced than
in our event because of the lower drag of the
model alone.
To ensure that the control signal isn’t shortcircuited
by the control lines touching one, the
lines must be insulated. The additional
diameter required for the insulation negates the
advantage of the two-line system for Carrier
compared to the three-line system. Modelers
144 MODEL AVIATION
who want to use a two-line system with
mechanical elevator control and electronic
throttle control do so for the ease of
adjustment and installation rather than the
performance potential.
The lightest systems are single-channel
types that would be used for electronic
throttle control. Since the actuating force
needed for a throttle is low, the newer
ultraminiature servos could be used to save
weight for a throttle-only system.
Systems with more channels are popular
in CL Scale and could be used in Carrier for
independent control of flaps, tailhook, or any
other function a contestant can dream up.
The weight of the electronic decoder
itself is only slightly more for the
multichannel systems. Battery weight would
be changed little for multichannel
applications in Carrier; the weight of an
additional servo or two would be the
predominant weight factor.
Considering the weight of pushrods,
bellcranks, and other mechanical actuating
systems for auxiliary functions, the overall
weight gain for multichannel Carrier
applications might not be significant.
Batteries could substitute for wingtip weight
with single-channel or multichannel systems,
making the weights even more comparable.
The control systems are available from
Clancy Arnold (4006 Eagle Cove Ct.,
Indianapolis IN 46254; E-mail: clancy
[email protected]). He had constructed a
Vought Kingfisher based on my design
published in MA in the April 1984 issue.
Clancy uses two channels: one for throttle
and one for flaps, aileron, and line slider.
Nostalgia Carrier: It looks as though the
Nostalgia Navy Carrier events are gaining in
popularity. More contests are offering these
classes, and more modelers are building for
the events.
Joe Cservenko is assembling a
Smurthwaite (Brodak) Skyraider for this
season, and others have asked for rules and
advice. I’m looking forward to seeing some
new Nostalgia models at the Nats this
summer.
The Nostalgia event is flown with the
scoring system used through 1976 that places
a significant advantage on high-speed
performance. Historic models and non-
Schnuerle engines receive bonus points. I’ll
gladly provide rules for anyone who requests
them.
I hope to see many of you at the Nats this
summer flying Carrier. MA