CL Racing
THE CONTROL LINE (CL) Racing community recently lost one of the pioneers of some innovative technology and equipment that has made CL Racing what it is today. John Kilsdonk passed away unexpectedly.
John was famous for his Hooptie Rat and his Falcon and Zipper Scale Racer. He was also instrumental in the development of the megaphone pipe that was used with great success in the 1970s.
However, John did not stop there; he was responsible for getting Fusite Corporation to develop and perfect the glass seals in the first high-performance glow plugs. This went further; John and Harry Roe got the plug design some call the stove top, which has been known as the GloBee plug.
John and Harry also developed the idea of the GloBee FirePlug. Even today, the FirePlug is the battery of choice among racing pitmen and teams.
John's contributions have had a lasting effect, and he will be missed.
The American contingent of Pat Matson, Scott Matson, Wayne Trivin, and I went to Portugal to participate in Julio Isidro's Tournament of the Millennium, held at the Cnena National Center of Exhibitions in Santarem, Portugal.
Activities included a banquet with a band and an Elvis impersonator. We were also treated to an exhibition at Vale Dos Lobos: a facility for training matadors and bulls for bullfighting.
From there, we were taken to an old factory that used to make olive oil and now makes wine. A wine-tasting was included.
The event was an opportunity to renew friendships with modelers from the United Kingdom and other countries, and, as always, Julio put on a first-class event.
It is wonderful to see the support that the community, the Portuguese Sports Federation, and corporations provide aeromodelling.
Just a few of the corporate sponsors were Black & Decker, Mary Kay, Galpenergia, and Tranquilidad. Corporate support of your pastime is very reassuring.
Wayne Trivin seemed to have an airplane for almost every event: Quickie Rat, 1/2A Vintage Team Race, F2C National, and Handicapped Speed.
Wayne built a wonderful Thunder Thrush for 1/2A Vintage, and the model flew well after some tip weight was added. These airplanes are powered by .09 diesel engines and have built-up fuselages.
Wayne also built a fine F2C National that was powered by a Nelson engine. He had very competitive airspeed but was unable to make the final.
In Wayne's first heat, three pits were required and it put him six seconds out of the final. In his second heat, the airplane was working wonderfully but Wayne accidentally hit the fuel shutoff on the second pit. This resulted in his time being two seconds out of the final.
Wayne's Quickie Rat performed well as usual, and he was able to post a 3:12 in a heat race to secure the second transfer spot to the final. Since I was also flying for Scott Matson, Wayne enlisted Iony Toogood of the UK to fly in the final.
Wayne's model experienced some difficulty getting off the ground and was able to take second place with some additional pit stops.
Julio also flew a very clean race in the final, with Dennis Ward providing some good pits in Quickie Rat. Julio's model was not the fastest in airspeed; he proved that this is Racing—not Speed. His steady performance put him atop the podium.
Scott Matson's entry posted the quick time of the meet at 3:04. During the final his entry was out in front, but disaster struck on the third pit. Scott was unable to start the normally very reliable engine, and his extended stop cost him victory and resulted in a third-place finish.
Second place went to the Portuguese—a local schoolteacher and his students. For them, aeromodelling is a class to teach skills of building and working with their hands.
Third place went to some Fox Racing rookies Roger Reese and Dick Hart of the U.K. Fox Racing may be catching on outside the US!
Roger Reese and I captured the B Team Race event with a time of 7:31.6. The team of Daglish/Worgan were winners in British Goodyear with a time of 10:12. The final in this event is 200 laps and five pits.
The team of Mathew and Dick Hart won the F2C National event with a time of 10:47. The team of Hart/Hart won 1/2A Vintage with a time of 9:20.
In tribute to George Aldrich, the event sponsored a high-place-finish prize called the George Aldrich award. Mick Taylor of the UK won it. It is certainly nice to see that George was thought of so highly around the world.
I encourage you to think about going to this event next year; you will not find a more wonderful setting in which to fly model airplanes. The hospitality of all those associated with the event is marvelous.
The US F2C Team Trials is finished, and congratulations go to the teams: first place, Tom Fluker/Dick Lambert; second place, Stewart Willoughby/Bob Oge; and third place, Aaron Ascher/Leonard Ascher. The first alternate pair is Todd Ryan and Bob Whitney.
I wish the entire team the best, and hopefully it will be able to bring home the championship. I hope to have more information and photos for a future column.
Should Mouse II be an official event? Bob Whitney and John McCollum are considering that question and are serving as a committee to examine the event and see if a rules proposal should be submitted.
Mouse II has been a supplemental event for many years, and it has been flown not only at local contests but at the Nationals.
If you have an opinion, please contact Bob at 456 Garvey Rd. S.W., Palm Bay FL 32908 or John at 300 Van Zandt County Rd. 4717, Ben Wheeler TX 75754 to give them your input.
2004 World Champs: By the time this magazine is published, we will have had a meeting of all the Special Interest Groups to look at the possibility of hosting the 2004 World Championships.
Hopefully all the conditions can be met, and we can host the contest. If so, the Racing community will need plenty of help in manpower and getting the event organized.
Although the Championships is a couple years away, planning must start very soon for this to be a first-class event. Please think about helping in this endeavor.
Digital pictures can now be sent for inclusion in this column. The camera must have a minimum resolution of 2.0 megapixels, and photos must be sent on a CD or disk. No E-mail attachments will be accepted.
If you have a digital camera that meets Model Aviation's requirements, send images with a brief description of the picture and the event.
Are you an NCLRA member? If not, join today. Send $10 in the US and $12 outside the US to Dick Lambert, 4651 Ridgewood Ave., Port Orange FL 32127.
As always, your contributions are solicited and appreciated. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
