CONTROL LINE RACING
Dave McDonald, Box 384, Daleville IN 47334; E-mail: [email protected]
Contests and More
During the month of May and the first week in June, I was fortunate to attend contests at Bunnell FL, St. Louis MO, Sugar Grove IL, and Muncie IN.
At Bunnell the events were Scale Racing, Slow Rat, Fox Racing, Mouse I, and Quickie Rat. Weather was typical Floridian—great. Contestants came from as far away as Nebraska to participate.
Although this was a two-day event, a previously scheduled commitment kept me from attending both days. Consequently, I was unable to participate in Quickie Rat. Wayne Trivin's model reportedly ran 16.0 in the event and was the class of the field. (A few months ago I wrote about what Wayne was doing to the engines to get this speed.)
Unfortunately, two missed catches kept Wayne from turning an extremely quick time. His 6:31.5 was just fast enough to beat Gabe Manfredi's 6:33.12. Blinding speed is not a guarantee of a winning time; small misses in the pits can negate the advantage.
Slow Rat was a battle between Dick Lambert and George Lieb. Dick ran 13.8 with ease, and he turned a 5:58 to win. George's time of 6:26 took second.
In the Scale Racing event, Dick Lambert and I posted a 2:50 in the heat race for quick time. Most competitors were in the low-three-minute bracket for their 70-lap times.
George Lieb used a Profi Combat engine for power. Although it ran well, it lacked an airscoop. A broken propeller during the finals kept Dick and me from finishing. George Lieb took first, Gabe Manfredi was second, and Bob Whitney was third.
At the next stop, the weather at Buder Park (St. Louis) was outstanding. This was the first year for the St. Louis group to have Scale Racing along with Mouse I and NCLRA (National Control Line Racing Association) Fox Racing.
Most competitors were rusty, since this was one of the first contests of the year. However, it provided a good opportunity to get the airplanes out and see what they needed.
Scott Matson squeaked out a first place in Scale Racing, and Bob Oge was second. Both used Gillott Rossi MkIIIs for power.
Probably the closest head-to-head racing was between junior competitors Scott Matson and Doug Short. Both have good equipment. Doug utilized a Nelson, and Scott had Rossi power. Both ran propellers of approximately six inches in diameter, with 5- to 5-1/4-inch pitches.
Scott was aided by a four-flip final race, and although Doug had good airspeed, he was forced to retire at lap 106 because of a loose engine.
Bob Oge and Jerry Meyer had a close competition going until the same loose-engine condition struck Jerry. These failures emphasize the importance of checking equipment.
Pat Matson won Fox Racing at 6:00.80, I was second at 6:04.6, and Scott Matson was third at 6:42.
Joe Spanovich of Bristol TN won Mouse I at 5:56.6, Alan VanArtsdalen of St. Louis was second, and Scott Matson took third.
Memorial Day weekend in Sugar Grove usually involves two things: a good contest and bad weather. Rain, wind, and 48° made for a long day.
Fox Racing, Quickie Rat, and Scale Racing were on the agenda, but only Fox Racing was held before the rain made flying impossible. Bob Oge prevailed with a winning time of 6:21.92, Dave Betz was second at 6:52.25, and Tim Stone was third at 7:34.
The first weekend in June was Team Racing (TR) in Muncie. This year, Quickie Rat and Fox Racing were also held.
Quickie Rat was the first event. Two back-to-back 70-lap heat races were run, followed by the final. Most competitors' models ran similarly.
All competitors except one ran K&B engines with Wayne Trivin rings and Bob Oge chrome jobs. Airspeed was approximately 17.0, which is the target speed for this event.
Those with the top three times advanced to the final; Lester Goldsmith was top qualifier, Scott Matson was second, and Bob Oge was third. Since this event is flown as an Open, young Scott started his entry and I did the flying.
During the final, all three teams had problems. Lester Goldsmith had more airspeed than anyone, but his pilot had a 1/4-lap shutdown and the airplane knocked Lester back, resulting in a long pit that prevented him from winning. Bob Oge had a shutoff failure and overran.
Scott Matson won Quickie Rat, although he had a pit stop that required roughly 10 flips.
This year's TR event was not as heavily attended, but the teams that participated had great weather and great practice. Six rounds of TR were flown during two days, and the three fast times determined the winner. Three teams were close Saturday, but Dick Lambert and I had the quick time of the day. Dick performed double duty; not only did he pit for his usual team of Ballard/Lambert, but he also piloted for me.
Sunday was the day that separated the top four finishers. Kenny Perkins and Lester Goldsmith had good airspeed, but long pits. They also had an engine break during a race; a front bearing failure proved fatal to a good Mazniak engine.
The Ballard/Lambert team showed steady improvement throughout the contest, and it should be in good shape at the World Championships.
Dick and I probably had more range on our entry; it ran with good airspeed and got 38–40 laps all day long.
Going into the last two races, it shaped up to be a showdown among me, Stoo Willoughby, and Ballard for first place. The last two races determined the top three spots; we were separated by only a couple seconds after five races.
Dick Lambert and I were in first place before the last two races, but a poor setting on our entry during the final heat race proved to be our undoing; it took us to third place.
The Ballard entry proved consistent once again, but the Willoughby/Oge entry came through. Stoo and Bob had an outstanding time of 3:19.61, ensuring their first-place finish and posting the quick time of the meet.
This outstanding time was achieved with equipment that Stoo and Bob had not used in the past—a Mazniak airplane and engine, along with a standard Mazniak propeller. That was out of the norm, because Stoo and Bob have made a career of the one-blade propeller; it was quite different to see them using a standard two-blade. Time will tell whether or not they can adapt their one-blade props to the Mazniak setup.
Scott Matson won Fox Racing with a time of 5:46.46. Second went to Pat Matson at 6:17.99, and third went to Bob Oge at 7:03. All contestants ran the Mongoose Fox Racer.
Equipment and Tech Notes
I received one of the "new" Nelson .15 engines. This is an AAC (aluminum-aluminum chrome) front-intake rear-exhaust version, and it has Henry's normal high quality of workmanship.
The engine has a couple new features. A Delrin™ venturi allows for a slight interference fit between the case and the venturi, providing a better seal. The four-bolt backplate features a longer stud for a pressure line, which is quite handy. Internally, porting changes were made in the sleeve and case.
All of this was done to improve the engine's performance, and initial running shows good signs. I have only test-run this engine so far, but results show that it runs at more than 29,000 rpm. Hopefully, better weather will allow me to put this engine in the air to get better propeller data and test results. When I have more information, I will certainly keep you advised of it.
The engine is available in a .21 version, and it should be an improvement compared to previous .21s.
Any serious modeler should have the Model 36 torque wrench from Tork-It in Lilburn, Georgia. This wrench allows you to torque your head bolts down in inch-pounds. This will help prevent warped heads caused by uneven tightening procedures.
For your convenience, I have included recommended torque values and the proper sequence for tightening head bolts, as recommended by Tork-It. If I am removing or replacing head bolts, I use a very small amount of a product called Never-Seez® on the threads to help prevent thread failures. This small investment may save you from mishaps in the future.
Tightening Sequence — Recommended Maximum Torque (Steel screws into aluminum)
- Screw size 2.0 mm: Torque 5–7 in-lb; Socket size 1.5 mm
- Screw size 2.5 mm: Torque 8–12 in-lb; Socket size 2.0 mm
- Screw size 3.0 mm: Torque 12–16 in-lb; Socket size 2.5 mm
- Screw size 3.5 mm: Torque 14–18 in-lb; Socket size 3.0 mm
- Screw size 4.0 mm: Torque 16–20 in-lb; Socket size 7/64 in
- Screw size 4.5 mm: Torque 20–24 in-lb; Socket size 5/32 in
- Screw size 5.0 mm: Torque 22–26 in-lb; Socket size 3/16 in
- Screw size 6.32 mm: Torque 22–26 in-lb; Socket size 9/64 in
Information on tightening head bolts recommended by Tork-It.
Photos and Contributions
If you attend an event, please pass along some information so I may include it in the column. Photos are always welcomed and appreciated. They must be on glossy paper to be used. Please make the photos action shots, such as pitting, flying, etc.
As always, your comments and contributions are appreciated and solicited.
Sources
- Nelson Competition Engines
121 Pebble Creek Ln. Zelienople PA 16063 (724) 538-5282
- Tork-It
1250 Kelvington Way Lilburn GA 30047 (770) 736-0613 www.torkit.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
