Author: Dick Perry
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/01
Page Numbers: 135,136
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Control Line Navy Carrier

Dick Perry [[email protected]]

New models at the 2010 AMA Nats

In the last column I promised to include information about the new Carrier models that were flown at the Nats this past summer.

There were five new designs in the Nostalgia events. Burt Brokaw had a couple of Jim Womack designs from the early 1970s. Not only were they Jim’s designs, but they were models that he built and Burt refurbished for competition.

Burt entered a Grumman Guardian in Class I. Spanning 31 inches, it was slightly larger than the Bill Netzeband Guardian from 1962. The Guardian was built from published plans, but specific information about that airplane has been lost after nearly 40 years. Burt used a K&B .40R engine for power.

Burt’s other entry was Jim’s profile T-28, which is now flown with a Thunder Tiger .36 engine.

In addition to the diminutive Domizi Guardian that Ted Kraver entered in Class I, he flew a 32-inch-span Curtiss F6C Hawk biplane in Class II that Marvin Martinez originally built. Power was provided by an O.S. .60 Gold Head engine.

Everett Shoemaker entered Class II Nostalgia with a new Nakajima C6N1 Myrt that Roland Baltes designed and had published. It was featured in the May 1976 Model Aviation. The 35-inch-span model weighed 53 ounces and was pulled around by a K&B .61 engine.

In Nostalgia Profile Carrier I entered my A-4P Skyhawk design from the April 1973 American Aircraft Modeler. It flew with a SuperTigre ST .35 engine. Roger Edwards originally built that particular Skyhawk.

This year there were more entries in Nostalgia at the Nats than in any year prior. The competition was great, even though some contestants elected not to fly because of the wind.

I mentioned Jo Shoemaker’s new Fi 167 in the previous column, but Everett Shoemaker also had a new model: a Fairey Fulmar for the electric-power Class II Carrier event. The updated version is based on his glow-powered Fulmar design.

Everett’s updated aircraft has 315 square inches of wing and a 43.5-inch span. He powered it with an E-flite Power 46 outrunner motor driven by a Thunder Power five-cell, 3850 mAh Li-Poly battery and managed by a Castle Creations Phoenix 60 ESC.

I’ve mentioned quite a few models this month. I’ve also shortened the text to allow for an additional photo, but I can’t include pictures of all of the aircraft. You can see those that are not shown here in the July 15 edition of NatsNews, which you can find on the AMA website.

Electronic throttle control

Electronic throttle control has been a reality in RC for decades, and it is more recently catching on in CL. The possibility of electronic control of a conventional glow engine in Carrier models is real with a few control systems.

Sources:

In previous columns I’ve written about the U/Tronics units that Clancy Arnold has available. He designed the single-channel U/Tronics systems to be installed in the aircraft with the resistor at the handle. Motors don’t require a servo as glow engines do, because the U/Tronics (or any other control system) can drive the power plant’s ESC directly.

John Vlna has been experimenting with lightweight electric-powered CL designs and has recently been applying his experiments to small electric Carrier models. By small I mean with about 150 square inches of wing area, so they fit into the .15 Carrier class.

Where John’s models differ from other .15 Carrier airplanes is in weight; his come in at less than a pound ready to fly. Every fraction of an ounce counts at those weights, so John has moved as much bulk off of the models as possible.

He puts not only the resistor, but also the batteries and the U/Tronics control system in the handle. The signal to control the ESC goes through the insulated lines. With only the ESC to control and no servo, there is no need for a “receiver” battery—only the primary power battery.

John has summarized his work in the October issue of the Navy Carrier Society’s High-Low-Landing newsletter. If you aren’t a member, you can join and receive the newsletter by contacting Secretary-Treasurer Ted Kraver at the addresses listed above.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.