Control Line Navy Carrier - 2011/04
Dick Perry [[email protected]]
Returning Carrier competitors
The Navy Carrier contest in Albuquerque, New Mexico, saw a couple of former Carrier modelers turn out to watch and find the old fires rekindled. Bill Bischoff was back after taking a few years off, and his latest model is a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
The project had been in the works for three years, but Bill decided to finish the Zero after watching the flying at the Albuquerque contest last August. It's good to have him back, and he reports having a good time flying in the event again.
Bill's Zero uses construction similar to his MO-1 and Sniper designs: a balsa fuselage and foam wings with spars. The wing covering is applied directly over the foam. The control system is mounted externally, as is the norm in current Carrier competition, and it is located on the top of the wing.
The slider consists of an open 1/16-inch wire loop with a retractable block to retain the lines in the forward (high-speed) position. When released, the lines move to the rear of the loop because of the aft location of the bellcrank. They are retained there by a wire catch.
Power comes from a Wiley .36 engine with left-hand rotation, burning 10% fuel to avoid damaging the dope finish on the model. Bill's Zero uses an APC 9 x 6P propeller.
He reports that the model has no bad characteristics and is a joy to fly. He won the Dallas, Texas, area contest last fall with a high speed of 84.9 mph, a slow speed of 8.2 mph in gusty winds, and a total score of 295.9.
Bob Hawk is a former Carrier flier who was active in the Albuquerque Thunderbirds some years ago. He observed the event at the Albuquerque contest, as Bill did, and traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, for the Carrier Plus Scale XIII contest. Bob is planning a couple of Nostalgia models for the Albuquerque contest this August.
Bill and Bob — it's good to have you back!
Carrier Plus Scale XIII (Phoenix)
The Carrier Plus Scale XIII contest was flown the last weekend of October in Phoenix, sponsored by the Central Arizona Control Line Club. The weather was as close to perfect as you can get for two days of great flying.
There were 30 entries covering a full range of Carrier events. The most fliers were in AMA Profile Carrier (six entries), and there was one Sportsman Profile entry. Every class of Carrier was flown—AMA, Nostalgia, Electric, .15, Skyray—and there was at least one official flight in each class.
Two of the photos accompanying this report are from this contest.
New kits and upcoming Nats
New Carrier kits are in the planning stages at Jim Snelson's Control Line Central in Albuquerque. Jim is actively working on a kit now, and there is a possibility of additional introductions in the future. Official announcements will come from Jim; watch Control Line Central and the Navy Carrier Society (NCS) Hi-Low Landings newsletter for developments.
The CL Navy Carrier Nats will be flown Tuesday, July 5 through Thursday, July 7. As in 2010, the CL Nats will immediately follow the Scale Nats, so there will be CL activity for nine straight days in Muncie, Indiana.
Event schedule and format:
- Tuesday: AMA Profile and Sportsman Profile (sponsored by the NCS).
- Wednesday: AMA Class I and Class II Carrier.
- Thursday (unofficial events, except Sportsman Profile): Nostalgia (Profile, Class I, Class II), Electric (Profile, Class I, Class II), Skyray, and .15 Carrier (Sportsman and Expert). Electric and glow will compete together in Skyray and .15.
- Thursday evening: NCS annual meeting and awards banquet.
Processing and preregistration:
- Processing for Tuesday and Wednesday events will happen the evening before they are flown.
- Processing for the unofficial classes will take place the afternoon before they are contested if time permits and on Thursday morning until 9 a.m.
- The NCS is encouraging preregistration for unofficial events so scoresheets and computerized scoring programs can be prepared in advance. Preregistration will be handled by NCS Secretary/Treasurer Ted Kraver; details and forms will be published in Hi-Low Landings.
Entry forms for the official events and for obtaining flying credentials for the unofficial events (for those not entering official AMA events) were sent to everyone who entered the Nats last year. There is still time to order forms from AMA Headquarters if you want to enter and haven't received them.
We are still looking for volunteers to assist in running CL Navy Carrier events at the Nats. Positions are available for single days up to all three days, and a small stipend is offered for volunteers who serve full days. If you are interested in serving, please contact Richard L. Perry (contact below).
Sources and contacts
- Control Line Central
Phone: (505) 332-8007 Website: www.clcentral.com
- Navy Carrier Society
- Ted Kraver
225 W. Orchid Ln. Phoenix, AZ 85021 [email protected]
- Richard L. Perry
427 Live Oak Ln. NE Albuquerque, NM 87122
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
