Control Line Scale
Bill Boss [[email protected]]
A detailed look at Joe Eiben’s Miss Los Angeles Thompson Trophy racer
The Miss Los Angeles air racer is one of Joe Eiben’s (Towson, MD) old-time models brought up to date. This scratch-built airplane won the TRW-sponsored air racing division at the 1987 National Model Plane Show held in Cleveland, Ohio.
According to Joe, the Thompson Ramo Wooldridge (TRW) Corporation initially started as the Thompson Company. It sponsored the full-scale Thompson Trophy Races during the 1930s.
At its pinnacle the National Model Plane Show had more than 700 model airplane entries competing for trophies in more than 40 categories. The static competition ran for decades in Cleveland with the support of local newspapers and many aviation-based events.
TRW had an automotive division in Cleveland. When asked to participate in the show, it decided to present a trophy in the air-racing category to honor the company’s key role in early aviation.
Lawrence Brown built the Miss Los Angeles (one of several Brown racers) for the 1934 Thompson Trophy Race. It featured a bright-red finish and had a 300-horsepower Menasco engine, which took it to a speed of 234.14 mph in the Shell Speed Dash that year.
Miss Los Angeles finished second in the Thompson Trophy Race in 1934. The airplane and the pilot were lost in 1939 when Lee Williams stalled at the first pylon in the race.
Joe updated his model in 2006 with flaps coupled to low-speed throttle and a unique way of mounting the McCoy .35 RC engine. To fit the engine inside a cowl that measured just less than 1-1/2 inches wide, he machined off the existing standard side mounting lugs.
He mounted the engine to a 1/4-inch plywood bulkhead using the four tapped threads of the engine that are normally used for mounting its backplate. Joe removed the existing short engine backplate screws, added aluminum spacers (as shown in one of the accompanying photos), and completed engine mounting with long screws passing through the spacers and into the engine.
He snugged all the threads with Loctite. The aluminum spacers also provided clearance for the fuel lines and clunk-tank fittings.
This mounting method allowed the engine to be completely enclosed with a cowl that is only 1-1/2 inches wide and meets the rules governing engine mounting in profile models. The cowl is made from rolled 1/32-inch sheet aluminum with a balsa nose and bottom.
The Miss Los Angeles has a wingspan of 52 inches, is covered with MonoKote, and is finished with vinyl for the lettering and graphics. The ready-to-fly weight is 48 ounces, and Joe notes that the model is fully aerobatic. The completely enclosed engine certainly gives Miss Los Angeles a fine scale appearance. It is a great example of what can be done using imagination, ingenuity, patience, and considerable work to improve a model’s appearance.
Also included in this column
- 2007 USA FAI Scale Championships reminder
- Scale documentation sources
Scale Competition Reminder
Don’t forget about the 2007 USA FAI Scale Championships that will be held at AMA’s National Flying Site in Muncie, Indiana, under the direction of the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) with support from AMA. The competition will take place Thursday, September 20 through Sunday, September 23.
This event will offer great monetary prizes, from $2,000 for first place to $500 for fifth place in FAI F4B (CL Scale) and F4C (RC Scale). In addition, it will determine who will be on the CL and RC Scale teams that are to represent the US at the Scale World Championships in Poland in 2008. All you scale modelers, don’t miss out on a great opportunity for cash prizes and a place on the US Scale team.
CL Junior Team Selection
The CL Junior Team Selection for the 2008 Scale World Championships will take place at the AMA Nats, August 3–5, in Muncie. The three highest-placing AMA Junior or Senior competitors who fall within the FAI age requirement will go to Poland. According to FAI rules, “A competitor is considered to be a Junior up to and including the year in which he attains the age of 18.”
The Junior F4B Team Selection Program is not currently funded by AMA. The cost of any US Junior participating in Poland in 2008 will be his or her responsibility. Any AMA Junior or Senior who meets the FAI age requirement and is interested in participating should go to the NASA web site at www.nasascale.org, where information about FAI rules can be obtained. I hope there will be some success with this Junior CL Team Selection Program and that it will be a step toward the development of the program.
Scale documentation sources
New documentation for models is something scale builders are always seeking. As a gift I was recently given two books I believe can provide fine information about many prototype airplanes. They would be a good addition to any modeler’s aircraft library. They have a heading of “The Aviation Factfile” and are Concept Aircraft and Aircraft of World War II.
Concept Aircraft provides information about many unusual and experimental aircraft. Among the more than 100 featured are the X-1 rocket research aircraft, the American XB-70 supersonic bomber, and the German Junkers Ju 287 bomber prototype of a World War II jet that had wings swept forward instead of backward.
Aircraft of World War II covers more than 120 of the most important aircraft flown by all countries engaged in aerial combat during the war. It includes such great fighters as the P-51 Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire, Messerschmitt Bf 109, MiG fighters, and Ki-43 Hayabusa “Oscar.” The book also contains many of the great bombers of World War II.
Each book has more than 250 pages and illustrations of 100 or more aircraft. All are shown in two-page spreads that contain several photos and feature boxes outlining the development, technical specifications, performance data, and variants.
The books are edited by Jim Winchester. He is the author of many aviation-oriented books including Fighters of the 20th Century, Classic Airliners: Lockheed Constellation, and Combat Legends: A-4 Skyhawk.
The books are issued by Thunder Bay Press. They can be found and acquired at www.thunderbaybooks.com. When exploring the web site I found two more Aviation Factfile books: Modern Military Aircraft and Civil Aircraft. I intend to add them to my library.
Each book costs just less than $18, and they make great additions to anyone’s documentation. They might also provide the scale modeler with some ideas for their next project.
Submissions
Please send ideas, notice of upcoming CL Scale events, contest reports, and especially photos of CL Scale activity to me via e-mail at the address at the top of this column or by regular mail to:
77-06 269th St. New Hyde Park, NY 11040
Remember that 35mm film photos are okay to use, and digital photos must be submitted on a CD.
Keep all your landings good. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
