CONTROL LINE SPEED
Dave Mark, Box 371, Fenton MI 48430; E-mail: [email protected]
This month
This month I will write about an event schedule change for the 2004 Nationals (Nats), control units for Speed models, ceramic ball bearings, and the US F2A Team Trials.
The January column about fuel systems generated a large number of orders from modelers wanting Fisher Scientific tubing, according to Barry Tippett of Darp Speed Pans. Barry stated that he received orders from people across the country. I had no idea that so many people were reading the column!
2004 Speed Nats schedule change
The 2004 Speed Nats is scheduled for the week of July 12–16, after the Control Line World Championships at Muncie, Indiana. The event schedule will be the same as last year’s, with the exception of Wednesday and Thursday.
- Formula 40 and .21 Proto will be held Wednesday.
- A, B, and Sport Jet will be held Thursday.
The North American Speed Society (NASS) made this change to schedule the Jet events closer together, as was requested by contestants in 2003.
Control units and bellcranks
The control units we use in Speed have special requirements that rule out many off-the-shelf bellcranks, such as the Perfect line available in most hobby shops. The high pull test and the desire to hook up the lines inside the model to reduce drag create the need for a carefully designed and meticulously made unit.
As with many problems in Speed flying, this one has been solved. Ned Morris of Indianapolis, Indiana (317) 271-1231, is an innovative Speed flier and a strong competitor who has held many records through the years. His most recent record was a 202 mph flight in D Speed. Ned offers a line of bellcranks that cover all of the two-line events from 1/2A Proto to Sport Jet. There are four sizes:
- 1 1/4 inch
- 1 1/2 inch
- 1 3/4 inch
- 2 inch
The exterior of the bellcrank is cut on a CNC (computer numeric control) laser that produces a clean-looking part. All units are made from tough 4130 chrome-moly steel so that they will stand the high pull test that the Safety Code requires. The line attachment pulleys are made from oil-hardening tool steel. They will rotate, thus allowing line attachment to be a single wrap of wire. The pulleys are mounted on posts that are high-temperature silver-soldered to the bellcrank body. The unit’s center pivot point is brass-bushed. I use a #8 building nail for the pivot pin. The nail head will keep the pin from working out of the wing, and they can be cut to whatever length your model requires.
Ned also sells monoline control units. He offers two designs: one for uprights and another for asymmetric models. Each type requires a different location for the pushrod arm. The monoline units are custom built for each event; the number and size of the wires used in the unit are adjusted for each application.
Ceramic ball bearings
Numerous Speed fliers have learned that ceramic ball bearings provide an increase in horsepower and rpm. Ned stocks ceramic balls in many sizes. If a flier sends the bearings from an engine to Ned, he will take them apart and inspect the ball races, then replace the steel balls with the correct-size ceramic balls and reassemble the bearings. Many have found that this creates a set of bearings that runs better than the ceramic sets that other suppliers offer. This method costs less to have front and rear bearings converted than you will pay for one bearing from other sources.
US F2A Team Trials (Cincinnati, September 20–21, 2003)
This year the Control Line World Championships will be held at the AMA site in Muncie, Indiana. The US Team Trials to select a team for the F2A Speed event was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 20 and 21, 2003. The team-selection process in the USA stresses consistency over top speed. There are two rounds flown on Saturday and two rounds flown on Sunday, and the fastest two flights are added. This total determines the competitors’ standings and their places on the team.
Model processing took place at Tom Brown’s house Friday night. Tom and Darlene fed everyone dinner before processing started. Barry Tippett, Ken Barthel, and Bill Lee processed the airplanes, and all were found to be within the rules. There were nine Open contestants and one Junior.
Saturday morning Cincinnati was covered with fog so thick that visibility was roughly 15 feet. The fog did not clear until approximately 10 a.m.—the start time of the first round. During setup that morning, Bill Lee discovered that the electronic timing system that was to be tested during the trials was not functioning. Therefore, all timing had to be done with stopwatches.
Mechanical gremlins held former team members Tom Brown’s and Bill Hughes’ times down. A couple of Tom’s Halman Special .15s blew rods and poked right out the sides of the cases just days before the trials, so he had to use replacement engines that he had not had time to tune. The ceramic balls in the rear bearing of Bill Hughes’ fastest engine disintegrated on his first run. The inside of the engine looked as if it had been sandblasted.
Scott Matson—the only Junior competitor entered—placed official flights in all four rounds. The speed he turned in the first round—271.20 kph (168.52 mph)—set an AMA Senior F2A record. His backup flight was 166.72 mph. This was a strong showing for his first Team Trials. Scott used a Profi engine and model.
Carl Dodge had a two-flight average of 286.75 kph for fourth place, or team alternate. Carl used his own-design, rear-intake engine in his home-built model. He said that he lost his backup model when his dog Sandy sat on the wing during a practice session. The comment was made, "Nothing like a little dihedral to make things more interesting."
Todd Ryan took third place on the team with a two-flight average of 290.25 kph, in spite of equipment problems that plagued him all weekend. On his first flight Saturday in Round One with his number-one model, he turned a time of 284.40 kph.
When test-flying after the first round, Todd discovered a broken pipe and replaced it. When he attempted to fly the model in Round Two, the controls were locked up. The aircraft went over the top of the circle twice. He was able to shut it off and save the engine and propeller by G-lining it. The fuselage and cowl were broken when the model finally hit the ground.
Todd made his second-round backup flight with his number-two model. During that attempt he learned that the model was tail-heavy. He needed every inch of the height pole to turn a time of 286.80 kph.
During testing Saturday evening, Todd’s number-two model tripped out of the dolly, had a shaft run, and destroyed the aircraft and best propeller. That left him with no flyable model for Sunday’s rounds.
With Will Naemura’s help Saturday night, Todd rebuilt his number-one model for the third and fourth rounds. The rebuilt airplane turned Todd’s two best times on Sunday: 292.50 kph and 288.00 kph.
Will Naemura took second place on the team with a two-flight average of 291.40 kph. Will said that when he arrived in Cincinnati earlier in the week to get in a few days of test flying, he discovered that he had left the wrench he used to change his glow plug at home in Oregon. A few telephone calls and overnight express saved the day. He placed an official flight in each round on Saturday.
Will’s speed in Round Two—296.30 kph—was the fastest time ever turned in F2A in the USA. It was also the second-fastest time turned in F2A at a contest in 2003 anywhere in the world. Current World Champion Louis Parramon turned 298.00 kph at the European Championships in July.
Will used a CK engine and a model produced by Sergei Kostin of Russia. The airplane was light and built exactly according to the rules, with absolutely no extra area in the wing or rear stabilizer. Will took a calm, collected, methodical approach each time he went to the circle with his equipment.
It is common for F2A engines to stage three times as they build rpm. Will’s model seemed to stage four times and produced a sound that turned everyone’s head on his second-round flight. With his two-flight average of 291.40 kph on Saturday, Will decided not to fly on Sunday.
Jim Booker took first place on the team with a two-flight average of 291.40 kph. He placed official flights in Rounds One, Two, and Three. His time in Round Two was 291.00 kph, and in Round Three it was 291.80 kph, tying him with Will Naemura. The tiebreaker was to compare the time in the round that was not used in the average. Jim turned a speed of 286.30 kph in Round One, and Will only flew in two rounds. That put Jim in first place.
Jim flew a Profi engine and model. He lost his number-two model in practice but had no problems with his number-one airplane. The fact that he produced fast flights on both days shows that he had an excellent understanding of his equipment and how to tune it.
The tie caused quite a bit of discussion at the trials and for months on the Internet. But, as Bill Lee reiterated, the Team Trials placing is determined by the average of the best two flights, and the tiebreaker is the next fastest flight.
Thanks and event personnel
The fliers and NASS thank the Queen City U-Control club for holding the Team Trials at its field. Roles and contributions included:
- Barry Tippett: Event director; supplied all timing watches and pull-test gear.
- Ken Barthel: Manned the binoculars to call in/out of the pylon.
- Al Stegens: Called laps for the timers and timed.
- Other timers: Dave Cotton and Larry Tenover.
- Bill Lee: Fédération Aéronautique Internationale jurist; used a computer program he wrote to compile all flight data.
- Bob Taipale: Tabulating and paperwork.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
