Control Line Speed - 2004/04

164 MODEL AVIATION
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 amount 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!
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, and 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.
The control units we use in Speed have
special requirements that rule out many of the
off-the-shelf bellcranks, such as the Perfect
line available in most hobby shops. The high
pull test and desire to hook up the lines inside
the model to reduce drag create the need for a
carefully designed and meticulously made
unit.
As have many problems in Speed flying,
this one has been solved. Ned Morris of
CONTROL LINE SPEED
Dave Mark, Box 371, Fenton MI 48430; E-mail: [email protected]
Will Naemura and Todd Ryan used CK .15 engines at the September F2A Team Trials in
Cincinnati OH. Sergei Kostin of Russia produces these power plants.
Jim Booker’s model is processed for competition. Left to right
are Jim, Barry Tippett, Ken Barthel, and Bill Lee.
The 2004 US F2A team (L-R): alternate Carl Dodge, Junior Scott
Matson, Todd Ryan, Jim Booker, and Will Naemura.
Indianapolis, Indiana ([317] 271-1231), is an
innovative Speed flier and a strong competitor
who has held many records throughout 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, and there are four
sizes: 11⁄4 inch, 11⁄2 inch, 13⁄4 inch, and 2 inch.
The exterior of the bellcrank is cut on a
CNC (computer numeric code) 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’s 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.
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, and then
he will replace the steel balls with the correctsize
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.
This year the Control Line World
Championships well 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
April 2004 165
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, or 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
166 MODEL AVIATION
dihedral to make things more interesting.”
Todd Ryan took the third place on the
team with a two-flight average of 290.25
kph, in spite of the 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 GLining
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: a 292.50 and a 288.00 kph.
Will Naemura took the 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 also proved to be the
second fastest time turned in F2A at a
contest in 2003 anywhere in the world.
Current World Champion Louis Parramon
April 2004 167
turned a 298.00 at the European
Championships in July.
Will used a CK engine and 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 the 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. That tied him with Will
Naemura. The tiebreaker was to compare the
time in the rounds 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 a fast
flight 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.
The fliers and NASS thank the Queen
City U-Control club for holding the Team
Trials at its field. Barry Tippett acted as the
event director and supplied all of the timing
watches and pull-test gear. Ken Barthel
manned the binoculars to call in or out of the
pylon. Al Stegens called laps for the timers
and timed. Other timers were Dave Cotton
and Larry Tennover. Bill Lee acted as the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale jurist
and used a computer program that he wrote
to compile all of the flight data. Bob Taipale
did the tabulating and paperwork. MA