Control Line: Scale
BACK TO BASICS. That is what my predecessor, Dick Byron, stated was a major goal of his for this CL Scale column. I, too, would like to follow that same theme from time to time. In Dick's last column (August 1982) he covered briefly several items that should be considered by a new Scale builder. He mentioned engine cooling, selection of a model, line sweepback, and mounting the bellcrank for the conversion of an RC Scale kit to CL-the item that I would like to discuss this month.
Control Line: Scale
HAVE YOU ever wondered why those fine-line cracks show up in the finish of your model after only a few flights? It could be aging of the finish, bad glue joints, or perhaps a half dozen other reasons. It might also be because of vibration from an improperly-mounted engine. It would seem that a certain amount of vibration is to be expected from all engines; however, we can keep it to a minimum with only a little extra effort during the engine mounting process. There are two basic methods of mounting our engines today: one is to use pre-made mounts that are metal (some with many adjustable parts) or molded composition plastic; the other is that good old standby, hardwood.
Control Line: Scale
NASA news item: In the Summer 1982 issue of Replica, the newsletter of the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA), President Bob Underwood commented on FAI Scale rules and our present method of team selection for world competition. While Bob's comments were directed toward changes in the RC Scale event F4C (which he suggests be proposed by NASA to the FAI via AMA), some of his thoughts might also apply to the CL event, F4B. Bob suggests: 1) Increasing engine size for single-engine models from the present .61 ci (10cc) to .91 ci (15cc); 2) Make the limit on multi-engine models 1.20 ci (20cc) regardless of the number of engines; 3) Change the weight limit from 13.6 lb. for all models to 15.6 lb. for single-engine models and 17.6 lb. for multi-engine models; 4) Eliminate any reference to wing loading; 5) Eliminate bonus percentage for various types of aircraft and mechanical options.
Control Line: Scale
PROFILES in Scale for Juniors: The theme of this month's column was prompted by a letter I received from Reuben MacBride of Clifton, NJ. Reuben, a member of the Garden State Circle Burners, has been an active Scale modeler and competitor for many years. This past year (1982) he introduced his nine-year-old son Steven to the Sport Scale event through the use of a profile version of the Hellcat. In this case, it was a profile kit by Sterling that has earned Steven several trophies in his first year of competition-a great confidence- and experience-builder-and should in time push him toward the full-bodied Scale models.
Control Line: Scale
BASED on your recent letters to me, the December 1982 column on converting an RC kit to CL use appears to have been well received. Your letters were not only very complimentary (I thank you all for that), but also provided me with some ideas for future columns. One of those ideas, "How to control a retractable landing gear system in a Control Line plane," was prompted by James Griffin of Philadelphia, PA. James indicated in his letter that the December article helped him greatly with the conversion of the Royal P-51 RC kit he is now building. However, one of the features he wants to incorporate in this new project is a retractable landing gear, and he asked if I could supply information on the Rom Air system used by Ed Wilowski in the P-47 that appeared in the December column.
