Control Line: Combat
GET STARTED on those 1/2A Combat models so you can fly at the Nationals this year! Rich Lopez and Steve Hills will run the event after Junior/Senior Fast Combat on Thursday. All age groups fly together in the double-elimination tournament using AMA Fast Combat procedures. Lines must be .012 by 35 ft. (braided), and engine size is either .049 or .051. Entry fee will be $3.00 ($2.00 in the MACA Newsletter), with all excess monies going to the FAI Team Fund. Last year the prizes included five TD .049s, boxes of Cox Competition props, and cards of glow plugs-all courtesy of Cox Mfg. Rich and Steve are hard at work getting sponsorship for this year's event. Last year, Bud Bodzioch won using a blend of skill, model performance, and luck (well, two out of three isn't bad).
Control Line: Combat
AFTER many years of promising, I finally made it up to the Northwest Regionals in Eugene, OR over the Memorial Day weekend. For many of you who do not travel to out-of-town contests, let me tell you what you're missing. Getting there is half the fun, so we drove the 1,100 miles with five of us in a Datsun King Cab pickup truck. All five of us were in the cab, because the back was totally filled with models and equipment. The ride was uneventful, but you can add some excitement if you take a car that isn't too dependable. We spent Friday afternoon practicing and meeting all the people we'd read about. I found out that Rich Porter really does exist and is a bonafide eccentric/genius. He's going to do an article in Model Aviation soon that should be really great.
Control Line: Combat
THE MINIATURE AIRCRAFT COMBAT ASSOCIATION (MACA) announced a dues increase, effective immediately. MACA dues for the U.S.A. and Canada will be $9.00 per year, and foreign will be $15.00 per year. MACA is once again under the leadership of Gary Frost, who was at the helm when MACA had nearly 500 members. Gary promises an "on-time" newsletter, an updating of the Top Twenty Combat Pilots, and more of a MACA leadership role in matters such as rules changes and the Nationals. Send MACA dues to: Jordan Segal, 8314 W. Oak Ave., Niles, IL 60648.
Control Line: Combat
I'VE HAD a lot of requests for pictures and dimensions of the model used by Dave Wallick at the Team Trials. Dave had several slightly different variations, but the one in the picture had a 42-in. span, 17-in. chord, 7-in. tips, 1 1/8-in. thick airfoil. The "bird's eye" photo should give you a pretty good idea of the general shape of things. The airfoil appeared to be flat to about the 50% mark. I understand that the leading edge on the real Russian models was molded, but you could use the commercial variety. The original models were very light-something under 12 oz. ready to fly. Dave didn't have the lightweight motors used by the Russians, and his models were more solid, so flying weight was 14-16 oz. Note the aluminum pushrod used for lightness and rigidity, plus the barely visible hard tank that reportedly weighed 1/4 oz.!
Control Line: Combat
I RECEIVED some very nice products from Dick Tyndall (aka Virginia Craftsman, Inc., 348 Argyll Circle, Highland Springs, VA 23075). Dick sent along a tank he makes for Slow Combat which is based on the Fox wedge tank with a Perfect tank soldered on as a chickenhopper. Dick says that the stock baffle is retained in the Fox tank, and the vent line goes through this into the Perfect tank, which has one 1/8-in. hole in each end inside the baffled part of the Fox tank. Got that? The tank holds 3 2/3 oz. of fuel (which should get you most of the way through a match) and is 2 1/2-in. long, weight is 13/4 ounces. Price $12.50. The tank should be mounted 1/4 in. above the center line of the needle valve. The bias in mounting is to keep the engine from going slightly rich during outside maneuvers. The 1/4-in. recommendation is not engraved into stone. If your engine still goes rich on outsides and runs leaner on insides, then go ahead and move the tank even higher. Rear-exhaust engines will probably not require any bias at all. Actually, if you're running a rear-exhaust engine, you've probably figured all this out eons ago.
