Control Line: Speed
AS I WRITE THIS, a new year is starting, winter has set in, and modelers around here are supposed to be building new airplanes for next year. I could use about three new Speed jobs, so I'd better get busy! Control line is booming, and our club, the Tree Town Modelaires, has almost doubled in size, so it should be a good year. I'll try to cover a variety of topics in this month's column to help prospective competitors. I still get letters and questions from modelers who want to buy or make suitable bellcranks for two-line Speed models. These fliers are interested in .21 Sport Speed or Formula 40. I have three or four different ways to fabricate bellcranks; they all seem to work, and the type I use just depends on how much work I feel like doing. The simplest version is a Perfect #1 bellcrank set - the aluminum one with the large brass center bushing - or a similar type available from several other manufacturers.
Control Line: Speed
THE INCENTIVE to write this column wanes this time of year, as the rain and cold weather mean the end of speed flying around here. Maybe I'll be able to visit some of the Texas and California contests when I retire. Sure do like that warm weather for flying. This is supposed to be a Speed column, so I'll try a new engine review for a change. I like .21 Sport Speed and have several of the older Rossi engines plus a couple other brands. The Rossi seems to be the most competitive at this time.
Control Line: Speed
QUESTIONS-we get questions. Eric Conly, from Clovis, California, sent a letter with several questions about speed model control units, lines, and connectors. The questions are about things I-and other speed modelers-worked out years ago, so we just assume everyone else knows about such things, too. I recently realized that this presumption is not true, of course, and many of you would like to hear about techniques and safety tricks that we use. It sounded like an excellent subject for one column, so here goes.
Control Line: Speed
AS I WRITE this, the Nationals is only two weeks away, so I'm busy filing new props and getting airplanes and engines ready. The new rules requirement for 10%-nitro fuel will necessitate radical changes in propeller size and possibly in engine tolerances, but I haven't had a chance to do any test-flying. I'll test-fly at the Nationals! Recent contests on the West Coast and at Cleveland have shown what kind of speeds we can expect with Class D ships turning near 180 mph. The larger lines in 21 Sport Speed, where 150 mph has already been flown, have not slowed them down as much as did the restricted fuel in D. The fuel for 21 has always been 10%, so little experimentation is needed. Early Class A speeds have also been around 150 mph, but I'm sure speeds will rise this summer after more fliers have competed.
All About Two-Cycle Engines
MODEL fliers today are extremely lucky, since we have such a phenomenal amount of equipment and a number of good engines available for reasonable prices. Engines come in all sizes, and several are sold in versions suitable for RC, control line, free flight, or boats. We can readily obtain a powerplant for anything we wish to build. There are so many engines available, however, that modelers new to the sport are confused when it comes to buying one. Even a few old timers do not understand terms used to describe the newest designs and innovations; terms such as Schnuerle porting, ABC, Dykes rings, ABCD, exhaust timing, squish-band, boost ports, etc. If you know everything about two-cycle engines, there is no need for you to read this article. If, however, you may wish to review the design of our model engines I will try to explain things thoroughly, so that even beginners can understand the differences in various engines available. I will also review the newest engines that have come out in the last couple of years.
