Control Line: Racing
MY GOALS in writing this column will be varied and many. Number one will be to constantly remind the readers that regardless of what most of the oldtimers say, control line racing (or any of the individual events) is not dead! Another goal is to provide proof to anyone contemplating entry into control line racing that it is not difficult. The only secret to control line racing is that there are no secrets. You will soon find out that I am Team Race oriented. I am also very interested in preserving and/or improving the AMA events. Most important, I want to provide information of interest and value to beginning racers and active racing teams; this is where you come in. Without the input and support of the oldtimers, and those of you who are currently active, I cannot do it.
Control Line: Racing
The 1989 Nats in Richland, Washington inspired the formation of the Columbia Basin Balsa Bashers in the eastern Washington area. Each year they award trophies to their control line High Point champions. The 1993 Champion is Todd Ryan. Shown in a photo with Todd are Julie Rice, 1993 Junior High Point champion and Joe Rice, 1991 and 1992 Champ. About 60% of Todd's points came through racing competition. Congratulations, Julie and Todd.
Control Line: Racing
IF YOU LIKE SURPRISES, the 1994 AMA Nationals had more than its share. Something exciting happened in every event, and nearly anything that could happen, did-whether it was a surprise entry or someone who didn't enter, an exciting heat or final race, an unexpected winner or loser, or a humorous mishap. Perhaps the biggest surprises were that Paul Gibeault didn't show up, and the Ballard/Lambert/Ballard team still didn't win Mouse I (more on that later). John Ballard wasn't supposed to come up with any new jokes, but surprise-he did! (We all got a kick out of being with JB, which was no surprise.) There were some things that were not surprising. It was supposed to be hot, humid, and windy; it was 95-100ºF, and except for a couple afternoons when the humidity was 25%, it was humid. The winds were a steady 5-10 mph, with some long-lasting stronger winds. It was supposed to be a good flying site, and except for the soft asphalt slurry coat on the rough parking ramp, it was.
Control Line Racing
THE WORLD CHAMPS IS HISTORY. For the first time in twelve years the US Team Racing contingent came away with a team trophy. With individual results of seventh, 11th and 20th, the US Team Racers won third place in the team standings. After a slow start, Jed Kusik and Dave Braun came up with a 3:24 second-heat race that was good enough to get them into the semifinals. After the semifinals they ended up in seventh place. Jed did his usual fine job of pitting and Dave did a super job of keeping the model in the air and completing races against other than super competition. Dave is new to FAI Team Racing and this was his first World Champs. Stoo Willoughby and Bob Oge did their first and second personal-best heat times with 3:27 in the first heat and 3:26 in the second. They sat "on the bubble" in ninth place until Jed and Dave knocked them out of a semifinal spot. They wound up in eleventh place in the individual standings.
Control Line Racing
PROPELLER BALANCING IS ONE of the most beneficial preparatory tasks you can perform. And it's very simple: you just stick the prop on the metal shaft, set it on the razor blades, and wait for the heavy end to go to the bottom. Right? Wrong! To do a correct job of preparing your props for action, you need two pieces of special equipment (a prop pitch gauge and a good prop balancer) and a few small hand tools (prop reamer, files, sandpaper, and a small piece of plate glass). In the next two columns we are going to discuss what it takes to properly prepare racing propellers for competition. There are two itch gauges that are excellent for preparing racing props. The first is the Prather Prop Pitch Gauge, available through your local hobby shop. The second is designed specifically for racing props, and is made by Walt Perkins of Shadow Racing, Inc. (4416 Southwest 4 Place, Ocala FL 32671).
