Humbug '91
OLD-TIMER and Nostalgia events for competitive models have grown to the point where they rival the corresponding contemporary events in popularity. Control Line Stunt is no exception to this trend. The attraction of the old-time (pre-1952) stunt planes is in their unique personalities, since they typically do not offer the performance of present-day contest models. Some Nostalgia stunters (designs more than 25 years old) exhibit performance equal to or greater than present-day models. Such is the case with the Humbug.
A Truly Adjustable Handle
I DEVELOPED THE adjustable U-control handle for control-line stunt flying about seven years ago when I realized there was a need for more precise control than was possible with commercial handles. The adjustable handle is, of course, applicable to any U-control flying when seeking improved flying qualities. You may ask why an adjustable handle is necessary or even useful. Let's look at a typical instance of a control-line stunt plane. In the past, a standard control system was hooked to a commercial handle and we proceeded to trim out the ship. If the response was too fast, we added nose weight and conversely added tail weight if the ship was too sluggish.
Fierce Arrow '86
"AS MY LAST serious attempt to head off the herd of flapped, pretty Stunt models before they turned the event into what it is today, I developed the Fierce Arrow. As I saw it, there were two blatant problems with the trends in Stunt at the time: (1) The troops were letting the tail wag the dog in appearance point scoring, and (2) the maneuvers were deteriorating from the prescribed "rule book dimensions" as the planes picked up painted-on ballast.
