Control Line: Aerobatics
NO SURPRISE: Anyone who has tried to be a Control Line Stunt flier during the past 10 or 15 years will know that most traditional modeling suppliers no longer consider us a viable market. With the bright and shining exception of the people at Sig-and to a lesser, but still appreciated extent, at Sterling, Carl Goldberg, and Top Flite-the industry folk feel there aren't enough of us spending enough bucks to justify continued development of products for our segment of the hobby. Yes, building CL Stunt ships has become an even more specialized pursuit due to the limited resources available to those who wish to pursue the hobby. Were it not for a handful of small specialty suppliers, Stunt might well have gone the way of the dinosaurs. We owe a great debt of thanks to those enterprising individuals who make it possible for us to obtain the kits, engines, and hardware necessary to continue to enjoy Stunt flying.
Control Line: Aerobatics
LET'S FLY our Twister. Are you ready? "Yes." Did you break in your engine? "No." You ain't ready. More than with most others, the nature of the Stunt event demands that proper care be taken of your power plant. Bill Werwage says the engine is about 90% of a successful Stunt setup, and you won't get me to disagree with him. An engine that doesn't perform predictably and powerfully flight after flight will condemn the most carefully designed, built, and trimmed Stunter to also-ran status. The quickest way to ensure that dismal state of affairs is to mistreat the engine when it is brand-new and most susceptible to damage.
Control Line: Aerobatics
LET'S get right back to the Sig Twister project we started last month. One of the major reasons I selected the Twister was its ease of construction. The constant-chord wing (that means all the ribs are the same size) with square tips can be built directly on any firm, flat surface. You've heard it before-and if you ain't I guarantee that you will again-that the single most important part of a Stunt ship is a straight wing . . . and that's the truth! Cover your firm, flat surface with a sheet of that soft composition material that comes in 4-ft. by 8-ft. sheets from a lumber or hardware store. It is firm, about 1/2-in. thick, and accepts pins easily. (The generic term for this is "insulation board." RMcM) Most dealers will cut it to a more convenient size for you if you ask them. Build your wing directly on the plans as described in the kit's full-size plans. (Cover the plans with Saran wrap first to prevent them from becoming part of your wing.)
Control Line: Aerobatics
HI, GROUP! Probably the most consistent complaint I receive on my monthly musings is that the material I cover is too "high-tech." While I don't feel that the CL Stunt column should be considered a beginner's forum, there is nonetheless a lot of merit to those complaints. In response, I have undertaken a project which I at first thought would be a pain in the neck but which has proven to be both enjoyable and educational. I built me a Sig Twister! Most of this and the next two columns will be a fairly detailed coverage of my experiences dealing with Stunt from the viewpoint of a beginner. Using only commercially available supplies and trying to limit a nearly uncontrollable urge to "make things better," I'm going to build, finish, and flight-trim a profile Stunter appropriate for anyone from a beginning pilot (not a rank novice) to an Intermediate or new Advanced flier.
Control Line: Aerobatics
MISCELLANEOUS ramblings. It occurred to me as I struggled to raise my weary bones out of bed and downstairs to my first caffeine transfusion of the day that I'm not the same, starry-eyed youth that I used to be. In fact, I may even qualify as a veteran in this business of flying Stunt as an obsession . . . er, hobby. I attended my first Nats in 1959 as a Junior, fully expecting to be blown away, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could be competitive. Of course, you won't find my name in the archives, as I succumbed to my then-and-future nemesis-engine problems. But, such memories! My dream was to see my hero, Bob Palmer, do a Rambo number on the assorted pretenders to his throne as King of Stunt. He didn't disappoint me as he handily won Open over a large group of competitors. He was flying his new design, the Lark, which was destined to become the second and last version of the Thunderbird. (Last, if you don't count Tom Dixon's Big 'Bird.)
