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
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
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
PAMPA LIVES! I am pleased to announce that after a number of months of internal restructuring during which time the survival of our Control Line Stunt special interest organization was sometimes in doubt, PAMPA (the Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots Association) has successfully aligned many longtime leaders and some new ones into a hardworking and talented group of people who will bring PAMPA clearly back into the forefront of special interest groups. Tom Dixon, of Atlanta, Georgia, has just been elected to serve as president of PAMPA. Tom, an outstanding competitor and an accomplished businessman in his own right, has the combination of modeling knowledge and administrative acumen to provide the leadership which will be necessary to steer the group through the next couple of years.
Control Line: Aerobatics
HI THERE, boys and girls. Here it is, springtime at last. The snow is gone, the grass is green, and the time is right for flying that new creation which you spent all winter perfecting. I'll bet you're all just sitting expectantly around your batteries and fuel cans waiting for some pearls of wisdom to drip from the prolific pen of old "Fast-Lip" Fancher-words that'll give you that extra edge to make you a champion. Right? Wrong, nitro breath! It may be spring when you get your hands on this, but while I'm putting it out it is halfway between Christmas and New Years, I've just returned from a flight on good old United Airlines that allowed me to visit Chicago's O'Hare Airport right in the middle of a huge snowstorm that brought the entire country to its knees, my credit cards are all warped from Christmas shopping overload, my tax man is wringing his hands in anticipation, and my daughter just totalled her little Toyota. Guys, I'm flat out of pearls of wisdom . . . or of anything else.
