Control Line: Aerobatics
CONTINUING the engine craze that has been present for the last two or three years, the latest news is that the Enya .49 engine can be used for Stunt successfully. This big engine (12 oz.) has more power than the OS Max .45, according to Bill Simons who switched to it after his eighth place finish in the 1980 Nats. Bill Werwage is also experimenting with the Enya. "Simo" reported that he did not do anything to the engine except disassemble it to clean it out and check the ring gap-it was about .005-.006, which is a little loose, but seems to work. He then proceeded to put in a .280 venturi and a ST .60 needle valve assembly. After breaking the engine in with about a gallon of fuel, he went flying with a 13 3/4 × 6 prop. Using a uniflow tank on pressure and a Bobby Hunt-type muffler, the engine burned about 7 to 7 1/2 oz. of fuel to get through the pattern. He was using 12% nitro in a plane that weighed about 56 oz. and had 720 sq. in. of wing.
Control Line: Aerobatics
EVERY YEAR at the National Model Airplane Championships, there is the same grumbling-which usually is divided into about six categories: (1) "The judging is poor." (2) "I didn't qualify because my circle was tough, and two other circles had only three good fliers; it was the fault of the drawing procedure for circle assignments." (3) "The CL fliers get the worst pick on sites-look at Wilmington, for instance." (4) "The same fliers always win." (5) "We ought to have categories at the Nationals, like PAMPA categories." (6) "We ought to do something about all of this."
Control Line: Aerobatics
TWO ITEMS of major interest to Stunt fliers lead off this month. First, the 1981 Nationals which will be held near San Antonio, TX needs volunteers to work our event. Event Director Bill Howe, 7769 Mary Lou Way, Sacramento, CA 95832, (916) 421-8866, is eagerly seeking judges, recorders, scorers, pit bosses, pull testers, site preparation persons, etc. to work at the Nationals. And, at this writing, he also needs an Assistant Event Director. All those people who have asked the writer what they can do for PAMPA can do something by volunteering to work at the Nationals! Call or write Bill. Second, John Poynter is still making foam wings. He moved up to a more demanding job (that is, a real job), but he insists that he will still be producing his fine wing, although a little slower than in the past. Contact John at 10261 Janice Lynn, Cypress, CA 90630 for information on sizes and prices.
Control Line: Aerobatics
WHAT'S in a name? Are you trying to think up a name for your latest creation on the boards? Instead of calling it, "My red-white-blue Stunt ship," come up with a super creative name . . . something like "The Stunt Machine (Gene Schaffer's plane in early '70's). In this writer's never-ending battle to find time to write a complete history of Stunt, there is a whole folder with articles on Stunt ships and Precision Aerobatics going back to 1940. Throwing in some planes that never really appeared in construction articles but will ring a bell with some of the "Old Time Stunt" guys, let's run through a bibliography of Stunt planes from time zero. Oh yes, there are bound to be some left out-so keep those cards and letters coming.
Control Line: Aerobatics
REMEMBER the guy with the beer barrel airplane? You know, the guy who preached, "Horsepower conquers everything, including a Nobler and Genesis." Well, listen to what he is trying now: how about a semi-scale (shucks, it's almost full-scale, at least in the fuselage) Mark 24 Spitfire that is all fiberglass! Yes, the one and only Al Rabe, runner-up in the 1978 World Championships and National Champion three times, is attempting to build a Stunt plane using fiberglass cloth construction for all the parts: fuselage, wing stabilizer, elevators, rudder, etc. He is making molds for all of the component parts in hopes of being able to mass produce, for himself, a full Stunt plane in 150 hours of building. The molds would feature such detail work as flush rivets, raised panel lines, etc., in three colors, no less! The plane will have a removable wing and tail. Al is trying two different types of retracts for the Mark 24: electric and pneumatic-one type in each of two prototype wings.
