CL Scale
By Bill Boss
77-06 269th St., New Hyde Park, NY 11040
Reading through recent issues of the Indy Sportliners newsletters, I came across a couple of items that are related to one another: flight judging and recovery from bad landing attempts. I've looked at these items with Control Line (CL) Scale in mind, but they might well apply to any type of model flying in which the individual has direct control of the airplane. In addition, it has been quite some time since this column has covered some of the basics of scale modeling. Therefore, I thought the items "Flight Judge's Perspective" by George F. Kite, president of the Indy Sportliners club, and a "Flying Tip" about recovering from bad landing attempts might be helpful to the old-timer and the newcomer to CL Scale activity.
Flight Judge's Perspective
In "Flight Judge's Perspective," George wrote that you've put in the required flight laps, and your model is on the ground. Your flight is almost over. All you need is to go once more around the circle; it's time to relax.
But wait. One of the hardest maneuvers to do well is yet to come: the taxi. Most pilots taxi too fast, well above the "scale speed" for the aircraft type. This is where good throttle control is especially important. Within reason, the slower the better—but taxi with a constant speed. Keeping a constant speed is very important, especially on a windy day when the model is coming into the wind; appropriate throttle adjustments are required to maintain that constant speed. George noted that electronic throttle control is an advantage in this area. Electronic throttle provides good control, and it does not depend on the tension of the lines that might be somewhat slack during a taxi maneuver.
Make sure your model's wheels track the circle without chattering. Walking the perimeter of the circle with your airplane can help. Especially in windy conditions, adjust line tension as necessary to avoid having the outboard wing lifted by the wind. Starting and stopping the taxi maneuver in front of the judges can be a worthwhile touch. Who remembers Ralph Bumstine using a steerable tail wheel to park his aircraft facing the judges at the end of a flight? A smooth taxi as the final maneuver will leave the judges with a good impression.
George went on to discuss getting familiar with your model and the need for practice. He asks the question, "What did the New York cabbie say when he was asked how to get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, brother, practice." Have you ever admired the skill of the stunt fliers? Check out the circles at 5 a.m. before a Stunt contest (especially at the Nationals), and they'll be there — and with people critiquing their flights! A pilot's lack of familiarity with the response of the aircraft to varying conditions, especially wind, becomes painfully apparent to the flight judges.
Many scale fliers worry about practicing with their contest aircraft. Practice with a retired aircraft or build a duplicate of the contest aircraft — but without the super finish and detail. In any case, use the same size (and weight) aircraft, and use the same engine as will be used at the contest to demonstrate reliability. No amount of flying skill will make up points lost to a flight cut short with engine problems. Practice in all kinds of weather. Not being able to handle gusty/windy conditions has brought down many airplanes. If your aircraft is especially sensitive to wind, that's all the more reason to practice. Canadian Bill Logan's World War I biplanes are an example. Flight judges agonize along with the pilots over misjudged maneuvers, poor engine runs, and especially crashes. They're anxious to see scalelike flight performed with a well-finished and detailed aircraft. Don't disappoint them. Build well, practice often, and warm a flight judge's heart.
Touch-and-Go or Bounce-and-Go?
Do you need practice making good landings? Performing the touch-and-go maneuver can be an excellent way to perfect your landing skills. Even the best fliers bring a landing down a little too hard at times, and the inevitable result will be a bounce. The size of the bounce will be in direct proportion to how enthusiastically your airplane meets the runway.
If unattended, the first bounce will be followed by a second bounce. If the second bounce doesn't break the propeller, you might be lucky enough to dribble the airplane to a stop. This type of landing can draw some type of response from the sideline critics and will not be favorable with the judges.
There are, however, a couple of ways you can recover from a bad bounce and still maintain your dignity:
- Maintain full back-pressure on the stick (i.e., full up-elevator) in the hope that there is enough flying speed to cushion the second bounce. If the bounce is more of a high-speed skip, this method should work well. (The same basic principle applies to CL: full up on the handle.)
- Immediately apply power and return to level flight, then try the landing again. A "bounce-and-go" with quick application of power usually results in a more positive recovery.
The best landing procedure is to hold the aircraft off the deck with low power and try "not to land." The airplane will slow down and "sink in" in spite of you, giving you a smooth transition from air to ground. This advice originally appeared in the Central Arizona Modelers newsletter.
George Kite wrote extensively about the taxi maneuver, and the "Flying Tip" covered how to recover from a bad landing attempt, but it did not cover in too much detail how to get that perfect landing. Therefore, I'll add some more about the touch-and-go maneuver, which, if done properly, teaches us how to make perfect landings.
Control Line Scale Flight Judging Guide (excerpt)
"The purpose of touch-and-go landings with full-scale aircraft is to teach pilots how to land and take off. The landing is not complete until the airplane is rolling on all wheels and is under complete ground control by the pilot (steerable tail wheel or nose wheel operating)."
All too often we see the pilot touch the model's main landing gear on the ground, roll a couple of feet, and take off again. A good touch-and-go is made when the pilot brings the model from flight altitude to landing by throttling back a little at a time so that the airplane makes a steady decline to landing speed.
The transition from flight to landing speed should not be rushed. If the model is equipped with retracting gear and flaps, they should be lowered during the transition from flight to landing speed.
The airplane should settle in on the main landing gear and, depending on the type of landing gear, then settle onto the nose wheel or tail wheel. Allow it to roll a reasonable distance without coming to a stop, then take off again. The distance the airplane should roll on all wheels depends on the type of airplane.
If you're at a contest, ask the flight judges what they will expect to see. To complete the touch-and-go sequence, the landing gear and flaps should be retracted after the takeoff and during the climb to normal flight altitude. Flight judges will be looking for the smoothness and precision of the maneuver, and whether or not the landing gear and flaps were properly used.
It's the same with scale-model flying as George noted about the New York cabbie: practice and more practice will perfect your flying.
Please send ideas, notice of upcoming CL Scale events, contest reports, and especially photos of CL Scale activity to me at the address at the very top of this column.
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
