Control Line: Aerobatics
Wynn Paul
Old-Time Stunt: Those who like to fly in the old-time stunt events or who just want to build one of the veteran airplanes can order plans from OTS advocate John Miske, 415 Clifton Blvd., Clifton, NJ 07013. The following plans are available: Lou Andrews' Barnstormer (Nats winner '50 and '51) $2.75; original Nobler $2.75; Harold Reinhart's 1950 Internationals Stunt Winner $2.75; the rest are priced at $2.50 each: Galloping Comedian, Original Ringmaster, Secret Weapon, Curtiss Swift, Reinhart's El Diablo, and the Upstart. Coming soon: Mars by Bob Palmer, Hotter 'n' That, Easy, Gyrator, Dragon, J. C. Yates' Madman. All plans are sent post paid via 1st class mail. Write John for details on how to set up an old-time stunt event in your vicinity. Plans are restricted to those available or in plans prior to December, 1952; additional points are given for a model without flaps and for a model that uses an ignition plug. John also has the type of stunt pattern to be used in Old-Time Stunt.
Contest With a Purpose: The second Annual Aero-Challenge for Muscular Dystrophy will be held at DeKalb, IL on Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Net proceeds from entry fees of the contest will go to the National M.D. Telethon in progress that weekend. There will be three PAMPA classes: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced-Expert. Trophies and merchandise will be awarded including a Max 35 for Beginner, a C.S.C. foam wing for Intermediate, and a ST 46 engine for Advanced-Expert. DeKalb is about 60 miles south of Chicago. For more info contact Bill Allen, 418 Fairmont Dr., DeKalb, IL 60115; Phone: 815-756-9545.
Kit Plane Comes Out Light: The Sig Chipmunk built by Randy Hancock pictured in the August, 1976 Model Aviation was listed incorrectly as weighing 44 ounces. Randy's Chip weighs in at a very good 38 ounces. Here are some tips on how he achieved this. The only wood replaced was the leading edge 1/16 in. planking, the fuselage top planking, and the 1/4 in. planking. Randy did cut out the ribs, cut out the stabilizer elevators, left off the wheel pants, shortened the landing gear and used a smaller wooden cowl instead of the plastic one in the kit. In changing the cowl, he redrew the fuselage sides on the kit-supplied wood so that the break at the cowl line was 90 degrees with the engine bearers. He modified the front end so that the 4-ounce Hancock Tank (used by Bill Werwage and Wynn Paul in National Competition) is removable. Randy is a good, light builder who knows when to be stingy with the glue and fiberglass. Having finished fifth in the senior division at the '72 and '73 Nationals before taking two years off for a bout with
Control Line: Aerobatics
automobilitis. Randy knows what a good stunt ship needs for competition. So it is possible to build a kit airplane into a light, competitive ship. Incidentally, you can order custom-made fuel tanks in any size and capacity from Randy. The writer has been using Hancock Tanks since 1972 and they are a work of art, for those of us who like sheet-metal art. Randy is a real craftsman and a fantastic sheet-metal man. Cost high and worth it at $10.00 each, postpaid. Write Randy at 541 Columbia, Lexington, KY 40508; Phone: 606-252-8137.
Stiletto Stunt Sold Out: The first run of 300 kits is all sold out according to Dick Mathis of M & P Products. They went like hotcakes. The writer has heard good and lukewarm comments about the wood in the kit, which is usually the prime consideration. The ribs were hand cut and do need some replacing in some instances. Several knowledgeable stunters have suggested that the plane be built around a .45 or .46 engine to compensate for the possible weight that may go to 50 ounces. Use a 1 1/2 in. spinner and you won't be able to tell the difference in engines. The plane has enough square inches of wing area to support the added weight of the bigger engine; besides, then you won't need to add any nose weight. Dick Mathis stated that he will probably start another run on the kit in September or October. Write Dick to urge him to continue producing the kit at Box 338, Lone Oak, TX 75453.
Straightening a Wing: If it finally happens to you that the wing on that new Super XX stunter needs to be de-warped, here are some hints on how to perform this trick. If you have Hobbypoxy or some other finish that is not liable to blister, you can try putting a towel soaked in very hot water over the wing until the joints soften up. Block up the wing about 1/4 in. past the point you want to obtain and let set overnight. The most common method is to use boiling water in a pan on the stove. Wives love this. In the words of Jack Sheeks, "Steam 'em, steam 'em!" Keep a wary eye out for the paint. When the wing feels like it is loosening up, then block it up again with about 1/4 in., or in some cases even 1/2 in. more bend than you want and let it dry out overnight. Some people have used an electric burner to dry out the wing but this involves holding the oven over the burner rather than blocking it up which is the preferred method.
Trimming Hints: Does your plane feel sloppy out on the lines? Try different line lengths—shorter ones should make the airplane feel a little more responsive to your control; longer lines will smooth out the performance a little. Big airplanes are flown on lines ranging from 61 to 68 feet. That is measuring from loop to loop on the line itself. Remember, the lines out of the boxes are not 60 or 70 feet in length. Measure your lines out in the back yard or at the field some day. Thirty-five size airplanes may have lines from 56 ft. up to 64 ft. Gieseke flies at 59 feet; Bob Whitely (several times Nats qualifier) used 62.5 feet on his Miss Kell last year; Tom Dixon (12th in the '75 Nats with a 35-size airplane) used 60 feet lines.
And remember, there are different line spacings you can try by using different flight handles. The popular, small EZ-Just has a spacing of 3 3/8 in., while the large EZ-Just has 5 in. The Control Specialties Adjustable has a 4 3/8 in. spacing. Greater spacing will give you quicker response for the same wrist movement with a smaller handle spacing. You could try the Sullivan handles that have 3 3/8 in. or 4 1/4 in., or the Fox handles that have 3 and 4 in. spacing.
Al Rabe tried rebuilding the small EZ-Just handle for greater response. The writer tried this and came up with a handle spacing of 5 1/2 in. which, if nothing else, assured that full deflection of the elevators and flaps took place when the handle was cranked hard!
And lastly, if you don't have an adjustable or movable rudder, and you have tried adding tip weight until the wing starts to dip going into the inside squares, then try hogging out the engine mounting holes so that you can get some more engine offset. Yes, there are those who will shudder at this, but we are talking about trimming after that bucket of bolts is built. Adding engine offset can help with line tension. At least give it a try for five flights.
—Wynn Paul, 640 Maywick Dr., Lexington, KY 40504.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
