Control Line: Aerobatics
Ted Fancher 158 Flying Cloud Isle Foster City, CA 94404
Howdy, guys and gals. Welcome back to another few doses of stunt stuff. I've had a number of interesting items come across my desk lately, and now might be a good time to pass them along. First up, a list of new products that promise to be very helpful to the flier.
Craftsman Models — Finishing Friend
Craftsman Models, Inc., 1311 E. 161st Street, Westfield, IN 46074, sent an example of a really great device for simplifying the task of handling a cumbersome Stunter while under construction — a well-made "third hand" called the Finishing Friend.
- The Stunter is attached to a 1/4‑in. aluminum plate via the motor-mount bolts.
- The plate bolts to a circular, threaded aluminum block which rides on a large threaded rod.
- That rod is attached to a second aluminum block that bolts to a bench or movable stand.
- When assembled, the Finishing Friend holds the Stunter securely and allows 360° rotation about the roll axis, greatly simplifying fillets, sanding, doping, masking, spraying, and any task done with the aircraft fully assembled.
Price: $29.95 including postage and handling from Craftsman Models. They indicated more control-line products are forthcoming.
Jennings Trophy Sales — Event-Specific Awards
Jennings Trophy Sales, #13 Walton Mall, P.O. Box 1121, Hendersonville, TN 37075 (tel. 615-822-0857) offers attractive wall-plaque awards specially designed for modeling events.
- Simulated-walnut plaques with engraved lettering on black brass.
- Large brass facings etched with pictorial representations of the model, event, or modeler in action (very recognizable designs).
- Proprietors Jim and Mary Jennings are longtime modelers who seem to understand what competitors want when they step up to the victory stand.
Wall plaques are an attractive alternative to the usual trophies and save shelf space.
Windy ("Mr. Pro Stunt") Urtzowski — Handles and Bellcranks
Windy Urtzowski has been producing a handmade control handle and recently added a four-inch Delrin bellcrank.
Handle:
- Attractive concave-oval clear finish on light-grained wood, available in large and small sizes.
- Adjustable line spacing from 3/4 in. up to 5 in. Neutral adjustment via a screw clamp on a 1/16‑in. stainless steel cable.
- The small version fits comfortably in the hand; one minor inconvenience is trimming and rethreading the cable when changing line spacing (requires re-crimping the cutoff end).
Bellcrank:
- Four-inch T-shaped Delrin crank pivoting on a 3/32‑in. music-wire axis (held by two brass eyebolts soldered above and below the pivot).
- Lighter than typical 8-32 bolt pivots and strong for its weight, though only one pushrod location is provided (1/4 in. from the pivot), which limits sensitivity options for some users.
Contact Windy at 9 Union Ave., Little Ferry, NJ 07643. Phone: (201) 440-0905.
Vintage Control Line Kits — Ron Petricek
Ron Petricek of Vintage Control Line Kits is marketing European-style old-time stunt kits, including the Mercury Monitor, Martin, and deBolt Bipco (moderate-size, ~200–300 sq. in., late 1940s–early 1950s designs).
- Excerpts from a 1950 Aeromodeller ad for the Mercury Musketeer boast "speeds up to 80 mph, fully acrobatic, prefabricated hollow-log fuselage" and describe a streamlined low-wing monoplane with detachable wing and concealed wires.
- The deBolt Super Bipe claims "speeds up to 100 mph and sufficient stuntability to perform all inverted-flight maneuvers."
Contact: The Mill, Ash Priors, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton, Somerset, TA4 3BQ, England.
A-J's Free Flight Service — Replicas, New Kits, and the Irritation
A-J's Free Flight Service (4840 E. Leisure, Fresno, CA 93727; tel. (209) 255-2422) continues to produce high-quality replica kits and new releases.
- Past replicas: All American Sr., Ringmaster, P-51, Yak 9 (high standard of finish; the author won an OTS Concours d'Elegance with an All American at the 1987 Nats).
- New: Russ James is finishing a replica of Lew Andrews' Barnstormer — if it matches earlier offerings, expect high quality.
- New small kit: the Stork, a 1/4A profile Stunter by Duane Stork, resembling a miniature Nobler and using a side-mounted Tee Dee. The original flies well.
- The Irritation: a late-1970s design by the author is being kitted. The first run is to include pre-cut foam cores for the wing (unsheeted), sanded and sawn (not die-mashed) high-quality balsa, a fuselage-mounted aluminum gear, and a complete hardware package. Minor aerodynamic changes were made to improve workability for kit builders.
The Irritation is noted as an easy airplane to fly very well and was the only profile to reach the final-five flyoff at the Nats in its original form. A .35‑powered version may be considered in the future.
Northwest Regional Control Line Championships
If you live west of the Jersey dales line, you've probably heard of the Northwest Regional Control Line Championships at Shelton Airport in Eugene, OR. John Thompson of the Eugene Prop Spinners reports this year's meet looks to be the biggest and best yet and they've issued a special invitation to Precision Aerobatics fliers. Expect full details from the Eugene Prop Spinners as the event approaches.
Notes and Briefs
- Valentin Salonek: The World Championship–winning Russian Stunt team flew an innovative Stunter that disassembles into seven major components. Valentin ranked ninth individually at the Pécs, Hungary competition.
- Chuck Holtzapple: His fabulous biplane Stunter was shown uncovered previously; it's now ready for painting. Power is an ST-60.
- Mike Cooper (Andover, NJ): Built a beautiful Gee Bee Sportster–inspired Stunter; aside from the cowling, the entire finish looks factory-like.
That's it for now — more bits and pieces as they come in.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
