Control Line: Aerobatics
Ted Fancher 158 Flying Cloud Isle Foster City, CA 94404
NO SURPRISE: Anyone who has tried to be a Control Line Stunt flier during the past 10 or 15 years will know that most traditional modeling suppliers no longer consider us a viable market. With the bright exception of the people at Sig — and to a lesser, but still appreciated extent, at Sterling, Carl Goldberg, and Top Flite — the industry feels there aren't enough of us spending enough to justify continued development of products for our segment of the hobby.
Yes, building CL Stunt ships has become a specialized pursuit due to the limited resources available to those who wish to pursue the hobby. We owe a great debt to enterprising individuals who make it possible for us to obtain kits, engines, and hardware necessary to continue to enjoy Stunt flying.
Among those cottage-industry entrepreneurs are a group of individuals who produce Stunt model kits. Kitting a Stunter is a significant undertaking even for an outfit as big as Sig; it is an almost overwhelming endeavor for small independent manufacturers. The resources necessary — time, money, tools, packaging, and marketing — are substantial. To help, several suppliers sent me samples of their wares. I recognized I could provide a valuable service to manufacturers and readers by examining the kits and reporting on them in this column.
This month I review four kits currently available:
- Skyray 35 — Sig Mfg. Co., 401 S. Front St., Montezuma, IA 50171
- Challenger — Galaxie Model Company, Box 4842, Covina, CA 91723
- Control Line Classics (Oriental) — 24981 Nogal St., Moreno Valley, CA 92388
- Forerunner — Custom Models, Dept. 100, 5515 Bridgeton Dr., Arlington, TX 76018
Skyray 35 — Sig Mfg. Co.
The Skyray 35 is a delightful, competent-looking profile, unflapped basic Stunt trainer designed by Mike Pratt (designer of the Sig Magnum). Mike Pratt is also the current National Advanced Class Stunt Champion, flying a Magnum 44. The Skyray fits squarely into the niche long ruled by the Sterling Ringmaster.
Aerodynamics and handling:
- Adequate area and a sound airfoil.
- Modern approach to moment arms (long tail moment) for good stability and smooth inputs.
- Reports from experienced pilots who flew the prototype confirm its suitability as a trainer; powered with a Fox .35 it appears capable of good AMA pattern performance.
Construction and hardware:
- Lite ply ribs and spruce spars provide unusual strength for long life with everyday use.
- Properly faired single-sheath main gear should give good ground handling on hard surfaces and survivability on grass.
- Wood quality is good (not especially tight but appropriate for a trainer).
- Parts are cast, sawed, or die-cut; hardware package includes Sig nylon bellcrank and control horns.
- Decal sheet included and the color picture shows a simple, effective scheme.
Rating: three stars (out of four).
Challenger — Galaxie Model Company
The Challenger is unique among these kits in that the prototype has been flown by many seasoned stunt pilots. It was present at the First Annual Nostalgia Meet and was flown by competitors including George Aldrich, Ed Southwick, Bart Kaplinski, and others. Consensus: an excellent intermediate-level Stunter, capable from first full pattern turns up to Advanced competition.
Specifications and design:
- Fully flapped profile, 565 sq. in.
- Designed for .35 to .46 engines.
- Tail area about 15% of wing area — somewhat small relative to wing and aileron practice, but balanced for developing smooth flying.
- Modern “jet look” styling with forward canopy and swept tail surfaces.
Construction and hardware:
- Wing is built-up C-tube-style and includes gear blocks for wing-mounted main landing gear.
- Fuselage is box-sawn to shape with hard ply doublers for engine mount.
- Hardware includes bushings and wire for flaps/elevators plus Sig nylon bellcrank and nylon horns.
- Wood quality: good to very good; manufacturer states wood comes from Lone Star Hobbies (hand-selected balsa).
Drawbacks:
- Plans only moderately comprehensive; no instruction manual included. Newer builders might miss suggested first-flight notes and a recommended CG (important omission). My rule of thumb: CG about 1¼ in. aft of the leading edge.
- Packaging was too small for the kit contents; my sample was damaged in shipping.
Rating: two-and-a-half stars.
Control Line Classics (Oriental)
The Oriental kit is a re-creation of a 1957 design by D.C. Rice and qualifies for PAMPA Nostalgia Stunt events. The plans show original “Nostalgia-legal” dimensions and a few minor modernizing modifications: enlarged tail area and longer tail moment. Note: original plans showed the inboard wing one inch longer than the outboard panel; the kit plans show equal-span panels.
Specifications and design:
- Full-fuselage, .35-sized Stunter.
- Wing: ribbed, sheeted, cap-stripped, 55 in. span, 550 sq. in. area.
- Classic appearance: constant-chord wing, tapered flaps, large rounded rudder, bubble canopy.
- Pre-bent, full-fuselage-mounted landing gear included.
Construction and hardware:
- Metal Veco-style bellcrank and nicely made steel control horns (horns come unbent to allow bushing installation).
- All pieces sanded to shape; ribs accurately sanded and notched for leading edge and spar (no die-cutting).
- Plans are blueprinted and accompanied by a very comprehensive construction manual — a great plus.
- Packaging is excellent and roomy.
Drawbacks and notes:
- Ribs do not have lead-out holes cut (hint: use a sharpened piece of large brass tubing as a hole cutter).
- Some wood in my sample was marginally heavy; the large solid stab was too heavy to use. Be conscious of excess weight behind the CG — check your parts carefully.
This kit is a good choice for dual-purpose builders (Nostalgia events and contemporary competition) due to its versatility and generally good quality.
Rating: three-and-a-half stars.
Forerunner — Custom Models
The Forerunner from Custom Models is the closest thing to a state-of-the-art, R/C-level, no-holds-barred kit I've seen in the Stunt world. A full-Stunt profile with a number of manufacturing and design innovations.
Construction and materials:
- Precision-cut foam wing with double core in each panel.
- Foam-core stabilizer; elevators are solid balsa.
- Unique interlocking plywood-and-balsa profile fuselage: 1/2-in. balsa aft section joined to a solid nine-ply front end, with ply doublers overlapping the splice. The front end is cut for tank and engine openings; engine and tank are mounted inboard (a Frank Williams idea) for smoother runs.
- Precision-cut plywood parts and beautifully cut foam cores; craftsmanship is obvious.
- Wood ranged from good to excellent; wing sheeting light, flexible, and well grained for airfoil curves.
Hardware:
- Extensive, high-quality hardware package: Sig nylon bellcrank and horns, Du-Bro nylon hinges, adjustable lead-out guide, fiberglass arrow-shaft pushrods with nylon plugs and threaded fittings for adjustability, interlocking pushrods, snap-end tank hold-down wires, and adjustable lightweight box.
Aerodynamics and trimming:
- Tail area 127 sq. in., about 23% of wing area — in the mid-range for pro Stunters.
- Full adjustability in the control system should allow trimming for any competition level.
- Personal note: I might prefer another two inches of tail moment and a slightly longer nose for balance, but that's minor.
Drawback:
- Fiberglass tape to splice the two wing halves was not included. The construction manual does specify the tape is required — do not omit it during build.
Overall, an overwhelmingly superior kit; the four-star rating barely does it justice.
Rating: four stars.
Conclusion and final remarks
Combined with Sig's Magnum and Top Flite's Gieseke Nobler, these kits — Skyray, Challenger, Oriental’s Control Line Classics, and Forerunner — provide a line of aircraft capable of taking a flyer from rank beginner to National Champion. Write to the manufacturers for pricing and delivery, and be sure to say thanks.
Last subject: I write this column with mixed emotions and a bit of a heavy heart. This will be my last column for the foreseeable future. I have been elected President of PAMPA (our national Stunt organization), and to serve that position I can no longer afford the time to continue these monthly ruminations.
I've written the column since May 1984 and it's been a pleasure. Thanks to the hundreds of you who have written over the past five years. I have tried to reply to each of you. I hope the column has been as entertaining and informative for you as it has for me.
Starting next month the pages will be written by Frank McMillan of San Antonio. Frank is an outstanding flier and a superb technician; you'll be wiser campers for reading his monthly forums.
If you can't live without my input, join PAMPA and read the president's column in Mike Keville's PAMPA Stunt News every couple of months. If you fly Stunt and don't belong to PAMPA, you're missing out. Join by writing:
- Tom Morris, Secretary, PAMPA
- 1019 Creektrail, Anniston, AL 36206
Manufacturers / Addresses (recap)
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
