Control Line: Aerobatics
Frank McMillan 12106 Gunter Grove San Antonio, TX 78231
AS I WRITE, it's fiesta time in San Antonio! The weather is absolutely gorgeous. It's certainly well worth the vacation for anyone to spend the time experiencing the culture and the people of south Texas. But it's also get-ready-for-the-Nationals time, and that's coming up early this year because of site availability at Westover AFB, Massachusetts.
As with everyone in my area, when I'm ready to paint the humidity is 90%—and when work permits flying, the wind is above 20 mph. But I guess this is no different from what happens to the fliers in New England, where the weather will probably jump from winter to summer. We Texas fliers are looking forward to a great week in Massachusetts—especially the super hospitality of all the area volunteers!
As I've said before, now is a great time to be modeling, because so much is available in terms of products and information. This month I'd like to focus on just a few of the cottage industries that give us such great support.
T&L Specialties (Tom Lay)
The first entrepreneur is Tom Lay, who runs T&L Specialties. I've been remiss in the past for not mentioning Tom in the column, because he has supported our branch of the modeling sport for many years. Tom is an engineer by day and runs his T&L business by night. Many of those nights are spent providing one-day turnaround on his products.
Providing quality Stunt engines is a large part of Tom's business. Tom states that he has done over 400 engines to date for Precision Aerobatics fliers all over the world, including Walker, Casme, Fancher, Whitely, Klapinski, Adkisson, Minato, and others. An impressive list!
If you have thought about obtaining any of the following engines, you should move fast:
- SuperTigre .60
- SuperTigre .51
- SuperTigre .46
- O.S. .35
- McCoy .40
- T&L .40 (O.S. .35 bottom end, SuperTigre .46 top end)
- O.S. Max VF40/46
One accessory I really like is the dry-transfer (rub-on) letter sheet that Tom has designed and manufactured. It has many of the words and phrases normally used on our Stunt planes and can save you lots of time. Tom guarantees fresh sheets, and I can vouch for that—the only transfers I've been able to get to work as advertised. I recommend them highly.
Tom offers two groupings of accessories: his own line and an array from Firecracker Products made in Australia by Brian Eather. As with Tom's entire line, these are excellent products. Tom's line features control system components such as:
- 1/4-in. Delrin bellcranks
- 1/8-in. wire horns
- Adjustable lead-out guides
- An airplane-holding fixture that allows you to mount the craft to your workbench, freeing both hands to work on it
- The aluminum 3-1/2-in. full-fulcrum circular bellcrank developed by Ted Fancher and manufactured by John Schwickrath
Firecracker Products offers a fine list of goodies that will make building your latest a real pleasure. These items are all handcrafted and of the highest quality. Some items, such as bellcranks and control horns, are similar to Tom's accessories but of different design and matched to perform together.
Highlights from Firecracker Products:
- Fiberglass wheel pants in three different designs—light, easily attached to most landing gear, and superb in finish (highly recommended)
- Carbon fiber three-bladed propellers in a limited range of diameters and pitches that match most popular large engine sizes and facilitate fine-tuning performance
For more complete information and pricing, contact: Tom Lay T&L Specialties P.O. Box 6052 Torrance, CA 90504 Telephone: (310) 769-4935 Tom promises that an SASE will get you a free catalog mailed the same day.
Tom Dixon — Kits and Modified Engines
Tom Dixon has announced that he is now personally cutting his own line of kits rather than using an outside supplier. Current designs in the line include:
- Thunderbird II
- 1952 Nobler
- 1957 Nobler
- Ruffy
- Skylark
- Black Tiger
- Dauphin
- 38 Special (bipe)
- Charisma (Tom's own)
New additions planned include the Chief Version Z and the real, corrected, authenticated Smoothie per Bob Palmer and Don McClave. (The original Veco kit of the Smoothie was changed significantly — the fuselage was shortened, etc. — so very few examples ever flew as well as Bob Palmer's original.)
Tom is also planning another modern Stunter to match the midsized trend. The new design, Stylus, is based on the scaled-down version of World Champion Zhang Xiang Dong's airplane. It will have an approximately 600-sq.-in. foam wing by Aerosmith and is intended for .40- to .46-size engines. The Stylus should be available sometime this summer.
All kits are produced from selected Lone Star balsa and cut to order. Hardware is all Sig or All-Sullivan, whichever is best for the particular model. Tom feels that producing the kits himself will guarantee much more control over quality of fit and wood selection.
Tom also modifies engines for Stunt work, concentrating on a practical approach at moderate prices. His latest offering is the Royal .28, the engine Bob Baron used when he won Nostalgia at the IMA Vintage Stunt championships. Features of the Royal .28:
- Fits in Fox .35 mounts
- Weighs 7-1/2 oz. without muffler
- Double-ball-bearing ABC setup
- Can be configured as a high-rpm engine with a .260-bore venturi, adjusted port timing, and an additional head gasket, swinging a 9-1/2 x 4-1/2 prop
- Can also be configured to run like a four-stroke Fox .35 with slightly different timing and an enlarged venturi
- Develops substantially more power than a Fox while remaining fairly economical on fuel
Tom Dixon contact: P.O. Box 671166 Marietta, GA 30066
Pro Stunt Products (Windy Urtnowski) — Instructional Videos
From time to time I've mentioned the instructive and informative videos that Windy Urtnowski is producing and making available through his Pro Stunt Products company. Some new offerings that deserve attention include:
- A videotape dedicated to propellers (Tuning for Maximum Performance)
- A two-tape set on built-up wing construction
- A video on SuperTigre .51 engine tuning
- A video filmed at the 1992 Garden State Circle Burners Stunt Forum
I strongly endorse these tapes. The quality and professional approach have improved with each release, and Windy has reinvested much of the income into upgrading and adding to his equipment. He is making a significant contribution to the sport.
Notes on specific tapes:
- Tuning for Maximum Performance (props): A wealth of information, starting with a beginner's combination for a Fox .35 and progressing to advanced techniques. Topics include Phillips entry, tip shapes, carbon fiber props, wood props, and two-, three-, and four-bladed props. As Windy points out, prop modification and selection offer the biggest single performance gain possible without building a whole new ship. The right prop helps you fly in the wind, control windup, maintain solid line tension, and fly better overall.
- Garden State Circle Burners Stunt Forum (1992): Features a host of building tips and demos, including Bob Hunt's new wing-building methods, plus footage of team selection flying and many of the new ships.
- SuperTigre .51 tape: Offered free with the purchase of a SuperTigre .51 so you can get the most from your new engine.
Contact: Windy Urtnowski Pro Stunt Products 9 Union Avenue Little Ferry, NJ 07643 Telephone: (201) 440-0905
See you all at the Nationals!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
