Author: W. Paul
Edition: Model Aviation - 1982/01
Page Numbers: 52, 113
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Control Line: Aerobatics

Wynn Paul

Introduction

Now that the Nationals and FAI tryouts are over, the 1982 FAI Team has been chosen, most of the contests are over, the eternal question "What are those judges looking for?" has been put to sleep until next flying season, and many of us have been reintroduced to families, girlfriends, and real jobs, it is time to figure out next year's airplane—"I've just got to build one that will really attract the judges' attention without resorting to twin engines, wing fences, retracts, 1,200 sq. in. of wing, or barber pole stripes."

If you want to build a good plane for next year and are not too sure of your design credibility, there are a number of outstanding plans available from the magazines of planes that have been World and National Champions, as well as some good solid fliers that have all the ingredients of a good competitive airplane.

Recommended Plans

Some of the planes still available through the various magazines include:

  • Genesis (.35 and .46 sizes)
  • Stiletto (.35 and .46 sizes)
  • Avanti II (Bob Baron's 1981 winning FAI plane)
  • Juno (Bill Werwage)
  • Spectrum (Jim Casale)
  • Imitation (Ted Fancher's super profile; he claims it flies better than any of his built-up ships—make into a full fuselage job)
  • Derringer (Bob Whitely's 1978 Nats-winning Stunter)
  • Stilares (Tom Dixon's .35-size ship for those who want to use the smaller engine)
  • Miss Kell (another .35-size ship from Bob Whitely)
  • Genie (Jim Armour's fine looking plane)
  • Orange Crate (Dennis Adamisin's Stunt plane; basis for his 1981 flier, the Eclipse)

This list goes back to about 1975 or so and contains 13 planes, any of which could put you in the winner's circle if you:

  1. build it fairly light,
  2. build it straight,
  3. practice.

Cottage Industry Changes and Suppliers

In the past six months, some changes have taken place in the "hard-to-find items" market with the cottage industries that supply some of the essential items for Precision Aerobatics.

  • Gene Martine is no longer making mufflers, venturis, handles, or doing engine work. Do not write him any more.
  • Hoping to fill this gap is Vic Garner:
  • Address: 283 South Livermore Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550
  • Work telephone (before 5:30 p.m. California time): (415) 447-1767
  • Home (after 6:00 p.m. California time): (415) 447-3786

There are plenty of suppliers for Stunt fuel tanks now:

  • Carolina-Taflinder has a large assortment available (profile, suction, uni-flow, etc.). Write for catalog:
  • 8345 Delhi Road, Charleston Hts., SC 29405
  • Tel: (803) 553-7169
  • Custom tanks are also made by:
  • Mike Mustain, 214 Gilbert St., Kenton, OH 43326
  • Ed Robbert, 1616 Meadowthorpe Ave., Lexington, KY 40504; Tel: (606) 253-1769
  • Getting back into tank production is Randy Hancock:
  • Rt. 1 Spring Station Rd., Midway, KY 40347; Tel: (606) 846-4133

If you have stripped threads on your OS Max .40 or .45 FSR on either the head, bearing housing, or backplate, Ed Robbert (address above) can install a metric Heli-Coil for you for $6.00 for up to four Heli-Coils.

Parts Available from This Writer

This writer now offers the following items:

  • Super bellcranks:
  • Chuck DeLano-made items of Delrin
  • 3.5 in. hole-to-hole, very strong triangular shape
  • Super Delrin-AF bushing
  • Weight: 11.8 grams including bushing
  • Price: $4.00 each
  • DeLano flap and elevator horns (drilled and undrilled):
  • Vertical strap piece made of stainless steel (must be silver soldered for brass bushings)
  • Shank made of steel that is "tweakable"; shank is straight so you can make it any size from three to six inches
  • Large horns have three holes; small horns have two holes
  • Price: $2.00 each
  • Split horns for flaps: $3.00 per set
  • Venturi sets for:
  • Supertigre .46
  • OS Max .40 FSR and .45 FSR
  • Venturis made from aluminum bar stock and come with an O-ring gasket
  • Color coded:
  • Anodized blue: .295-in. diameter
  • Gold: .281-in.
  • Red: .275-in.
  • Black: .265-in.
  • The Tigre venturi cases have had the spray bar moved
  • Each set of four: $16.00 (includes postage and handling)
  • Future venturis will be available for the HP .40 and the OS Max .35 engines

Other Suppliers and Items

  • James Hunt, of J.H. Design and Sales Co., is marketing the Bob Hunt (his son) Genesis muffler, as used on the 1978 World Championship CL Stunt plane. Fits the OS Max .40, .45 and the HP .40 engines.
  • Cost: $15.00 plus $2.00 for postage and handling
  • (Hope he will make some for the ST .46 soon.)
  • Jim is also selling the Genesis control horn with features:
  1. brass bushings
  2. silver brazed, double-bearing horn-to-wire joint
  3. wire especially tempered for easy tweaking
  4. brass bearing retainers
  5. brass wire bearings
  • Available sizes and prices:
  • 3.5-in.: $2.25
  • 4-in.: $2.35
  • 5-in.: $2.45
  • 6-in.: $2.55
  • Order from Jim at: P.O. Box 599, Saddle Brook, NJ 07662-0599
  • (Editor's note: Egad! The new nine-digit Zip Code! RMcM.)

Tools

Addis Elmore has come up with a very handy tool called the Wandit. This is a motorized sanding tool that can be used for shaping and sanding many parts of a Stunt plane. Applications include:

  • forming and finishing foam wing joints
  • wing tips and fillets
  • leading and trailing edges
  • fuselage front ends
  • landing gear block installation
  • rubbing out the model's finish
  • many other finishing tasks

The tool has a reciprocating action of its wand, which is a 1-by-12-in. piece of brass strap to which abrasive strips are stuck. The wand describes a 3/16-in. stroke, essentially forward and backward, which Addis has determined is quite adequate for sanding and finishing. The Wandit has been designed to accept pieces of music wire or wooden dowels covered with abrasive strips which can then be used for finishing. Pictures of the tool in use will follow in another article (my photo finisher ruined a roll of film).

Bibliography and Reference

Another item available now is:

  • Bibliography and Index of Periodical Publications About Control Line Precision Aerobatics, 1946 to 1981
  • A 35-page reference manual covering just about everything published in the major model magazines on Stunt
  • Information arranged in chronological order in over 50 subject classifications
  • Magazine articles that contain more than one topic (e.g., finishing and trimming) are listed in both subject classifications
  • Partial listing of topics includes: aerodynamics, balsa wood, planes for Stunt, canopy, controls, cowling, engines and engine work, fuel tanks, molded balsa construction, Old-Time Stunt, tailplane, trimming, wings
  • This publication is a reference manual; it does not contain the text of the articles, but a listing of the articles by subject matter
  • Individually numbered copies: $10.00 each
  • Order from Wynn Paul

Contact / Ordering Information

For information on Stunt or PAMPA, write:

  • Wynn Paul
  • 1640 Maywick Dr., Lexington, KY 40504

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.