Control Line: Combat
Charlie Johnson 3716 Ingraham St. San Diego, CA 92109
TOP 20
The Miniature Aircraft Combat Association (MACA) announced its official Top 20 for 1988. The number following the flier's name (and state) is his season point total. The Top 20 list includes 525 contestant placements from a total of 73 contests.
- Michael Willcox (TX) — 152
- Paul Smith (MI) — 135
- Richard Stubblefield (TX) — 127
- John Stubblefield (TX) — 113
- Don Cranfill (TX) — 96
- Ed Brzys (MI) — 90
- Mike Thiessen (Canada) — 80
- R. Zeidenthius (OK) — 79
- Alan DeVeuve (TX) — 74
- Steve Kott (MI) — 59
- Tom Fluker (TX) — 56
- Mike Palermo (IL) — 56
- Dave Stewart (AZ) — 56
- Jerry Sabin (IL) — 52
- D. Morris (IA) — 50
- Pete Plunkett (MN) — 49
- Bob Nick (NC) — 48
- Lois Lopez (DE) — 47
- W. Underwood (MD) — 47
- Jeff Johnson (KS) — 42
Of interest is that Mike Thiessen placed 7th overall without having any points in either FAI Combat or Slow Combat, although he placed highest in Slow Combat with 59 points.
Superglues
Are you a superglue expert? If you can get your fingers unstuck you can turn the page and go on to something else. There was a good article in the February 1989 issue of Popular Science that detailed for the general public the "Secrets of the Superglues." Most of the points have been covered in depth in this and other magazines, but a couple of items caught my attention.
I've occasionally had trouble when using some cyanoacrylate I picked up at the local grocery store when I ran out of my modeling variety stuff. It usually didn't work well—or not at all. The PS article claims that a lot of the imported stuff is not formulated correctly and has a lot of stabilizers in it to keep it from going off in the tube. Of course it doesn't work on the structure either, but what do you expect at two for 59¢? The article speaks highly of the quality superglues you're familiar with and gives good pointers on the proper type to use for particular projects.
Carbon and Aluminum Tail Booms
Carbon or aluminum tail booms have appeared on many new Combat model designs. Besides being light, strong, and easy to make, these booms allow the engine to be pushed back into the leading edge of the wing without making the plane tail heavy. The improvement in performance is subtle: it comes from the ability to loop tightly, which has more to do with wing loading than with the moment arm lengths from the CG to various pieces of the plane.
A short nose moment arm will let the model turn more quickly than one with a longer nose. Motorcycle racers call a "flickable" machine one that changes direction quickly—and that's what some of these new Combat planes are. This won't help unless the pilot uses the ability to change direction quickly to his advantage. The FAI class seems to accept that flying style most, although we see carryover in Fast Combat.
Models flown by Rush, Rudner, and Kott are impressive in doing tight consecutive turns, but only Rudner's latest design looks truly "flickable." Steve Hills seems to have the jump in Fast Combat; his models have the engine completely buried in the leading edge. The first time you try to launch one of these rockets you'll notice the design's biggest inconvenience is the pitman. The prop is so close to the leading edge that you'd rather not hold the model by the engine mount and leading edge. Holding it by the right wing tip and partway out the left wing is a common method, but it's hard to change the needle setting or do much else without launching the beast. Holding the model by the foam will also warm your hands, as the foam vibrates under your grip and causes friction.
Hills uses a carbon boom glued to the center mount block plus another boom that goes through the block parallel to the leading edge to cut down on vibration.
Phil Cartier uses aluminum arrow shafts that can be secured to the block with a bolt from the front. This allows removal of the boom for transporting the model in a smaller box. Cartier's Russian Z-bend on the pushrod lets it slip out of the bellcrank if needed. He uses a lot of reinforcing tape on the wing; some are using Kevlar line superglued to the wing tip, then along the trailing edge with a loop to wrap around the boom and then to the other tip. It stiffens the trailing edge and cuts down on whiplash to the boom assembly in the event of a crash.
Black Max, made by Loctite Corp., works very well on carbon and aluminum joints with wood. It's expensive, fairly hard to get, and the fumes can be dangerous without good ventilation. This stuff is very strong but needs to be handled carefully. Phil Cartier recommends a product called Weldbond for sealing around engine mounts and the covering to prevent fuel seepage under the covering and melting the foam. Spraying on a little epoxy also works and doesn't melt foam as clear dope would. Flecto Varathane is another product that helps fuel-proof wood joints, though it may not work as well as Weldbond.
Nostalgia and Plans
Not into high-tech models? If an old Orbit Ace or Reactor is your cup of tea, Barry Baxter has plans to build your dream ship. Send a SASE for a product list to Barry Baxter, 6490 Sonora Way, Cypress, CA 90630—or call him at (714) 761-0672. Barry has been a big promoter of 80-mph Combat and Nostalgia events in southern California. Using a model that looked like the Klingon Warrior Stuka, he got four or five consecutive kills at the last Money Nats in Los Angeles.
Bellcranks and Handles
Let's talk about bellcranks—not the midair kind, but the kind you use to control your model.
A few years ago there was a trend toward very slow controls using large bellcranks and control handles with close line spacing. Remember that the ratio between the distance from the pivot to the pushrod hole in the bellcrank and the length of the elevator horn determines how much elevator travel you'll have. The ideal situation for a Combat model is to have the pushrod close to the pivot point of the bellcrank so you can use a fairly short elevator horn. There's no use having a lot of throw on the bellcrank, necessitating a giant elevator horn that may break or get knocked off in a crash.
Through trial and error you'll find out how much elevator deflection your model needs to turn tight without stalling or slowing too much. Warning: some models not only slow down when you give them too much control, they also come sailing across the circle at you!
Once you get the proper amount of up/down, the only other tuning choice you have (unless the model has an external bellcrank) is using different line spacing on your handle. Some people can fly with slow controls because their arms have greater joint flexibility. If you fly a lot in one day and find your arm getting tired, you may be putting too much movement into your flying.
The ratio between bellcrank and elevator horn can be termed correct if it lets the plane turn its tightest without stalling, but many pilots like a little extra control available for situations where you'd rather slow the plane in the turn to avoid hitting the ground.
There is no universally correct amount of handle movement. Pilots with the proper ratio for their style may look smooth where another person with the same model may look awkward. One additional warning for those using a handle with the locking nut on top: it's going to snag your opponent's lines one of these days, and you'll be in for a thrill.
Engines, Parts, and Contacts
Doc Passen reports that Performance Model Parts, Inc., 12233 South 1565 East, Draper, UT 84020, is the place to write if you own one of the Cupola .15s that were unfortunately made illegal by the 4 mm venturi rule in FAI, which also prohibits support induction.
Glen Dyes is offering a new longer-skirt piston and several head/plug combinations. You may call Glen at (801) 571-7017 to find out prices. Doc reports that they're reasonable, so get your engine to him before he gets tired of doing them.
Doc Passen also has a new Combat design called the Crocodile-Doc-EE, which is supposed to "snap your tail off."
If you have views on the AMA Combat rules, write John Salvin, chairman of the Combat Advisory Committee, at 17 Jewel Ct., Orinda, CA 94563.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
