Control Line
Combat
Charlie Johnson 3716 Ingraham St. San Diego, CA 92109
Tucson's Top Gun Combat Tournament turned out very well with 26 entrants and nice, sunny weather. John Stubblefield walked off with top honors and the $1,000 prize money. Alan Deveuve took second, followed by Eric Tomchik third and Mark Smith fourth. The top four all live in Texas, and amazingly Eric, Mark, and Alan are on the same team.
- Top Gun finishers:
- 1st: John Stubblefield
- 2nd: Alan Deveuve
- 3rd: Eric Tomchik
- 4th: Mark Smith
As you may recall from my March column, the Combat Classic was rained out in Houston. Well, the Arizona meet was within four days of being snowed out. The following Thursday the flying site was covered with a nice layer of snow. It probably would have been an advantage for Kott and Burch, who are used to cold conditions.
As you can see from the pictures, the organizers spent a lot of energy preparing for the event with good signs, concessions, and roped-off flying areas. A real benefit for all Combat fliers was the discovery of a new streamer material! It's made by C.A. Reed and is plastic-lined table cover material available from party supply shops. It comes in pieces measuring 54 x 104 inches. You can cut up about 27 AMA-size streamers about 8-1/2 ft long. This stuff doesn't shred and gives good clean cuts. It is the best material I've seen so far, including taped and sewn streamers. The best part is that it is also the least expensive source of streamers, since 27 can be cut from a piece costing only $3! FAI 1/2A streamers would be less costly, and you don't have to bother with taping or sewing. Just cut and fly.
The Russians are coming to Bladder Grabber XV. This year's Grabber is scheduled for June 30 and July 1 at Harvey Field, Snohomish, WA—the same lovely place that's been the site for the past two years. Ed Kozlovsky of Leningrad, who took second in two Combat events at the 1989 U.S. Nats, plans on bringing some of his comrades over to bag some stereo stuff. They have Foxes and are also building their own .36s. Of course, there will be the customary $10,000 worth of prizes. Contact Norm McFadden (1-206-745-1314) or Howard Rush (1-206-746-5997) for further info.
I have been contacted by Nicholai Necheutkhin asking for an invitation for himself and Oleg Doroshenko. He'll be taking the "A" team if this group makes it, as Believ has expressed interest.
Seattle/Tacoma Airport is the closest major airport to the flying site. You should check with Howard or Norm about the date, as it may be moved earlier in June to accommodate the U.S.A. FAI team. They'll be leaving for France around July 4.
As you prepare for your journey to defend the flag in Seattle, you might think of shipping your models ahead via UPS. Cardboard boxes such as those used to ship bicycles are fine. Just fill up the remaining volume in the box with foam beads. UPS charges around $20 each way to handle your box, and it's a lot less agony than trying to get it on the plane—with the possibility of paying double the UPS cost in excess baggage. You'll obviously need to plan ahead in order to have your models waiting for you when you get to Snohomish.
If you end up taking your models with you on the plane, then become a frequent flier on whatever airline you fly on. I can't say for sure, but I've never paid excess baggage on American Airlines. I'm a member of their frequent flier program.
Remember the mystery YA model in the January issue? Well, it belonged to Ken Powell of Rancho Cucamonga, CA. I ran into him at the Top Gun meet, and he sent along a little information about his design. It features plywood spars holding the 5/64-inch-thick wing together. The pacifier compartment is made of ply and surgical rubber sheeting. He's into the latest in high-tech materials and uses a wet layup process with glass cloth and hardwood, which is left to cure and then cut into final shape. I'm looking forward to watching this model in action.
I got the green light from Pete Athans to publish his home phone number: 1-213-542-6817. So, if you want some ultra-high-tech AAC piston/liner sets (or ABCs), give Pete a call to determine price and availability.
Those T&M Model Products metal engine mounts are available from T&M. Contact Roger Reed, Tucson, AZ 85705. T&M is actually Ted Snow and Mike Vee, and they can be reached at 1-602-888-0146.
These aluminum or magnesium mounts can be drilled for any application. Besides the mounts, T&M has super-strong bellcranks and many other accessories which are impossible to find.
Want an interesting catalog? Drop a line to Hobby Enterprises, P.O. Box 784, Fruitland Park, FL 34731. In addition to the many basic hobby supplies, they have reissues of many vintage classic models, plus some items that haven't been on the market for decades!
Larry Driskill has taken the helm of the MACA (Miniature Aircraft Combat Association) newsletter. Pete Plunkett did a superb job during his stewardship of the newsletter, moving the level of quality many notches higher.
Like all editors, Larry will now be faced with empty spaces unless all of us write in and voice our opinions, offer suggestions and advice, and keep the rest of the Combat world current as to what's going on in our area. Larry will also act as MACA treasurer, so send your $15 yearly dues for 1990 membership to Larry Driskill, 4916 Clague Ct., Las Cruces, NM 88005.
While I was in Tucson, Bob Burch offered a little more advice on making your own full-complement beamer. I talked about them back in my January '90 column. His main point was that you shouldn't mix balls from different manufacturers in one set of racers, as they are not all exactly the same diameter. He also mentioned that standard practice is to insert one less ball than the maximum that an area can be stuffed with in the nose. Bob was also checking out the Hills Arrowplane closely and may switch from his Bosta, which uses all wood, to the currently fashionable foamies. Bob lost a couple of kills at the Tucson meet because his wood leading edge didn't snag the opponent's streamer. He showed me several deep cuts on the leading edge that would have been sure kills if it had been made from foam.
Although his current models fly very well, the two factors of being able to increase the wing area by 100 sq. in. without adding more weight, and the leading-edge kill capability are considerations he can no longer ignore.
Dan Rutherford had an interesting article in the MACA newsletter about using stock Fox Mfg. VI parts instead of the costly and often unavailable after-market goodies. Properly set up, the stock parts do perform very well as long as you pay attention to the details like fillet, timing, and fuel/prop choice for the combination you've chosen to run.
If you're willing to take the weight penalty of using an ABC piston/liner set rather than an AAC, about the only other concessions to the aftermarket you need make are for a better head button, a full-complement bearing, and a connecting rod from RPM—although the stockers have proven to work pretty well if they have enough clearance.
If you have any chance at all of making the Bladder Grabber, you should do it this time, as you'll probably witness a contest we'll all be talking about for decades: Americans vs. the Russians. How about the British? Could they handle a .36-powered model?
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
