CONTROL LINE NAVY CARRIER
Dick Perry, 7005 Del Oso Court NE, Albuquerque NM 87109-2930
Topics This Month
- Sig Control Line Championships
- Tri-Cities Nationals Carrier competition
- Rules discussions
- Bill Bischoff's .15-size AM-1
Sig Contest
The last weekend in June has become a traditional time of pilgrimage for many modelers, as the annual Sig Control Line Championships are held at the Sig airfield south of Montezuma, Iowa. I had heard about the Sig contest from my Carrier friends in Illinois, Kansas, and North Dakota, and I had wanted to attend for years.
I was fortunate to be able to include a side trip to Chicago in my business travels last summer. Pete Mazur was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and take me along to Montezuma.
The stories I'd heard couldn't do justice to the actual contest. I highly recommend it.
Last year's contest drew more than 85 contestants from throughout the Midwest (and even one from Albuquerque). There was plenty to keep everyone busy, with a variety of events including Combat, Racing, Aerobatics, and, of course, Navy Carrier. In addition to the traditional AMA events, there were events in each category for the Sig Skyray 35.
The four Carrier events (Class I, Class II, Profile, and Skyray) were flown on Saturday. Thirty-three entries spread over the four events made for a very busy day of flying. Even with eight hours of steady flying, there were still a few contestants in line to fly when the deck closed.
The facilities were great. The five circles were grass, laid out on the north end of the Sig runway. Unlike many grass flying sites, the Sig circles were smooth and close-cut—better than most golf courses I've experienced. They presented no problems for any of the events.
Carrier flying was from a standard deck, but the grass created almost no hazard for models forced to land "in the drink." The grass was soft enough to help prevent damage on inadvertent hard "landings" off the deck, and the short, smooth texture allowed most models to roll out on their wheels.
The festivities included a barbecue dinner on Saturday night and lots of informal flying after the competition events ended—though the evening rain showers put a damper on the planned night Combat.
Sig provided great prizes, and no one walked away empty-handed. Sig also had a sales store at the field with the full line of Sig products available.
This is a contest well worth the trip. I'd see you there if I didn't have a higher priority. My son is getting married that Sunday, and I'll be in Rapid City helping him and his new wife get started in their life together. If he had been more interested in model aviation and less interested in medieval re-enactment, he probably would have gotten married on a different weekend. Where did I go wrong?
Carrier at the Nationals
By now you should have all seen the schedule for the Nationals printed in Model Aviation. The change to separate venues for the various competition categories is unfortunate, but control line didn't suffer—other than the reduction in Headquarters support at the actual Nationals location.
The Tri-Cities of Washington offer plenty of room and hospitality, and it should be a great CL Nationals. Having the Scale competition immediately preceding the Carrier flying is a bonus.
As usual, Profile Carrier will lead off on Thursday (July 13). Class I and Class II flying will take place on Friday, with the Navy Carrier Society banquet and awards presentation on Friday evening.
Saturday will be reserved for the "unofficial" Carrier events. The Navy Carrier Society will sponsor Sportsman Profile Carrier as they have in the past. Sportsman is an event for any modeler who did not compete in the official Carrier flying on the preceding days. It is intended for those who enjoy Carrier flying but prefer to compete at a lower level of intensity than the Nationals Carrier competition. Sportsman is flown using AMA Profile Carrier rules.
As I was writing this in early February, the plans were just firming up for additional events. The Columbia Basin Balsa Bashers will sponsor the .15 Carrier event, which will use the standard "Denver rules." There is presently no sponsor for Skyray Carrier.
Joe Just will be event director for the official events. There is always room for additional help on the Carrier circles. Anyone interested in volunteering to assist in running the AMA Carrier events during the week or the informal Carrier events on Saturday should call Joe at (509) 837-5983.
Navy Carrier Society Awards
- The Eugene Ely Award: Presented to the Nationals CL Navy Carrier Champion — the modeler who accumulates the most total points in the three AMA Carrier events. It is named for Eugene Ely, who was the first to take off and land from a platform aboard a US Navy vessel.
- Rookie of the Year: Goes to the first-time Nationals competitor who exhibits the best combination of sportsmanship, enthusiasm, and competitive ability.
Rules
The Control Line Contest Board will be voting soon on the rules for 1996–97. I would have liked to include a discussion of all of the proposals that passed the initial ballot, but unfortunately I had not received the initial voting results from AMA by the time this column was due. Please refer to the "Focus on Competition" section of Model Aviation for a complete listing and summary of the surviving proposals.
Two proposals I know will be on the final ballot will increase the bonus points or add new bonus points in an effort to encourage additional models in the Carrier events. One or two affect the multiengine bonus, and one will add a bonus for retractable landing gear.
- Multiengine bonus: The existing multiengine bonus has been almost entirely ineffective in encouraging Carrier competitors to attempt multiengine models.
- Retractable-gear bonus: There is a proposal to add a bonus for retractable landing gear. I am aware of only two retractable-gear models in Carrier in recent history — both flown at the 1976 Dayton Nationals.
Many modelers are concerned that the event has become, in some respects, a one-design event because of the popularity of the Martin AM-1. If we can achieve an effective balance between bonus and performance potential, we may encourage more modelers to accept the additional effort of developing new models.
The challenge is setting the bonus amount at a level that will encourage development without placing existing models at a distinctive disadvantage. Since these proposals have the potential to make a significant change in the Carrier events, we need to make our views known on these subjects.
All of the Carrier proposals will be discussed at the Nationals, but those of you not attending need to ensure that your Navy Carrier Advisory Committee and Control Line Contest Board members are aware of your thoughts — especially on the bonus proposals.
AM-1 for .15 Carrier
The Martin AM-1 Smauler prototype that Bill Bischoff built is his latest effort for .15 Carrier. Its construction is typical Texas style, with a Halflite foam wing. Moments, areas, and weights match Bill's Sniper. Bill used the O.S. 20 four-stroke with a reverse-rotation cam. Initial testing showed a high speed of about 65 mph and a low time of two minutes. There's more trimming to do to improve the low end.
Anyone planning to use the O.S. 20 FS with the reverse cam should start early on ordering the cam. I've heard of rather extensive delays because of a multiple-layered ordering process going all the way back to Japan.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
