Control Line: NAVY CARRIER
Dick Perry
Mystery Plane Contest
I received quite a few responses to the Mystery Plane Contest from the February issue. The first reader to correctly identify the Northrop XFT-2 was Gary Hull. Others with the right answer were:
- Steve Adams
- Frank Beatty
- Read Schuster
- Joe Wagner
- Ron Boggis
- Frank Stetson
- Jerry Greaves
- Alvin Westerland III
- Mike Himmerich
- Ed Beams
- Joe Dzialo
- Tom Cassidy
Numerous others were very close with their XFT-1 identification. I enjoyed getting your letters and comments about the column. I try to answer questions in a timely manner, but the volume of mail and my work schedule often cause delays. Please be patient. (A return envelope helps.)
I'll continue the Mystery Airplane feature throughout the year. All aircraft presented will be legal for Navy Carrier competition, having been either designed as carrier-based aircraft or tested on actual or simulated carrier decks. All will be obscure! I spend quite a bit of time researching designs for our event, but will never have the opportunity to build models of all the prototypes I find. I hope this series may encourage some of you to break away from the MO-Is and Guardians and try something new and different. Most important, I hope that you all enjoy trying to identify the aircraft as much as I enjoy looking for them.
This month's model shouldn't be too hard to identify; the family resemblance is quite strong. Once again, I'll give a year's membership in the Navy Carrier Society to the first reader to send me the correct identification for the specific model of the aircraft shown. Send entries to the address given at the end of the column.
Vought Kingfisher legality
I've received some questions about the legality of the Vought Kingfisher which appeared in the February issue. Designed primarily as a seaplane, the Kingfisher could also be fitted with wheeled landing gear, as could many other observation aircraft. The common problem in cases such as this is documenting carrier use or intent as required in the rules. For the Kingfisher, this documentation is hard to find, but the Don Berliner article published in the November 1971 American Aircraft Modeler does state that the wheeled version was for carrier or landplane use. If any of you can provide another reference, I would be happy to pass it on.
Supertigre S-36 engine update
After recommending the Supertigre S-36 as a potential Profile Carrier engine a few months ago, I've had some questions about where to get them. It seems there were a few available from Indy RC Sales at one time, as well as a small number of engines which were used for testing by some selected Combat fliers.
I've been in contact with World Engines since then and have discovered that these engines were the equivalent of a pre-production test run. Based on the data gathered on these first few engines, the S-36 design has been extensively refined. The next S-36 you see will have a lapped piston and sleeve as well as some more subtle changes. It should be available in early summer as a full-production engine. Look for it.
New three-line bell-crank
I just received a sample of a new three-line bell-crank that will be produced later this year by Leon Ryktarsky. I'll have photos, details, and an anticipated availability date in the next column. It will be quite similar to the current L-R unit, except that the bellcrank portion will be reversed so that the elevator horn is on the outboard side.
Racing engine idle problem and solution
Ron Duly was having a problem that is bothersome to quite a few users of racing engines in Class I or Class II—idle adjustments were critical, and the additional cooling in flight would often result in a flameout during low speed. To solve the problem, Ron installed an Acme battery holder for a C-size alkaline cell under the canopy of his Class I Guardian. A single cell would provide enough power for three critical flights, even without a switch to open the circuit during high speed. It could even be used for starting! The Acme battery holders are available from Sig.
Photo and results
The photo this month is Glen Magree's .15-sized Wildcat. The model won the Rocky Mountain Aeromodelers' .15-class Carrier competition last fall with a high speed of 65 mph and a slow speed of 24.8 mph. The class has been under development since last summer, and Glen reports that there are 10 to 12 models under way for this year's flying season. The rules for this event were described in the February issue.
Richard L. Perry 7578 Vogels Way Springfield, VA 22135
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
