Control Line: Racing
John Ballard
Half-A Mouse Racing
I have attended several regional AMA Racing events in the Midwest and have noticed a general upswing in participation in Mouse Racing. The Ohio area is a hotbed of activity, especially around the annual control-line contests in Dayton and Cleveland.
One trick that seems to bring the ultimate power from the little .049 engines is careful selection and rework of the propeller. At a recent contest I found props from at least six different manufacturers being used. The most popular seemed to be:
- Tornado nylon
- Cox wide-paddle racing propeller
- J&J Sales RH-4A (5 x 4-3/4), fiberglass-filled — sells two for just under $3 each and needs very little deflashing or file work
Another inexpensive fiberglass-filled prop from J&J is the GY-4 (sold in pairs for about $4.55); it is copied from the 1985 Nats winner and has given excellent performance on my Scale Racers.
Aircraft styles varied widely. A few practical tips:
- Ensure adequate tail area so the aircraft is not overly nose-heavy with the engine installed.
- Use a sturdy, well-mounted landing gear to withstand hard landings on varied surfaces.
- These small racers are flown from rolled dirt, weathered asphalt, parking lots, and short-cut grass, so robustness matters.
Filtering Contest Fuel
At a couple of recent contests several competitors experienced lean runs roughly halfway through a tank. Post-race inspection showed fuel filters almost completely clogged with foreign matter.
Investigation revealed that most racing events (except Mouse) were using contest-supplied 10% nitro fuel kept in open gallon jugs around the circle. After a few events these jugs collect dirt from competitors' fuel bulbs and crud kicked up by prop wash.
Mitigations being used:
- Transfer fuel from the contest jug into a separate container that has a built-in filter, so fuel drawn into the airplane is pre-filtered.
- Consider fabricating a filter arrangement mounted to the cap of the gallon jug so all fuel removed is pre-filtered. If contest management would adopt such a measure it would minimize dirt contamination and erratic engine performance.
Sport Racing
I have been comparing Sport Racing rules used in various parts of the country to encourage collaboration so traveling competitors can use the same equipment without major modifications. The Southwest Control Line Association Sport Race rules attempt to define a scalelike resemblance to full-size racing aircraft and carefully write engine requirements to exclude high-performance units while including readily-available engines found at most hobby shops.
I am enclosing the SCLA Sport Race rules and would like readers to review them and comment.
New Products and Repair Tips
At the recent Weak Signals show in Toledo, OH, I found several products useful to racers:
- Model Magic Filler MM101
- Extremely light (approximately half the weight of other fillers).
- Mixes with Model Magic epoxy clay, sands well, has excellent adhesion, and accepts a variety of topcoats.
- Use with Model Magic glue MM111 for lightweight fillets and general filling.
- Manufacturer: Model Magic, Inc., P.O. Box 1974, St. Paul, MN 55119.
- Micro Research hinge/bushing product
- Works exceptionally well on frozen elevator hinges and binding bellcrank/bushing/pushrod hardware.
- A drop or two penetrates, eliminates bind, then dries to leave a fuel-proof deposit that provides permanent freedom of movement.
- Useful for field repairs of elevators and for reducing friction in control linkages.
- Manufacturer: Micro Research, Inc., P.O. Box 277, Danbury, CT 06813.
- J&J Sales fiberglass props
- RH-4A and GY-4 props (economical, little deflashing required).
- J&J Sales: 709 Crescent, Sunnyside, WA 98944.
- Globe Fireplug starting battery replacement cells
- After years of use and recharging, these batteries can develop internal corrosion; replacement cells are available at many Sears stores.
Closing / Contact
As always, your comments and photos are solicited.
John C. Ballard 10102 Kimblewick Dr. Louisville, KY 40223
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
