CONTROL LINE RACING
Stewart Willoughby, 4301 Yackley Ave., Lisle, IL 60532
F2C Team Trials
The F2C Team Trials for the 1996 World Champs in Sweden were held at the new AMA Control Line Racing site in Muncie over the Labor Day weekend. Eight teams attended to fly six races over two days, with the three best times taken to decide the final result.
With no builder-of-the-model rule for this cycle, a variety of ready-to-race equipment was seen, including gear built by Shabashov/Ivanov, Mazniak, and Nazin/Vorobiev. The most popular engine/model combination was the Nazin/Vorobiev kitplane. The only Nelson engines seen were those of Bill Lee, used strictly as backups and not used in the races.
Top results:
- 1st: McCullom/Lee — best times 3:19, 3:28, 3:35 (surprised everyone with a 3:19 using their Shabashov/Ivanov turnkey setup)
- 2nd: Ballard/Lambert — best times 3:27, 3:28, 3:32 (switched to Mazniak equipment and flew all six races consistently)
- 3rd: Ascher/Ascher — best times 3:32, 3:45, 3:49 (prevailed over Braun/Kusik in the last race)
- 1st alternate: Braun/Kusik
- 2nd alternates: Dziak/McDonald — recorded three times under four minutes, including a personal best 3:38 (their first team trials)
Willoughby/Oge had a very poor weekend. Both planes experienced a slight misfire for the first few laps each tank in practice. Range and speed seemed good, so the problem was ignored, but during races the models ran out of fuel halfway through a tank before picking up. After trying many variables, the problem was solved halfway through Day Two by fitting another backplate on the Vorobiev engine; the misfire symptoms disappeared. Unfortunately this came too late to affect results, but the problem was identified and valuable lessons were learned.
Thanks to Dave McDonald and the Muncie Controliners for organizing and running the trials, and to Doc Jackson, Walt Perkins, and Kenn Smith, who served as the Jury.
Foxy Hazel Racing
Subatomic particles were not the only things circulating at Fermilab, Batavia, IL, on October 8. The Fourth Annual Jerry Foxy Hazel 350 had 11 competitors, a pastoral setting, and pleasant fall weather.
Three-up races were planned, although the first two quickly became two-up. At 60–70 mph with a high-drag airplane, the lack of traffic did not provide the advantage it would in faster racing events, and none of the first four contestants who finished posted winning times. The third race produced the top three places:
- 1st: Mike Palermo — 25 miles in 24:18
- 2nd: Fred Krueger — 26:54
- 3rd: Willoughby/Oge — 27:34
The event is very popular; about twice as many competitors now attend the Foxy Hazel sport race as local AMA Racing events. It attracts flyers who normally compete in Combat, Speed, Aerobatics, and Carrier.
In response to many requests, the NCLRA plans to run Fox Racing as a supplemental event at the 1996 AMA Nats in Muncie. A standardized set of rules is being formulated to replace the many local variations. When completed, the rules will be published here to attract potential racers — you probably already have a competitive model in your shop!
Diesel Head (Nelson .15 T/R)
The diesel head shown in the photo and diagram was developed about six years ago for use on the Nelson .15 T/R engine. The design uses a push-pull contrapiston with two concentric right-hand threads of different pitch to provide the mechanism. The compression-adjusting screw is a 5/16-24 socket set screw that has been bored and threaded 10-48 to accept a threaded stub projecting from the top of the contrapiston. When the two right-hand threads work together they move the contrapiston at the equivalent rate of a 48 TPI thread.
Major features and benefits:
- No set screw that can fall out (a common failure during or just prior to races).
- The two major components resemble the button-head/clamp-ring arrangement used on glow engines, reducing work required to produce multiple heads to fit different Nelson sleeves (which vary considerably).
- Interchangeable clamp ring and compression screw make testing different combustion chamber shapes and volumes more economical (useful when tetraethyl lead became a new fuel ingredient).
Possible criticism:
- Reduced thermal conductivity across the two head components. However, one-piece heads with the same concentric mechanism performed with no detectable difference; they are just more time-consuming and tricky to make and assemble.
Construction drawings and machining details are beyond the scope of this column but will be published in a forthcoming NCLRA newsletter — you're a subscriber, right?
NCLRA (National Control Line Racing Association)
NCLRA is an AMA Special Interest Group. Dues are $10 per year ($12 outside the U.S.). Send payment to: Jerry Meyer, 8 S. Grace, North Aurora, IL 60542.
Racing Handle
The handle shown in the photograph is the one I have used for F2C for a number of years. I wanted a handle with a front bar to facilitate changing hands during flight. I am basically left-handed; although I take off and fly right-handed, I prefer a left hand in the handle for landing.
Handle features and setup:
- Lines bolt firmly into a 1/16" slot in the handle bar using small split rings (fishing tackle) permanently attached to the lines. I usually run solder into the split ring to prevent any chance of the line slipping off. This attachment has proven very durable.
- Line spacing is adjusted by moving the rings to different pairs of holes in the bar. The central bolt also provides attachment for a handle-line grouper, which I generally do not use on these days.
- Differential line length is adjusted by adding an extra split ring or two to the end of the appropriate line. If you make the lines the same length and the leadouts even, that is usually all that is required.
- Example: an extra ring is usually needed on the down line with flying-wing models, since they tend to fly level on slight up. The extra lead will have them stay on the model's neutral — just bolt on the handle and go!
Construction:
- The handle frame is milled from 5/16-inch aluminum and the wood grip is riveted and epoxied to it. Leave the wood unfinished — you will find it less slippery in use.
- Note: For F2C, the distance from the center of the grip to the front of the bar must not exceed 40 mm.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
