Control Line: Scale
Dick Byron
1982 World Championships
I have just been informed that John Preston of Falls Church, VA, has accepted the position of U.S. CL Scale team manager. Having known John for a few years, I find him to be a tremendous asset to the CL Scale team; he should be able to handle the large amount of paperwork involved in getting us to Russia and home again, since he lives in the Washington, D.C., area and can be in personal contact with the AMA and the State Department.
It was difficult to find someone to fill the team manager position due to the reduced interest in CL Scale flying in recent years. Hopefully, with the World Championships being held again, this may spark more interest among fliers.
It is not necessarily difficult to make the team if you are willing to spend the time. Perhaps some of the interested builders in this country could produce a CL airplane and win the opportunity to travel to a foreign country — and perhaps bring home the Team World Championship or even the Individual World Championship to the United States. With luck, we will be able to do well this year in Russia!
Control Line pylon flying
Several months ago we received a letter from an individual who was evidently confined to a wheelchair and requested possibilities for learning to fly a CL airplane from outside the flying circle. I received a letter from Bud Obern of California with a copy of an article that appeared in Air Trails in the mid-1940s. This is the same article I remember reading when I was young. It provided a very workable diagram of how to build such a system. The article was written by Larry Eisinger, and it appears the device did function.
At the time the article was written, technology was not as advanced as it is today. A lot has changed in the last 30 to 40 years, and certainly improvements could be made to make it a more workable plan. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to experiment with this now, since I am building an aircraft for the Scale World Championships; however, in the future I may use this plan to test the feasibility of such a flying platform. (Editor: Anyone who would like a copy of the plan, please send a SASE to Model Aviation, and we will forward it. — DRP)
Miniature placards
Last month we discussed a method of making miniature versions of placards that appear in real aircraft. Reducing them for Scale modeling has been difficult. I am presently experimenting with a company in Omaha to photographically reduce them on aluminum self-adhesive material. Samples have not been received yet; if they prove workable, I will publish the name, address, and phone number in the next column.
The company is also able to photographically enlarge or reduce pictures for instrumentation and other Scale purposes. Some small detailing is extremely difficult to duplicate at the actual size you need; by drawing it larger and having it photographically reduced, you sharpen lettering and outlines and can produce it in exactly the right size. More information will be forthcoming.
1982 Nats
A final note on the Nats this year: after talking with John Preston this afternoon, he informed me that he may volunteer to run the CL Scale event at the Nats in 1982. John will need assistance with static and flight judging. If you can help, any time you can donate to the administration of the event will be greatly appreciated. You may contact John Preston at:
7012 Elvira Court Falls Church, VA 22042
The members of the U.S. Scale Team should be present at the Nats to fly their World Championship aircraft. This should make an interesting display for the public to see.
Richard P. Byron 2506 S. 161st Circle Omaha, NE 68130
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
