Author: G. Lee
Edition: Model Aviation - 1996/12
Page Numbers: 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131
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CONTROL LINE SPEED

Glenn Lee, 819 Mandrake Drive, Batavia IL 60510

Overview

Magnificent! Colossal! Stupendous! Maybe that's a little strong, but that's what I thought of the 1996 Nationals. The Control Line area at the AMA site is beautiful, smooth blacktop; I had built a couple of new pylons for Speed that really worked well. The weather was outstanding—the best I can remember for any Nats. I expected high humidity and temperatures in the 90s, but we had clear, nice days—only two days topped 80°. It was a little windy on Tuesday when we flew A and FAI, but not enough to bother anyone.

Turnout for Speed was excellent, except for the 1/2A events and Junior participation. The Juniors and Seniors who did attend set some new records, however, so their flying was very good. Several big names were missing—Carlos Aloise couldn't make it, Bob Fogg was off to the World Championships with his son Bobby, Bill Nusz had a general visiting his airbase, and Doc Davis was busy with business matters.

We arrived in Muncie a day early for the Celebration of Eagles reception. It was great to see old-time modelers like Bill Brown and Frank Tlusth—the early engine builders—and many Hall of Fame members.

Monday — 1/2A and Profile Proto

Speed flying started Monday with 1/2A and Profile Proto.

  • 1/2A Open: 10 entrants
  • Profile Proto Open: 10 entrants
  • Profile Proto Junior/Senior: 5 entrants
  • 1/2A Junior/Senior: 4 entrants

Highlights:

  • Charlie Legg put up a little 1/2A sidewinder powered by his home-built engine and posted 143.82 mph—the leading speed all day.
  • Glen Vansant: 120.47 (second)
  • Tom Hartvigsen: 112.48 (third)

Junior/Senior (combined):

  • Team David Van Allen / Peter Brown: 123.55 (first)
  • Russell Whitney: 80.12

Profile Proto:

  • Charlie Legg: 107.61 (first)
  • Warren Kurth: 105.16 (second)
  • Tom Hartvigsen: 95.86 (third)

Junior/Senior Profile Proto:

  • Team Van Allen–Brown: 99.02 (first)
  • Jeff Macapinlac: second
  • Russell Whitney: third
  • Others: Philip Peters, B.J. Snyder

The Racing circle was right next to the Speed circle, and many Junior/Senior fliers were competing in Mouse Race. We need to convince them to fly the same models in our 1/2A events.

Tuesday — Class A and FAI

Tuesday was A Speed and FAI day.

  • A Open: 11 entrants
  • FAI Open: 11 entrants
  • Junior/Senior: 3 entrants in each

Highlights:

  • Billy Hughes flew an FAI model converted to monoline for A and put up a scorching 183.98 mph flight, but he couldn't back it up with another flight within the required 5 mph window; his best backup was 178.15.
  • Brown Team (Slugger George Brown III, Tommy Brown, and their father George II) took second in A Open at 179.91.
  • Sam Burke (Ontario, Canada) finished third.

Billy holds the present Class A record of 180 set at a recent Cincinnati contest, so he wasn't too disappointed despite the near-miss.

.21 Sport Speed (Tuesday morning) and .21 Proto (unofficial)

The .21 Sport Speed class has become the most popular Speed event. This year we had 24 Open, two Senior, and four Junior entrants. Flying continued all day long, with several fliers still waiting at quitting time. The morning was cool—many of us wore jackets—and my Novarossi engine was hard to start; after four attempts it finally ran.

My flights:

  • I managed two good flights of 147+ and 151.58, but at the end of the last flight the engine sagged and disassembly showed a broken crankshaft—disaster.

Frank Puleo (new competitor from Denver) flew 149+ and 151.58 and led because he had the better backup. I had a spare engine that was relatively weak but with a good crankshaft, so I transplanted the crank into my Gillott engine. On my final attempt, with Chris Sackett as pilot, I turned 151.84—good enough to beat Frank.

Final .21 Sport Speed top finishers:

  • Glenn Lee: 151.84 (first)
  • Frank Puleo: 151.58 (second)
  • Chris Montagino: 147.72 (third)

Notable Senior/Junior results:

  • Van Allen–Brown team set a new Senior record: 145.69
  • Mike Wisniewski: Senior second at 136.16
  • Juniors: Bryce Caron won at 135.59; Russell Whitney second at 134.27

.21 Proto (unofficial contest, held after .21 Sport Speed): Approximately 20 people entered; 12 showed up, 11 flew. The models were painted to resemble old racers and looked great. I finished mine just before the Nats and hadn't flown it. The wing was lightweight fiberglass-covered 1/4-inch balsa—strong enough but not stiff enough. Tommy Brown flew my model; on takeoff the wing flexed up so much he couldn't regain AMA numbers on the outer wing and the model stayed at about 30 feet altitude. I was disqualified for flying too high.

After much joking, someone suggested adding guy wire. Warren Kurth lent me some old .014 flying wire, which I sewed through a wingtip and tied to the landing gear to pull the wing down a bit. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. On the next flight I beat everyone by 10 mph.

.21 Proto top finishers:

  • Glenn Lee: first (with repaired wing)
  • Bob Whitney: 127.68 (second)
  • Al Baker (Ontario): third

I expect more Proto fliers next year—the airplanes look nice and fly well.

Thursday — Formula .40 and Class B

Good weather continued on Thursday. There were 17 Open contestants in Formula .40, and the top three times were separated by only .13 mph.

Formula .40 Open top finishers:

  • Frank Pulce: 150.38 (first) — flying the Ned Morris–designed "Indy 40"
  • Barry Tippett: 150.32 (second)
  • Bob Tuura: 150.25 (third)
  • Glenn Lee: 149.44 (fourth; had one attempt left but a needle-valve assembly broke)

Senior Formula .40:

  • Mike Wisniewski flew a trainer clockwise (to learn a clockwise technique) and put in two almost-perfect flights for a new Senior Formula .40 record of 146.16.
  • Van Allen–Brown team: 139.80 (second)

Class B had a good turnout with 15 Open entrants, two Juniors, and two Seniors. Team Wisniewski (Bill, Rick, and Mike) has been trying for the B record for four years. With Bill as Event Director and unable to fly, Rick flew, Mike handled the starter, and I held the airplane. The Pink Lady B (powered by a K&B .29) put in flights of 179.97 and 178.50 for first place and an AMA record.

Class B Open top finishers:

  • Pink Lady B (Team Wisniewski): 179.97 / 178.50 (first; AMA record)
  • Jim Vansant: 158.25 (second)
  • Ron Salo: 156.87 (tied third but declared third on backup)
  • Glen Dye: 156.87 (tied third)

Class B Senior:

  • Mike Wisniewski: 153.00 (with 152.87 backup) — new Senior record
  • Van Allen–Brown team: 146.76 (second)

Class B Junior:

  • Russell Whitney: 111.83 (first)

Notable conversion:

  • Bob Whitney had trouble getting a good run in .21 Sport Speed, so he converted that airplane from two-line to monoline and entered Class B, turning 153.65 with a Gillott-modified Novarossi .21.

Friday — Class D and Jet

Participation remained excellent on Friday when competitors brought out the big .65s and Jet models.

Class D:

  • 22 entrants; seven had speeds over 180 mph.
  • Ned Morris put up a 190.00 mph flight with Tommy Brown as pilot—matching his exact speed at Cincinnati a few weeks earlier. He used the same airplane and a 9 x 10½ Kelly prop, a crankcase-pressurized metal tank, and a big-block O.S. .65 with his own head button and old-style rear assembly. His yellow models are well designed and very visible.
  • Tie for second: Brown Team and Glen Dye at 185.68 (Browns had the better backup)
  • Bob Yutare: 184.73 (fourth)

Jets:

  • The Jets were as noisy as usual and great fun.
  • Dimmitt Perkins (Texan) won the Jet event at 184.16.
  • Billy Hughes: 182.11 (second)
  • Mike Coutts (Jet record holder): 181.38 (third)
  • Glenn Lee: 173.17 (sixth) — had tried a Hoyt-designed Raven head with suction fuel feed that wouldn't run well, then installed a known engine.

Jet engines are fickle—we saw some quirky behavior when attempting modifications.

Officials, Volunteers, and Thanks

So ended another glorious week of Nats Speed competition. As always, we must remember the people who make it possible.

  • Event Director: Bill Wisniewski (with several full-time and part-time assistants)
  • Chief Timer: Jack Wilson (RC modeler from Lake Havasu City, Arizona)
  • Other timers: Arlie Valentine and Lennie Waltermath's girlfriend
  • Lennie Waltermath: handled most of the line checks and pull-testing
  • Tabulating: Rick Wisniewski did most of the tabulating; Mike Wisniewski, Jim Irwin, and Dan Garfinkel helped
  • Many Speed fliers also helped time and officiate; all did an excellent, professional job.

We owe them a big thanks.

Awards and Closing

AMA's trophies and the perpetual championship trophies were presented at the banquet.

  • Open High-Point champions: Brown Team
  • Junior/Senior champions: Team David Van Allen–Peter Brown
  • High-Time trophy: Billy Hughes (for his A flight that was almost four mph faster than the record)

They will get their names engraved on these trophies and bring them back next year. Come and join us—you won't find a friendlier bunch of modelers!

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.