CONTROL LINE SPEED
Glenn Lee 819 Mandrake Dr., Batavia IL 60510
Overview
Every Nats is different, yet every Nats is the same: five frantic days of trying to get Control Line (CL) Speed models going as fast as possible. Each year pilots and crews work on props, head clearance, glow plugs, and every other detail to squeak out a few more mph.
Event Director Bob Heywood and the NASS (North American Speed Society) SIG (Special Interest Group) officials turned CL Speed organization over to NASS. To accommodate many FAI entrants, NASS changed the order of classes and started with FAI on Monday, July 13. With only seven entrants, official flying lasted a few minutes and the circle was empty much of the day. That made Tuesday extremely busy: 21 entrants in .21 Sport Speed and 26 entrants in 1/2A. With about three minutes per attempt and multiple attempts per contestant, officials had to extend flying into the evening to get the schedule done.
The three fliers who will represent the US at the World Championships in Kiev this fall were selected at the Nats. Will Naemura dropped out; first alternate Jim Rhoades will take his place. Tommy Brown and Billy Hughes are the other two team members.
Tuesday — .21 Sport Speed and 1/2A
- Weather was warm and pleasant, but many engines were reluctant to perform.
- The Bob Fogg–George "Slugger" Brown team flew Connie Aloise's .21 Sport Speed model to top speeds in the mid-150s. Connie's model, powered by an ACE (Aloise Competition Engine) .21 turning a Kelly 6 x 6 fiberglass prop, has turned similar speeds at several Nats.
- Frank Puleo (Arvada, CO), .21 Sport Speed record holder, recorded 150 mph with a Gillott-modified Nova Rossi–powered Indy .21 model using a Gillott propeller.
- Other top .21 Sport Speed results: Bob Whitney 148 mph; Chris Montagino 147.68 mph.
Late in the day the Fogg–Brown team tried a narrow-blade carbon-fiber prop on Connie's airplane that allowed higher RPM. They recorded 154.10 mph and on a subsequent attempt three stopwatches read 11.62 seconds for 154.84 mph, matching the record.
While .21 Sport Speed was running, 1/2A flights and Profile Proto entries were slotted between attempts.
1/2A/Profile Proto highlights:
- Junior Profile Proto: Krystal King (Arkadelphia, AR) 77.16 (winning time), David Rolley 71.88, Scott Matson 64.63.
- Open Profile Proto: Fogg–Brown team led most of the day with 109.65; Charlie Legg and Dave Hull trailed closely. Dave Hull straightened twisted lines and on his last attempt turned 109.98 to edge out Fogg–Brown for first.
- Open 1/2A Speed: Leading the pack was the Fogg–Brown team with an ACE .049-powered asymmetrical carbon-fiber sidewinder (148.87 mph). Charlie Legg flew a homebuilt-engine, single-blade-prop sidewinder to 146.51, and Billy Hughes flew a tuned-pipe CS-powered sidewinder at 133.75.
Notes on Hull’s winning entry: his Little Tiger model used a stock OS .049 with a Chuck Schuette–designed prop made by Mike Hazel. The engine head used an insert-type Glo-Bee/Nelson button plug; the tank was a soldered tin pressurized by crankcase pressure. Fuel: 15–20% synthetic oil (Klotz), 10–15% propylene oxide, and nitro.
Wednesday — Class A and Class B
Class A and Class B on Wednesday were a relief after the hectic Tuesday.
- Junior-Senior Class A: Krystal King 91.24 mph; Philip Peters 80.50.
- Open Class A: Seven entrants flew mostly monoline-converted FAI sidewinders (single wire and 10% nitro used for better performance). Team Brown put up a record flight of 185.11, then backed it up with 186.26—an AMA record and the only one set at this Nats. The airplane was Tommy’s, powered by an English-made Irvine .15 turning a single-blade carbon-fiber prop.
- Other top Open Class A results: Fogg–Brown 179.93; Robert “Bud” Hughes 171.52; Billy Hughes 168.79.
- Class B: Competition tightened as more fliers optimized .29-powered models.
- Billy Hughes won with a K&B .29/CS sleeve-and-piston sidewinder and a steel tether-car tuned pipe, turning 179.39.
- Morris–Mathison team 176.05; Glen Vansant 175.71; Fogg–Brown 161.52.
- Bob Whitney converted his .21 Sport Speed model to monoline and recorded 152.61.
Thursday — Formula .40 and .21 Proto
Thursdays and Fridays are noisy in CL Speed as larger engines run. Thursday featured .21 Proto and Formula .40 (F-40).
F-40:
- Jim Rhoades (Salt Lake City, UT) dominated F-40 with 158.67 mph flying a Bill Nusz airplane powered by a front-intake Nelson .40 and a 7/8-inch-diameter carbon-fiber prop with progressive pitch to 8° at the top.
- Other top F-40: Fogg–Brown 153.78; Dave Mark 150.44; Ned Morris 149.82.
- Eleven fliers exceeded 146 mph.
.21 Proto (11 models):
- Appearance top points: Al Baker (Canada) with a nicely detailed orange model; Ron Peters second.
- I managed a fair run to win with 136.62 (I tried a Kelly fiberglass 6 7/16 x 5½ prop but my airplane prefers a six-inch-pitch prop).
- Barry Tippett 129.97; Jim English 129.89.
Friday — Class D and Jet Speed
Speed Nats ended with a roar on Friday as Class D and Jet events concluded.
Class D (.65):
- There were 49 flights or attempts in .17 Class D.
- Early: Fogg–Brown 193.06 with an ACE .65-powered carbon-fiber-and-fiberglass sidewinder.
- Ned Morris (Indianapolis, IN) with pilot Joey Mathison turned 194.52 in an O.S. .65-powered Indy 65 conventional upright model using a Kelly 8¾ x 11 prop.
- Frank Garzon (Central Islip, NY) recorded 188.41 with a conventional O.S.-powered model.
- My new Bob Oge–modified O.S. .65-powered sidewinder, flown by Billy Hughes, recorded 187.41 on a Kelly 8¾ x 10 prop preworked by Bob Yuart.
- Later the Fogg–Brown team switched to a Tim Gillott–modified O.S. .65 with a carbon-fiber 8 x 11 prop and put up 196.64 to take first.
- Team Brown was fifth at 182.85; Bud Hughes sixth at 181.38.
Jet Speed:
- Jet contests draw spectators for their sound and spectacle. Jet had 11 contestants and 31 attempts or flights.
- Lenny Waltemath (Lake Havasu City, AZ) won Jet—his first Jet win—with a sleek new white airplane powered by a reworked Bailey engine. Joey Mathison flew it early for 188.80; Lenny later took the controls and secured the victory.
- Other Jet results: Mike Fiske (Texas) 182.11 (second); Billy Hughes 180.83 (third); Mike Couts 180.47 (fourth). The Perkins team had takeoff/landing troubles and crashed.
Thanks and Volunteers
Many competitors help others throughout the week—pit crews and partners are invaluable. Special thanks to those who helped me and others: Billy Hughes, Tommy and Slugger Brown, Joey Mathison, Barry Tippett, Mike Couts, Dave Kerr, Bill Capiniola, and many more.
Event volunteers who staffed the meet:
- Bob Heywood — Event Director
- Ione Parsons — Tabulator
- Seabert Parsons and Barry Tippett — Pull-test
- Frankie (Frank) Garzon — Chief Timer
- John Camp and Eric Williams — Timing assistants
Speed events couldn't operate without these volunteers. Many thanks and well done!
Awards and Banquet
The Speed banquet was held Friday night and perpetual trophies were awarded.
- High Speed trophy (new Class A record): Team Brown
- Junior-Senior High Point Award: Krystal King
- Open High Point Award: Fogg–Brown Team (395 of a possible 400 points)
So ended another glorious week of Speed at the Nats.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
