Control Line: Speed
Event overview
The United States Control Line Championships, held June 17–18 at Winston-Salem, NC, was attended by 160 contestants and was by far the best speed contest we have attended this year. Apparently everyone heard the Texas gang was coming and gave up, as speed attendance was down slightly from last year. All kidding aside, competition was plentiful and very keen. The weather was beautiful with an 80° high on Saturday and 89° on Sunday.
The best feature was being able to spread out your attempts over both days. This gave you the opportunity to rebuild Saturday night while B.S.-ing with fellow speed fliers.
Senior Formula 40
An interesting battle developed in Senior Formula 40. Joseph Kall, Lakewood, Calif., having set the record at 155.51 mph three weeks earlier, came to N.C. to try to better it. In the meantime, Dennis Ytuarte, Brentwood, N.Y., jacked the record up to 157.00 mph, then Glen Van Sant, Penndel, Pa., came out on top with a record-tying 157.01 mph but could not back it up.
Tom Blankman, Eureka, Mo., turned 159.09 mph in Open Formula 40 to sneak by the record-holding team of Hempel and Upton with their 158.25 mph flight. Robert Whitfield, Phila., Pa., and Leland Morton turned 153.26 and 151.33 mph, respectively.
Open B and Senior B
Open B speed was another battlefield with very close finishes:
- 1st: David Layman, Houston — 193.47 mph
- 2nd: Jett & Shannon team, Dallas — 193.06 mph
David's humble words to Jett and Shannon were, "Finally blew your doors off."
In Senior B speed, Patrick Hempel set a new record of 177.09 mph with a 174.86 mph backup. Patrick used a K&B 29 RR and a 7x10½ Rev-Up prop.
Open 1/2A and Profile Proto
Open 1/2A speed was rough. Al Stengins, Cleveland, OH, put his open-faced TD up to 120.76 mph, only to be beaten by Jett & Shannon with their completely homebuilt and piped job at 121.08 mph. David Layman turned 105.16 mph.
Glen Van Sant got 85.33 mph for a Senior record but could not back it up. Quay Barber, North Olmsted, OH, took Junior 1/2A at 105.72 mph, with brother David next at 96.06 mph. Dennis Ytuarte set a new Senior Profile Proto record of 88.50 mph.
Class A and FAI Speed
Class A was fast as usual. Senior Glen Van Sant managed a first-place 124.78 mph, setting a new record with a backup of 124.09 mph.
Open A speed results included Langlois, Huff & Hurlocker in first with 177.79 mph, Les Baer Sr., Allentown, PA, in second with 168.75 mph, and David Layman in third with 166.14 mph.
FAI Speed had an international flavor. Charlie Lieber of the American FAI team outran Sam Burke of Cambridge, Ontario (a member of the Canadian FAI team) at 126.38 mph. Charlie's model was a beautiful piece of work with a molded fiberglass wing. Glen Van Sant made it third at 110.74 mph.
Senior C
Patrick Hempel recaptured the Senior C speed record at 177.97 mph with a backup of 177.44 mph, using a stock K&B 40. Glen Van Sant placed second at 172.68 mph, while Dennis Ytuarte took third at 165.38 mph.
D Speed
It was interesting to hear the D speed fliers fussing about fuel, prop and head combinations now that they are running mini-pipes and not having to worry about building a complete engine for each flight.
Top D speed results:
- 1st: LHH team — 196.21 mph
- 2nd: Glen Lee, Batavia, IL — 190.20 mph
- 3rd: George Rohvback, Schuylkill Haven, Pa. — 180.65 mph
Jet Speed
Fast and furious, jet was the best we've seen in some time. Top jet results:
- 1st: Langlois, Huff & Hurlocker — 207.53 mph (Super Burp MKII)
- 2nd: Frank Marcenaro, Texas — 197.29 mph (Raven head on his Sidewinder)
- 3rd: Charlie Davis, Longview, Texas — 196.00 mph (stock Dyna head Sidewinder)
- 4th: Lenny Waltermath, Kenosha, WI — 194.10 mph (ship had alignment issues after a crash)
Lenny had hoped to psyche everyone out by placing a 200 mph flight early Saturday a.m., but he tapped down hard enough to break the stab when he tried to get his wrist into the pylon yoke. Saturday night repairs evidently lacked proper alignment, and when flown on Sunday the ship did not groove well.
Top jet setups
All four top jet ships had different head setups:
- L-H-H (Super Burp MKII): Langlois-Pardue extended head, intake diameter reduced to 1.25 in.
- Marcenaro's Sidewinder: large-bore Hoyt Raven head reduced with epoxy putty to a 1.25 in. throat.
- Davis's Sidewinder: stock Dyna head with spiders run out.
- Waltermath's Sidewinder: large-bore Raven.
L-H-H had to add benzene to their 50/50 fuel mixture to get enough laps for a clocking with their 6 oz. tank.
Social notes and thanks
We were glad to see Earl Witt, AMA Secretary-Treasurer, down for a visit. He said he wanted to see what all the AAAA ballyhoo was about. His flight didn't leave Saturday night, so he was able to stay around and help 160 people eat a barbecue and fried chicken order for 200 people. Dub Lett won the chicken-eating contest with four helpings. It was a great opportunity to socialize and talk with the other modeling fraternity.
We would like to express our thanks to Bill Pardue, Contest Director of the United States Control Line Championships, and the Event Directors Rickey Barrier, Harold Nash and John Bartley for the excellent job they did in making things move along smoothly. Hope to see y'all next year!
Product note
Tom's Custom Engines, 1242 Gardengate Cir., Garland, TX 75043, (214) 271-8201, is open for limited business again. Chrome work and K&B mods a specialty.
Gene Hempel (and Tom Upton) 301 N. Yale Dr., Garland, TX 75042.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
