Control Line: Speed
Gene Hempel
At the 1979 Nats, Charlie Davis made a proposal to consider the Olytyme Speed Society. The attraction for this type of event generated quite a bit of interest.
Now is the time for all inactive speed fliers to speak up and make their thoughts known. If the speed modelers do not write and express their views, you have only yourselves to blame. It is very easy to sit back and criticize but do nothing to participate. Which category do you fit into?
I would like to present Charlie's proposal in its entirety for everyone to consider. The next voice you hear will be his.
It is becoming painfully apparent that the hobby we have all enjoyed for so many years is being threatened with extinction because of the lack of participation. There are a number of reasons for the lack of new blood and the constant loss of active members. To remain competitive today requires more time, money and equipment than most people can devote to a hobby. New modelers are turned away by all that is required to become competitive and the fun is gone for most of those already engaged in it.
We have seen a great deal of activity and enthusiasm develop in old-time free-flight and old-time stunt. The reason is simple. It's fun again and that is what a hobby is supposed to be. We would like to propose the formation of the O.S.S. (Olytyme Speed Society) and through this society provide contests which would have appeal to present speed fliers, to newcomers, and to the dozens of our friends and comrades who have dropped out, but who still have the itch each summer to get together and compete.
This is not intended to replace AMA Speed, but to be a supplementary activity as is the Society of Antique Modelers. If we put the fun back in it, activity could return as it has in old-time free-flight. The idea is to set up rules and guidelines which will allow some experimentation and development (tinkering) but if the proper foundation is laid at the outset, would not allow things to get out of hand as it has, such as $20,000 machine shops, burned-up engines by the car load and tremendous expenditures of time and money. Here are the basic proposals:
Charlie Davis — Proposed Olytyme Speed Society Rules
- I. Classes (Displacement):
- A — .201
- B — .201 - .40
- C — .40 - .65
- Jet
- II. Engines must be strictly commercially available production engines. No home-builts, no hybrids, no major modifications.
- III. Fuel: 80/20 alcohol-castor oil. (White gas or Coleman fuel for jet.) Fuel to be provided at the contest.
- IV. Fuel systems: Strictly suction tanks. No pen bladders or pressurized tanks.
- V. Control: Two lines. Lengths and sizes to be determined by safety but probably:
- A — 60 ft.
- B — 65 ft.
- C & Jet — 70 ft.
- VI. Props limited to commercially available or easily ordered items by hobby shops. No special items not readily available to everyone or which might be in short supply.
- VII. Engine modification:
- Piston:
- (a) Venturi and needle valve may be modified if necessary to work with suction tank, but no increase in diameter over stack or fancy carburetors which could not be easily obtained by everyone including beginners.
- (b) Engine can be cleaned up, polished, freed up but no foreign parts used in exchange (i.e., front ends, rear ends, fancy German or Italian ball bearings, etc.).
- (c) Timing can be changed by use of spacers. Some thought and planning here to determine if machining of ports can be allowed.
- (d) Heads may be machined or button inserts to any contour or head clearance. This also requires some thought; we need some freedom to modify, but where is the line drawn so we don't get beyond the capability of the majority of modelers?
- Jet:
- (a) Fins can be machined off stock head.
- (b) Head can be polished but no significant changes in port shape or angle.
- (c) No extended heads or modified intakes.
- (d) Retainer can be modified by cutting back for greater reed opening.
- (e) Stock tail pipes and combustion chambers.
- VIII. No exhaust extensions or extractions. Side port must be open-faced. Rear exhaust can have no extension added to engine or built into cowl which will function as an extension. (See proposed drawing of cowl design.)
- IX. Airplane design is wide open as long as safety is maintained.
The foregoing are presented as initial ideas. As previously stated, this is not intended to replace all-out AMA Speed because there are those who still wish to push speed to the limit of engines, fuel, etc., and there should be a place for them. Instead, this would be a movement to bring back the nostalgia that we all remember as the good old days, to allow competition in a way which is enjoyable and does not have to consume all of our time to be competitive. It would also be a set of speed events the newcomer would not be afraid to tackle, and probably when activity began to attract a lot of old speed fliers who will come out of the woodwork to join the fun. The time is right for this movement, and review of the contest schedule in model aviation with the immense popularity and abundance of old-time events proves the point.
Agreed, some of the proposals may be a little restrictive in some people's minds, such as two lines instead of one and limits on modifications, but this probably is necessary to make this activity popular and we all may have to be a little flexible. Consider the alternative by asking yourself, "Do I really want to fly RC?"
If interested please send your thoughts and proposals to either:
- Charlie Davis, 2701 Stanford, Dallas, TX 75225, (214) 368-3546
- Gene Hempel, 301 N. Yale Drive, Garland, TX 75042, (214) 272-5210
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
