Control Line: Navy Carrier
THE RULES CYCLE is beginning again. Its first major event is the submission of proposed changes, which must be accomplished before September 1, 1984. Many proposals result from new ideas which have found local acceptance either as a common practice in running AMA events, or as a new event flown at local contests as an additional event. In many cases, these proposals are defeated on the initial ballot, not because they lack merit, but because there is no experience with the proposed change outside of the area in which it originated and there is no real opportunity to discuss the change adequately in the short time before the initial CLCB ballot.
Control Line: Navy Carrier
MYSTERY AIRCRAFT. Congratulations to David Broude, who was selected as winner from among the many who correctly identified the Arado Ar-96 that appeared in the March issue. This month's mystery aircraft should provide a little more challenge-good luck. The aircraft in the May issue was the prototype of a dive bomber which saw service with the U.S. Navy as the Buccaneer and with the Fleet Air Arm (British Royal Navy) as the Bermuda. Designed in the mid-1930s from the XSBA-1 (produced by the Naval Aircraft Factory as the SBN-1), the Brewster XSB2A-1 was larger and was to have a power-operated turret for self-defense, though that feature was not carried over to the production aircraft.
Control Line: Navy Carrier
THE WINNER of the Mystery Plane contest for the May issue was Bob Colton. Bob was selected from the eight readers who correctly identified the Brewster XSB2A-1 Buccaneer. Bob sent along a copy of an article covering the full range of Brewster bombers as described in my last column. Bob has a slight advantage over most of us in identifying planes of the 1930s and 1940s-he taught aircraft identification in the military during World War II. The good proportions of the Buccaneer haven't gone unnoticed. Tom Schaefer, a top Carrier competitor from New Jersey, has built and flown two. His accounts of them describe 350/365-point capability in Class I using an HP .40 on suction with a Perry carb.
Control Line: Navy Carrier
CONGRATULATIONS to Allan Wehman, Jr., who was selected from among those correctly identifying the Boeing XF7B-1 Mystery Airplane from the July issue. The carrier aircraft in the September issue is rather obscure. There was a single example produced for the Navy in 1933 and assigned Bureau No. 9377. As many readers have noted, the aircraft is similar to the YA-10 tested by the Army, but there were minor differences, especially when compared to the Army's A-12 production variant. The externally-braced wings could not be folded for storage, and the 44-foot wingspan was bigger than many biplanes of the period, thus causing a problem for carrier operations. Unlike its Shrike counterpart in the Army, the Curtiss XS2C-1 did not reach operational status and passed into obscurity.
Control Line: Navy Carrier
THE WINNER of the September Mystery Plane contest was Frank Beatty, with Evan Roberts, Ed Fort, and Gary Hetrick also correctly identifying this one-of-a-kind XS2C-1 Navy variant of the Curtiss Shrike. Unlike the mystery aircraft in prior columns, the XS2C-1 apparently does not qualify for our event, having been tested only as a land-based aircraft according to Peter Bowers' book, Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947. When I submitted my column, I had two references to problems with carrier storage because of the large non-folding wing, but no actual confirmation of testing or intended use. Thanks to Frank Beatty for setting me straight.
