Control Line: Racing
BETTER Racing performance from the K&B 6.5cc racing engine: As the contest season winds down in the Midwest area, I receive many requests concerning improving the performance of various Racing engines. Some modifications can be done without expensive tools and will result in rather substantial improvements in engine performance. After several hours spent testing various propellers and exhaust pipe lengths, I utilized a little tip given me by Bob Kerr. By carefully removing the excess meat in the exhaust extractor in the K&B 6.5, a 200-400 rpm increase was forthcoming. In observing the exhaust port and the exhaust stack, I saw an excess of metal. Thinning the walls of the bolted-on exhaust manifold definitely improves performance.
Control Line: Racing
TRAGEDY coupled with record-setting Control Line Racing performances hallmarked the 67th National Aeromodeling Championships. The Mid-America Aircenter in Lawrenceville, Illinois, was included on the fringe of the severe-weather front that flooded much of the midwest. The first of three days of competition was marked with intense humidity, searing heat, and occasional storm cells with heavy rain and lightning.
Control Line: Racing
HERE is the plan for the FAI Team Racer used by the Van Uden brothers from the Netherlands. I printed it once before in my March '88 column. If you can still read the print on the drawing (it had to be reduced in size a bunch to fit in the magazine), you will have to translate the written information for yourself. I'm printing this because I've received several letters from our overseas competitors requesting the copies of it I promised back in '88. In the full-size version, you can easily see a wealth of detail. I received a letter from Oliver Benoit of Belgium concerning his production of the DB diesel Team Race engine. The DB stands for Delrue Benoit, and the two team members made the decision to produce their own engines after competing in the CL World Championships in Kiev, Russia.
CL Racing
IT'S HISTORY. The 1989 AMA Nationals held in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State is over. This Nats will certainly go down as a memorable event for many competitors who traveled from the East Coast area to the great Northwest to pursue national competition. I made the drive with my son averaging approximately 700-800 miles per day across the Midwest through the semi-arid areas of Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. These regions definitely show a change in scenery from our typical Midwestern landscape. The Control Line site, which was located at a small airport in Richland, WA, provided an excellent surface for all CL events. The area selected was somewhat remote, but the restroom and food facilities were adequate.
Control Line: Racing
LITTLE QUICKIE construction: I have had numerous requests for information and visual aids relating to the construction of Scale Racers. At the majority of our Midwestern events, Scale Racing profits from the largest entry level. Larry Dziak has shared some of his proven construction techniques with me, and I will share them with you. One of the photos shows the primary construction of the 3/8-in.-thick fuselage. Things to note are the extremely large motor mounts (3/4 × 3/8 in.) with the bottom mount extending back beyond the wing and giving the fuselage extra strength. To avoid having the tail break off during hard landings, Larry puts two spruce spars in the fuselage: one directly under the wing (which you can see), and one right over the lower hardwood mount which runs all the way on either side of the elevator mount. Larry then lightens the hard wood by drilling trees so that the strength is maintained, but the additional weight is removed. You can also note a tank-mounting recess right below the wing so that the tank can be securely attached to the hardwood mount (which is recessed under the balsa top sheeting).
