The Classic ebay Scam

This is a reminder that on September 23, 2000 at the Gunston Flying Site in Lorton VA, the Northern Virginia Control Liners is hosting the 4th Walt Musciano 1/2A Scientific Commerative Meet. For more information read on:
Events:
Craftsmanship and Appearance
Proto Speed
Slow Rat Race
Stunt (modified)

Objective:
To have a nostalgia control line event, and to honor Walt Musciano, who for many of us, designed our first model airplane. The emphasis is on fun, not performance, on nostalgia, not competition.
Remember the one and two page Scientific spreads in the model magazines of the 50’ies, and 60’ies, lots of little carved balsa fuselage/solid wing semi-scale designs that almost fell within your nickel and dime budget? The purpose of this event is to let you go back to that simpler time, indulge your nostalgic bones to the maximum, and at the same time honor the man who designed most of those models —- Walt Musciano. The rules are designed to keep within the spirit of that time, not making them into modern designs with modern engines/performance, but to recapture the wonder of flight of the youthful initiate back then, and to savor it again after all these years.

General:
All events will be conducted in accordance with AMA regulations regarding control line models and the particular event being flown, except as is otherwise specified in these rules.

Acceptable Designs:
1. Must be 1/2A (.049) control line planes designed by Musciano and kitted by Scientific. It does not need to be built from the kit however. A list of the permissible planes will be published separate from these rules.
ENGINE REQUIREMENTS:
The limited engine rule is intended to maintain the nostalgia spirit of the event and to keep the performance comparable to those that were built back then.
1. Engines must be .049’s or smaller.
2. Only those from the list below are allowed.
3. Only stock parts (as delivered on the engine at the time) are allowed, no hop up or high compressions heads.
4. Only suction fuel systems are allowed — no pressure.
5. Engines may be freely substituted on your plane between attempts, heats, officials, finals, etc. However, once you use an engine in an event, even if only an attempt or a "did not finish" heat, then no one else may use that same engine in that same event.

Eligible Engines
Atwood: Wasp and Cadet 049s only (no integral plug heads, no Atwood Signature, Atwood Shriek, or Atwood Shriek Signature engines).
Cox: Babe Bee, (only the old model, single transfer port, low compression head), Space Bug Jr (single transfer port, low compression head), Golden Bee (single transfer port, low compression head), and Pee Wee .020. Modern Cox low compression heads are acceptable for Babe Bee and Golden Bee engines. For the Space Bug Jr., use an original plug or an original plug bored and taped for a regular 1/4 32 screw in glow plug. No other plugs are acceptable. Currently manufactured Cox engines are NOT eligible. This includes Babe Bees, Black Widows, Killer Bees, Venoms, etc.
Fox: Fox .049 (not the large case/intake F.A.I. model).
Holland: Wasp .049 only, not the Hornet.
K&B: K&B Infant, Torpedo .035, Torpedo .049, and Sky Fury .049.
McCoy: Any McCoy .049, either Glow or Diesel. Does not include the plastic case Testers/McCoy engines
OK Cub: Any OK Cub .049 (or smaller), either Glow or Diesel.
Spitfire: Baby Spitfire .045, Spitzy .045, and Royal Baby Spitfire .049.
Testers: Copy of Wen Mac Hotshot .049 only.
Wen Mac: Any Wen Mac .049.

FUEL:
Club standard 1/2A fuel (15%), supplied by the Club, must be used for all glow engines. Diesel users must supply their own fuel.

LINES:
1. Steel stranded cable, minimum diameter of .008”.
2. Alternate line material: Spectra, a good brand name is Spiderwire (fishing line), 20 lb. test.
3. Length: 35 ft. from center of plane to center of handle grip, + 6”, - 0" tolerance.
LESSONS LEARNED/HINTS
1. Keep it light.
2. Run in your engine before the contest.
3. Test fly the plane before the contest, make sure engine, fuel system, and trim are working/correct.
4. Use tip weight on the outer wing, even though the plans do not show any. Start with 3 pennies or equivalent for .012 inch diameter stranded steel, 2 pennies or equivalent for .008 inch diameter stranded steel, and 1 penny or equivalent if you are using Spectra, or Spiderwire. Adjust the tip weight as necessary for best flight performance.
5. Start off with enough line rake so that the nose hangs down just a little when held up by the leadouts. Adjust line rake as necessary for best flight performance.
6. Start off with the Center of Gravity at 20% of the wing chord. Adjust the CG as necessary for the best flight performance.
7. Start off with about 20 degrees maximum elevator deflection (throw) each way. Make sure the elevator throw is equal up and down. Adjust throw/(rate of deflection) as necessary for best flight performance.
8. Do not over prop -- let the engine rev. A 5-3 is good for a Cox. If the plane is light you might get away with a 5-4 for racing and speed (Cox). Some of the non-Cox engines might work better with a little more prop, but it won't be a lot more. Try different props and see what works best. Test with a stopwatch for racing and speed.
9. Set the needle a little rich, a little burping, until you know what the best setting is for your combo.

We had lots of fun last year, come on and join us

<1. Steel stranded cable, minimum diameter of .008”.
2. Alternate line material: Spectra, a good brand name is Spiderwire (fishing line), 20 lb. test.>>

If you guys have been using 20# Spiderwire for half-A's without problems you have just been lucky! I read a piece in the new Model Aviation in D.B.Matthews' column (page 87) saying 12# Spiderwire was good for flying half-A's! Well I'm here to tell you I tried THIRTY POUND Spiderwire with a Corehouse Lil' Hacker with a stock Black Widow for power. The whole airplane only weighs a few ounces. It worked fine for a number of flights over a period of a month or so. Then one day it got loose in the wind & turned the circle into a "D", if you know what I mean. When it got to the end of the lines on the downwind side it kept right on going!! Both lines broke just above the knot on the leadout end. It hit the ground about three feet from where a friend of mine was sitting on the grass. He had absolutely NO time to get out of the way. It bounced up, still running, & flew another 40 feet until it hit a chainlink fence. We were both VERY lucky that airplane didn't hit a few feet to one side. Please people, use proper cable (or solid) STEEL flying lines. A set of proper lines doesn't cost any more than a roll of Spiderwire. Why take a chance? I KNOW THIS STUFF CAN BREAK I'VE SEEN IT! I've been sport flying off & on since I was a kid (I'm 52) & I've been to every contest within driving distance for the last three years. The only time I've seen cable break was during combat matches. Period. I've sent an email with a similar warning to Bob Hunt, the new Aeromodeling Editor of Model Aviation. He told me he will print it in the Letter to the Editor column. On Mr. Mathews behalf I want to mention that he says at the beginning of his column that a lot of the material was going to be second hand information & he didn't know all the sources. I don't mean to rain on anybodies parade, I just don't want anyone to be hurt unnecessarily.
Nils

I agree; stick with the .008 lines. ther are not that difficult to deal with.