Shoebox1.1

my names gus im 39 years old and havent flow CL since i was a kid. well i got the bug and with the help of some very nice people i put together a black hawk models pee wee pup. it built straight and easy.. looked good. i took it out yesterday for the first time and i couldnt fly it at all. crash boom crash boom! i handed it over to my buddy scott who has CL experience and it flew perfect. trim etc was spot on. thanks to larry at black hawk for a great plane. anyway after about 3-4 props broken on grass crashes the elevator broke off because the hinges didnt have grease on them and the glued fabric broke. got that fixed last nite and was determined to fly this plane. im thinking to myself... can i do this? everytime ive had the plane hand lauched it crashed. i built a very simple stooge launching device and took it out with ONE LAST propeller today and got 2 perfect off the ground flights by myself till the tank ran out!! man it felt like a million bucks! I CAN FLY CONTROL AIRPLANES AFTERALL! brodak says to start with a bigger 35 plane and i see what they mean. you need somthing that can float and give you time to correct. for me it was all in the launch. i would recommend concrete launching of a 1/2a plane and not a hand launch. i couldnt take video but i have some pics. let me try and post those.. i want to get a couple more sheet 1/2a planes under my belt and then my buddy jeff is going to get me into bigger planes. i think the top flite flite streak arf with a fox 25 is in my future. my ultimate goals are to fly with the likes of fred cronenwett and lynn boss in CL scale with electronics. thats what i want to do someday. thanks gus

BtnFlyGuy

Welcome back, Gus and way to stick to it!

Shoebox1.1

heres some pics

vauxhall

Nice looking plane you've got there Gus, well done. C/L is all about having fun and sounds like you hadplenty of that.
It's true,bigger planes with a built up wing are a lot easier to get off the ground, tofly and also to land. They will glide pretty well if you've got the CofG correctly located, as per the plan.
When you've got the current model under control you could move up to somethingliketheinexpensive and easy building SIG Akromaster on 50' lines and a .15 up front. You won't believe how great it flies for not too many dollars.

Shoebox1.1

Thanks! .15 plane sounds good. I really want to get on some longer lines!

BtnFlyGuy

This is a picture of my just-finished SIG Akromaster. It is a great kit, easy to build and a super flyer for someone coming back into the fold.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Love the Akromaster BFG and welcome back Shoe, when you decide to do some larger ships you will find there are tons of RC engines avaliable out there for very cheap. Its a simple matter to wire the throttle open and many work great with no mods. Old fortys usually sell at club flea markets for just a pittance becase no one wants them anymore for RC.

John

bjfrankl

Gus, what engine are you running on your 1/2a? I just flew my first successful control line flight a couple of weeks ago with a 1/2a Brodak Baby Clown and Brodak MKII .049. I have several flights on my plane, and this past weekend a couple of local club members let me fly a 35 size plane and I loved it! I am currently assembling a Top Flight Flight Streak with a OS 25.

I fly a lot of RC, but I have always wanted to try control line.

Bjfrankl

skylark-flier

No doubt about it! The Akromaster's a great plane to get back into flying with. Mine's below - runs on a rather old (30+ years) Fox .19 (non-muffled), even older Testors metal 4-oz. CL tank (that I almost never fill completely), covered with silkspan & SIG butyrate Dope. Flies on 50' lines.

Shoebox1.1

Thanks for the replies! The flite streak arf I don't think can be beat for the 60something dollars it costs? Throw on one of those cheap used motors and go fly!  I bought a black hawk models Fokker dr1 that I was going to save for later but I'm so pumped up Ruhr now I got started on it last night. Larry at black hawk said it's highly manuverable and easily does figure8's!   I don't want to try it but sounds like fun.   These 1/2a's sure are fun!  Oh this motor is a vintage thimble drone baby bee

clscale-RCU

My Feedback: (7)

Gus,

I have some lines coming your way for Flite Streak. I am glad you are doing well and nice to see some new faces join this portion of the Hobby. I just flew this past Sunday with three models here in Wichita under light winds and clear skies. Got to get some more flights in before November.

I had an akromaster about 18 years ago and it was a nice kit.

Land Sofly,
Fred Cronenwett

Shoebox1.1

thanks fred! your my hero! hope to get up there sometime and see you guys fly

Clancy Arnold

Gus
Welcome back to Control Line flying!!

John Brodak is absolutely correct when he recommends a 35 size model to learn how to fly Control Line.

Ihave a CL Trainer that I let new or retread flier learn on. It is a Ringmaster Trainer with a Blue Bird 25 up front and my U/Tronics Control single channel electronics controlling the throttle. The advantages of a big throttled model to learn on are:
a. You can feel the model
b.You have time to react
c. lap times are longer 5-7 seconds verses 2-3 seconds.
d. less sensitive to control inputs
e. If you or the model has a problem you can reduce power and slow the model down or shut the engineoff and land
f. Most fun, do touch and gos without killing the engine (Good practice time)

Clancy

Gungadin

Gus

Like you, I recently returned to C/L and I'm having a ball. Even entered a couple of contests this summer with my Brodak Magician which I built over the winter months. It is a good flyer and I'm really enjoying it .

zhzubair4

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Bob Mears

Another great choice, although a bit pricey, is the electric clown. I got one for Christmas and its a ball to fly. And all I have to take with me is the airplane, a couple of charged batteries and lines.

zhzubair4

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