I probably could have asked these questions in a PM to Bruce but I figured maybe they'd be of enough general interest to post here.

I've decided to give C/L a try this year. I've been flying R/C since the late '70s, and building stick and tissue FF models several years prior to that. But I never flew control line, unless you count trying (and failing) to get airborne with those plastic Cox jobs. I helped my pals bust up quite a few of those on the school playground back in the late '60s, but we never were able to complete even a single lap in the air with one.

Anyway, I figured I'd give it a try again. Originally I was going to build something larger than a 1/2A size plane, since I have a .20 R/C engine, as well as an older Fox .35 C/L. Also, I've read, and it makes sense, that larger models fly better. But I also have a bunch of reed valve .049s, and a back yard that's big enough to fly a plane on 35 foot lines, so I started looking at 1/2A profile planes.

I came across Bruce Matthews' Cadet 2 plan and couldn't resist the classy lines, and besides, I already had enough material to build it. I'm at the painting stage now, and have a few questions, for Bruce or anyone else to answer:

Where should the CG be? I don't intend to use the landing gear, since my back yard is covered with snow now, and I doubt the plane would roll on my grass in the summer anyway.

Also, I'm unsure of how I should set up the control sensitivity. Is there a formula for the relationship between handle line spacing, bellcrank size, and control horn length, for a docile trainer type plane? Approximately how much elevator throw should I be getting?

Since I'm not able to use the landing gear, I'll need to enlist the help of one of the brave, devoted females in the family to hand launch it for me. Can anyone give me some tips to pass on to my ground crew (besides "keep fingers outta the prop!)?

I'm looking forward to this new experience. If there's anything else I should have asked but didn't, let me know that too.

Cheers,
Dave