A couple people I've talked to who have flown monoline have talked about a system response that's not quite as immediate or accurate as with the more conventional system. I've never run into anyone who followed a suggestion in a hints n' Tips from American Modeller that suggested integrating a monoline handle with a conventional handle. Apparently, speed models respond to the system better than more aerobatic models. For a while, some 1/2A models at least didn't even use an elevator, just a swivel tab on the inner wingtip worked by the Monoline handle. I believe this was banned for competition in the (early 70s?) Seems to me that speed models may not even need a control system, when I think back to a point where the local CL club had a number of seasons of indoor tethered .020 speed.

I remember seeing adds for a couple systems where the pilot sits outside the circle, and controls the model through a conventional 2 line system to some kind of wobble plate system on a central post. One might actually have been available in the late 1940s.

I'd think an RC equipped tethered plane would be ideal for someone with some kind of physical limitation that prevented him from moving around in the center of a circle. I know I was thinking of doing this during my convalesence from a mild stroke, till I got myself back into condition to fly CL. That took me longer than getting back into condition to throw hand launched glider in local competitions. About the only possible problem would be the possibility of frequency conflict with nearby RC flying, unless maybe a 2.4 GHz system is used.

There have been many applications of the RC encoder/decoder sections being stripped out of RC gear to drive on-board servos with the signals being sent through insulated wires. fairly practical. Some of the systems use custom handles, some use modified transmitters clipped to the pilots belt. There have been commercial systems, and do-it-yourself systems. I believe Clancy Arnold sells the Ultronics system in single and multi-channel versions.

The systems are out there and available. Whether or not theyare worth the effort is a personal decision. Like my son couln't understand why I wasn't hot n' bohered by the idea of a refridgerator with the control system connected to the internet.

IMO, I'd think using a system like this mounted to a handle just for elevator to be a needless weight adding complication that at best might improve flying for only a very small number of people. For me, not worth the effort or expense. The added weight of decoder, batteries, and servos might have some application in carrier, but again the weight would probably be a handicap for the slow speed portion of the flight. It's main application, and to me the only practcal application, has been and will continue to be in scale flying. Or in just for the H of it fun flying for an expirementer.

But then, in 1966, I told people I didn't think anything practical would come out of some work reported in several issues of American Modeler. Something about a couple guys actually finding a way to control RC helicopters. Anybody know how that came out?