kcrcpilot

Gotta weigh in!

Last Saturday, 3/10, My buddies drug out the hi starts and the sail planes. I unrolled the 70' lines,
Clipped on the 20 year old RINGMASTER and showed them how to turn nitro into noise.
The ol' Fox .35 pulled her through loops and wing overs and we did a whole flight inverted.
It had been a long time, but it's like riding a bike. We were both a little rusty, but it all came back to both of us, the Ringmaster and me.

She's really not the best contol liner, but she's still my favorite. I've got 5 hanging in the shop. Think I'll try it again real soon.

COPO

I am looking to get back flying also after a 30yr. drought. My father has always been my launcher, I was talking to him the other day and I was saying not sure if I can still do this. His response was the same as yours. Like riding a bike, you never forget. Ok I agree with that part, but it's the dizzyness I am afraid of. Hopefully it won't occur. We will soon find out as soon as we get some warmer weather. Gonna be a fun summer. I have 2 Ringmasters and am currently building a Ringmaster JR.

da Rock

If you're worried about the dizziness, do this simple and sensible test...............

Turn around and around for a bit.

Better to discover ahead of time if you're going to be dizzy, and discover it without an airplane out on the end of the lines.

AND...... If you do get a bit dizzy, if you repead the drill a couple of times with a rest in between, you'll probably overcome the tendency.

rcpilot55

I am looking for anyone who has a sterling super ringmaster ,new/old, built/used, or needs repair. I`m on disability and flying one of these would brighten up my life considerably! My e-mail is [email protected]. Thanks for taking time to read this post.[sm=thumbs_up.gif]

Tom Nied

I just ordered a Brodak Buster. Had plenty of Ringmasters, but had only one memorable Goldberg Buster in the past. So we're talking pretty much the same thing. To beat the dizziness, walk backward in a counterclockwise circle. Also another thing that helps if dizziness is a problem, try looking beyond the plane. If your focus is further out beyond the airplane and you're walking in a counterclockwise circle, dizziness can be controled. You can still see what the airplane is doing. I used to practice this in my bedroom as a kid, trying to perfect inverted flying which is just the opposite (clockwise backward circle). Practice will make you ready for that real control line flight. Come to think about, I'm going to do this myself.

ICE 32 ICEMAN

My Feedback: (1)

Tom,
I took out my old Ringmaster a while back and remembered the anti-dizzy method you speak of! It works. My retired Air Force dad (turns 91 this October!) bought that old Ringmaster in the PX at Orly Air Base in Paris, France just before we moved back to the States in 1960. It was in storage until about 1967 and I started building it as a high school sophomore. I decided to cover it with this new fangled stuff that came out in '68 called "Monokote." It's yellow with a painted red fuse and tail. It originally had a Fox Rocket 35 but in '69 I put a brand new Testor's McCoy Series 21 .35 on it. I bought it at the local Rexall Drug Store for $9.95. That old pot metal piece of junk didn't have and STILL does not have any compression due to that dykes ring but fuel, glow plug and an electric starter still makes it come alive! I've got 70 foot lines for it but I still can do just about any of the old maneuvers with it I want. I like my old wooden handle but every once in a great while I'll break out my old Jim Walker U-Reely Control handle for grins....... Ah the good old days!
Terry

Tom Nied

Terry, that's pretty interesting. My first Ringmaster I bought in 1969 and put a Enya 35 in it. The anti-dizzy technique I remember learning back then. It has alway helped and when I do get an opportunity for a flight, I always remember it. I read an interesting statement, maybe here. He said the products available for Controline now is like being in Heaven. I got to admit, I'm seeing better quality in the kits. There's plenty of cottage industries and a lot of the old favorites are still around. Ah yes, the good old days then and now. Have fun flyin with Dad.

build light

Till now, I had not heard of such a technique. My sister who was taking dance told me that a spinning dancer learns to focus on one point on stage or a light or something. Do not let your head turn till you cannot help it and then quickly refocus on the same point again.
I took this idea and told myself if I look at nothing but the model, keeping my entire focus there I would not get dizzy. worked for me till I got used to the round-de-round thing and like driving a car, I could look wherever I wanted to!

Robert

edbu1

The Model Airplane News plans service offers plans for the built up fuselage version for $14.95.

Jim Thomerson

The MAN plan is for the Williamson Ringmaster which preceeded, and has no relation to, the Sterling Ringmaster series. I have seen the original airplane shown in the article. It has had fixed flaps added. Several people have built this airplane in recent years. The article says it was built in various sizes up to 60 engine, but I have not been able to find out any details beyond what the article says.

yokozuna316

hi all..i had a s-1 ringmaster too..
i built my own wing for it tho..wing was 44in..i bolted up a fox 40bb and it flew great!
it was smooth and pretty snappy when doing qwik snappy stunts..
i sold out about 7 years ago but im getting back into it now..lucky for me i kept a few things..patterns..lines..monokote..so it wont be so bad starting over...lol[8D]

gcb

Robert,

That method also works if you fix your eyes on the background and let the plane fly through your field of vision. Just keep looking at different points and let the plane fly through it.
I think either method works as long as you concentrate on SOMETHING. I think the dizziness comes from your brain trying to process both the plane and the ground moving.
Fortunately the problem goes away after awhile. We all go through it.

George

Additional thoughts: Most of us build Ringmasters to recapture memories. If you are just starting out, or re-entering the hobby, there are better planes available such as the SIG Skyray35 or one of the Brodak offerings. If you do not have time or building skills, there are ARF's available too. A modern .25 will replace an old .35 and use modern fuels.
Folks reentering with the old iron/steel engines like Fox and McCoy should avoid modern fuels with all or some synthetic lube. The iron/steel engines build up a varnish seal on the piston that extends the life of an engine. Synthetics will remove this seal (cleaning action) and may leave you with a worn-out engine. You need all-castor lube for the old engines.

Edit: I often miss a typo!

yokozuna316

would it be a good idea to run all castor in the older 19s and 36x?
thanks..

Tom Nied

My opinion, yes, in fact I like to add 4 ounces of castor to all my fuel gallons to bring up the castor %. The newer engines maybe don't need it, but castor doesn't break down with heat. WW1 aircraft used lots of castor, it's how they kept them running. It's a controline thing I've been doing since forever, even with my RC engines. I don't want just absolute power, but I do want consistent runs and longevity. I'd have to agree with gcb that having castor in the fuel, especially with older engines, is a good thing.

gcb

Absolutely if they are iron/steel, especially if they have a lot of run time on them. Even a little synthetic will "clean" the engines and remove the varnish seal on the porous cast iron piston.

High silicon pistons used in ABC, ABN, etc. do not form this seal.

As Tom mentioned, castor burns at a much higher temp than synthetic lubes used in most fuels. It thickens and will often stop an engine before the engine is ruined. This is VERY important for an iron/steel setup because as the engine heats up from running over-lean, the piston expands. causing more friction, which causes more heat until you get "thermal runaway". With all-synthetic lube, often the lube flashes instead of lubricating, and the friction wear may ruin the engine in as little as one run.

Additionally, if you have been away a long time, fuels have changed. Many are formulated for large RC engines with ball bearings. These do not need as much lube as the smaller engines, especially small engines with sleeve bearings. That's why many flyers add additional lube. IMHO your Fox .19 and .36x should have 20%-25% all-castor lube.

Oh yes, if your iron/steel engines have low time on them you can successfully use half castor/ half synthetic. When they start wearing out, switch to all-castor and some of the compression will come back. Many flyers prefer half synthetic because it runs a bit cleaner.

Of course all of this is merely one opinion...something to consider.

George

Edit: Oops, my apologies. In answering questions we seem to have hijacked this thread about Ringmasters sooo...here's my Ringmaster. Modifications include adjustable tip weight and leadouts. Power is a Fox .35 with hemi head, stuffer backplate and tongue muffler:

mred33

Ahhh The old RingMaster. I used to fly them back in the 50s along with my friends and we had a ball. We flew stunt and combat with them. I know, it's not a combat plane, but when everyone is flying RingMasters, it doesn't matter. We used to fly them with the old green head K&B 29 and 35 and had a ball doing it. I would love to build another just to see if I can still fly one. As for getting dizzy, quit turning and do something - loops, 8s. wingovers, or what ever. Just stop turning and it goes away in a couple of seconds, then you can start turning again. It helps if you fly inverted a little so you can turn the other way. After talking about all this, I may have to get some plans and start building one again. My Smoothie and Nobler would put it to shame in a contest, but I loved my RingMaster and loved flying it anyway. I think I flew it more then any other plane at the time.

Tom Nied

I got to make an effort to get out to the field, get down into the basement to push along the Buster, and bum a flight off a friend at the fields Ringmaster. Spring is here. Just need good enough weather.

yokozuna316

koool beans guys...lol
ill be getting the all castor sig fuel..the one with the highest castor content..
would i need to add a bit more? if so,,how much would be sufficient?
also..im thinking about getting a couple of fox 15bb engines..would they need the all castor too or would the newer haff n haff fuels be good for them?

gcb

A few comments:

mred33, I know what you mean. Before combat became so specialized it was an "add a streamer and fly whatcha brung" type event.


Tom, I remember a newby with a Buster one time saying that Buster was an appropriate name for his plane because he took 'er up and proceeded to buster.


yokozuna316, almost any new engine can run on half and half. Well used iron/steel engines that have been run on all-castor often maintain some of their compression with a varnish seal that builds up on the porous iron piston. If you run with some synthetic, it will remove this seal and you may lose some compression. If so, you can get it back by switching to all-castor.
If the engine has been run on fuel with some synthetic, it does not have the varnish buildup and can be run on on castor/synthetic mixed lube. I did not mean to scare you about synthetics. I would caution you to not use all-synthetic, especially on an iron/steel setup because of the running characteristics of iron/steel. I personally would not run all-synthetic in ANY engine just because of the "insurance" that castor provides. Most of the time I use all-castor...even in ABC engines.
I think SIG's high castor oil content fuel is 25%. That should be adequate for any engine, although some prefer ~28% for a Fox .35 (a special condition). The Fox .15 BB should run well on 20%-25% either all-castor or 50/50. I would recommend 15% nitro for sport, more for performance.
Additional point: some manufacturers (not SIG) quote oil percentage by weight instead of volume, so their 18% by weight may only be 14% by volume.
And remember, this is only one opinion, check with the flyers around you.

George

Tom Nied

gcb, yeah, I busted my old Buster and my first Ringmaster real good. Amazingly I usually got them back together. I like to cut out MonoKote letters and put the name on my planes. Thinking of doing it with a jagged split running through the "B".

Fuel is always a consumable and can be costly. I do like to add 4 ounces of Sig Castor to my fuel. Always take to the field with you a bottle of Windex and some paper towels to clean up the oil residue. Keep that Ringmaster pretty.

yokozuna316

thanks for the info on the engines guys..
im getting this really old fox35(1954 model)..[8D]
id like to fire it up on a plane and actually fly it...a nice piece of history..lol
i just want to be sure i dont kill it by burning the wrong fuel..[X(]

gcb

Duke Fox put the maximum size engine in that crankcase. For that reason, some of the cooling comes from unburned castor carrying off heat in the exhaust vapor. I think most run 25% to 29% castor for maximum cooling affect. Fox Superfuel is/was 29% all-castor. I would not recommend less than 25% castor if you want to preserve it.

BTW, none of this is cast in concrete. I like to treat my engines nice. Some run higher nitro and lower oil in Foxberg racing. They pour fuel on them to cool them for hot restarts, etc., etc. Don't know how long they last that way, but the guys running them have fun...and that's the point, isn't it.

George

kcrcpilot

Here's my Ringmaster.
When the engine flamed on top of a wing-over, I buried it in the mud.
My buddy yelled, "You really stuck that landing!"
I cleaned out the intake, and went again. Who says an S1 has a weak wing?

swapdaddyxx1

I have one of the old early Ringermaster kits. The box is absolutley falling apart, but the the plan is still good and I believe all the parts are there,would have to check. Will take $35 + shipping if anyone is interested. Can furnish pics,but will need email address. Don't know how to post pics on this site.

Tom Nied

Very tempting, but too many maybe's for me.