My father and I are looking to try out control line. He used to fly control line way back when he was a kid, and thought he'd make another go of it. I've been doing a little research and have become intrigued and may try this out myself. I just purchase some cox sure start engines off of ebay and was thinking of putting one of them in an EZ Trainer (little $18 plane). Basically trying to get into this, spending as little money as possible (at first). I guess my question is, is there some sort of beginners guide that goes through the ins and outs of control line? How long the lines should be, starting/adjusting the engine, engine break in, fuel mixes, etc, etc. I have experience with nitro engines in rc cars, but only cars, my planes are all electric. So any advise that you can give, websites or guides would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to trying this out, it looks fun.


Also, I heard that something in the sure start engines needs to be reset or something. Is it highly recommended that I do that, or will it run fine without doing that? If so, is there a tutorial or something showing how to do it?

Go to the Brodak web site. I think it is www.brodak.com They are the largest control line supplier in the country right now. They have a number of planes including their Brodak basic trainer that would be suitable for getting restarted. On resetting the ball link that connects the piston to the connecting rod the engine will run without doing that but the durability will suffer. Ball link reset tools show up on ebay. My suggestion is that you fly a bit and decide if this is something you enjoy before investing in the reset tool.
Bob

Also try StuntHangar.com. It's like RCUniverse, but for control line flyers. Great web site.

Cheezer,

There are also several basic trainer plans free online if you want to build your own.

Your Sure Start should be good to go as is. When they were a "full blown" product, they came with a 6x3 prop and instructions. I would suggest the 6x3 prop, at least at first. Run the engine a little rich for the first three runs to smooth-in the parts.

Use a fuel with 15%-25% nitro and ~20% lube. The lube should be at least 50% castor (for the ball socket).

You can check how loose the ball socket is by removing the backplate and observing the connecting rod whils carefully rocking the prop back and forth. Rotate the prop to where the piston is about half way up and hold it there until the compression leaks off. Now gently rotate the prop back and forth without moving the piston. The slop you see will be from the lower connecting rod fit and the ball socket fit. There should be very little ball socket slop.

The ball socket fit is most critical when used at high RPM. High RPM use, such as racing, requires frequent monitoring of that fit. For sport applications, a ball-socket reset may only need to be ferformed once.

For your purpose, if you are near a club, you may be able to find someone to help you check your engines and reset if necessary.

George

Cheezer, Control Line flying can be a " ....whole 'nother ball game." Actually, in my CL experience days, the 1/2A, officially up to .049 cu. ins. engine displacement, in reality up to a .15 engine, is, IMO, not much fun other than playing with youngster kids and grandkids.
From .19 upwards, there are lots of options to really do something with the machine. For starters, here is a good place to get some background information that will allow you to find usable answers to some of your questions. This is the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) Web Site for Competition Event Rules. If you read the various CL event rules, then you will learn a considerable amount of information concerning the spectrum of CL aeromodeling. Just looking over the event for what is is, rather than details, will provide good background knowledge.

http://www.modelaircraft.org/events/compreg.aspx

As icerinkdad stated, the place to learn what is available in the CL market is Brodak. OTOH SIG, http://www.sigmfg.com/, also has a fair amount of CL products. Worth a look-see.

The Profile type models that are in the .19-.40 engine size can provide very nice flying times. .29-.35 was always a good choice.

Best of luck and stay far away from electric power lines of any kind. While the AMA Safety Code says "2. I will ensure that my flying area is clear of all utility wires or poles and I will not fly a model aircraft closer than 50 feet to any above-ground electric utility lines." I recommend that you double that distance to 100 ft. Too many folks have made their last flight because of ignoring that simple item.

Best of luck to you and have fun. [8D]

Thank you everyone for your responses. You all have been very helpful. We'll go ahead and give it a shot and hopefully everything will go well.

One more question. Does the sure start use an external fuel tank or is it attached?

The Sure Start needs an external tank. A Sullivan 1 oz clunk is fine. Mount it to the outboard close behind the engine. Fill it up 1/4 oz at first. Increase it as you become acclimated to the rotation. Focus on the model only as you rotate with it, using small control inputs. Make the controls as slow as you can with the bellcrank inner hole and elevator horn outer hole. I would suggest using some Sig .008 stranded steel lines (a little bit fragile so be careful) at about 30 feet so the rotational speeds are as low as they can be, for an 049 model. Add tip weight to keep the model out on the end of the lines (penny to a quarter depending on the model).
Once you get the hang of it, you can easily slow the rotation speeds by buying a TF Flite Streak ARF from Tower with any C/L 15 to 25 (or lock the throttle open on your existing like sized R/C engine, BB's are a little heavy and old bushed type is better), .012 stranded steel lines at 52 feet and the model will have a slower rotational speed per lap, and a lot more room in the hemisphere of flight to correct mistakes and for performing maneuvers.
Later a Nobler with a .35 or .40 and 60 foot .012's or .015's should really help you get the feel of the bigger Stunt models. They fly even better than the smaller ones. Brodak has a lot of different ARF's and ARC's available and kits for events like Stunt, Racing , Carrier and Scale.
Maneuvers are bisecting the circle (wingover), loops and combinations of loops, and inverted flight. Having your father help will I'm sure make some of my suggestions elemental but this with all of the other good suggestions above should get you on your way. Have fun,
Chris...

Another quick and easy fuel tank is simply a plastic 35mm film container. Punch a hole in the cap large enough to snugly feed the fuel line through near but not on an edge and another very small hole in the side of the container. Mount it with the small hole up and the hole with the fuel line thru outboard and maybe a little down. These hold about twice the fuel of an engine with a built in tank so be careful to not fill it all the way for your first flights. We use them on trainers where we take 3 or 4 kids into the middle of the circle with us and let them fly till they get dizzy befor passing the plane on to the next person. Very few of these leak.
Bob Furr

Awesome tips! I really appreciate the help. The more I learn about control line the more I want to try it. It's just a matter of time now.

Go for it man, I promise you and your dad will have a blast! Keep us updated