Some of the C/L events such as carrier landings, C/L combat, and "balloon busting" can be interesting to watch. The 180+ mph "Dyna-Jet" pulsejet-powered C/L speedsters are captivating in the same way that an impending car or train collision compels you to watch--one wrong move and the model could very quickly wrap its flying lines around the unfortunate flyer and set him or her on fire!

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Well, GH, next time you are around the S.W. you all come on over and I'll dust off my Sterling profile P-51 control line model and invite your RC whatever into the circle. Do have a ten foot streamer on the rear so I have a clear target to aim for.

Or try your luck with another control line model in the same circle and lets do some down home dancing chasing each other. BTW, don't forget to reverse your handle directions when you get upside down and I am coming directly to your aircraft from the other direction. Or how about trying to figure out how to untangle both sets of lines while going around and around because we both did one too many loops.

Or, try your RC in a ballon bust contest! Bet you can't pull out of a 90 degree dive from ten feet at six inches enough to keep the wings on. Or miss the large brick they use to hold the ballon on at about 12" from the ground

I'll bet Blackshire knows just what I am talking about!

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Geoffrey

NAR 85416 L3 as of 4/2010

"There is never enough rope to do the job but it is always long enough to hang yourself up with problems"

Not from experience, but as a spectator, yes! I've read that Cox used to hire boys to fly their C/L planes at the "Flying Circle" at Disneyland, and their airborne antics certainly encouraged sales to the spectators. Even "Uncle Walt" himself was impressed by their maneuvers on the rare occasions when he was seen in the vicinity.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

I cut my teeth on Free Flight and Control line aircraft building and flying. Many, many days were spent working those activities. We did not have the cash at age 10 or so to buy into R/C, and I'm kind of glad we didn't. I mean, R/C kinda sucked back in the late 60's-early 70's, anyway.
A crowd almost always gathered at the school yard where we flew. We would carry the planes and support equipment on our bikes and stay at the ball field for hours flying.
There is a heck of a lot of skill to do this and do it well. Folks who did not like it generally had a hard time flying these planes, hence the dislike.

Made me appreciate R/C and all that goes into it much more. My building skills advanced. These skills are all but missing in today's ARF world. Very few people even know how to fix what they damage now. I learned stick and tissue building from my Dad, and I was hooked forever! I've even learned a few tricks from you guys on this forum!

Rockets were built and flown at the same time and place(s). We never worried about sealing wood or seams. We just built and flew, the more the merrier!

So, GH, as much as I agree with you about a lot of things, I diverge from your negative feelings regarding C/L. I loved it and was pretty good at it, though I would never stand in a circle with someone else flying one; I liked taking my planes home in one piece!
I still have my Ringmaster and Magnum and a little Ringmaster, jr., which goes over 180 mph!
They all still fly (though I have to admit, not in a while!).

Now, in keeping with the thread, I have had fantastic customer service from Estes. Not quite to the level of Semroc, but they are really trying. Hard. I thank them for all they are doing for us. I know Vern must be relieved and proud. Barry who???

Allen

I flew a lot of C/L myself as a kid. But, most of it was plastic RTF planes, mainly from WenMac. I had some Cox and a few Testors as well. I did build one of those flying balsa wings for stunt flying. I still have the pieces around here somewhere. Back around 2001 I bought some WenMac planes off of eBay to collect. I also got into a binge for a short while around that time buying old nitro motors of different makes and sizes.

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Scott D. Hansen
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe - Your One Stop BAR Shoppe!
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Ye Olde Rocket Forum
WOOSH NAR Section #558

I only had one Testors plane, the RTF C/L Japanese Zero, and the engine only ran once (but for the full "tank duration") when my father tested it on the kitchen table the night I got it for my 9th or 10th birthday. It never would start again after that, even after he disassembled and cleaned it (he got curious as to why it wouldn't run again, and we all had experience with Cox's .049 and .020 glow plug engines). He even tried using the Cox fuel (the Testors fuel was a strange pink preparation), but it still never fired up again. If that was a common problem with Testors' engines, I can understand why their RTF C/L planes came and went so relatively quickly.Love those symmetrical airfoils! Those unswept flying wings can *almost* do what might be called a "snap loop" maneuver (and maybe ones made out of composite materials *can* do it and stay in one piece).I've never heard of WenMac. When were they in production? Even back into the 1960s, the only RTF C/L planes I ever came across were made by Cox or Testors.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

40's through 60's from what I recall. Maybe up to early 70's.

They have a unique looking motor. Some of their planes had a 3rd line that let you shoot missiles or drop bombs.

__________________
Scott D. Hansen
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe - Your One Stop BAR Shoppe!
Ye Olde Rocket Plans - OOP Rocket Plans From 38 Companies!
Ye Olde Rocket Forum
WOOSH NAR Section #558

Thank you for filling me in. Cox once had a Stuka RTF C/L plane that (I think) came with a droppable bomb, but I don't recall if it had a third line. (When Estes was selling Cox planes, their yellow [AT-6 Texan, if memory serves] could also drop a provided bomb, but I never had one, so I don't know if it used a third line to release the bomb.)

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Back on topic about Estes customer service...

I was trying some filling and priming before removing the fins from the sheet for my Alien Invader and ended up butchering them while trying to take them out of the sheet. The filler acted like glue and sealed up most of the laser cuts, which gave me a struggle to cut them out. Anyway, enough of how i suck at this sometimes...

I emailed Estes about trying to purchase a new fin sheet, Christine emails back saying because parts are stored in China she has no access to spare parts for kits but this one time she is sending me a whole new kit! Now that rocks!

Does the part about China mean that Penrose is more just R&D and warehousing now, with very limited kit packaging being done?

__________________
Kurt Knox
NAR #93503
MASA section 576
SAM #0316

Its been like that for quite a long time.

__________________
Scott D. Hansen
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe - Your One Stop BAR Shoppe!
Ye Olde Rocket Plans - OOP Rocket Plans From 38 Companies!
Ye Olde Rocket Forum
WOOSH NAR Section #558