- Varieties
- Learning to fly
- Learning to fly combat
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Suggestions to Preston Briggs
This site was last updated on February 15, 2008.
Getting Started
adapted from an article by Iskandar Taib
Why fly Control Line?
Control-line flying is a unique way of experiencing the flight of your model. Unlike radio control, you are directly attached to your model through a set of lines. The model is only a short distance away, and the pilot is able to tell what the model is doing, even without looking. It is totally possible to fly a CL model "eyes off", even through maneuvers.
Notice that Monique is watching Laura's plane.
Due to the proximity to the flier and to spectators, control line offers both unique challenges and unique advantages over other forms of model aviation.
For instance, the Stunt pilot must be able to put his aircraft through abrupt pull-ups a mere five feet off the ground. The Scale pilot has to contend with wind. The Combat pilot must be able to avoid hitting another airplane flying in a very limited amount of airspace. By the same token, CL Scale models fly very close to the pilot and spectators, who can see in detail flaps being lowered, landing gear being retracted, bombs being dropped. CL Combat happens in close quarters, so more is apt to happen than with its RC counterpart (where many matches can go by without cuts, since depth perception isn't good enough to bring the two opponents into close proximity). It more closely simulates a "knife fight" than RC combat.
Aside from the model and the engine, you will need equipment for
starting and running engines, and for your control system. This means,
at the minimum, fuel, a glow driver of some sort, fuel tanks, some
means of fueling your model, a control handle, lines and line
connectors.
OK, let's go over these one by one.
If you fly over grass, with
hand-launched models, it helps to have glowplug leads long enough for
the starter and the holder to stand up. Some events allow electric
starters (and if you're sport flying, they work well). Others require
that you hand-start.
But regular RC clunk tanks work well, too, if the venting is set up
correctly. If you run diesels, make sure your fuel tank and tubing can
stand up to the fuel, which is a lot more aggressive than glow fuel.
For competition, follow the rules of the event the airplane was
designed for. Tables for line lengths and diameters can be found in
the AMA rule book.
Lines and connector hardware are available from a variety of
sources. Sig sells a good
selection, as does Sullivan
Suppliers of Combat
equipment can sell you very large rolls of braided wire, which is the
way to go if you need (or plan to need) lots of sets. Line ends can be
made using the methods specified in the AMA rule book, or on the back
of the blister packaging for SIG's control line wire.
Inexpensive handles for ½-A can be obtained from Cox,
Goldberg and SIG. SIG handles tend to last a little longer, and come
with a roll of dacron line, which, even if not used as control-line
can be used for tying hinges, etc. Sullivan also makes a unit that can
be used for ½-A, which is considerably tougher than the small
plastic handles. ½-A handles need to have narrow line spacing,
as the bellcranks used are smaller than the 2- and 3-inch ones used on
larger models.
For anything larger than ½-A, use a properly designed
handle. Sullivan makes two kinds, and you can get nicely made
adjustable handles from Tom Morris. For Combat use,
Mejzlik
Modellbau makes a nice, in-air-adjustable unit.
There are two different approaches to choosing a first
airplane. The first is to use a ½-A sized plane for
training. The second is to use something decidedly bigger, powered by
a .15 to a .35 sized motor.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.
½-A airplanes, provided that they are light and have
sufficient wing area, can be made to fly well. However, they tend to
be twitchy, and can't handle wind nearly as well as bigger models can.
On the plus side, motors and kits are very inexpensive, and crashes
often do not result in as much damage, especially if you fly off
grass.
Larger planes are actually easier to fly than ½-As, since
they can use longer lines and handle the wind a lot better. They also
use up a lot less sky when you start to learn maneuvers. The drawback,
of course, is that they take much longer to build, and usually end up
with harder-to-fix damage after a crash.
Save the flapped stunters (e.g., SIG Banshee) and nice
covering/paint jobs for when you can keep the airplane out of the
ground.
Suggested ½-A Trainers:
The Deweybird and Skyray are all-sheet. They are easier and
quicker to build, and you will not need any covering skills. But they
are more fragile in a crash. Built properly, the airplanes with
built-up wings should survive most crashes when flown over soft
ground.
Suggested bigger trainers
Strangely enough, Slow Combat planes make good trainers, especially
if you build them nose heavy. The following airplanes are similar in
concept:
They are quick to build and relatively easy to repair. The SIG Buster
and Shoestring are small, with sheet wings. Build the planes
nose-heavy and use a mild (though not a weak or unreliable) motor. The
Gotcha has a foam wing, is quick to build, and tough.
To get in the most flying for the least building effort, you should
check out the U-Key 35 or the Gotcha Streak. Both are fairly
inexpensive (about $50), quick to assemble, tough, and they fly well.
As with RC, its best to have an instructor. The
two-hands-on-a-handle approach is good - the student pilot holds the
handle, and the instructor stands slightly behind and to the
right. The instructor's left hand should be on the trainee's left
shoulder and the right hand wrapped around the trainee's hand on the
handle. A third person will be needed to launch the model.
The Muncie Control-liners have special dual handles. Having one or
two of these units around is a good investment for a club.
An instructor can also help you preflight, pull-test and adjust
your airplane before it actually takes to the air. Remember that if
your airplane is not balanced correctly (you DID put in that weight in
the outboard wingtip, didn't you?) it won't fly well. For learning
purposes, nose heavy is good.
The basic idea behind flying a control line airplane is that when
you tilt the handle back towards yourself, you pull on the top
line. This causes the airplane to go up. Inversely, when you tilt the
handle the other way, the airplane goes down.
The big temptation for the beginner is to use the wrist to control
the airplane. Don't use the wrist. Instead, aim your arm at the
airplane, keeping the wrist stiff in the "neutral" position.
Moving the entire arm up (pivoting at the shoulder) will cause the
airplane to rise until it is right where you are pointing. Lowering
the arm will cause the plane to descend. This rule works, until you
start to fly inverted, which you won't for a while.
Flying off (short) grass (especially when the ground is soft) is
best. Crashes will then result in far less damage. That said,
launching off grass can be a problem. If you are learning by yourself,
taking off the ground is the preferred way. Hand launches take a
little getting used to, though if you have an instructor, the
instructor can handle the takeoff. Hand launches, with neophyte
pilots, usually result in the airplane ballooning and stalling. So
bring some carpet remnants or cardboard to lay on the grass for
take-off.
Getting dizzy while flying can be a problem, but after a few
flights you will not get dizzy anymore. The smaller airplanes will
tend to go around faster than the big ones (since the line lengths are
shorter). In any case, you will usually get dizzy after the
flight rather than while you are actually flying, since you are
concentrating on your airplane rather than on the surroundings. To
handle post-flight vertigo, after the flight is over, stand in the
middle of the circle with your eyes shut. The world will seem to go
around in the other direction, but the nausea and vertigo will
disappear. When the world stops spinning, you can again open your
eyes.
Make sure that your flying circle is free of obstructions,
that any spectators (watch out for small children!) are far away from
the circle, and that your circle is far away from any electrical
wires!
Once you can fly level, and do climbs and dives, and can complete
entire flights without crashing, you are ready to learn stunts.
If you have, to this point, been using an airplane with a smallish
wing area, or have been using a ½-A airplane, its time to
switch. A large airplane will have a lower apparent speed, and will
keep line tension better at altitude. A model with about 350-400
square inches of wing area, a .25 to .35 motor on 60-foot lines will
work well, especially in wind. Actually, a Fast Combat model, set up a
little nose heavy and with a mild engine is good for this phase
(assuming you have someone who can handle bladder tanks). It will be
pretty near indestructible, if built right.
Fly all your stunts downwind. The Pros do, and they do it for a
good reason.
The first stunt to learn is the loop. Start with level flight,
maybe 15 feet off the ground. Pull "up", and continue to
keep applying up (with the wrist if need be) as the plane comes
around. Once the airplane completes the loop (the plane's fuselage
will be level with the ground) release the "up" on the
handle and the plane will settle into level flight. Your first loops
will look egg-shaped, with the pullout considerably higher than the
entry, but eventually you will learn to finesse the maneuver so that
they look round. Don't do more than 6-7 inside loops during a flight,
and remember to untwist your lines in between flights.
The next maneuver to learn is the Lazy 8. The Lazy 8 is a
horizontal figure 8, with the airplane turning away from the ground at
either end. In other words, an inside loop on the left and an outside
loop on the right. It is relatively safe for the beginner to learn,
since the airplane is always turning away from the ground. Once you
learn to do Lazy 8s, you will easily be able to fly outside loops, and
you will be able to learn to fly inverted.
For your first attempt at a Lazy 8, pull into an inside loop. As
the plane goes over the top of the loop, feed in a lot of down
elevator. Your first attempt will look like a reversed letter
"S". This will at least convince you that "down"
elevator can make the plane go "up". When you try it again,
let the plane go further around the loop (perhaps up to the point
where the nose is pointing down 20 degrees or so) before hitting
"down". Eventually, you will be able to fly nice, round 8s
with nice, almost vertical intersections. At this point, try flying
consecutive Lazy 8's, and perhaps try doing consecutive inside (the
left side of the 8) outside loops (the right side of the 8). You
should very soon be able to spend entire flights doing loops and 8s
downwind. It will become imprinted in your mind that "up"
elevator turns the airplane in a clockwise loop, and "down"
will turn the plane anti clockwise.
Once you get to this point, inverted flight will be easy. Just do
elongated Lazy 8s. Stretch them out until the inside and outside turns
are about a half lap apart. Practice this for a while, then try
extending the 8 to ¾ laps, then to a full lap. If you can do
this without crashing, then you can try flying several laps inverted,
always entering inverted flight with a half inside loop and exiting it
with a half outside loop (always, turn away from the ground).
Once you are comfortable with all this, you can try practicing
other maneuvers, including outside loops started at the top, and
Competition 8s (the same as a lazy eight, but you're turning towards
the ground at each end - the inside loop is now on the right
side).
At this point, you should be able to survive a Super Slow Combat
match. You may even have a pretty good chance of winning, and will at
least look competent. (In RC terms, you will have become a competent
Sunday Ugly Stik flyer). To become a competent Precision Aerobatics
pilot, though, you will have to learn some other maneuvers, and you
will have to practice them assiduously, since the idea is to fly these
maneuvers accurately.
A Magnum glow-plug clip
A typical CL tank
A selection of line clips (shown with a cool
Incra rule).
An adjustable handle from Mejzlik
What kits are good for beginners?
The U-Key 35
How do I learn to fly?
How do I learn to fly stunts?