Okay, I've tried hard to ignore this thread, but I just seem drawn to it each day to read of the horrors people have experienced using solid lines.
I use solid line exclusively; have for many years. I love the feel I get with them. The plane just seems more one-to-one in respect to control inputs. I feel I can fly more precisely using them and I have long since accepted the fact that they are a pain in the rump in respect to care and maintenance. The performance gain is worth the trouble to me.
At this year's Nats we had to fly on Friday morning (Top 20 day) in both heavy wind and light rain (sometimes it was not-so-light-rain...). Years ago Charlie Reeves and Allen Brickhaus had clued me in to a product that - when applied properly - prevents solid lines from "sticking" in the rain. The product is "No-Touch Rain Shield." It can be purchased from ACE Hardware stores and also at NAPA I'm told. I get mine at the local ACE place...
The method that needs to be strictly adhered to in order to make this stuff work properly in the rain is as follows:
1. Clean the lines thoroughly using Acetone. (Note: You will have to get a helper hold the lines up off the ground throughout this entire cleaning and treatment process, and right on through to the point where you go to the center of the circle and take the handle from him or her. The helper will then leave the circle quickly…) Wipe the lines with a paper towel that is wetted with Acetone until there is no trace of dirt or residue on the lines. (Important note here about cleaning solids: Don’t use too much pressure when gripping the lines with the wetted towel. Solids will get a “curl” to them if you press down too hard. Light pressure is all that’s required for cleaning or later treatment of the lines with the Rain Shield product.)
2. Spray some No-Touch Rain Shield onto a paper towel and run the lines out, making sure that the wetted area of the towel is fully contacting the lines. Run the lines from the plane to the handle, and then back from the handle to the plane. Then use a clean and dry paper towel to run the lines out once from the plane to the handle. You should not run the lines out again before flying, nor should you touch the lines with your bare hands again before flying. Your helper must keep both lines suspended in the air throughout this entire process and on through the point where you take the handle from him/her to begin your flight.
Using the above method has worked extremely well for me and I have experienced absolutely no “sticking” using solids in the rain.
It is important to always thoroughly clean solids before each flight, rain or no rain. I use and prefer Acetone for cleaning, but some others have found products that seem to work well also. I’ll stick with the Acetone… One thing, keep a wet rag handy to clean the Acetone off of your hands for health’s sake, and also to prevent any Acetone residue on your hands from attacking the finish on the plane!
Was I the only one on solids in the rain at the Nats? Nope. Buddy Wieder and Frank McMillan also flew on solids in the rain and used the Rain Shield product with zero problems.
In fact, during the Top -5 fly-off, Doug Moon was using solids in the humid morning air and was experiencing some sticking problems. He used some of my Rain Shield (That I had commandeered from Charlie Reeves as I had forgotten my can…) and, well, the rest is now Stunt history… (Congrats once again, Doug; well done.) Doug was using some of the solids that he had received from Bob Gieseke and Mike Scott. They are different composition than the ones that Buddy and I use. I was experiencing no problems with my solids on Top-5 morning… so I guess I have no excuses!
For many years I have been using the medical grade, lightly annealed, polished stainless steel lines that I purchase on large reels in large quantities from Jersey Strand and Cable (Which is located about four miles from me as the crow flies, across the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, New Jersey). I have reels of .008, .012, and .014 solid lines to cover the spectrum of my flying activities. The .008 solids are put to use flying electric ½ A sized models in my back yard…
Over the years I have tried to go back to cables, but each time I do I find myself longing for the increased performance that I feel the solids provide. This is a personal choice, and this post is in no way meant to convince anyone to switch to solids. They are a pain to care for, and are certainly not for everyone. I just wanted to relate some of what I have learned in case others might want to give them a try.
In solidarity – Bob Hunt
Topic: STRANDED vs. SOLID lines? (Read 3465 times)
