It has been a fun flying season this year. I dusted off the old 1/2A planes last spring after not actively flying control line since 1997. I have proceeded to burn through almost a gallon and a half of 25% nitro fuel, 8cc's at a time. My main plane this year has been a foam wing plane based around a Corehouse Hacker wing. It has a basswood body and has been nearly indestructable. Collectively, it has been mercilessly slammed in the ground countless times.
This season, I have progressed a lot. I've grown from basically only being able to fly in a circle to now being able to do most of the tricks in the pattern. The shapes aren't polished yet, but that will come in time. I can now perform: wing-overs, inside loops, outside loops, inverted flight, lazy 8's, horizontal 8's, vertical 8's, overhead 8's, and rough versions of the square maneuvers. This might seem like basic, mundane stuff to experienced fliers, but these are gratifying accomplishments that I am proud of. I look forward to more flying this coming year and to polishing these skills.
I uploaded a video of my first test flight with a larger, .25 sized foam wing stunt trainer plane. This plane was a generous gift from my friend Gordan Delaney. I was just trying to get a feel for the plane on this flight. The second flight with this plane was even more fun, with a better engine run and cleaner stunt shapes. The flight unfortunately ended with the "re-kitting" of the plane. I was having too much fun and lost track of the run time. I was in the middle of an overhead-8 just as the fuel supply was exhausted. The 60ft drop had a negative effect on the overall structural integrity of the aircraft... It is being fixed and will continue to serve in its intended role. I had a blast flying this plane! Also, the flight in the video was only the 2nd or 3rd flight in my life with something larger than 1/2A.
As I have restarted this hobby, it has been gratifying to help many new people experience the fun of control line planes. This includes my young kids, neighbors, passers-by, nephews, nieces, family, ect. There has been a lot of smiles and happy laughter at the park this year. It was a great feeling to see my 71 year old Dad make a flight after a 20+ year hiatus. He is the reason I had any exposure to model airplanes. It is because of the excitement I felt as a kid, watching my Dad fly his Ringmaster and Yak-9, that I have decided to pass this hobby on to my young kids as well. They too, now feel a sense of excitement about flying model airplanes with their proud Dad (me!)
Here's looking forward to great things in 2015!
- Brent
Topic: What have you accomplished with Control Line this year? (Read 26116 times)