Hi Guys,
I have flown in competition for years, but never have (YET! LOL!!) flown a 1/2A in competition. That may change with the Little Legends USA-1, though. I HAVE flown on .008 and man is that stuff difficult. You have to be 10000% (not a typo) careful when dealing with it because it WILL kink in a heart beat. My "contest" flying is really on the decline, execution wise, and now I am doing some "fun stuff" like 1/2As. It is purely for fun, and I like it.
As a kid, we flew the Dacron lines that Cox, Perfect, Goldberg, Pylon, etc., provided. Not the World's greatest stuff to use, but hey, I never had it fail.......
Now I've used Spiderwire (an old roll, don't remember the lb. test) and I think for when I want to fly a model with some "control" it works best.
Of course, when I go to fly the L.L. USA-1 in Profile, I will have to trim it for .008 steel lines, since that is what is required. No problem, just head aches!
Big Bear