Monoline

[andreas johansson]

Hi

I´m curious, how does monoline work? How can you steer the aircraft with just one line?

Andreas

[Clint Ormosen]

It's magic.


The one line is solid and is turned clockwise or counter clockwise for control input. Maybe someone can post a diagram of the system.

[andreas johansson]

Ok, I see. There must be a very special kind of handle then   

Andreas

[Ralph Wenzel (d)]

Imagine a Yankee Twist Drill, Clint. You hold the handle with one hand and push-pull a knurled knob which causes the shaft to spin in one direction or the other. At the outerend (toward the plane), there's an interlocking latch which holds the line (.014 for ½A - - .021 for a .35 stunt plane) to the drill.

In the plane, there's a worm-and-cam which translates the radial spin of the line into a fore-and-aft motion like a conventional bellcrank.

In the Speedmaster Control Units, the process is even simpler. A vertical arm is rotated fore-and-aft by the spin of the line Motion is limited by air pressure on the control surface(s).

[Willis Swindell]

Here is a picture of a handle and torque unit might help understand . The bobbin on the handle slides up and down the twisted wire which turns the wire to the torque unit in the airplane.
Willis