Field Tips
Flying field ideas from Northwest control-line modelers
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Let's have your contributions!
- A clear view: The show must go on, so sometimes at contests we have to fly in the rain. But we want to cover up our equipment to protect it from water damage. But, hey, what's under that tarp? If you cover the airplanes and equipment with bubble wrap, you can keep it dry and still see what's underneath. It protects the gear not only from rain, but from someone stepping on the equipment.
-- Buzz Wilson
- Handy line length guide: If you have permanent field
with asphalt pits, as we do at Eugene Airport, you can give fliers a handly
line reference by painting line length markers on the edge of the pit area.
We have a line that marks the airplane location, then additional markers
at 52 feet, 60 feet, 65 feet and 70 feet. This helps fliers remember where
the pit area is supposed to begin (out of exhaust range of the picnic table!)
and also helps make sure we don't put the wrong lines on the plane, etc.
All it takes is a can of white spray paint.
-- John Thompson
- 4-2-4 needle setting:
The 'holy grail' of some, the legendary '4-2-4' stunt run, has been overglorified, in my opinion. Foxes, particularly, are perceived to have been 'born' with it, but it still takes the proper needle setting, and a well broken-in engine. That last one is the one which 'bites' most folks, since the Fox 35 does take some time to attain that proper run-in fit. I have even hand lapped some earlier Foxes to attain that fit....and they still took another hour of running to be right. All that said, a 'true' 4-2-4 (more like 'rich-lean-rich') is tricky to attain. Folks tend to run too rich in an attempt to get there and find that the 'break' just doesn't happen the way they expect. My normal setting, for all my engines, is to set the needle with the nose of the plane pointing straight up, then set to a solid, but slightly rich, 2-stroke setting. It may or may not change significantly when you then hold the plane in the horizontal position, but you now have the power available for the vertical and square maneuvers. In flight, you will hear the slight change from level to vertical, but it tends to be minimized by the muffler. Back in the day of open exhaust, the note change was more obvious.
– Dave Gardner
- Impromptu pit marking: Many flyers use or have a stooge of some
sort. On days that there are several flyers or spectators at the field,
your stooge release line makes a dandy marker for your lines in the pit
area. I use a florescent pink constuction marking line, its visable, and
isnt stretchy or springy.
– Snoopy
- Save wear and tear on lines: If you find yourself a the field all by yourself, you can get a lot of good practice flying in by using a stooge to launch your plane. However, unless you land right at the launch point, you may find yourself dragging your lines across the pavement as you carry the plane back – which means a lot of wear on the lines as they snag the asphalt. Here's a trick I've learned to cut down on the damage: Before you head for the launch area, carry your plane straight toward the handle, then go on past the handle toward the launch point. That tows the lines in a straight line most of the time, reducing the wear caused by dragging them sideways.
– John Thompson
This page was upated Aug. 25, 2010