Famed engine builder Henry Nelson (L) mixes it up with Brian Stas. Henry's model got slightly clipped in the match, putting him out.
By Charlie Johnson
There were 25 entries in the Control Line (CL) Combat Speed Limit event, and it was flown as a double elimination event in the first round, rather than a full double event. Those with a loss in the first round flew another match, and if they won, they moved on.
It was emphasized at the pilot meeting that the 75-mph limit would be strictly enforced. That speed equates to flying two laps with a time of 7.3 seconds while pulling a full streamer. The timing took place at the beginning of the match, and speeders had the option to land their airplane and make changes. Some of the speeds were laughable because they were so far over the limit that they could have entered Fast Combat.
Chris Menicou was one of the ticketed speeders in the first round. They fly 80-mph Combat in California, and that's what his airplane did in Muncie. Pete Athans has a lot of experience slowing down speeding models. He once tied a balloon to his model for extra drag and rotated the liner in a Fox case, thus misaligning the ports and reducing power.
In the case of flappers, there's more drag, so level-flight speed is reduced but power through maneuvers is maintained. The model in the photo has only two strips of plastic; however, if you add two more to the inboard wing, power could be increased even more. I've seen the flapper fiasco carried to the extreme; it can lead to the death of an event.
After a few speeding penalties, the event carried on in brilliant fashion with many spectacular matches. It was a little hot and humid and a few engines got cranky at times, but in the end, it was just another nearly perfect day at the 2024 AMA CL Combat Nats.
Note from AMA: Do you have photos from the Nats that you’d like to share? If so, email them to Clarissa Poston at clarissap@modelaircraft.org. Please include a brief description in your email, naming any individuals pictured in the photo(s), the name of the event that the photo(s) were taken during, and the name of the individual who took the photo(s). Your submission(s) might be posted on AMA’s Flickr page, which can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/modelaircraft/albums!
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