Brodak Oriental

[Ricardo]

Guys, after so many years I re-discovered de fun of controline flying. My kid also got enthusiatic about it. There is a thrill in feeling the plane pulling the lines, and the adrenaline of flying so close to the ground. I am flying the eflite pt-19, and building the Brodak Oriental. Will post some pictures.

[Sempai-mj]

Cool, would like to see some pics!

[beto9]

Controline is how I started in the hobby, around '74, in Parque Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
On my second model I had an Enya engine... the damn thing would run fine in the ground but it will quit always on the fourth circle... no matter what all the "experts" present would do to keep it running. I guess it would be the combination of centripetal forces and the tank feed.
Memories.....

[Michael O'Bree]

Where do you fly your controlline, Ricardo?

My distant memories of controlline are embarrassing - my only attempt in the 70s involved a model that did not have a powerful enough engine - the damn thing would not get airborne:(

[Ricardo]

Still trying to find a good spot to fly. I am using a baseball pitch, or the soccer grass field close to my place in the meantime.

[MichaelLevy]

I had a couple of those when I was sixteen, .049 Cox powered. They were very underpowered. You had to swing them around like a sling to keep them airborne. After the motor conked out I would keep swinging them around as long as I could until I got so dizzy I would fall on my ass. One day, I was flying my plane at the park when a couple of cops showed up and told me to clear out. I recognized one of them, he was my neighbour, he told me never mind, I could stay, and they walked away. A few weeks later, me and my friend were flying there and another cop showed up, damnit! He knelt down next to the plane and started flipping the propeller. Couldn't get rid of him.

[Ricardo]

Some videos of myself flying and teaching my kid. This is the EFlite PT-19.

Will put some pictures of the one I am building.

Albert, I also had an Enya 19...
I am going electric now... Desole' Dan, je sais, je sais...

https://youtu.be/TRl1_PcryHc

https://youtu.be/gzJv060Pxeg

[mitea_dan]

Felicitations, tres, tres, beau.

https://youtu.be/0Il2ZIWuYHs
https://youtu.be/MQXistsQn0k
https://youtu.be/mVBDv3byC3U
Team race:
https://youtu.be/nzib8rdq_x8
https://youtu.be/vJk97fzG4T0
Combat:
https://youtu.be/egozo2f2UWQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e10bGw-ilpE
Et le best ever:
https://youtu.be/4vAw1CC4A3g
Le son, la musique des anges...

[Ricardo]

Some pictures of the "Oriental"

[Kevin Rochon]

Some videos of myself flying and teaching my kid. This is the EFlite PT-19.

Will put some pictures of the one I am building.

Albert, I also had an Enya 19...
I am going electric now... Desole' Dan, je sais, je sais...

https://youtu.be/TRl1_PcryHc

https://youtu.be/gzJv060Pxeg


Very nice flying Ricardo and your son too! Also cops should't bother you it's quiet.:cool:

[Sempai-mj]

Cool video, you can fly that at the club, just ask for the runway and grass for a control line session.

[Pop Alexandra]

Wow! That's so cool. Thanks for sharing and motivating our late summer.

[Ricardo]

It is coming up nice...
See the preview.

[Kevin Rochon]

The ailerons are linked to the elevators? How does it work Ricardo?

[Ricardo]

The ailerons are actually flaps, elevator moves up flaps move down and vice versa. This is to increase lift in tight maneuvers.

I was actually considering keeping them static, because I am not flying at a competitive level.

[MidnightHeli]

Still have my pt19 with a cox .49 engine that I bought in 1973, but crashed it on the first flight. :oops:. Wonder if I can still get parts for it and wonder if the motor is still good. If I remember, the engine wall needs to be changed, propeller and probably after so many years the glow for the engine.

[Ricardo]

There are several little kits for this engine

The Cox models were good display models, but too heavy for decent flight.

I believe you could find the plug. But after many years, probably some seals could be brittle and leaking. This little engine has a check valve at the intake.. This could be a pain if not working properly...

[Ricardo]

Some updates... Some sanding on the wingtips. You can see the cables leaving the wingtip, and some of the adjustable leadout device. Also, some details on the nose, with the space for the motor and battery.

Today I am joining the wing and fuselage. Will post pictures later.

[Sempai-mj]

What's the color scheme?

[Dwight Macdonald]

This reminds me of my younger years when I also did some control line flying, before RC became more affordable. I noticed that your inside wing is longer than the outside one ... presumably to lift the extra weight of the control lines. One of my control-line kits also had the inside wing longer than the outside one. :)

[Ricardo]

One inch longer the inside wing. To carry the extra weight of the cables... Also there is a compartment for wing tip weight on the outside wing, for fine tuning the balance.
Mike, it will be orange and blue, inspired on the McLaren that ran at the Indy500 this year....

[Ricardo]

I am catching up with the thread... So a couple of posts today, compiling things I did over the last week.

- Joined the wings and fuselage...

[Ricardo]

- Painted the Fuselage...

[Ricardo]

- Started covering...

A question here: For better finish, after covering many airplanes, I started sealing the edges first, as show in this picture.

Any other techniques?

[Sempai-mj]

- Started covering...

A question here: For better finish, after covering many airplanes, I started sealing the edges first, as show in this picture.

Any other techniques?

What is purpose of sealing the edges first?

Smoother finish?

[Ricardo]

I find easier to work and it becomes smooth in the corners. Not sealing also works, but the covering material needs ho have a higher shrink rate, otherwise i get wrinkles. My favorite is Oracover (ultracote)

[Kevin Rochon]

My favorite tool was the heat gun.

I would tack the edges, let say off a wing, in several spots and making sure I pulled it as tight as possible and I would keep the wing tip for last and really pulled hard and put the heat gun really close as soon as you feel the covering starting to streach you pull it down on the wing tip edge.

It would make a great looking wing tip no wrinkles, also don't be afraid to put the heat gun really close when shrinking the whole surface, I never had it melt so far, you just keep moving slowly.

Hope that helps;)

[Ricardo]

Covering the plane..

[Ricardo]

Trim scheme....

[Ricardo]

Maiden today.. Did two flights, some adjustments are needed... Circular flight has its own details, such as adjusting the position of the leadout cables, and the wingtip weight.

The outside wing flies faster, and carries less weight (the inside wing carries the cables). So there is a need to fine tune the wingtip weight, to balance the airplane laterally.

The leadout cable position trims how much pressure the airplane puts on the cables (it adjusts if the airplane is going to fly with the nose pointing straight, pointing inside or outside.

So I will need to adjust both of the above. First I will start with the wingtip weight. The move the leadout as needed...

One picture after a successful maiden..

[Ricardo]

http://www.flyinglines.org/index.html

[Ricardo]

Video of one of my practice flights.

https://youtu.be/7mFaQWk2W0g

[Kevin Rochon]

Great flying!

Do you have to count the # of loops you do in one direction to untwist the wires the other way:D

Do you have throttle control?

[Ricardo]

Yes Kevin, I usually do three loops each way, to keep them untwisted. Excessive twisting may even lead to loss of control. We also check the lines before each flight.
There is no throttle control. It would be very difficult to react with the necessary speed. I use a timer-governor to keep Rpm constant.

[Dwight Macdonald]

Great flying. I like how the lines stay tight when it is high.

[Ricardo]

I calculated the g-force for the speed and radius. It is around 2.7gs. It means at the top of the dome it still has about 1.7gs of centrifugal acceleration keeping the lines taut.

[Ricardo]

Final touches done during the winter... Name and Number...

[Erick Baron]

Hi Ricardo,

Are you still flying control line? I used to fly alot in the states but gave it up when I moved to Quebec.

Please let me know if there is much interest here in Quebec.

Best regards,

Erick

[Ricardo]

Final product, my first Electric Controline - Still learning, but a lot of fun.

[Ricardo]

Putting some laps with the Oriental...

https://youtu.be/jz-02kbOogA

[Xavier]

Really cool. My friend Richard is also progressing with his CL.

[Ricardo]

Guys, this is an old thread, but today I have some time to post some updates:

Last year I crashed the Oriental.

The crash happened while exiting the inside loop. I misjudged the height and flew into the ground.

Bear in mind that in controline the maneuvers always end prettt close to the ground, so any mistake is disastrous for the airplane.

Luckily the wing was pretty much intact.

The rebuilt process is in the next posts...

[Ricardo]

First step was to disassemble all hardware - Landing gear, ESC, Motor, etc.

Being a profile controline airplane makes the repair much easier.

I put all pieces back together. Sanded, and reinforced the joined parts with a thin layer of fiberglass, bonded with epoxi.

I only had to rebuild one side of the elevator. Cut from scrap balsa I had laying around.

[Ricardo]

Putting the pieces back together..

[Ricardo]

Painting...

[Ian]

Hi Ricardo.... that is a very rare (lost?) hobby skillset, building airplanes AND flying control line, much respects to you for keeping it alive! Would luv to see you fly control line one day, where do you fly? I guess obviously not in WIMAC? I remember when my father flew control line, we would look for an open field that is more square than rectangular. Cheers!

[Ricardo]

Rebuilt and re-assembled after painting

[Ricardo]

Hi Ricardo.... that is a very rare (lost?) hobby skillset, building airplanes AND flying control line, much respects to you for keeping it alive! Would luv to see you fly control line one day, where do you fly? I guess obviously not in WIMAC? I remember when my father flew control line, we would look for an open field that is more square than rectangular. Cheers!

Hi Ian, I will try to fly at Wimac one day. Unfortunately there is not much space for takeoff and landing there. I would need a "hand launched" model that could land in the terrain...

[Ricardo]

Pictures of battery, motor, ESC and ESC timer.

[Ricardo]

Link of one of the flights post rebuild:

https://youtu.be/y3MtkzKL1Y8

The noise is probably due to an unbalanced propeller (to be fixed...).

I will soon post another thread, about another controline airplane I just finished building (a Sig Mfg Banshee)... Stay tuned!

[Mezri]

Nice job Ricardo...determination is the key

[Xavier]

Nice flying Ricardo. I started to fly control line last year with an old model I modified to electric. It has been a very interesting experience. As you said, always close to the ground. It's great to feel the plane in the handle. I only have about 20 flights so I am still beginner but I have done basic maneuver and I need to try some more advance stuff now.

[Ricardo]

Awesome! Where are you flying?

[Xavier]

I have flown at Amidair and at MRCC.