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U-Control, aka U/C, aka
Control Line, aka C/L, is still very popular today even with radio control
available. It is a great model of modeling for those of us with bad eyesight who
have trouble with tracking airplanes at a distance. With control line your model
is never more than about 70 feet from you and there is never a problem with
knowing which direction the model is headed and whether it is right-side-up or
upside-down. In 1960 when this Annual issue of Air Trails magazine was
published, R/C was mostly a rich man's sport, or at least an electronics man's
sport. Free flight and control line dominate aeromodeling. Monthly features like
"U-Control Corner" ran in model aviation magazines of the era, and offered many
great tips. I particularly like the one here showing how to modify a mono-line
control system into one that uses a standard two-line type control handle. That
gives you the benefit of a low-drag mono-line with the more natural feel of a
conventional two-line system.
U-Control Corner
 Scrap of aluminum, tin shears and twenty
minutes time is all that's required to make durable control model handle says James
Clark, San Antonio, Texas.
 Malayan modeler Boey Teck Choy felt regular
Mono-Line control "confused" his reflexes. Clever arrangement of handle and tubes
permits familiar handle movements to actuate system.
 When control line model's push rod is concealed
in fuselage, David Young, Saginaw, Mich., provides adjustable elevator trim with
special horn and set screw.
 For extreme compactness in .020 engine-powered
speed model, David Hendrex, Los Angeles, Calif., fashioned fuel tank from Shaffer's
pen cartridge. Fuel line, filler, vent of aluminum tubing.
 Characteristic of instability in some combat
"wing" models is overcome by small elevated stabilizer on fin. Slight positive setting
makes model handle more easily in "down" maneuvers. Used and recommended by John
Beck-man, Cocoa, Fla.
 Joe Modenbach, Garfield Heights, Ohio, claims
two advantages for his coil spring U-Control elevator hinge idea: 1) Elevators tend
to remain in neutral position, and 2) Hinges are good for life of model without
replacement.
Posted November 27, 2021
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