OK. It's coming up to that time of year again. The Annual Ringmaster Flyathon.

About a week to go...........

Note the 5 lap rule mentioned above.

2015 Ringmaster Flyathon

OK, guys. It's getting close to that time of the year again. John Cralley sent me this reminder.

Let's make an extra effort this year. You still have a month or more to build a Ringmaster if you do not already have one.

Ringmaster Fly-a thon 2014

2014 Ringmaster Fly-a-thon results.

2589 flights, 419 Pilots. A new record.

(Edited 10-10-14. Final figures)

2013's total was 2252 flights.

John Lamont kindly sent me the following photos taken at the Knox Model Aircraft Club on Sunday.

The KMAC Ringmaster line-up.

X-Wing Ringmaster

X-Wing Ringmaster

Steve Vallve

-----o00o----

Well, I did my bit for the Ringmaster 2014 International Fly-a-thon. Completed 18 flights on Saturday but had lots of engine troubles so I went home and made a new, smaller tank, cleaned out the needle valve and recharged the batteries.
Sunday  was windy - 20 knots gusting to 25. The engine would not run consistently and I found the plastic backplate on the OS .15 LA was loose and sucking air. So back home again, pulled the engine out and put some gasket goo on the backplate. The engine now ran a bit better so I removed the muffler pressure feed and then it settled down nicely for the remaining 21 flights.
Every landing was pretty hard due to the wind and finally the undercarriage fell off so I had to stop at flight  43.
I'm happy with that. Last year I did 30 flights so  I beat that by 13. I used a take-off stooge for all my flights as  I was flying alone with no one to act as pit crew.  I think I was the only one in Tasmania to enter the Fly-a-thon. Now, it's time to go to bed for three or four days to recover.

These are snapshots taken from a video camera mounted
on my control handle. The video didn't turn out too good.

You can just make out the stooge release line in this shot.

It's not obvious in these shots but the poor old Ringmaster
copped a lot of buffeting from the wind. It was the roughest
weather I have flown in.

The results for the guys in Townsville are as follows:

Bob McKenzie,  19 flights

Alan Beggs,  4 flights

Doug O'Keefe, 5 flights

Ian Hague,  6 flights

for a total of 34 flights.

I dunno! The things you see when you haven't got a gun........

Bob McKenzie with his Ringmaster after his 19th flight. Damage
was caused by a bouncy landing in the high wind.

Announcing the 7th Annual Worldwide Ringmaster

Fly-A-Thon!!

October 4th  & 5th, 2014

Dear fellow model airplane flier,

Because you participated in or may be interested in our Annual Worldwide Ringmaster Fly-A-Thons, I am sending you this e-mail is to alert you about the upcoming 7th Annual Ringmaster Worldwide Fly-A-Thon. We at the Brotherhood of the Ring sincerely hope that you will help us set a new record number of Ringmaster flights!!                                                   
As you may know the Fly-A-Thon is sponsored by the Brotherhood of the Ring, a forum devoted primarily to the wonderful old time Ringmaster control line model airplanes.

 http://www.brotherhoodofthering.info . 

If you are not a member of the Brotherhood of the Ring Forum, I urge you to take the time to register at the above link and check out the world of information and the friendly fellow control line modelers you will find there.
The Fly-A-Thon is a non-competitive event to honor the plane that many of us older USA modelers flew back in the 50s, 60s 70s and 80s.

Simply stated, we want to see how many Ringmaster flights can be recorded over a single weekend, the first weekend in October (10/4-5/2014). Last year we recorded 2334 flights (a new record) in number of  different countries worldwide. The simple rules are stated below and I want to direct particular attention to the last paragraph. Recruiting new people to join control line model airplane hobby is an important aspect of this event!

We hope you will join us this year and have fun flying your Ringmasters along with fellow modelers around the World.!! 

Regards,

John Cralley AMA 52183 (for the Brotherhood of the Ring)
 

Copies files for a Flyer for the event (Adobe PDF and MS Word doc files) are attached to this e-mail. If you flew with us last year please feel free to forward this e-mail to your fellow fliers from last year’s Fly-A-Thon and PLEASE see if you can recruit some new participants for this year. Also feel free to print the flier and distribute it to your local hobby shop and anyone that might be interested.

If you did not fly in last year’s Fly-A-Thon, we hope you will be able to join us this year. As stated above the Flyer has the simple rules for you to follow in order to participate.

 

If English is not your 1st language you have permission to translate the Flyer file into your own language to share with other modelers!
 

Below is a summary of the rules:

On October 4 & 5, we challenge you to fly any one or more of the many Ringmasters, old or new, and report your flights to:      flyathon2014@yahoo.com

Deadline for reporting is 12:00 noon Eastern Daylight time (USA)
 Tuesday October 7, 2014
Location: Wherever you are!
Please report how many different Ringmasters flew, how many total

Ringmaster flights were made and the location of these flights.

You may also report how many different pilots flew, how many Ringmasters were flown at the same time and what type of Ringmasters were flown.

Also, if you get someone new to solo on a Ringmaster, that flight will count as 2 flights! Let us know how many new solo flights we have too! If this will help promote new flyers by flying the same plane so many of us started with, this would be a bonus!

If you would like copies of PDF files for regular S-1 or 1/2A Ringmaster plans, send a request to the e-mail below!

Direct any questions to: fflyathon2014@yahoo.com

This is all about celebrating Control Line modeling!!!!

Ringmaster Fly-a-thon 2013

I took my Ringmaster for a fly this morning and clocked up 8 flights for the Ringmaster Fly-a-thon between 8:30am and 9:30am before the wind and rain came along. I was flying solo so I tried out my stooge for the first time. It works a treat!

My stooge - "As flash as a rat with a gold tooth!!"

One of the problems of flying C/L alone is retrieving the model and getting it back to the pit area without kinking or tangling your lines in the grass so I quickly made this handle holder yesterday.
Just drop the handle into the slot and grab your plane and carry it back to the pits. Now that I know it works extremely well, I will build a prettier one. I just used junk that I found in my shed. The reason for the “Z bend” in the holder is to allow the handle to pivot around much more easier than if it was just a straight shaft. The handle is left in the holder ready for the next flight.

Retrieval handle holder.

I did not trip over the holder during flights because I always step back 3 paces after take-off to give a good safety margin between the plane and the pits. Now I know the stooge and holder work so well, I am looking forward to more solo flying.


I had tank problems with the filler pipe being blocked off with solder. So I flew all flights with the uniflow pipe blocked and the overflow pipe open. The engine leaned out during every flight.
The tank was tested after I built it and everything was OK. But then I soldered a strap to the side of the tank to secure it to the fuselage and the position of the strap was exactly where the end of the filler/uniflow pipe was attached inside the tank, so the solder inside the tank melted and closed off the pipe. I unsoldered the end of the tank and cleared the pipe, reassembled and tested OK.


It's getting windier as the day goes on so I will have to wait for tomorrow. The forecast looks good anyway... Fingers crossed.

Sunday the weather was as forecast so Lyal Cameron and I made the most of it and clocked up some more flights on Sunday morning. On my first flight, I decided to see how close I could land to the pit station and ended up just clipping my chair with the wingtip.

You can see in the photo the chair was a bit too close to the takeoff/landing point. Tore the wheel off and snapped the fuselage.

That little wrinkle on the end of  leading edge is where it hit.

                                                                                                                                                  

Video of the "Ring Ding".

I had to share Lyal's Ringmaster with him for the rest of the morning.We put up 8 flights each. Lyal left for home and it was back to the hanger (shed) for me, glued the fuse back together with some 5 minute epoxy and half an hour later I returned to the field for another 15 flights. On the first of the 15 flights the tank decided to fall off. The tin strap holding it to the fuselage had fractured.

This is how I held it on with bits and pieces that I found in my flight box. A bit wobbly but it did the job.

Number of flights:  John Moody, 30 flights,  Lyal Cameron,  8 flights.  Total for Tasmania is 38 flights.

And now on to Townsville........

Bob McKenzie, Alan Beggs and Jim Greenwood put in some flights at Townsville Aeromodeller Society's field on Saturday. A couple of TAS R/C flyers had a few flights using Alan's Ringmaster.

TAS Oak Valley field

Charles Mulroney Park.

Bob, Alan & Jim continued flying Ringmasters on Sunday at Charles Mulroney Park.

The number of flights put in by Townsville was 50.

Bob McKenzie   15

Alan Beggs         16

Jim Greenwood  11

Paul Deidun          2

Geoff Luke           3

Cameron Mocke  3

Final Results for the 2013 Ringmaster Fly-a-thon is a new record of 2332 flights.

Next year's target is 2500 flights.

Bob McKenzie's new Ringmaster for the Ringmaster Fly-a-thon in two weeks time.

Enya .15 IV power. Test flight today.

Bob's answer to getting a maximum number of flights for the
 Ringmaster Fly-a-thon.   A 5/8" x 5/8" x 2" brass tank with a
capacity of 7.5 laps.  That's going to keep the pit crew busy
with a pit stop every 35 to 40 seconds.
( Check out the pilot.)

Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon 2013

The Brotherhood of the Ring is sponsoring its 6th Annual Fly-A-Thon event:

October 5th & 6th, 2013
Matt Kania’s beloved Ringmaster control line model has been built and flown by more modelers than any other control line model airplane!
This is not a contest! There are no entry fees or prizes! This Fly-A-Thon is to honor the most popular CL model ever!! Our goal is to make history by having more Ringmaster flights in a single weekend than last year's record of 1689 flights!

This event is open to all participants worldwide!

On October 5th & 6th, we challenge you to fly any one or more of the many Ringmasters, old or new, and report your flights to: ringmasterflyathon-2013@yahoo.com

Deadline for reporting is 12:00 noon Eastern time (USA) Tuesday October 8th

No reports will be accepted after this time, no exceptions

Location: Wherever you are!

Please report, how many total Ringmaster flights were made, how many different Ringmasters flew and the location of these flights.

You may also report how many different pilots flew, how many Ringmasters were flown at the same time and what type of Ringmasters were flown.

If you get a new pilot to solo on a Ringmaster, that flight will count as 2 flights! The more, the merrier! Let us know how many new solo flights you have! If this will help promote new flyers by flying the same plane so many of us started with, this would be a bonus!

Let's keep the spirit of C/L alive!

Ok everyone! Just dig that old dusty Ringmaster from your attic and go fly it!

       The results will be compiled and reported by the Brotherhood of the Ring
        Any questions may be directed to: ringmasterflyathon-2013@yahoo.com

We have another Ringmaster for this years Ringmaster Fly-a-thon. Warren read about our attempt last year in the Victorian Model News newslettter and wants to join in the fun this year. 

Hi John, Ringmaster is finally finished and ready to have a go I hope, I built the model out of scrap I had lying around so it was cost affective but maybe a little overweight at 21 ounces.

I have a 20yrold Enya 15 in it that has never run as I bought the motor but cant remember what for and only found it when cleaning up still in its box so it will have to do although It seemed a little hot when I ran it today so maybe it might need a little more oil.

Now all we have to do is stop getting giddy and all will be well ????

Warren Leach 

A little late for the Ringmaster Fly-a-thon but here is Lyal Cameron's Ringmaster.  Better late than never.

Ringmaster Fly-a-thon 2012, Tasmania

Four control line flyers from the Launceston and Hobart model aero clubs participated in the Ringmaster annual event on 6^th & 7^th October clocking up 65 flights. John Moody and Owen Cameron from LMAC clocked up 12 and 15 flights respectively While Barry Champion and Peter Allen of HMAC completed 38 flights using Barry's electric Ringmaster, which was a joy to fly. Personally, I love the smell of castor in the morning! Seriously though, the electric Ringmaster would make an ideal C/L trainer as it was equipped with throttle control which allowed the pilot to land when and where he wanted. Also handy for taxiing back to the pits and there is no need for a pit man or stooge either.

Barry Champion

OS powered Ringmaster

Barry's Ringmaster

Me

Him

A view of the pits.

Ringmaster parade...

Peter Allen flying Barry's Ringmaster.

Here he is again. You couldn't keep him away from it!!

Ringmaster Fly-a-thon 2012, Townsville Chapter.

The tally for Full Circle Fliers Townsville, was 31 flights - all done on Sunday. A great effort.

Bob McKenzie flew 15 flights with his Williamson Ringmaster powered by a Frog 500. Alan Beggs  also flew 15 flights with his S1 Ringmaster powered by an Enya .15. Jim Greenwood managed only one flight with his S1 Ringmaster due to engine troubles with his 1961 McCoy .35.  This was the engine's first run.

Alan Beggs

Bob McKenzie

Jim Greenwood

Ringmasters on parade.

The Shroud of Turin.

Actually the shroud of Bob's flicking finger. Those APC props can be  bloody sharp!
Bob's OK. No stitches - just a 12mm x 3mm deep cut.

Here's another Ringmaster for the 2012 Fly-a-Thon.

It belongs to Jim Greenwood in Townsville. Powered by a McCoy .35.

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Here is my entry for the Ringmaster Fly-a thon.

I started building this 6 months ago and just finished it yesterday. It was a bit of a rushed job so the finish is not so great. That's my excuse, anyway.

OS .15LA . Not yet run.  8 x 4 prop. 

Bob McKenzie's "Wringmaster" entry for the Ringmaster Fly-a-thon.

1950's Frog 500.