La Jollita (oz15204)

About this Plan

La Jollita. Control line profile scale Goodyear racer model. Wingspan 25 in, for OS Max III .15 engine.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 1/4/2024: Added article, thanks to Pit.

Quote: "C/L Goodyear racing event requires realism, speed, and well-practiced pit stops. Here's a consistent, rugged winner. La Jollita, by James A Kloth.

NOW that Rat Racing has become so refined as to require engines, fuels and techniques as expensive and exotic as the Speed events, fewer contestants are willing to face the costs and risks involved. More and more are turning to the Goodyear, or Scale Racing, event which has been around on the local level for a number of years. The local rules required only a little tailoring to adapt them to an acceptable AMA-sanctioned event. The "Scale" requirement also seems to fit into the current trend toward more realistic models.

Biggest drawback seems to be the lack of kits or published designs. Cal Smith did a series of designs a number of years back, but the structures were on the heavy side. Bill Netzeband, and others, contributed a few more designs, but enough time has passed to make them difficult to track down. Howard Mottin developed the Falcon, which is just about the only recent design. Entries in the event at the past King Orange Internationals were all Falcons, with the exception of one Bonzo built from rough drawings which I worked up for a friend.

This sameness of model is a shame for an event which could provide so much color. The old full-size Goodyear rules, now Formula I, are restrictive enough to keep the size of the different designs very similar. This means that differences in shape provide little competitive advantage, which also applies to the models. The modeler can choose what appears most pleasing to his eye without giving away any competitive edge. This should provide a good variety of designs at a contest. Apparently, few modelers have the talent to draw up one, or are not willing to do all that work.

My interest in Pylon Racing dates back to the pre-war Cleveland National Air Races. This mania produced a file full of information which has been gathering dust over the years. On digging through the books, pictures, magazines, etc., one plane seemed to keep popping up. The La Jollita seemed to have just those features which would make a good control-line model, and was one of the more attractive designs. I began scaling up a small 3-view.

With the outline taking shape, the problem turned to incorporating the appropriate and best ideas learned from past struggles with Rat Racers, FAI Team Racers and the old Thompson Trophy Racers, while a member of the Gulfhawks Model Airplane Club of St. Petersburg, Fla. The almost antique OS Max .15 II Glow engine had done a pretty good job in my last Thompson model. It was dependable, easily tuned, light, and produced a good power on a mild blend of racing fuel. The Veco pressure fitting was still in place and a pressure fuel system always seemed to give the steadiest runs in Rat Racing. The Veco T23B fuel tank was easily converted to pressure and equipped with a Don's Fast Fill unit. That completed the power unit.

The wing blank is glued up from sheets of 3/8 balsa with the short length of 3/8 x 1/2 in motor-mount stock acting as a bellcrank mount and stub spar. (Epoxy is used for all of the joints.) The 3/32-diameter dowel is epoxied in place, flush with the bottom suface of the outboard wing to absorb the frantic grabs at pit-stops. Carve, plane and sand the wing to a flat-bottomed airfoil shape, using the glue line as the high point. The tips are just rounded. Epoxy the 1/2-ounce tip weight into a pocket dug into the bottom surface, and add a scrap of nylon over it to assure its staying in place. Cut the slot for, and install, the 1/16 plywood leadout guide..."

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