Question about rudder offset

Thanks George & Ken . So I am assuming the wing weight is enough to keep line tension? Thanks again

I received as a gift along with Testor McCoy .35 Red Head engine (good and parts engines), a partially built S-1, from a kind gentleman from Northwest US, getting out of the hobby because of age a decade ago. We linked up through I believe BOTR.

He mentioned about the wing being warped. I found that when assembled, the leading edge in two parts (part of kit engineering to fit stuff in the box) was misaligned from the start, creating a small amount of dihedral, causing the warp. Attempts at straightening did nothing. I uncovered it, carefully partially disassembled the center joint, I reassembled it correctly and reinforced it, which took out the warp.

It has a good amount of pull once in motion.

Joe Wagner was one of the early pioneers to dispense with rudder offset. This was at a time when C/L was still in its relative infancy in the late 1940's/early 1950's. To help bank the plane slightly so it would maintain line tension in stunts, he added a rib bay to the circle's inside wing, adding slight asymmetry to the wing. It would through a touch greater lift and increased attack angle bank the plane outward.

As we see, through refinements in time, this assymmetry is no longer used.

It is just a personal opinion, but I believe the thought behind rudder offset had to do more with the low time flyer. They wanted to make him succeed. When the plane looses velocity, rudder offset helps to re-establish line tension. With half-A as light as they are, it is as you mention, Ken, way overpowered for 18 inch wingspan, under 100 cubic inch wing area with a Cox .049 engine.

What I observed flying those in sheet balsa is that as soon as the engine quit, they just sort of fell out of the sky, glide was almost nonexisting. I was lucky if I even achieved a quarter circle to land them. They were still fun, even though stunts were crude and nearly non-existing.

If one is flying contest antique stunt, must they maintain the physical appearance of the adjustments in order to qualify?

Regarding tip weight, I recall a discussion some time back. A seasoned flyer did his "Ted Talk" write up in I think a magazine article. I think he had an F8F Bearcat warbird, a good size one. Adjustments to rudder, thrust line, etc. left him with less than desireable adjustment through the R/C flight envelope, affecting maneuvers. He then found, adding a touch of right wingtip weight to compensate for take-off engine torque roll solved his take-off problem totally without affecting the rest of the flight. Take-off and transition to flight was smooth.

Thanks for the comments guys , they help a lot . I inspected the airplane pretty good . The only problem I saw was the horizontal stabilizer was of about 3/16 off from one side to the other. Also the bell crank isn’t as smooth as I would like it to be. As I’ve mentioned before, Im more of a RC Guy but have flown 1/2 control line . Now I have 2 larger CL Planes . This ringmaster and the shoestring I built in my Uncle Jerry’s honor. These are both going to be my trainers for the bigger stuff. Thanks again for the help.

I built one of these after destroying my Circus Prince. And the wing on this model was too small and too thin. It would do wingovers and that was about it.