I received an email from T.J. Vieira of the Dayton Buzzin’ Buzzards club about a Control Line (CL) Speed contest that the club held on June 21-22, 2025, with an article written by Cecilia Chiderski. The following is a condensed version of her article:
I had the chance to volunteer at the Nats Warm-Up, a contest organized by the Dayton Buzzin’ Buzzards Model Airplane Club and sanctioned by the AMA. It featured six participants, ages 32 to 86. Some were retired military, all of them builders, dreamers, and lifelong learners.
Before this event, I couldn’t have told you the difference between a Perky, an F-40, or a .21 Proto. Now? I’ve seen them launch into the sky, each flight a mix of physics, precision, and pure joy.
What struck me most wasn’t the competition but the community. They were people with glue on their fingers and sun in their eyes, doing what they love, flying model airplanes, because it makes them feel alive. In a world that some days feels AI-generated, where we rush to automate every corner of our lives even if it’s not broken, this experience grounded me.
To everyone I met this weekend, thank you for the reminder. And to anyone reading this, maybe it’s time to revisit your own Perky. Whatever it is that lifts you off the ground.
Thank you, T.J., for sharing Cecilia’s experience as someone who was new to the excitement of CL Speed.
During the week of June 9-14, I attended the Brodak CL Fly-In at the Brodak homestead in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania. It was a week filled with all types of CL competitions, with everything from Combat, Carrier, Racing, Aerobatics, and Scale. Sorry, there was no Speed competition.
After the Friday night dinner supplied by the Brodak family, the one main competition that everyone looks forward to is the "Junk Yard Wars." This is where teams build a flying machine from scraps of wood, cardboard, Coroplast signs, or anything else that is supplied by the Brodak Manufacturing Company. The teams have 30 minutes to assemble their aircraft using a standard Fox .35 engine and bellcrank setup. Some wild designs come out of this competition, and most of them actually fly fairly well. Put it on your calendar for next year if you are into CL flying.