Long before there were radio-controlled model airplanes, there was something called Control Line models. To have fun with model planes that you could actually control, 2 strings were attached. On the end of these strings was a handle that you held in your hand. As you moved the handle up and down, the model would follow the same movement. One stood in the middle of a circle and flew the model round and round. In the late fifties and early sixties, this was the #1 hobby in America. Some Control Line events would draw 5000 spectators. Even today, this is the lowest cost method of having fun with powered models.

Control Line flying evolved into a standard contest doing maneuvers. There are loops, figure eights, inverted flight, and wing-overs, all flown in a sequence and scored by a panel of judges. This event was called Control Line Stunt. It became a national event that is still contested each year at the model airplane nationals held in Muncie, Indiana. There is also a world event in Europe each year as well.

As Control Line was evolving, another kind of Control Line event began to emerge. A small group of participants wanted to find out how fast a model could be flown in a circle. Control Line Speed developed its own following, and like Stunt, this event has achieved truly amazing results, as displayed in national and international events.

There are two basic kinds of power used in Speed. The first and most widely used are piston-powered propeller driven planes. These planes have achieved speeds of 190 miles per hour. The model flies on 70 foot lines. The flyer must hold his hand in a fixed yoke in the center of the circle. The plane is moving at about 300 feet per second. It can fly a full lap in 1.24 seconds, requiring the pilots total concentration and outstanding coordination. It is easy to see why spectators marvel at this display of speed and skill.

Speed planes have evolved with time. To reduce drag as the model flies around the circle. Some have wings only on one side, the inside. Interesting, a wing has less drag than the control lines do. So substituting a wing in the place of the lines makes for faster flying. Also, some planes use only half of a propeller, a single blade. Sometimes a single blade is faster that two blades. Below is a photo of Carl Dodge, the 9^th fastest man at the world contest this year. An article of clothing got caught in the yoke, causing him to flip upside down and receive a concussion that sent him to the hospital. He recovered, built a new plane and went on to place well in the world finals.