St. Louis F2A World Cup

Preparing for the F2 World Championships in Muncie, Indiana

Fred Cronenwett [email protected] Photos provided by the author

As seen in the February 2024 issue of Model Aviation.

Control Line (CL) Speed has many events under the AMA rules, but worldwide, the FAI rules have F2A Speed. F2A Speed is flown in many countries, including the US. In August 2024, the FAI F2 World Championships for CL Model Aircraft are coming to Muncie, Indiana, including F2A Speed.

The F2A World Cup is where the pilot flies in three or more World Cups and the three best scores get added together to come up with a final score. The pilot with the highest number of points wins the F2A World Cup. The three World Cups have to be flown in different countries; this is why we host the US and Canada World Cups, allowing pilots to enter two World Cups with one trip.

A group picture from the Canada World Cup (L-R, back row): Carl Dodge, Bill Lee, Bill Hughes, Alex Valishev, Yuri Shveden, and Dave Rigotti; (L-R, front row): Matthieu Perret, Patrick Hempel, and John Moll.

(L-R): Alex and Carl.

The Lafayette Esquadrille CL club in St. Louis has hosted the US and Canada F2A World Cups for several years now at Buder Park. If we have a pilot from Canada in our Canada World Cup, it can count toward the World Cup points for those pilots who have entered the contest. John Moll has organized these F2A World Cups for several years.

F2A is where you fly a model with a 2.5cc engine (.15 cu. in.) and the goal is to fly as fast as possible for nine airborne laps. The nine laps total 1 kilometer in length.

Yuri starts the process to get the motor up to full rpm. The pilots will hang onto the pylon throughout the entire flight.

Alex releases Matthieu’s F2A Speed model.

At first, the model looks odd because the typical model flown today only has a wing on the left side. The stabilizer and the elevator are on the righthand side of the model. The model is attached to a dolly that drops away after the model is airborne. Then, after the model is airborne for multiple laps, the engine spins up to full rpm and the pilot puts the handle into the pylon.

Once the handle is in the pylon, the timing can start for the nine laps. For maximum performance, a single-blade propeller is used. There are metal skids on the model to allow it to land without any damage.

The flight starts out with the engine running but not yet at full rpm. The pilot has to get the model airborne so that the dolly can drop away. The pilot then starts the process to get the engine up to full rpm—you will hear it when it hits it.

When a pilot is satisfied with how the engine is running, they will put the handle into the pylon and fly the nine airborne laps. There is a judge under the timer’s tent who is watching when the handle is put into the pylon and whether it comes out before the nine laps are complete.

The F2A Team trophy.

The 2022 F2A team with the Leonardo F2A Team Cup. (L-R): Patrick, Bill Hughes, Ivan Valishev, and Alex.

After the nine laps are complete, a signal is given to the pilot, allowing them to pull the handle from the pylon, shut down the engine, and land.

An official flight starts when the handle goes into the pylon and the nine airborne laps are complete. The computer system will allow the pilot to know the speed for each of the nine laps. The computer timing system will record whether the model is increasing in speed from lap one to lap nine or staying constant.

The model is loaded on a dolly that drops away. This particular model was used as a trainer to become familiar with the process of getting the model at full speed and the handle in the pylon.

The FAI judges under the timer’s tent are looking for several items. First, they watch for when the handle goes into the pylon and when it comes out. The flying height of the model is also judged by the vertical white board with the low and high lines.

Watch the video of Alex Valishev flying his F2A model that I have posted on my YouTube channel, listed in "Sources." The model is not released right away; he is waiting until the motor sounds just right, and then he has to get it airborne. There is a noticeable change in the rpm and sound of the engine as it comes up to full rpm with the tuned pipe.

There are times during practice when the motor just does not sound right and the pilot will shut down the motor to change some settings. F2A models that are flown today are not flown for fun or just general flying. F2A competition requires attention to the smallest of details. The entire model needs to be set up correctly—from the engine to the aerodynamics of the model—to have a winning combination.

The pylon is a metal post that the handle can hook into to maintain a perfect center point for the flight, and it also holds the line tension. The circle must be set up for a pylon and there are FAI rules on how much it can move under load. If you watch the pilot during the flight, they hang on to the pylon, so it has to be very secure.

An F2A model with the aerodynamic cover removed.

Alex and Matthieu start the engine on a model to be flown by Yuri.

An F2A model, with the line reel at the left wingtip and the special handle, is ready to roll out the lines for another flight.

Most people are surprised when they find out that the fuel used is composed of 80% methanol and 20% castor oil. There is no nitro in the FAI fuel. The motor turns in excess of 30,000 rpm.

Alex is the current 2022 F2A world champion and lives in the US. In 2022, the US team also took first for the F2A team award at the world championships. Alex set a new F2A speed record of 308.8 kph at that event. The F2A World Championships are held every other year, so in 2024, they will be held in Muncie.

The US also won the F2A Team award back in 1960, and then again from 1964 through 1970.

Alex won the F2A World Cup in 2021 and 2022. His son, Ivan Valishev, was the Junior F2A World Cup Champion in 2021 and 2022.

I have videos on my YouTube channel showing how the flights are accomplished and just how fast they fly. Alex had the fastest flight at 307.4 kph (190 mph). He also holds the AMA record for F2A Speed.

After every round, the pilot takes the model back to the pit area and cleans out the engine, pipe, and other parts and prepares it for the next round.

We were also honored to have Carl Dodge, the 1990 and 2014 F2A world champion, come to the World Cup. Carl is an AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame member and has been flying CL Speed for many years. Because of our facility at Buder Park, with the fenced-in Speed circle, the venue can easily host the event.

The equipment to run a contest for F2A Speed is specialized and the models also require special equipment. The altitude of the flying site, barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity are very important to these pilots. They know, based upon the current conditions at the flying site, how to set up the model for the best possible speed based upon previous flights.

John made these trophies for the Canada World Cup, which also included a medal.

(L-R): Bill and Alex are shown with their medals and trophies from the Canada World Cup.

To determine the speed of the model, an optical TransiTrace device is used. Two units are positioned on the outer edge of the circle and they point toward the pilot. These units are hooked up to a computer that has a program to measure how fast the model is flying.

It will record the speed in kph for each lap, and then an overall flight speed. As the model passes by the sensor, it triggers the timing of each lap.

The pilots who entered the 2023 World Cup at Buder Park, representing France, Germany, Canada, and the US, included Matthieu Perret, Patrick Hempel, Dave Rigotti, Paul Gibeault, Bill Hughes, William Naemura, Alex, Yuri Shveden, and Ivan.

If you attend the 2024 F2 World Championships on August 11-17, you can watch CL Aerobatics, Combat, Racing, and F2A CL Speed.

Turn left and go fast!

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