An explanation of why control line declined from the most successful form of aeromodelling to become a rare specialty today.

Let me first hasten to acknowledge that at the turn of the century control line does still exist as a specialty in some parts of the world, and in those areas it is usually practised at a very highly developed level.  You will find some such places mentioned in the links page.

Modellers living in areas where control line still flourishes may find it difficult to believe that there is anything wrong, but gone are the days when boys almost anywhere could follow the drone of engine noise emanating from their local park or sportsground, to find the excitement of a control line model plane performing.

Gone are the days when capital cities supported a dozen or more model aircraft clubs, catering mainly for control line flying.

Gone are the days when the cities supported several hobby shops selling the engines, kits, materials, accessories, books, and magazines required by the control line modeller.

Gone too are the days when competition flyers could make numerous weekend-long holiday visits to country towns throughout their states to compete in regional control line competitions organised by country aeromodelling clubs.

Here's why:

• Noise of loud unmuffled engines droning for five minutes at a time gave rise to numerous complaints from residents living close to parks and sportsgrounds where control line models were flown, eventually leading to councils placing complete bans on model flying at these venues.
• The introduction of television into Australia resulted in people having less spare time available for pursuits such as aeromodelling and organising clubs.
• Complaints about noise were mainly responsible for the loss of flying grounds where big control line competitions were held in full view of the public (such as at Albert Park in Melbourne), and eventually forced organised competitions to more remote sites.
• Increasing reliability and capability of radio control attracted more affluent modellers away from control line.
• Control Line is not immune from the disappointment over crashed models that causes many aspiring model aviators to quit.
• Increasing complexity of technological developments in the competition classes meant that competitors needed to spend more time and money on their modelling to achieve the same amount of satisfaction as before.  Racing engines capable of winning seemed to double in price in the space of a year.  Grass was no longer considered good enough to race over, but had to be replaced with concreted or tarmac circles.  Aerobatic models got so big that a .35 engine was no longer sufficient to power them.  The more sophisticated competition models became, the more daunting became the challenge posed to beginners wanting to join in.
• Rules for simple competition classes intended to encourage beginners were (and remain in several cases) poorly thought out, in some cases doing nothing to prevent expert modellers with expensive equipment from entering and dominating the events.
• The bodies established to control aeromodelling in Australia concentrated excessively on competitions, doing little sustained promotion work that might attract newcomers to control line once its decline became evident.  Flying demonstration teams staging widespread shows the way Monty Tyrrell and others did in the early days of control line were not established and raised to a status equal to competition flyers.  When items needed by control-liners became difficult or impossible to find in commercial model shops, no co-operative or officially supported alternative was established to make supplies readily available.
• Despite the undeniable contribution of excessive noise to the decline of control line, competition rule makers failed to take advantage of advancing technology to enforce noise reduction in the noisiest of racing classes.
• Competition rule makers were slow to recognise that engine power had roughly doubled since the rules for racing classes such as Class B teamrace were first devised, allowing a decline in support for those classes as the racing became too fast and perhaps too dangerous to be pleasant.
• Control line models were degraded to the status of toys in the minds of the public by the appearance in toy shops of the little plastic Cox and WenMac planes.
• The fascination with flying and aircraft that was once shared by many people eventually faded, and was replaced by fascination with other things.  The Air Adventures of Biggles disappeared from the airwaves.
• Political wrangling by the various aeromodelling groups trying to exert their wills within their governing state body (the VMAA for example) drained the energies of club leaders who might otherwise have been better able to promote the sport.
• Meanwhile, an increasing array of sports and other interests competed for time and attention.