1/2 Pylon Video
 

If there was ever a group of guys who might appreciate a little 1/2A racin' it's gotta be you guys. Here's a couple videos from our races yesterday. If you look close, you'll see a couple rcuniverse regulars in there...

Glow race: [link=http://http://www.vimeo.com/6563443] http://www.vimeo.com/6563443[/link]

lecky race: [link=http://www.vimeo.com/6563759]http://www.vimeo.com/6563759[/link]

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Awesome vids!!!! Sorry but Ijust can't get behind the electrics . It just isn't the same without those screaming 2 strokes blasting by. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...unge_smile.gif

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

They were SCREAMIN'!!! that was cool and a long course,, we generally run 5 laps in the reedie race since your only gonna get 3 minutes anyway,but we dont fly anywhere near that long,,we basically run a football field sized course,,the leckkys were cool too!!!..Rog

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

That looked like a lot of fun. Great video's.

Hogflyer

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

100 feet from the end... that sucks but LOL for everyone else!!!

I don't think you guys were having any fun whatsoever, were you?

Cool vid.

MJD

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Wow, don't mess with Kimberly. She is a SMOOTH pilot! I really need to get one of these planes now.

Thanks for posting the video Jon!

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

I always look forward to the races. We have an awesome group of people who usually come out and play, although we were pretty limited last weekend. I really like the glow racing, but I'm seriously worried that the lack of good, fast available engines might kill the class. I hope I'm just being pessimistic and find just as many guys racing next year...

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

That looks like a bucket of fun, thanks for posting the link.
As to your engines, I have heard a lot about your racing through Toad. As a rank outsider, it would seem to me that perhaps you should consider allowing an engine like the fora: are they still $140? You might get more even and consistant racing and have everyone spending more time in the air.
Mind you, if those piccos can be made to hold together, they would be great engine to base a class on.

Stefan

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

I think the Fora has the potential to be a nice motor for our group.

The picco's have great potential if we can keep the crank from breaking. But I still don't think the picco is as strong as the GZ. I just wish the GZ were still available AND had better quality control since it's a bit of a crap shoot as to if you'll get a good one or not. Norvels can still be had on ebay, but need a machinist to make run fast.

Those are all IFs and MAYBEs which is why I'm worried about the class...

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

What about the Profi engines? Priced like a Fora and in the same league or hotter than a Cyclon-or so I've read.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Profi... Fora... Picco...

Maybe I am just being pessimistic. Personally, I'd be open to allowing all of them. This will, I'm sure, be a big topic of discussion during our off-season.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

I heard rumor that Booker, the importer to the states for the Profi's , may have moved, no one has heard from him for awhile now. I am thinking the Profi may be more difficult now to get. I would be glad to see any .061 or less allowed. Home built, stolen, anything. If ya got 'em, fly 'em.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Might not be a bad idea Mel. I'm a little concerned about the "cost to compete" if we do that though. Right now we can race any .049-.061 priced under $100. I think a decent next step might be to raise that to any engine under $150. That would bring in the Fora and Picco (after modified) and Profi (if it's still around). But sometimes I think it might just be ok to let any engine in too.... Regardless of what we do, you and Ron will have the fastest motors in the group anyway.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Now there's a true statement if I ever heard it. If your gonna beat Ron you have to have him do one of 3 things;
Crash
Cut Out or
he,he,he run outa fuel.
You gotta love it baby!
Oh I just thought of another - Glenn (Ron's motor guru) could pass away! He's older than I am and as Silas says "Dad yer older than dirt and rocks"

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Thank You Jfinch,

Nice video(s),

Ron Mendel . . . I had assumed he was golfin' or fishin' as I had not heard of him racin' lately.

Was Kimberly running faster than than the nitro powered iron? 'She sure looked fast.

And I appreciate the comment that some folks are going to run faster, regardless of the particular rules. . . . that seems to often be the case in both racing and living.

Cool!

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Well, I Drink to that!
My hat is off to the fastest guy there, that is the point of the game.
I hope I can be that guy when I play that day.
Long live the Nitro class!
Whatever the rules will be, I will put a lot of effort into having the fastest engine there if possible.
I am sure that is what Ron does..He is a great competitor, that is why he is hard to beat.
There are other classes for those that don't want to deal with the effort involved or the expense of 1/2a glow racing.
Or if they are looking to have a class where every thing is matched up so even that the race is like watching grass grow.
That is why I like the Nitro, you will have those that put forth the effort, and their effort shows dramatically.
It is a good reward and feeling to win or place high after all your effort. No matter the class, or rules, there will always be the few that are hard to beat.
Great video Jon.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

I think our E-200 class (what kimberly was flying) is as fast as the nito planes. And since everyone is pretty much running the same hardware the planes all fly at about the same speed. Imo, this makes the class great. Every race is usually quite close (I won one heat last weekend by passing the leader at pylon #3 on the last lap). But I'll continue to race nitro as long as there's others who want to race and I have an engine that keeps me competitive.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Are the planes pretty custom are do most of the guys build from a base plan?

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

They're all more or less custom. I've cut wing cores for some people and Marty sells more or less complete kits that some are flying. But still by and large they are each custom built.

ps there is a slapped together video of my build process on my vimeo site. You can find it by going to the link in the first post in this thread then scrolling down through my videos located on the upper right hand side of the screen. I'd link directly to it but I'm on my phone and its too hard to do.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee... that was fun! Thanks for posting.

The electric sure looked good and performed great, but there's something exciting about the noise and extra variables of the glow planes.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

What kind of wire do you use on your foam cutter?

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Stainless steel fishing leader/line from Cabelas (big spool for like $15). It's .018 inch thick if I remember correctly.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

Thanks, I've been playing around with my basic cutting bow and tried guitar string and nichrome without really loving either. nichrome seems to heat unevenly and the guitar string just seems to skip or drag in the foam.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

On my old bow I used a DC power supply with stainless steel fishing leader and it cut nice and smooth. On my CNC cutter I use nichrome and an AC supply. The nichrome heats up more quickly, but it has a bit of stretch to it - this is resolved by having a spring to tension the wire. I haven't had any uneven heating - maybe because I'm using AC power.

RE: 1/2 Pylon Video
 

I have used numerous home made bows but they were always a bit akward so I finally just bought a featherlite bow which does a great job keeping the wire under tension. I also use AC. I bought a 5 amp 24 VAC transformer from a surplus supply house and i run the supply juice through a light dimmer (the kind you can get at Home Depot). I also have a VARIAC that I can use, but it doesn't work any better then my cheapo transformer/dimmer set-up. I still screw up a few cores every now and then, but not nearly as often as before.