ORIGINAL: No1pylon
FAI F3D if let to go in a straight line will exceed 220mph and for electric F5D are moving at similar speeds to F3D
I offer some practical data from real world stats. First off, a standard F3D is not going to hit 220mph unless it is put into a serious terminal dive... It's not been proven to hit 220mph straight and level. They're not propped for it and they don't run enough nitro to hit that mark. The unofficial record holder in Germany used an F3D airframe with retracts and a seriously tweaked motor system and he pulled off 225mph from a diving entry. There is no substitute for RPM and pitch speed to hit that speed and I believe he was up to 12" of pitch while a standard F3D is 7.5" to 8" of pitch..... which is a balance of pitch speed and acceleration. Haulin' butt is haulin' butt...but numbers are numbers and everybody likes to add a few mph's for bragging rights.
Having said that, it's true F5D planes are approaching lap times of F3D planes, but there's still a gap in top speed. I have radared several times with a top quality radar-gun for on course speeds in the neighborhood of 175mph-185mph on course and are capable of hitting 200mph in general sporting around. The F3D's are pushing into the 190's on course and sporting around are definitely hitting 200mph+.
That may seem like splitting hairs but it takes a huge amount of power to go that extra 20mph to live up to the claims of 220mph straight and level.