dwbebens

Don and All;

We here in Nashville have been running our version of Quickee (we call it Q-400) on a 500' two-pole course for years. We use the TT GP 42 engine. Originally, long before I move to the area, the hosting organization had a beginner class (Avistar airframe) which used this engine. This engine was chosen for our Quickee class because it was thought a person could transition to Quckee from the beginner class without having to buy another engine. We've found that this engine spins the APC 9-6 prop about 1K rpm lower than the TT Pro 40. Did I mention that any user supplied fuel was allowed? Since then, we have implemented Club 40 for our beginner class using the same engine.

We have no trouble keeping our Q-400 planes on the 500' course. Also, some of our warbird planes had been much faster than a typical 424 plane, and even then, we had no trouble keeping them on the course. This year, with our rules changes in Warbird, I suspect the fastest of them will be around 424 speeds. We find that there is no need for turn lights or any such signals. According to reports from our turn judges, many of our guys can judge the turns to within 5' to 10' on a regular basis. The turn judges use air horns to signal cuts. The pilots are positioned 1/3 the way down the course, centered on the start/finish line and are about 350' from the pylon line. We use a flying start.

We don't require that the planes actually go "around" the pylon, just that they "go the distance" as seen from the pylon judges stationed way off course and perpendicular to the pylon line - - just as long as the planes do not go over our "no-fly" and "dead" lines. Most pilots consistently go around the pylons to the best of their abilities. Since we are so far back from the pylon line, we don't seem to have any problems with encroaching on these lines.

According to our experiences, it sound to me that your proposal for a 475' two-pole course for 424 would be suitable.

Doug Bebensee