dwbebens

Barry;

I didn't get a PM yet.

Doug Bebensee

BarryReade

My Feedback: (1)

Yes my bad. I am sending it in the next 10 min.

dwbebens

Barry;

Got it.

Here is a short race report for the Huntsville AL Club 40 race last Saturday.

Club 40

We had six pilots; five rounds of three-plane heats. There was a Competition Fun Fly in Nashville the same day, so only Greg Doe and I came down from the Nashville area for this race. It seemed like every heat I was in was a "barn burner" - - no milk runs at all; just the way I like it!

1st Doug Bebensee

2nd Greg Doe

3rd Al - Tied with Tim (broken by more 1st places than Tim through the day)

4th Tim Batt - Tied with Al

5th Ernie Duffy

6th Don


BlueRay Electric:

There were only four pilots in Electric BlueRay. That's too bad, because they are so much fun to race. Tim says he will host no more Blueray races! People just won't come. This is odd, because I'm often told by various (non-pylon) pilots that "if you guys had Electric racing, we'd come". Well, where have you been? In any case now, I can use my BlueRay for pylon practice here at home behind my house on a really short course which simulates the pacing and timing. This seems to sharpen me up just before a race, whether two or three pole.

There were no mid-airs, pole-hits, or ANY other damage at all. Good job guys.

A reminder:

We have two more races this year in the Nashville area and both are at Cane Ridge Park. They are on Sept 26 and Oct 10. We race Q-400, Warbird, 1/4 Scale F1, and Club 40, all on the same day. See our rules and directions on the MTRCS website.

http://www.mtrcs.com

Doug Bebensee

BarryReade

My Feedback: (1)

Doug I am working toward 9/26. I ordered a TT 75S and see if I can adapt it into the Strega. If I remember your rules everything is run on the 400 ft two pole short course.

dwbebens

Barry;

At Cane Ridge Park we run all classes on a 500' two-pole course. Previously, when we ran the Club 40 planes at Peeler Park, the course was 400'.

Doug Bebensee

BarryReade

My Feedback: (1)

Ok, so what times are the Warbirds turning on the 500 ft course to be competitive?

dwbebens

Barry;

We don't time the planes (see our rules). Many of our procedures are designed to simplify and streamline the whole racing process and to keep things even. Also, in Warbird, we try very hard to have parity between the two and four stroke planes; so far so good. But, just to give you an idea of speeds, a WM Dago Red (with retracts)/OS 55 AX or a Phoenix Strega (no retracts)/Webra .55 are about as fast as my VQ Macchi 205 Veltro (no retracts)/OS .91 four stroke. I think the hot setup would be the Phoenix Strega with a good .72-.75 four-stroke or an OS .55 two-stroke. Of course, prop selection plays a major role in utilizing whatever power you do have.

Doug Bebensee

Ken Erickson

Doug,

What is the most popular prop for the Club 40 Sport class on your 500-foot course? I am hoping to make it to the races on Sept. 26.

Ken Erickson

dwbebens

Ken;

I'm using an APC 10.5-4.5 and no one is faster. The APC 10-5 also works well. It doesn't seem that any of the 9" props can keep up; they sound good but don't pull as well out of the turns.

Doug Bebensee

Ken Erickson

Doug,

I've been told that is the preferred prop for the TT Pro on the 400 foot course. Is it also the prop for the Sport/Novice class .42 GP on your 500 foot course?

I have been using an APC 11 X 4 on the LAs, FPs, Magnum GP 40s and Tower 40s on the 400 foot course when I could get to a race, but did expect to use a smaller diameter, higher pitch prop for 500-feet.

Interesting.

Ken Erickson

dwbebens

Ken;

When I raced Club 40 in Florida on a 600' two-pole course with the OS 40 LA, the best prop was the APC 11-7, believe it or not! I'd go off the line at about 10,700 RPM! It seemed that the LA didn't like to rev like the TT GP 42.

On our Q-400 planes, the 42 really unloads in the air and runs only a little less RPM than the Pro 40 on the ground.

I'd go with a 10.5-4.5, even with the GP 42. Besides, 400', 500'; not much difference when you consider the acceleration time involved. I think it is similar to drag racing, what happens in the early part of the 1/4 mile has a disproportionately large outcome at the end of the 1/4 mile. So, I think the acceleration out of the turn is greater and there is less slow down during the turn using a larger diameter mid-pitch prop rather than a small diameter higher pitch prop. When the course is much longer than 400' (such as they use in Florida), then the pitch has time to come into it's own.

Of course flying style plays an important part in whether a particular prop can work up to it's potential. I like to fly tight with turns that have a soft entry, a tight middle, and a soft exit, as opposed to flying "sweeping" turns, so maybe in that context the 10.5-4.5 is just right for my flying style. Where as, a wide sweeping turn flying style may better utilize a higher pitch prop on the same course; bear in mind you would be going farther.

Doug Bebensee

Ken Erickson

Doug has brought up a very good point.

I have learned that there are at least three (3) things that determine the "best prop" for a given situation. The particular engine is one. The drag of the airplane is another. The flying style of the pilot is another.

Of course, you can stipulate the prop which must be used and the pilot will have to change his/her flying style. I don't think that remains under a description of "best prop".

I guess that could apply in Nashville or anywhere else.

Yours,

Ken Erickson