lov2flyrc

My Feedback: (24)

Ali,
I've got a couple of planes collecting dust lately, if you come, your welcome to any of them
Todd

Ali

My Feedback: (5)

Hey Todd
Thanks for the offer. I might take you up on that!
Regards Al

RonLongAZ

My Feedback: (29)

All I can say is the last flight of the day for me I was on the flight line as the plane was launched away from the flight line it took a abrupt circle and flew right past my head on a out of control line into the parking lot. I would consider this dangerous.



Ronald R Long

rcpete347

My Feedback: (251)

HI Guys, my 2cents worth, let the foamies fly in their own time slot and if it gets too windy. But please do not let a $200 foamy fly with a $ 20,000 turbine. I know of 2 turbines lost, one at Liberty Bell and one at Florida Jets.
Rcpete

SinCityJets

Ron,

I saw that too. That however was pilot error. At that point, thank God it WAS a foamie!!

Chad

rcjets_63

My Feedback: (4)

Let "foamies" them have their own time slot at 5pm. These planes are kept in close anyway so the fading light shouldn't be a problem. This includes pretty much anything from E-Flite.

EDFs with landing gear and having the preformance (speed and duration) as well as the size such that they can be flown in the regular pattern should be fine to mix with turbines. I don't see problem flying a turbine while a Tamjets F-16, Comp-ARF Spark, or uncljoe's BVM F-4 or other similar EDF's are flying so perhaps some speed/weight/performance guidelines are in order.

I was at Desert Jet Storm and the Kolibi-powered foamie flying into the pits, up over the sun shade and into the parking lot cleared more constipation than a case of Metimucal. It didn't have rudders either [sm=50_50.gif]

SDCrashmaster

From a video standpoint, the skies during the golden hour in the late afternoon should be filled with the cream of the crop.
So I think the foamie timeslot should be from say 4PM til' around 4:10 PM
If it doesn't have landing gear, it doesn't belong in a high-profile jet event.
This, of course, is just MHO.
I am surprised that none of the "foamie" crowd has come in here and defended their foamies.

Patrick Frost

My Feedback: (88)

This one time at Band Camp I flew a foamy out of my *****crack. A few of my buddies got it on film and they called it "Foamy on Crack". (its on Flying Giants) [:@] Maybe we could do this for the noon time show at Florida Foamies.................uh................I mean..........................Florida Jets.



-Frosty

Ruizmilton

My Feedback: (29)

I know I may get some bullets shot at me for this but, I do not think there are many people willing to spend the money and time to attend an event of this magnitude to go watch hand launched foamy EDF's or the like. I'm personally a huge fan of electric jets BUT, I wouldn't allow anything fly that cannot taxi out of the pits, take off, complete the complete pattern with a reasonable turn of speed (where wind would not hold it almost still in mid air, like last year's. Yes I was there last year front row when it happened!!) land, BRAKE, and return to the pits.

The only reason foamys where flying last year was because the wind was at 90 degrees to the runway at times, I guess you all can see why the HAND launched flying beer coolers were the only ones in the air, and I mean STILL in the air, most (not all) could not cope with the wind.

The main reason for last year's incident is that the problematic foamy did not have the power to do a complete pattern so the pilot brilliantly decides to keep it flying (fighting the wind)over the runway RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the pattern, for all practical purposes, it was like a helicopter was hovering over the runway, a complete nuissance( I fly helis too, but please!!). No true and respectable EDF believer would aknowledge that kind of performance as acceptable, so please do not become sentimental about it, be objective.

Frank:

Keep it simple, BAN THEM!!!

G.VITTINI

Trying to allow some foamies and not others leaves to much to personal judgment, now composite EDF's are a different story, anything foam I think should not be allowed during business hours, time is limited enough with noon time slots etc, and besides this is a world class jet event and spectators and attendies should be treated to the best possible show to promote this event and hobby.

Foamies could be displayed on the side lines as entry level.

sweetpea01

My Feedback: (10)

Just to play devils advocate.....I'll refer to foamie jets as actual EDF jets made out of styrofoam, not pusher props and not park flyers that barely stay afloat.

There are alot of "foamie" EDF jets with landing gear (retractable and non) that are pushing the 150+MPH mark. Yes they are made of styrofoam and they are smaller than a Kingcat or like plane but they are just as much a jet as say a Shockjet made of ply and balsa.

Lets get to the real crux of the matter..........Price tag. If your plane isn't worth say $5k then it shouldn't be allowed to fly with the ones that cost $20k. Isn't that what everyone is really complaining about? Expensive jets don't want to share the airspace with inexpensive jets. This is no different in the Giant Scale gas world with trainer planes flying around.



So to fix the problem........just put a min size limit on the event. That gets rid of most Stryo jets, yet keeps the alot of the EDF's

rcjets_63

My Feedback: (4)

Well, cost does play a part. A mid-size turbine plane is about $8K in parts flying around in formation. I'm a bit more careful with them than say a $500 prop-jet which I've been known to intentionally crash just because I was tired of it and wanted to see what shape of crater it would make (done safely of course). I'd prefer to fly my turbine jets with someone who has about as much to lose as I do as it might stop them from doing something silly and spectacular (in a bad way). That's not being an elitist, that's just protecting your investment.

Let's face it, this is Florida Jets. People are coming from all over the world to fly. They're bringing the heavy hardware and folks are paying to see the show. Foamies are low cost (and fun) alternatives that you can fly in a park. Maybe an alternate flying site well away from the main flight line would keep everyone happy.

Toro1

My Feedback: (2)

Big jets dont play well with foamies... In my opinion the only foam that should be allowed at the "LARGE" events should be housing 6-12 aluminum / glass cylinders surrounded by H20 in a solid state at approximately 36 degrees F . These cylinders should be only manned after all flying has stopped, and there is no possibility of any more flying occuring.... (Safety message).... Seriously though.... Foam "toys" IE e-flight products, Great Planes have there place... Perhaps the time slot given for the foamers could also be co-announced as an inspection / safety period for those operating turbines..... IE house keeping in the pits, and charging stations...

dragonpilot

My Feedback: (38)

Time slots are a great idea for the smaller foam or balsa types of jets. Since they saved the meet previously, even commendable to offer that. I have a taxi-able foamy about the size of your monitor that scoots between 100-120 mph depending on battery size. Would I fly the pattern with it, sure, but wouldn't, would wait till all the fire breathing is done. It all comes down to the pilot following the rules anyway, I flew a 100 mph foamy right thru some nimrod who was illegally hovering his 3d foamy over the flight line instead of flying the pattern (there is a field designated hovering area). It is the guys that don't follow the rules when accidents happen.
Without time slots, looking at performance based model comparison would be next criteria, ie, the ability to get out of the way, with haste...

sweetpea01

My Feedback: (10)

all good points if we are talking about small sized foam jets.


I have seen some 1/8th size foam jets. Now these would be no different than a 1/8 BVM EDF except for price and the foam jet may be faster due to it being lighter.

So would that be excepted to fly with the "jets" on the regular times?


Banning "foam" except for specific times is ok, but I do think on a case by case basis there should be some exceptions. But a few small windows for foam park size EDF jets is a good idea......why? Because of the crowds. It shows the crowd that you can spend $20k or $300 and still fly Jet R/C. That is good for the hobby, especially in this economy.

Kelly Rohrbach

My Feedback: (1)

The event is called Florida Jets, so with that said the criteria should be that it must be of a size and speed to fly safe with the bigger more expensive jet aircraft. This is not unusual, in most areas of our hobby they have listed criteria that must be met so that like models are flown with like models, its that simple. When you invite the crowd and advertise what the event is going to be then you have given expectation of what they will see especially if you charge at the gate.
With the electric power EDF stuff making big strides in performance this will be an issue for a while until folks get use to them. Maybe fan size in relation to wing span would be a place to start to qualify a model and of course speed. I would say that at least a true 100 mph speed to qualify. If it can be hand launched (NO)
There are already events starting around the country that focus on E-flight foamies. Leave this one alone.

Harley Condra

My Feedback: (4)

Certainly foamies have their place, but not in the pattern with high speed jets.

By the way, the BVM Electra has been clocked at over 200 MPH using BVM available batteries, fan and motor package. All are available from stock.
Ever seen a lighter foamie go that fast??

lousyflyer

Give them their own time slot. Call it "Foam Alone".- but don't ban them. My 2 cents worth.

DREAMER-RCU

There were about 89 pilots at AZ Desert Storm that had turbine waivers. One of them knew that he was going to fly a no rudder, no wheel brake model in an AMA sanctioned event.

Did the other 88 pilots say anything to the CD? Was the CD aware that this plane violated the club's rules for the event (must taxi) and the AMA rules?

Yes the plane crashed into the parking lot at full speed safely. Yes it was pilot error - high speed low pass down the center line of the of the runway (narrow with no taxi way to move the center line out). He kissed the runway breaking off the rear landing skid and the control horns for the ailevators - no control - and with right wing down the plane went over the pilots, pits, spectators and out into the parking lot.

Where was the GROUP Policing or CD action that should have taken place to not allow this model to fly?

SinCityJets

Just to clear up a few tid bits of mis-information - It was not a high speed low pass, it was a full speed turn with full elevator pull at too high a bank angle. He kissed the dirt on the far side of the runway after trying (in vein) to flatten out the plane and pull. He shut the turbine down and the plane crash in the parking lot dead stick. Keep in mind, a lot of other planes crashed there too, and none of the crashes, including the foamie, had anything to do with rudders or brakes.

Just so everyone's on the same page.

SDCrashmaster

But was it attractive? I realize that 'one man's trash is anothers' treasure' and all. But there is a time and place for everything. Cool little mods, like adding a micro turbine to a twinjet foamie are very cool for that Sunday afternoon at the local flying field.
But at a major jet event. I personally think not. Again, just MHO. A lot of effort goes into putting on the great spectacle that is a major jet event. And I feel that these types of 'wing and a prayer' experimental projects a best left for safer, lower profile, less critical times.

SinCityJets

Paul, I completely agree with you. I just wanted to make sure people are quoting facts. You know how things quickly get blown out of proportion, based on half truths.

SDCrashmaster

Feelin' it.

sweetpea01

My Feedback: (10)

I have seen a "foamie" jet (just slightly smaller than 1/8th scale) do over 175. If an electric composite plane with wheels/brakes/rudder can fly then why not a comparable sized foam jet that can do the same speed if it has the wheel/brake/rudder combo?

I'm not talking about foamie park jets here like the E-flite and Hobby Lobby/People jets but the more sophisticated ones. I would expect these types to be on a case by case basis and a simple call/email to the CD would suffice if its fine.

I understand limiting the very small parkflyer type jets though.

DREAMER-RCU

Sin City Jets,

Thank you for correcting the cause of the accident. I was in the pits at the time it went overhead. What I heard about the plane and it's flight obviously was not the same as someone on the flight line saw. Thanks again for the info.