P. Johnson

My Feedback: (1)

I have been discussing the Idea of sport QM40 with other pilots and the whole Idea sounds very enticing. For myself, and many others with limited income , I would love to fly Q40, but expense is always a sticking point. The idea of using a sport engine in a somewhat semi scale aircraft is far more appealing to the average sport flyer than any of the Q500 airframes. As far as a question of whether a 424 aircraft will fly well with a sport engine, We used to fly F1 airframes with supertiger S40 engines. The F1 was larger and heavier than Q40 airframes and when balanced correctly , they land very well.
The other thing to concider, these planes will be faster than a 424 airplane but not as intimidating as 422. The sport engines aren't going to be as expensive as a Nelson or Jett and are sitting on the bench of most sport flyers so they aren't going to have to make a major purchase with a lingering question of whether or not they will pursue it in the future.
The most important factor for everyone to remember, if we are going to get our hobby to grow, we need to put rules in place that allow people to try racing in an inexpensive manner , whether it is purchasing exotic engines or special props and having to fly hundreds of hours and burn gallons of fuel before they are comfortable with the speed and technique of tuning a race engine and airplane and flying the course.
Last but not least. Most 422 and 428 aircraft require more reinforcement, I.E. carbon fiber, extra spars , more fiberglass and similar material in order for them to stay together in flight with becoming a "unguided" missile. I am not saying that as a sport class of airplane, they wont need any reinforcement, but the amount can be signifantly reduced to a level that most sport flyers are capabable of building without too much teaching or extra instructions other than typical wing centersection glassing.
In the future I am planning on building a STINGER and I am going to take picture during the construction. I will post them along with basic descriptions of the process as I build it ,so that people can see different techniques .This will allow the newcomer to racing a chance to actually see the building process .This might reduce the fear of having to purchase anything different that normal materials and glues used to build a sport plane and show that they aren't much different.

HighPlains

My Feedback: (1)

Storm,
On many of your points, I agree with you. Lots of people have expressed to me in the past that they don't want to fly a box (quickies) and prefer "scale like" models instead. And an even greater number don't think that they could fly the very fast airplanes like 428 quickie or 422 Q40. This is a problem then for the pylon community, since it takes clubs putting on races to have a place to race. The other sad truth is that unless some members of a club race, then the club doesn't typically sponser events.

As far as the costs of Q40, the engine is only about a third of the cost. Many of the airframes for the event cost about the same as the engine, and don't usually last as long. With the greater speeds, the airborne equipment is kind of expendable too.

With the goal of creating an event that the average flier would feel comfortable racing, I have proposed to the AMA pylon committee a revised (simplified and hopefully improved) proposal for Formula One Sport, based upon 4 available ARF's and new designs to be developed to a set of rules. These planes will be powered by .91 (15cc) two stroke engines. As a local event, organizers may spec engine limits or even a single engine to control costs. For instance, a ST .90 costs about $120 and the 4 ARF's are in the $200-$250 range which is reasonable for most budgets. With different levels of power, the speeds are in the 100-125 mph range which is faster than most sport models, without being scary fast. Another plus is that the 2 mile course is practical at these speed, since many clubs have limited flying space. And landings are like any sport model with idling engines.

A complete listing of the proposal is on the AMA web site under the competition section.

rmenke

My Feedback: (13)

HighPlanes:

Love the idea, both. You indicate you have 4 planes in mind for 60-90 size racing class. Would you please share them with me? Have been looking for something this size for months in a effort to stay top dog in our club open class (anything goes except racing planes and engines) The only thing I have been able to locate that is a prospect is the future 60 sized Tsunami from the person buying out the old DC design. Would much appreciate knowing what airframes you have in mind.

daven

My Feedback: (1)

Here are a few that come to mind for the Formula 1 class, not sure if these are the ones Bob had in mind.

Little Toni
Cosmic Wind
ShoeString

All 60 sized arfs

HighPlains

My Feedback: (1)

Yes, the three airplanes that Dave posted are on the list as grandfathered" in. All are by GP, a fourth is the Midget Mustang by World Models.

The first custom design that conforms to the rules is the Lil' Tony designed, built and flown by Mr. Duane Gull, Esq. (DHG), a scurrilous co-conspirator.

DHG

My Feedback: (7)

"Scurrilous"? What's that in metric?

Also notice that the two most recent Great Planes models, the Little Toni and Cosmic Wind, came out after Bob's rules were first proposed and just happen to match all the specs exactly. Great minds think alike!

pdxpaul

My Feedback: (1)

I have seen an old Dago with TT .40 and APC 9x6, fly a couple of times. It flew very well, and was surprisingly fast. Noticeably faster than an APRA plane, but not 428 speed. If you were to open up the prop selection, I am sure there would be even more speed out of that combo. At least if you specify Q40 legal airframes, the pilots can reuse them in 422 if the new class does not pan out.

Paul