Bipe Flyer

The website for the design contest is [link=http://www.donatelli.net/contest]http://www.donatelli.net/contest[/link]

2004 1/2A Design Contest Rules

1. The model may be powered by any combination of engines as long as they are all internal combustion with none having a displacement larger than .061cu (1cc).

2. There are no restrictions on model design as long as it is designed and built by the entrant and radio controlled. I.E. the model can be scale, sport, twin, profile, etc.

3. Teams are allowed.

4. The contest starts Jan. 1, 2004 and all entries must be completed and flown by April 30, 2004.

5. Judging will be for one week with 5 votes allocated for each entrant to use and a single vote for any visitors to the contest site. The entrants will vote on 3 planes with 3 votes for 1st, 2 votes for 2nd and 1 vote for 3rd.

6. The entry fee of $10 should be sent to prole which will be used to provide a T-shirt to each contestant at the end of the contest. Anyone wanting more than 1 shirt, like a team entry for example, should send an additional $10 per shirt. Please see this post http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.a...567&tostyle=tm for information on sending the entry fee to prole.

Bipe Flyer

I hope nobody thinks I'm out of line for posting the rules. I just thought that we could get a clean thread started and flesh this thing out.

I'm just posted the rules as I remember them from last time and if we decide to tweak I'll edit the post to suit.

Bruce, can you pleas sticky this thread?

Bipe Flyer

Some people have suggested allowing up to a .074. Personally I could go either way on this one. .074 is a little large, but the Norvel .074 is such a sweet runner. Maybe we should just leave it at .061. What do you guys think?

What do we want the end date to be? April 30 has been suggested by a few people and seems to be like a good date because it leaves enough time for people to get their stuff to the S.M.A.L.L. event.


What about entry fees. If I remember correctly, we all sent $10 at the beginning of the last contest to cover the cost of T-shirts. The shirt cost was a little more than expected so some of us pitched in an additional $10 to cover expenses.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

GREAT IDEA! Ideally I would like to see some of the judging done in a "REAL WORLD"," follow the leader" type fun fly setting. Such as, most loops in a minute, rolls,touch and gos, etc., you know, flight envelope stuff. Beauty and originality is tooo subjective. Give me judging criteria that can be measured with a stop watch and a yard stick! Sub categories could be formed to allow outrageous, less than practical creations to crawl out from under the rocks. If there was some kind of a "POT" I would even submit an entry to be flown by a proxy flyer! This idea has so many possibilities and would be a great way to pass the time through the "DOG DAYS" of winter! NO BIPLANES ALLOWED!

DICKEYBIRD

Nope....the original idea (as I remember it) was for this to be a friendly outlet for all types of small aircraft creativity and originality, definitely NOT another contest to prove how much "better" one guy is than another! To be honest, I'm not too crazy about the name "Design CONTEST" in the first place but it is a little more catchy than "Exposition For The Collective Display of Creative Designs Powered By 1/2A Engines."

Don't get me wrong, through the years I have participated in contests, bent the rules in contests and stayed up for days figuring out ways of winning various contests (and loved every minute of it!) but for this particular exercise to remain "pure," the chest-thumping, macho-man mine's bigger/better/faster than yours element really should be left out.

That's my 2 cents worth anyhoo. [8D]

ps: Where the heck's Digger.....anybody heard from him lately?

LS171Malibu

My Feedback: (16)

Any contest is going to end up as a way for someone to prove they are better stronger or faster, it is just the nature of the beast.

So all that is required to play is an entry fee and an original design R/C aircraft with an .061 or smaller engine at the S.M.A.L.L. event?

MR Flyer57

The S.M.A.L.L. event won't play a part in the contest (Dickybird is right about the name)
but it will give some of the guys a place to show off their planes, and if we're lucky maybe a magazine will pick up the contest, and we will have a few lines for the rest of us to smile at.

I also would like the focus to be on the fun of building and flying these planes.

The less contest we have in the mix the better it will be for all of us. I know there will be winners, but in the last contest I really felt there were no losers. This is how it should be.

We all get a tee shirt in remembrance of the fun and everybody goes home happy.

No categories, and yes we will even let in a few biplanes (though I really don't know why), all will compete against each other and even though totally subjective we will crown a king (or Queen) and just be happy with the mobs vote.

As for a flying contest, I was lucky to get mine in the air in time! If it flies, even a little it's a flier. This will encourage the strange and new among us. I do think that a plane is not complete until it flies, and a picture or video of the event was a good idea.

I don't stand much chance of winning and even if I did, I think helping each other out was a lot more fun than building that winner in total secret would have been.

I would even be happy if we had no winner, but with such great planes and builders, and with all the effort, I guess we should have someone at the top of the heap, but no prizes.

Hmmm I think that makes about 12 cents for me so far.

What say you folks out there?
Mr Flyer57

Bipe Flyer

I totaly agree with Dickeybird. We should downplay the contest element and emphasize the creativity and fun.

If anyone missed the last contest, here's a link so you can see what it's all about.
http://www.donatelli.net/contest

PS
I think I might build a biplane.

BMatthews

Message Stickied and edited to show April 31 as the deadline for now. If need be we can change it again.

Yeah, this is definetley a FUN thing and not meant to be a major comparison of our testosterone....

Having said that though I think it would be kind of neat if there was a bit of recognition for designers that are either low timers or FIRST timers at the design process. Perhaps anyone with something like less than 1, 3 or 6 models of their OWN design could sort of compete in a separate class and get their shirt for free? Honor system applies and the rest of us provide the encouragement by antying up an extra buck when we pay for the shirts? Just a thought........

Now I have to drag out the drawings I did last year and put on the back burner. Maybe I can actually BUILD one this time....

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

You guys are right about keeping it light. I just get pumped by the idea of a 1/2A contest!Having your contest more like an exhibition is fun I'm sure.[I wish the Olympics would do away with judging, and just hand out equal gifts and reimbursement of travel expenses to the figure skaters, gymnasts, etc]. It WOULD be fun to have a" 061 and under AEROBATIC OLYMPICS "with tasks that could be either counted or clocked! I was at one years ago and it was lots of fun. The prizes were trinkets donated by local hobby shops and modelers. The atmosphere was wonderful, slight tension to do your best, but overall very low key. We had helium balloon popping, limbo sticks 30 feet apart on the run way, touch and goes in a minute, dead stick landing accuracy, loops, rolls in a minute, taxi drag race, and I'm sure other feats of steel nerves that I'm forgetting. Anyway, I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with this year! I think I'm gonna call MAD MAGAZINE and see if they will sponsor me...[sm=bananahead.gif]

machnone

My Feedback: (31)

I would like to see us use up to the .074. Should get more modelers to enter the "contest".For my money the .074 is just so darn easy to use .

phuffstatler

My Feedback: (20)

I like keeping rules as are, but allowing up to .074. I don't even know that I'll use one, but it's a good size, and folks say they work well.

Yes, the word 'contest' I think should only be used in this to specify a deadline, to keep us on task. It should be for fun (last year certainly was!), and as long as people keep to that, we'll do great. Hopefully we'll even have more entrants than last year, too....


I'm in... as usual...
Now I just have to think up something weird enough to make... Last year's was pretty mild...


phil in austin

BMatthews

[X(] Oh my..... [X(]

wild fred

My Feedback: (3)

as for me, I prefer .074's... HOWEVER, I would rather buy a new 061 than change the rules; it is supposed to be 1/2a after all, and the 074 behaves like a much larger engine... and next year it will be .10's... and the next .15's... just like 1/12 combat.
and it is the RCU contest; I would like to go to s.m.a.l.l., and would like to see a lot of entries flown there, but it is my opinion that this contest is mostly to give us all an excuse to make a new plane and see how much one-upmanship we can pull off! and it being an internet contest, a lot more people can enter than the few that can make it to a regional event!

I am kinda on the fence about what to do; I want to do a 2/3 seniorita, have measured out a u-can't-do that would be perfect at 1/2 size, and have always wanted to do a d.h. 88 comet, but who knows? whaddya all think?

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

HI WILD FRED! how about the ME 163 KOMET with the 07 engine? I could see one done with silkspan and BRODAK DOPE camo! 1/12th scale would be a missile!

goldguy

I'm all for Bipe Flyer's rules as posted. Now all I have to do is drag out my last entry that never got finished and.................. oh well, there will probably be a contest in 2005 if it doesn't get done for this one.

wild fred

My Feedback: (3)

I have a friend who did a me262 from morphis plans with 2 074's, nelson paint; no komet, but close! how about a v-1 buzz bomb? it would work well w/ a cox 5" 3 blade... the possibilities are endless! boy, I love the design contest!

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

I was pouring through some airplane encyclopedia's I have tonight.... man, if you want to do a scale model there are LOTS of good candidates... I am thinking of trying to model aomething I have never seen before (in a model of any size) but I have about 10 possible candidates! [X(]

AJC

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Hi AJC! Years ago I ran across a little pocket book about wacky 1/2A projects and could kick myself for not buying it. Do you know what I'm talking about? It had a whirling dervish, pin wheel type of thing and I believe there was a COX powered controllable FRISBEE in there. I'm sure this book would come in handy right now!

MR Flyer57

WOW [8D]

I think I have the book, and have sent Prole a copied version in a plan trade we had a while back.
I will be using it for ideas, but probably won't use anything in it.

You can sure tell that is was written in the early 70s, because half of the designs are kid killers.

They are so funny to read, and the temptation to build them in intense.

If you really want one PM me and we can talk about sending you a copy of the book.

MR Flyer57

BMatthews

I've seen 3 or 4 of those single blade helis fly successfully over the years. Both in 020 and 049 sizes. In fact I heard that one of them even thermalled away on a day when I wasn't at the field. You see that little stabilizer on the tip of the wing? That acts like a regular stabalizer and sets the wing up so it is stable and keeps rotating just fine after the engine quits.

Hmmm.... I wonder if it would be possible to drag along a little fuselage with the radio gear in it and figure out some way to throttle the engine and control that little elevator tab through the pivot shaft. I suspect an electrical commutator with 4 slip rings and two micro servos on the rotor would be best.... Hmmmmm..........

DICKEYBIRD

Flying bud Brian Pate has built several of them through the years. The correct name for them is "Charybdis." Do a Google search for that name and you'll find all sorts of them....even some contest versions done by the europeans, some even have landing gear! I started a plan for one a while back for with one of my throttled Tee Dees that would have a throttle servo to control altitude.

Funny story: We used to go down to Tupelo, MS for their fun-flies & pylon races and one time Brian took his "Wopper" with him (He called it that 'cuz it went wop-wop-wop on the way up ). It usually went rich and lost a little altitude after being launched from the top of a piece of broomstick as it wound up into full rotation. Knowing this, we went to the impound and got my tx. and the pin as if I was going to fly the thing. He fired it up in front of several locals and as he released it I started moving the right stick in a circular motion with the throttle stick at about half. It launches, goes rich right on cue and sinks to about 2 ft. altitude. We watch it for a bit and Brian turns to me and says "OK, now open her up!" I make a big show of jamming the throttle forward for all to see and it leans out, picks up speed and climbs out for a nice flight. It gets up there pretty high and when it runs out of fuel, I pull the throttle stick back for all to see and it autorotates down right across the runway. Freaked 'em all out as we solemnly picked it up, put the pin back, walked over to his van, stuck it inside and slammed the door!

goldguy

Book on 1/2A projects..........check out the "Rag Time Flying Machine". I have built lots of those, they work great. I was tempted to build a 60 sized using bed sheets.

BMatthews

Dickey, with antics like that I see why you and fastlash get along so well.....

Great story! LOL

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

HI BRUCE! HOPE SANTA BROUGHT YA SOMETHING BESIDES CHARCOAL THIS YEAR! I can picture a sliding weight inside the wing working as a stabilizer A piece of music wire with a small weight on the end It could emerge from the trailing edge and slide through a short hunk of aluminum tubing I think it would be cleaner and easier to rig . I don't understand why the aerodynamic stab was mounted ABOVE the wing?. MR FLYER 57, thanks for your offer, I will see you in PM land! DICKEYBIRD! That's a great story, just think of all the LEGENDARY FOLKLORE you started with those poor guys! GOLDGUY! Congress just recently passed a law against tying engines to bed sheets! A 60? Who could get DRUNK ENOUGH to want to launch it and still be ambulatory enough to get the job done?