dwc1

I am sure there will be a good write up to come covering the EF-1 event held at the nats.

There were airplanes given to pilots to fly in the event, but you do not have your facts straight. The airplanes were brought by one of the founders of the event, and a deal had been previously arranged with him on who was going to fly them. It was not over 18. It was more like half of that. At any rate, it was an opportunity for the designer to see how the airframe performed under race conditions, and get feedback on which ones to persue.

I have to say I was skeptical going in to the event, but when it was said and done, I had a blast. My airplane flew great, as well as my partners. We both test flew our airplanes the night before the race. Both of our airplanes had one flight going into the race. Every airplane on that field had basically the same wing and moments. I did not see one that out performed any other. If you put them all in a pile, and made everybody draw one out each heat, the results would have been the same.

They are not designed to be 200 mph race planes. We allready have classes for that. The idea behind the speeds is to put it on a shorter course, and open up the amount of clubs that can actually hold the event. The longer courses limit the clubs that can hold events due to enough real estate.

I personally felt like the 375 ft course was absolutely perfect. The times were in the 1:15 range which to me is ideal for this type of an event.

Overall, I thought EF-1 was a great success at the nats. I can not think of another "unofficial" event ever bringing 42 entries at the nats. Especially at the end of the week on an off day. Everyone I talked with throughout the day had a great time, and I can't say I ever saw anyone p o'd that day. It was kind of like the pressure was off, and the fun was on.

Thanks to Jerry, Danny, Scott, and Tom for all of your efforts.