ORIGINAL: smcharg
Respectfully disagree to your point. Look what MTK has managed, look what CPLR has managed with glow, look what Bryan Hebert manages with even the new Shinden. Even so, the point is if the weight is increased, no one is at a disadvantage or advantage. Heavier does not fly better. The goal will still be to keep your weight down. If the weight is set at 5500g per the proposal and the glows weigh with fuel, they will be at 5200-5300g. They will have 200-300g room. The electrics are able to carry higher capacity batteries (which is absolutely of no advantage in a competition) and certainly allows them to be competitive when the winds are very strong and a pilot flies bigger which ultimately requires more energy. Bryan Hebert told me just the other week that the nice thing about glow power is that as long as there is fuel to the engine, the engine develops the same amount of power take off to landing. Electrics are already at a disadvantage as the pack is depleted. Adding 200-300g will not change everything but certainly there is a little more room for the advancement of bipes and contras.
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Scott, Timble,
I've suggested the following before as a reasonable compromise for wet powered models....
Obviously gas/glow is consumable while a battery isn't (usually that is). Maybe the compromise of adding half the weight of gas/glow (that's typically carried in the model at TO)to the otherwise empty model, makes sense. If the model has a 20 oz tank and will run 25% glow, add 9 ounces. If the YS powered model can fly one schedule on 16 oz tank, even less would be added to the empty weight (empty=sans fuel).
Of course on my OS GT33 powered model, the tank size is 6 ozs for one schedule. Add 2 ounces.....LOL....Reminds me of one ofMonopoly's Chance cards, "Pay Poor Tax... $10"