Speed Secrets – Volume 5

I’m starting to run out of secrets here, but thought I’d share some of my sources for some of the great products that I use in my Pylon planes. Most of these sources are not local, but in terms of pricing and quality, seem to be the best for me. What I’ll do is list my source, and then the products that are available there that I like.

www.darrolcady.com – One of the best one stop shops out there for pylon racing goodies. Here are the products that I like and use from Darrol:

Carbon Fiber Push rods - Best value out there, I like the 1/8” diameter push rods that are a slip fit for a 2/56 rod which can be glued or JB Welded in.

APC Pylon Props - A good place to find all those tough to find props that we use.

Nelson Glow Plugs - He has both Standard and Heavy Duty Plugs.

Engine Measuring Tool - A must have for any serious 428 (Nelson/Jett) racer. Very easy to use.

Torque driver - Another must have for the serious racer.

Pro Driver Glow Igniter - In my opinion the best glow drivers out there.

Prop Rings - Ring to place on crank shaft that allows perfect prop alignment.

Spinner Nuts - Darrol has some very nice spinner nuts in sizes for both the Nelson and the O.S.

Pizza Cutter Wheels - Pretty much the standard on racers today. I prefer Darrol’s wheels over others because I think he has a more solid axle design that prevents wobbling of the wheel.

Racer Tape - This stuff is great, I use it to tape antennas down, tape over wing bolts, secure Pole Cat removable engine covers, etc…

Tettra Tanks - The best bubbless tank you can get in my opinion. Available in 4 oz,
5 ¼ oz, and 6 oz sizes.

Super Tanker - Darrol has the full Jett accessory line that includes my favorite bladder tank filler, the Super Tanker. By far the most user friendly of those available.

www.supertrc.com - Home of the Polecat, nifty flightbox and plane stand, Jett accessories, and the popular Super T apparell.

www.pspec.com – Home of the Nelson Engine and everything you need for them. Many of the things you can buy from Darrol, can also be purchased at Performance Specialties: Props, Glow Plugs, Wheels, Tettra tanks, Racer tape. The one unique item that is available at Performance Specialties is the Master Tach. This is not a cheap tach, but it is very precise and probably the best tach money can buy. These are very limited, and you may need to wait for one, but definitely a must buy for the serious pylon racer.

www.jettengineering.com – This is where you can get the complete line of Dub Jett engines and accessories. The C.G. tank works well in some of the newer mid-wing q40 planes out there, remote needle valves that work on any engine, and a great series written by Dub called the “Crap Trap”. Check out the series, there is some great tips and hints in there on going fast.

www.flyfastcomposites.com – Home of the Neme-Q, but one of his products has become the standard in my racing planes, and that is his 500 mah NIMH battery. Great battery for our racing application, I’m still not sold on the smaller 370 mah NIMH batteries, but the 500 has been working fine for me for the past year.

www.superminnow.com/hmracing/racing/index.html – Quite a few neat and unique racing items available. They have a nice flight stand that many of the racers use, the miss candace q40, q40 wing and fuse bags, dolphin mold wax, some neat looking transmitter sticks, etc… Definitely worth taking a look at their products.

www.matneymodels.com – Kevin sells a couple reasonably priced Q500 kits (Mad Dog and Pitbull), a nice racing flight box, and quarter midget 15 kits. I see he also has a new composite quickie available, but I have not seen one, so I would rather not comment.

www.bigbruceracing.com – This is the site of Bruce DeChastle who sells the Polecat q40 and Shotgun Q500 kit. Both have done well on a national level and are relatively inexpensive compared to their peers.

www.angelfire.com/ok2/racewithme/lylepage.html – Lyle Larson’s California Speed Pros offers the Bird of Prey Q500, Dago Red Q40, Proud Bird, and my favorite the Vendetta. Lyle has a nice offering of competitive planes.

That about does it for sources that I use on a regular basis. If you have any specific question in regards to materials, parts, or accessories that I use, feel free to email me at [email protected]

That’s it for Speed Secrets Volume #5.