Weight of Toni, Minnow, etc.?
Greetings, gents. I was wondering if those of you who have the Great Planes Little Toni or Minnow, World Models Midget Mustang, or similar .60-.90 size F1 models would be willing to share the finished weight of your birds?
Reason: The new F1 Sport rules (event 421) went into the AMA rule book 01/01/07 with a 7.5-pound minimum weight specified. This figure was based on prior experience with the Great Planes Shoestring. The Shoestring is a light, built-up airframe with MonoKote covering, and actually a little bit smaller than the 750 sq. in. required by the rules. (It's "grandfathered in", along with the WM Midget Mustang.) However, the newer models have a full 750 squares of wing, plus fiberglass fuses.
The intent of F1 Sport was to allow ARFs to compete, but also to encourage future designs that meet the formula using standard materials and techniques such as the familiar fiberglass fuselage/foam-core wing "semi-kits" that have been around since the 1970s.
If the minimum weight is too low, it means that the ARFs and glass/foam designs won't last long against expensive, ultralight CF and hollow-molded stuff that may come along later. That is definitely not a desirable outcome for a low-key sport event like this. So I'm considering putting in a rule proposal to raise the minimum a little bit, say to 8 pounds, before the cat gets out of the bag. To pick the right number, it would be nice to have some real-world input from actual owners of these airplanes.
So, what does yours actually weigh? Thanks in advance for your help.
Duane Gall
RCPRO
p.s. Of course, a photo would be great, too! [sm=cool.gif]