ORIGINAL: Bozarth
Almost all of the 428 racers in my area have put their Shotguns, Slingshots, Neme-Qs, Vortexs (compostites) on the shelf for local racing and have brought out Vipers (or balsa/foam equivalents). I have done the same. The Vipers fly 90% as good as the composites at 25% of the cost. We have seen the fun factor increase with the Vipers - less stress since the price is so much lower! I have even started building another ReVlution. I love composites and can tell a difference when I fly one, but for local racing, you can't find a better deal than a Viper. It reminds me of the Cold War with the Soviets - as soon as one racer brings out his composite, we will all have to. Once again, my comments apply to local races. And because of Vipers and great deals on short strokes, we have a new local 428 racer (Hey Rich) who not only has moved up from 424, but is also CD'ing our first race of the season! You can't ask for more than that.
Kurt Bozarth
That is one of the most hopeful posts I have seen in years! Good to see someone finding a local solution. Maybe something like that can be started in the east where I live and 428 has been all but dead for several years. I seriously will never buy a composite for local racing and I simply cannot find the motivation to build another composite equal woody when the matrix is only 5-7 entries if that! If Vipers in 428 can increase entries... I am all for it.
Dan