Jim Thomerson

The old 40 size control line Fast Rat Race is no more. 160 MPH airplanes and few people who could fly them in a race. There is a new 15 (2.5cc) event, informally called "Hamster Race". I think this is its second national Championships. Most are flying 15 size profile glow powered scale racers, but a few designed for the event airplanes are showing up. According to a short account in the November Model Aviation, the event was won by a diesel FAI team racer with an enlarged tank (no tank capacity rule, but pitstops and refills are required.)

gcb

Sounds like that will quickly turn into a cubic money event.

George

Jim Thomerson

Yes, no doubt. I imagine it already has. It is basically an unlimited event so long as you have a 2.5cc engine.

DeviousDave

They'll be doing 150mph before you know it...

earlwb

It won't be long before the guys with the 30,000 plus RPM engines show up for that one.

I think they should have done something to restrict it, no sense dropping it from the contests. Say using baffle top pistons only, no ball bearing cranks, and no Schnuerle porting and no PDP porting,FAI fuel only. That might make it fun again. Maybe a challenge rule where a competitor could challenge and buy the winner's engine for a set price or something.

It is sort of like the Quickie 500 races. At first you had to use a K&B 40 engine only, no others. it was great then. it was hard to cheat at it then. But K&B went out of business and they opened up the engine class to any engine then. At that point it wound up being a rich guy only contest. it wasn't fun anymore.




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gkamysz

My Feedback: (19)

Technology is so far along that rules need to be thought of well in advance. If they were to require naturally aspirated four stroke engines for instance, it would limit competitors to what's on the market. It would be years before new technology was available. Sure it would come, but there would be time. The two stroke is just very well developed, any rules that don't limit you to old technology will results a cubic dollar race. That is racing.

Jim Thomerson

Fast Rat Race was a cubic dollar event, so its replacement, Hamster Race, is reasonably the same way. There are locally run events such as Texas Quickie Rat (40) and Sportsman Goodyear (15) which have engine restrictions.

Recycled Flyer

Here we have Sabre Trainer racing using any 2.5 cc plain bearing engine with 48' control lines and pitstops (I am sure that 'locktite' will come along with better info than I can supply) and so far the Norvel glow 'Big Mig' has proven the fastest but now the winningest due to poor restarts.

This is a successful low budget racing event that has held back the big cheques for a while now due to denying the use of ballraces.

Cheers.