dang_it,

don't let what you hear discourage you. Flying contests are a good way to develope your skills as an aerobatic pilot. They are a lot of fun and you should experiance it for yourself and not let the ramblngs of OPINIONS chase you away. Maybe some of them are worried you might do better than them with less equipment than they have purchased. I will admit that larger aircraft present better for the judges, bt you can still be compettitive with a 1/4 scale plane on glow fuel.

Size does not matter anyway concerning the Basic class. Do they have guys competing in the Basic class with large models? YES. Shouldn't these guys in basic that have a handful of contest under their belt move up to Sportsman? YES. IMO Basic is simply an avanue to try out IMAC. Try a few contest, perhaps a season at the most to get familiar with the format and manuvers then move up to give other newbes a chance to have their fun. To me true competition does not start until Sportsman since Basic typically has first timers and guys who have flown 6 contest. That is not fair to the first timer. I have seen all types of models compete in basic from 40% to a .40 electric superstick. Take what you have, even if it is a trainer, and get out and experience IMAC. If you find it is your thing, then yes you one day might consider an upgrade to a larger model but you certainly do not need one to start.

Ryan

Brian , great topic for a thread , seems we all have an opinion so heres my .02c worth . Having just competed in my first IMAC all I can say is you are going to have a ball . Dont worry about the size or type of your model , in fact I think having a small plane may get you a few charity points .
I fronted up with the smallest plane at a comp (72") only to have a 3.1m super extra next to me in the pits LOL. What my plane lacks in presentation i try to make up in having it very well trimed and doing lots of practice . I also managed to stuff a moki 180 into my plane which has given me vertical accleration that the DA50 planes cant match .
Have a blast & go with the glow !

Stu .

of the 2 planes you have listed i would go with the ef yak i have seen a modest lvl pilot flying this and it tracked and flew so strait up lines and down lines also strait i am so jealous so i will be getting one for my fun plane some time in the next year i would recommend if you wanted to spend the extra money for a 50 cc plane i have experience with the Wild Hare Extra DA50r combo and i think if this is in your budget you should get it instead it flys so much better than the other choices IMO

ps i would own any of the above listed planes and love it

once upon a time, not all that long ago, 70" airplanes dominated the flightlines at imac contests. 40% anything had not been built yet, and only a few guys had worked out the kinks in 33% and larger airplanes. all that changed, when a bunch of big airplanes became available, as well as the engines to drive them. and all of a sudden, came this belief that if you didn't have a big airplane, you would not be competitive. now, to address a couple of points:

precision flying is about skill and discipline. there is no question that larger airplanes present better, but you have to start somewhere, and there are plenty of 1.2 pilots who can win against larger hardware. it's also about fun, and one of the easiest ways to pschye yourself out is to beleive that a big plane is going to put you higher up in the standing. if you want to compete, great, go out and do the best you can. sure you will be pitted against guys in basic with big airplanes and fancy gear, but you fly against yourself, not them. find out what the judges are looking for and give it to them. let the other guys argue with them.

the size of an airplane has NOTHING to do with the class of the pilot. there have been calls from the masses for years to force a big airplane into the higher classes, and sense has always prevailed. sportsman means unknowns, and the last thing you want is to have a pilot with mediocre skills trying to wrestle through an unknown with a 40% airplane. i've heard this argumet twisted all kinds of ways, including that the guys who fly big airplanes are superior pilots - but a lot of us know that's bunk. if the guy wants to compete, he belongs in the class appropriate to his skill leve, not the size of his prop.

done!

Dang_it

Go get yourself a 1/4 scale plane and start flying IMAC you will be glad you did. Having a big plane will never take the place of lots of practice. The only thing a bigger plane will give you the edge on is that you can see it better in the sky. For IMAC basic the best thing that you can do is practice, practice, practice. Build yourself a 1/4 scale plane and go buy lots of fuel and fly the heck out of it. I have been practicing the basic IMAC sequences with my Vector flight 66 inch extra. I have since moved up to a GP Gene Soucy 1.60 extra 300. This plane flies the basic and sportsman sequences very well. I have been wanting to get into a gasser for some time but could not justify spending tons of money to get the stuff I needed. I lucked out on the deal of a lifetime and finally got the gasser that I wanted so I will start practicing with it next. Get the plane that will fit into your budget and go fly it. Don't let what you read misslead you and go have some fun.

Rick