Tomorrow the NCPL is hosting the first 428 race of the season at the "sod farm". I gonna try a Predator with a Nelson so we'll find out if it holds up. I've rebuilt the front of it with more ply and fiber glass. I've replaced all linkage and push rods with 4-40 dia. stuff and Sullivan connectors. I test flew Tuesday and got in four flights with it and was amazed at how little elevator throw was needed to get the model to groove. This post is a test to see if posting before a race is bad luck or not, cause last time is sure wasn't. At least there's no snow in the forecast.

I'm glad your coming Jesse, I wasn't sure if you were going to fly 428 this year. It sounds like we may have lost a couple 428 racers, so we need to keep bringing more in, or it will be just you and me racing each other in 15 years.

I got the Neme-Q ready, and my ole' faithfull Teal and Pearl white racer II ready.

See ya in the morning, hopefully it won't be raining.

Splatt,

Be very careful in term of safety for the race while flying the Predator. I'm very familiar with these ARF's and modified 3 of them (Built/modified them like a tank with Carbon Fiber used inside the fuselage). There are NO Carbon Fiber reinforcement in the wing so the speed in 428 might be an issue. Just something to think about...

Have a safe fun race!

Sam S.

And I heard directly from a Lanier employee on Wednesday that he knows of at least three that have broken or folded with Nelsons on them.

Fly smooth Jesse.

We have a winner… Dave Norman flew to a first place victory to at the NCPL’s sod farm today dropping only one point due to a cut. We had 9 pilots today with a combined experience of over 100 years battle in 55 degree temperatures with a average wind of 15 MPH with gusts to 25 MPH in conditions that saw a near 180º change in wind direction during the course of the race. We had only one mid-air crash and some minor landing issues due to the wind.
I didn’t win, I wasn’t last, and I didn’t crash my predator today as I had 2 round wins followed by a toe to toe heat that saw me lose by maybe 10 inches. I tried to launch once on low rates and that was a mistake, it nosed over on take off. My predator was on the ball every step of the way. It’s as competitive as any of the other quickies out there. You just need to fly it correctly. My predator is not stock. I compared other models around and imitated the things I think it needed. It’s cheap, it’s fun and now that you read this, now you know.