Hello,
Well Saturday here was near 70 and sunny with little wind. Really great flying weather. I put the new JR servos in and tok the Pacemaker out with my jet buddies to get some flying in at a private airport they have access too.
No question about it, the JR servo make a differnce, hands down blow away the HS 225 servos for centering. The plane by the 3rd flight was on rails. I was able to take out half the expo I had in on elevator and ailerons.
As far as speed goes, the best I could do i=on the APC 8.8 x 8.75 was 166 going into two and 168 into 1. When I swithed to the APC 8.75 x 9w it actually slowed down to 165 but the rpm was up. Now the real surprise was I did two flights with a prop I ordered by mistake. An APC 8.75 x 9.25NN. That did the best at 171 into 2 and 170 into 1. The gun I know is accurate and the speed from lap to lap only varied by 2 mph at most. We have it set up to a data capture unit one of the guys made so we can print out the flight.
My question is what props are you FAST guys using and what are the heads set at. Mine is set to 192 and 10.

Thanks,
Steve

Sounds like you got a good engine there, take care of it. Mid 160's I think is about right on the course.. Sounds like it's ready to go..

I agree with Lee, sounds like you got a good engine. Mid 160's on the course is good, with an excellent one just creeping up on 170.

Depending on where your at, the head/sleeve measurements will vary. I just ordered a new one from Dave and it came set at .190 and .010 from him. I called him, and he asked me to leave it there for break in. After it is broke in, he said I could raise it for conditions.

My optimal setting (for Minnesota and Muncie) is about .192 and .011

I'm a little surprised at the success of the 8 3/4 x 9.25NN, not many people use that prop. Fred runs the 8 3/4" x 9.5 nn quite a bit and it does have a very nice top speed, the downside is that its tough to get up to speed and if you yank and bank it looses a lot of speed in the turns. I still feel the best overall quickee prop in MOST conditions is the 8.8" x 9.25, but the 8.8" x 8.75 is pretty consistent just about everywhere in the country.

If you've got something that goes 170-171 getting into pole 2... Pack that thing up, oil her down.. and take it to the Nats this year. Make room for Trophy. That would be a very good speed to have at the Nats. What kind of Plane? Oh.. and you're right. having good servos can make all the difference in the world.

Randy Bridge
Team JR/APC/USA

Hi Randy,
Don't get too excited about the numbers yet, that was a perfect engine day, 70 degrees, sunny and about 35% humidity. The plane is one of Lewis Schwab's new Pacemakers wit the composite wing. I will have another one done this week.

As far as the servos go, I am sold on these JR's. What beautiful centering compared to anything else I have used in the past. Sure wish I had these when I flew F-1 back 20 years ago.


I know you the guy to beat, or at least one ofhe top 3 or 4 on any given day. Can you tell me if you don't mind what props are guys running at the Nats, plugs, and head liner set up? I want to get this all ironed out so I can just practice and not have to recreate the wheel.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve,

Just having a bit of fun with you..... As far as servos go, I look for lots of speed and excellent centering. JR certainly offers that, the 3421 digital is awesome. I pretty much run those in my Q40 and FAI planes. In Q500 I stick with the 3121, just because they are every so slightly lighter...

Props and stuff.. I only run the 8.8 x 8.75 and the 8.8 x 9.25 .. In Muncie at the nats, no matter what the weather is.. I run the 9.25.. My motors vary, but not much. The liner may go from 190 to 192, mostly staying at 190.. the total head clearance goes from .010-.012.. mostly staying at .010... sometimes .010 will get the motor hot on the line, especially running the 9.25 prop. So I have Travis choke it.. Plugs, I only run the heavy duty plugs from Shadel...

AND.. I don't think I'm the guy to beat, thanks for the smile though. I think you got about 15 guys accross this country that are super tough in Q500.

Randy

There has alway been "about 15", the good news is that the names change.

"70 degrees and 35 percent humidity" - you are showing your F1 roots Steve.

Randy, what kind of radar speeds are you or Fred seeing these days in test?

Steve,

Where do you intend to race that there PaceMaker? We could sure use some 428 entries down here in Bowie. Are you and Lewis planning to make any of our races this year?

Dan Myer

I never post super fast radar speeds. Maybe 167-170..On the course. But alot of that is dependant on the flyer. The looser you fly, the faster your speeds are. So flying tight like a Travis Flynn, Jim Allen, Gary Scmidt..etc... you won't see anything over 170... maybe our planes are due for an upgrade too..LOL

Back in 2000, right after I won my first Nats in Q500. Fred and I took that same plane, engine and prop.. I flew it out of sight, going up..and put it in a dive for what seemed like forever.. oddly enough, I want to say it only went about 178-180 range.

Randy

That makes sense....Fred got me in a test flight at 172 on the course over a decade ago at Medford while still using Rev-up wood props (that has been a while). But it took a long time to get it wound up, and I was not using a race setting for the engine (went off very rich and clicked off laps as it leaned in with the fuel burn).

Loose.....I feel so cheap.

Hi Steve,
Just read the postings, sounds like it is going pretty good for you. I put you down for the two for your son, hopefully in about 4 weeks. The list is growing quick.

Dan, I know for sure 4 or 5 of us are coming down to race in some of the PGRC races. Both 424 and 428. I will also be bringind own some Pacemakers to play show and tell with. Are you going to the Nats? I know at leats 5 of us from Nepro are going, hopefully a couple of more.

Lewis

Lewis,

Good to hear you guys are coming down... May 13th is the only 428 race in Bowie before the NATS(424 AM/428 PM)... might be a good time to tune your stuff up against good competition prior to the NATS. Our usual suspects are going to the NATS, but I cannot, I havn't been for over 10 years... maybe next year. Steve Baker and myself are the CD's for the May 13th race if anyone has questions like what kind of food for lunch and what type of beer to bring!


Dan Myer