Hi Guys-

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that a bunch of us from SASS are planning to do a little pylon racing series at 60 Acres North this winter.  We're ordering some pylons for the course, and will set up some kind of Reno Air Race recording to do the starts.  Some of our friends from the SRAC power club in Snohomish will help as well, since they have more experience organizing this stuff.

Any NWEF members that would like to join us for a fun event are more than welcome to join! We just want to have some fun with this and hopefully make some new friends.  This will be a one design series since that keeps costs down and levels the playing field for everyone.  The planes we're using are the "Funfighter" foam pylon racers available from Hobby King.  They sell for just $79 preassembled and complete with motor, ESC, servos (already installed), props, spinner, etc.  All you need is a receiver and a few batteries.  We are using the Turnigy 800 or 850mAh packs for the spec class.  Believe me, a bunch of planes whizzing around the pylon course is more fun than you can imagine.  And since they're pretty robust and not too costly, there's no stress about damaging an expensive plane.  There are 10 different models to choose from, all roughly comparable in terms of performance.

I was out flying my P47 yesterday and am happy to report that it has excellent flying characteristics.  It is fast enough to get the blood flowing, but not so fast that you end up with shaking hands afterwards.  It is not nearly as hairy to fly as, for example, the Voodoos that we've been racing at SRAC.  Also, the Funfighters glide very well and land at a nice slow pace, remaining easily controllable, even when flying slowly unpowered.  They have a separate servo for each aileron, so it's easy to program flaperons, making landings even easier.

I'll make a formal announcement once we get some dates and nail down the organization, probably after Christmas.  In the meantime, if you think you'd like to participate, go ahead and order your Funfighter from Hobby King and get a little airtime with it over the next few weeks.

Merry Christmas,

--Jim Laurel

Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UJ2yzmL_y8U

at Hobby King, do a search for “FunFighter”

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18479__P_51_Funfighter_EPO_650mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18477__Rarebear_EPO_620mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18486__T_28_Funfighter_EPO_650mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18480__F4U_Funfighter_EPO_600mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18483__P47_Funfighter_EPO_630mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18485__BF109_Funfighter_EPO_658mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18482__P40_Funfighter_EPO_700mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18478__AT6_Funfighter_EPO_720mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18484__Spitfire_Funfighter_EPO_665mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18481__F4F_Funfighter_EPO_634mm_PNP_incl_High_Spec_3s_4s_ESC.html

Nice... keep us posted with the schedule...

This sounds like a lot of fun! I think I'll start shopping. Are you going to allow 4S or just 3?

Thanks guys!  We will be using the standard Turnigy 3S 850mAh or 800mAh lipos as recommended by Hobby King.  These packs are a perfect fit in all the funfighter models.  I think when you are on the page for the planes, the battery packs come up as recommendations.

One thing to watch when you order from Hobby King is that they have warehouses all over the world.  You want to order from the USA warehouse, otherwise you will end up with a BIG shipping bill and it will take weeks for your order to come from Hong Kong.  I was not able to get the 850mAh packs from the USA warehouse, so I just went with the 800mAh packs.  It's not really going to matter much compared to how tightly you fly the course.

--Jim

When are you guys planning to do it ?

You guys going to 60acres for some test runs? I'd love to see them in action before whether to get one or not..

Thanks,

Marcelo

I have the rare bear funfighter , however the prop and motor have been hence replaced with options to my like.

are such mods allowed ?

also a practice session will be very useful to noobs like me :D

I think all the epoxy it has, will compensate for the mods...

Thats the EpoxyBear :-D

I saw them flying those, very impressive, you're going want one Marcelo!

Hi Marcelo!

Not sure yet, though at the SRAC monthly races last weekend, we were talking about trying to get it started by mid January or so.

The practice sessions have been pretty sporadic with the holidays, weather and peoples' schedules.  I will post here when people are going out, but it's usually last minute, so it might be a good idea to subscribe to this thread so you'll get the notice.

The main things to solve are the pylons themselves and getting a good handle on the scoring/matrix building, etc.  At SRAC, they have PVC pipes buried into the field, and they just stick the pylons into them.  But we can't do that at 60 Acres and also we'll need to have a solution to make the pylons collapsible.  If anyone has ideas about those things, I'd love to hear more.  We can get the start recording from our friends at SRAC.  And I think we are planning to just copy the system SRAC has for scoring and managing the contest.

If you haven't seen a pylon race before, you might want to drop in at the SRAC field in Snohomish.  I think the next race will be in mid January some time.  It's a load of fun.  Even for those of us who've been flying for many years (since 1977 for me), a pylon race really gets the blood flowing!

Any progress on this?

I heard they were doing some testing a few Saturdays ago but when I got there at noon they were gone already

Our 3^rd FunFighter Pylon race is this Saturday, April 14th, 60 Acres, pilots meeting at 11 AM. Come early to help set up and get in some practice!!

·         Bring your AMA card – BRING A HELMET!!!

·         We will be charging a $5.00 entry fee for SASS members, $10 for non-members to help cover costs.

We will run 4 pilots per flight group. Flying start as done at SRAC.  We will use the AMA 423 course layout. There will be a demo of a proposed “2 Cel” class to show viability of a slower class. If you have a 2 cel pack that will fit in your FunFighter, bring it and let’s try it out. I have 2 packs that people can try out.

Quick reminders:

·         Must use a Stock HK FunFighter (exceptions bellow)

·         Must use a 3s battery

·         Must use the stock motor

·         Must use the stock (kit) prop, APC 5.5x4.5(stock size), or an APC 5x5

·         Can replace spinner / servos / connectors

·         Can replace ESC

1 cut = 1 extra lap

2 cuts = Disqualified

Points for each heat will be awarded as follows (point series prize at the end of the race season):

1^st = 4

2^nd = 3

3^rd = 2

4th = 1

We will go over the rest of the rules at the pilots meeting.