Flite Fest 2017 International Air Races

[Fidget]

Do the pilots stand in the "Pit area"? I'm really bad at depth perception when flying, so I'm trying to figure out a way to practice what it's going to look like.

 

[Fidget]

Regarding the PVC pylons; those are awesome. It's PVC couplings that really jump the price of a PVC project up, so I'll bet we can do those for a good cost.

If we broke each leg and the mast into two sections, I'll be we could get them down to a length to fit in a truck or an RV.

I'd be happy to help with those if that's what you decide on.

 

[willsonman]

You would be standing at the start line. In the middle of it all, flying around yourself.

 

[Mid7night]

How many, if any, are planning on going to FFWest in April? Being that I'm in So.Cal, I'm definitely planning on attending, but I don't know how likely it is that I'll be able to attend BOTH Fest's in one year.

Might we do a small, FFWest version? Call it a practice?

 

[willsonman]

Have at it, if you'd like.

As for RealFlight, Load up Air Race Desert under RealFlight7.5--> Flatlands. Just go from one end of the runway to the other. That's about the best you can do.

edit:
I've made a basic one from air race desert. The pylon pairs are positioned at the correct distance. I've edited the start and pilot position as well. Download the file and change the name from .ZIP to .RFX and import into RealFlight as normal.

 

[Fidget]

You would be standing at the start line. In the middle of it all, flying around yourself.

Thanks! And thanks for making a practice course.

I'm picturing one of those 360 degree cameras mounted to my hard hat. Or maybe just on a tripod in the middle. This is going to be cool.

 

[willsonman]

Sure thing! Its been a while since I've been in the airport editor. If I took some time I could probably have found another pylon that would have been a single structure. But the positioning and spacing is right on this one and you can select whatever model you want. That being said, you probably can't use your specific model but its at least something to practice your turns and maintain level. Its a good starting point but nothing compares to doing it IRL.

 

[rockyboy]

A racer is born! She still needs electronics installed, and a maiden flight on this build, but the prototype flew well after some tweaking!



Plans and skins are available at the build thread if anyone else would like to build one. I'll even post skins with your pilot/screen name if asked politely

http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?29316-FF2017-Int-Racers-Caudron-C-460

 

[SlingShot]

Good job and good luck Rockyboy!

 

[SlingShot]

As Austin has had a recent addition to his family I will not be able to confirm the ability to do an exhibition flight or the static display. I'll reach out to him when I know he is back to work. I'm not going to bug a guy with a new baby... that's just mean. When I get confirmation of everything I will update here.

The attached image is a good illustration of what I am thinking for the course layout. Since we are not going with official racing rules we are not going to have the pylon judges. We are more after some good fun. Spotters will be responsible for ensuring proper rounding of pylons. Speaking of pylons, these are a good design that are fairly compact. I'm going to see how cheaply they can be made. At 20' tall they may prove difficult to transport, even disassembled.
View attachment 80144

This diagram has omitted the flaggers for pylon one. These guys indicate to the pilot's spotter/coach when the aircraft has passed pylon one.

 

[willsonman]

Indeed, this will be the responsibility of the spotter. As we are not doing a full AMA or NMPRA race (read only for fun) the spotter will call this to the pilot and we can go from there. In reality you should have a judge for each pylon but with expecting more than a few airplanes for one race it makes it impossible for the judges to keep track of them all.

 

[SlingShot]

Indeed, this will be the responsibility of the spotter. As we are not doing a full AMA or NMPRA race (read only for fun) the spotter will call this to the pilot and we can go from there. In reality you should have a judge for each pylon but with expecting more than a few airplanes for one race it makes it impossible for the judges to keep track of them all.

Hehehe.......if things tighten-up and guys get the least bit aggressive, there will be "plenty cuts" at turn No. 1!

 

[SlingShot]

Going into turn one, as the aircraft closes on the pylon, the caller will call "Roll!", and the pilot will roll the aircraft 60+ degrees (whatever the market will bear). When the caller sees their color light flash or flag wave indicating that their aircraft has passed the pylon, the caller calls "Pull!" and the pilot yanks it around, ..."Level!" and he levels the aircraft on a perfect heading for turn 2. That's how it works with 4 fast aircraft in the air.

Going into turn 1 with nothing but "line of sight telemetry"......... that's a serious upping of the difficulty factor. You need to consider how far outside the scope of insurance coverage you may be as well.

I strongly urge that you consider the horsepower if you want to put a gaggle of these things up. If you'd like a cool stately race that would LOOK awesome with a lot of planes (which I think would be pretty cool), please dial back the intensity. Slow is cool. Racing is relative. (Especially for video). If you want to go fast please take care of turn one.

I lanterned turn 1 without any protection. I have seen crazy Formula 1 up close. Racing is serious. And if you want to go FAST it's important that you not reinvent a perfectly good wheel. Without flaggers for each pilot at turn one, the cockpit is being unnecessarily overloaded and turn one will be a crazy free for all. More than 4 fast ones in the air......not cool.

 

[willsonman]

I appreciate your enthusiasm but it looks as though you have not read any of the preliminary thoughts here, let alone seen the final rules. The course will incorporate turns that will be away from spectators when far away and they will be much closer when they are turning toward the spectators. Further still is how far back from the spectators the course will be. This is intentional for the purposes of a FUN style race. I believe you are thinking this will be too competitive. There is no intention of taking ourselves seriously here. While Pylon #1 will be difficult there is a sense of comedy watching 15 or so planes struggle to round it.

 

[SlingShot]

When two old plow horses get running together towards the barn, all of a sudden both of them are in the Kentucky Derby.

 

[Mid7night]

Something else to consider is the actual speed being attained by the entrants planes. While we like to think we're designing and building pylon racers, the reality is we're not going to be achieving those speeds. Yeah I recorded 109mph on my SK3, but that was out of a 300' dive, downwind! And mine is one of the more narrow/pointy designs.

Not that we won't be dealing with fast planes and we shouldn't have safe race practices - We should! - I believe our circuit-level speeds are going to be quite a bit lower than actual pylon racers.

 

[rockyboy]

If things go right with the motor I'm running now, my max speed will still be under 50mph.

 

[SlingShot]

If things go right with the motor I'm running now, my max speed will still be under 50mph.

That's a significant detail. I am considerably less concerned. At those speeds you can almost cheat a lizard eye look at the pylon.

 

[rockyboy]

I think I've been called a slow-poke.

 

[SlingShot]

I think I've been called a slow-poke.

Nahhh.....I would never say that. DNF's and DQ's are worse.
Besides, Crafty Dan will need a target for his "Terminator".