FTFF 2017 International Air races: Design-Off

[BridgeInspector]

Congrats Aviator08!


I am surprised and happy I topped category 2: Aerodynamic design with the Mystery Ship.

My Travel Air Mystery Ship will still have some improvements to the plans and skin/paint templates in the near future. I hope to paint it once it warms up enough to take it outside and use rattle cans.

 

[wilmracer]

Congrats to all the participants! I'm having a really hard time deciding which one(s) I want for FF! There is going to be some awesome racing going on

 

[Mid7night]

Congratulations Aviator08!

I'm just hoping I can actually make it to FFE this year, I really want to see all these in person and fly together.

 

[Aviator08]

Thank you to the anonymous reviewers!


Thanks for putting this together willsonman!

My Thanks also to the reviewers and willsonman for all their time and effort. Great job by all the contestants!

Also, thanks to everyone for the congrats. I'm looking forward to racing against the other contestants.

Tim

 

[rockyboy]

Thank you reviewers and everyone who has provided comments and encouragement to help drive this contest, and in particular my project, forward! I am just thrilled that I've been able to learn to design a DTFB plane, and build a succesfull model through this contest!

Also, I'm no graphics guru, but I'd be happy to help out on the skinning side of things too - especially for one of the less graphically challenging designs - there was a reason I picked a solid blue plane to build for this

 

[HilldaFlyer]

I'll add my thanks to Willsonman for organizing the contest and to be flying event... to the ad hoc judges, winners, finalists and participants. I've been quietly watching everyone's threads and noting the exceptional talent displayed, comradery, and new techniques. It has been a great fun for all competition.

Congratulations to all!

 

[Fidget]

Indeed. Thank you all for making this happen! Looking forward to some racing. I'd better devote as much time this spring to my flying skills as I did thinking about this.
Trying to convince my father in law that he wants to be a spotter. I'm not sure offering to pay for his hard hat really sold it.

 

[SlingShot]

Has anyone tried to handicap the big cowl ships for relative speed? The race dynamic is shaping up in an interesting manner. Any of the more stately models flying a smooth mistake free race would be poised to capitalize on any mistake.

Also how would you assess the relative difficulty of construction? What kind of experience is necessary to replicate one of these racers?

 

[Craftydan]

These are scale models, all in the same scale.

The real ones weren't handicapped, why should we handicap these?

 

[SlingShot]

These are scale models, all in the same scale.

The real ones weren't handicapped, why should we handicap these?

I'm sorry. I didn't mean handicapping like a horse race. Poor choice of words. I just meant relative speed.

 

[Craftydan]

Slingshot,

The rues of the race seem pretty clear.

First plane to complete 10 laps or last plane flying that has stayed ahead of the pace plane. There are limits on battery, but that's pretty much it.

There's no adjustment for the plane chosen. The style of the scale model was judged in the design off and a peoples choice will be named among the static showcase (chosen via penny-voting), but style has no impact on not the races themselves. If someone selects one airframe or another to race, if there's an advantage or disadvantage in that, it is their choice.


Are we going to wade in to another disagreement about the rules as written?

 

[SlingShot]

I would like help building one of these things please. That's what I would like. I am trying to assess relative speed. If that's my job to determine, so be it. For a rookie scratch builder, could I maybe receive a little guidance on which ones I might have the best success in replicating? Like, easiest to hardest?

 

[Craftydan]

Look at the build threads and instructions of each.

They've all been documented -- some better than others -- but if one isn't clear enough to see "how", it's probably not a better choice. The designers are also quite proud of their designs so asking for clarification of unclear steps will likely be well received.

 

[willsonman]

peoples choice will be named among the static showcase (chosen via penny-voting)

This has not been confirmed yet. Just want to put that out there.

 

[Aviator08]

I would like help building one of these things please. That's what I would like. I am trying to assess relative speed. If that's my job to determine, so be it. For a rookie scratch builder, could I maybe receive a little guidance on which ones I might have the best success in replicating? Like, easiest to hardest?

Hi Slingshot,

Congratulations on wanting to build/ fly one of these racers. That is a huge compliment to those of us who designed and built for the contest. Makes my day. I think I can speak for all the contestants when I say, welcome to the races! Probably the best way to determine which plane is for you is to watch the videos.... not necessarily the maiden flights, but the ones where they have them dialed in. Being race planes with relatively small wing area can make for an interesting flight. :black_eyed: Personally, I think the Super Solution flies the most stable, ( no prejudice here However, I don't think it is the fastest one out there. That being said, when it comes down to the races, it will be as much or more about the pilot control then the top speed of the aircraft. These all fly with in a general speed class, and therefore will all be competitive in the races. The other consideration is the build techniques. Some are easier/ faster to build then others. Whichever you choose i'm sure you will have a blast flying in the races. Good luck with your build and racing!!

PS. CraftyDan is correct... all of us will help you with tips/ etc. to build our aircraft.

Tim

 

[Fidget]

I agree with Tim and Dan; any of us would be happy to help you troubleshoot as you build.

The R3C I designed has a much bigger total wing area than the others, although I haven't been able to prove yet that it is very stable. (I crashed the first, built a nice looking one, and now think I need to build another plain white one to practice flying with it.) The R3C is fairly heavy, but with a 4s battery should be pretty quick. Build-wise, it is pretty standard FT stuff, with a couple of extra big zip ties to hold the wings on. I plan to reinforce my fuselage with packing tape on the next build to keep it from separating in a crash.

 

[rockyboy]

For everyone who enjoyed participating in or just watching this challenge, the plan for the 2018 Flite Fest events is getting warmed up!

Come on over to http://forum.flitetest.com/showthre...WII-Community-Design-amp-Build-Off-Discussion to be part of the discussion leading up to the challenge kickoff on August 1st. :applause:

 

[Fidget]

Late Entry - Cloud Cutter Ale

It's a little late, but Great Lakes Brewing (based in Cleveland) has released Cloud Cutter Ale, with artwork and lingo paying tribute to the Cleveland Air Races.
https://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/node/2271
It's pretty good. A little heavy on the grapefruit notes for my taste , but gets milder after a few sips.

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