A close-up look at the Great Planes Viper 500
Kurt Bozarth <[email protected]>
As an alternative to taking out a second mortgage to purchase a painted-in-the-mold, fully composite Quickie 500 (Q-500) racer, there are several affordable Q-500 ARFs available.
I have seen the Predator and the Viper flown in AMA event 424 (Sport Quickie) with sport engines, but never with a Nelson or Jett. I have heard rumors that people have successfully flown and raced these ARFs in AMA 428 (Q-500), but I had never seen it with my own eyes.
So off I went to the local hobby shop, where I was able to pick up a Great Planes Viper 500 ARF for $119. Being a closet MonoKote junkie, I had most of the factory-applied covering removed by the time I got home.
The next items I addressed were the sloppy aileron torque rods. I quickly dug the existing ones out, cut the plastic tubing away, and reseated the rods back into the wing, bedded in a nest of epoxy. (Yes, I remembered to coat the rods with Vaseline first.)
My next concerns were the thin fuselage sides and the large servo access area. A layer of 2-ounce fiberglass cloth along the sides of the fuselage did the trick. I also toothpick-pinned the firewall, the landing-gear plate, and the wing hold-down plates. The longest part was waiting for the epoxy to dry. Some of you may question whether or not my efforts were needed. I feel that the torque-rod issue is the only one that must be addressed. The others were a result of my obsessive-compulsive behavior. Besides, it was fun.
The final weight with a Nelson engine was 3 pounds, 10.6 ounces — not bad considering the minimum legal weight might increase from 3.5 to 3.75 pounds. (There's no room to discuss this can of worms here and now.)
The test flight was no different from that of any of my other Q-500 airplanes. I had to add wingtip weight to the left wing and finetune the controls. My only complaint is that the ailerons were small and became severely ineffective during landing. High-rate ailerons are a must for landing the Viper. Overall, the Viper flew excellently with a Nelson bolted on it. I tried several times to bend the wings off—fortunately without success.
I went on to race the Viper in our last two local races, competing against several Shotguns, an old Vortex, and a strange Bob Dible creation. I felt that it was a tad slower than the Shotguns, but definitely not $300 slower. My Viper will be one of my primary airplanes for our local races. I am hoping that the Sport Quickie racers in the area will see that a Viper is more than adequate for local Q-500 races and they will make the jump to that event.
While I was flying the Viper the thought that it only cost me $120 crossed my mind more than once, causing an inner peace to well up inside, lowering my pulse and relaxing my peripheral skeletal muscles. I have since learned that Dennis Cranfill and a group of racers in the Wichita Falls, Texas, area have imposed an informal "Vipers only" rule for their Q-500 races. Obviously they have good experiences with these affordable ARFs.
New Pylon Racers Needed!
This past summer there were many postings on the Internet discussing how we can attract new pylon racers. Most agree that we are in need of new competitors, but "how" was at the center of the debate. Some feel that our current rules and classes are adequate and that new pylon racers will eventually join in, motivated by their own internal need for speed and competition. Others feel that our rules and classes deter many sport fliers who are on the fence.
This issue is not unique to pylon racing. Read Rich Lopez’s CL Combat column in the September M/A, where he discussed the many CL Combat classes: 1/2A with Tee Dees, 1/2A with Cyclons and Foras, Fast Combat, Slow Combat, and 75 and 80 mph Combat — whew!
For years those of us in Colorado have enjoyed a remote facility created specifically for pylon racing. Sport flying is allowed, and this is what you will see most. But when a pylon racer shows up to practice, no one complains when he or she flies the course. We have an excellent situation.
However, we have seen very little growth. Competitive CL Combat flier Rich Perry and RC Combat pilot John "J.J." Jauglas have been our only recent additions. Both have done extremely well and bring refreshing insight with them from their other interests. These guys are exactly what the RC pylon community needs.
In an attempt to find more potential pylon racers like Rich and J.J., we took our show on the road. Instead of having all five of our monthly races at our remote field, we connected with several of the local clubs and asked them to host a few. We would provide the course workers, and they would allow us to use their field for a day. The club could sell concessions and keep the profits. It seemed like a good fit.
To piggyback that plan, we all decided that we would race World Models Mach II Sky Raiders. The idea was to connect with the sport flier by showing him and her that we could have a great race with sport models. Once we hooked a few new racers, we would help them move into the AMA classes.
Crosswinds RC Club, located approximately 20 miles southeast of Denver, was the first to join us in our plan. Club Vice President Phil Helfer was instrumental in ensuring a successful race. By the way, Phil is an outstanding chef and kept us fed throughout the day with homemade breakfast burritos, sweet barbecue chicken, and spicy pork sandwiches! Longtime Club Treasurer Larry Falsetta stepped up to be my assistant CD.
Although the same bunch of pilots showed up, we were able to show off racing to sport fliers who would not have attended if the contest were held at our standard remote location. I think the Crosswinds club members enjoyed themselves, and we have been invited back for 2007.
Next on the list was a July race at the Boulder Reservoir. Things were looking good until we were informed that the bubonic plague and the West Nile virus had been found there. After a quick volley of e-mails, it was decided to move the race back to our home field. Considering that our main objective was to gain racers, it would be a shame to lose a few to the plague.
Our last race of the year was hosted by one of the top RC clubs in the country — the Jefco Aeromod'lers — at Chatfield Reservoir, which is probably the best facility in the state. Duane Gall was the CD, and the turnout was excellent. Several new racers competed in the Sky Raider class, and two new pilots competed in Sport Quickie. I hope we will reap a few new racers next year.
North/South Shootout
This event was held in Medford, Oregon, August 19–20. It has become an annual event, thanks to CD and Grand Poobah of Pylon Racing Mike Del Ponte. Fast times, good food, and warm weather made for a great weekend of racing. Following are a few words from Mike:
"We all had a great time at the North/South Pylon race. The new racecourse made the races more fun to watch. The weather was a little warm in the afternoon, with 60s in the a.m. and highs in the upper 90s in the afternoon.
"Thanks to all the pilots who traveled and to our dedicated workers. There was a barbecue at the Del Pontes' Friday night. Just about everybody was there with plenty of food and stories.
"On Saturday, after the race, there was a steak barbecue put on by the Rogue Eagles, and thanks to Jan Laine for the chili and blackberry and peach cobbler. We appreciate Judi Del Ponte working so hard with all the announcing and the computer matrix.
"The new course, equipment, and workers are ready for the NMPRA Q-40 championship race to be held in Medford on October 21–23. We had a total of 81 entries for both days, 44 on Saturday and 37 on Sunday. It was good to have all the racers together again. We hope to see everyone again soon."
Notable results:
- Sport Quickie: James Padelt — top spot Saturday and Sunday; fastest time for the weekend 1:40.69.
- Q-500: Matias Salar — winner Saturday; Fred Burgdorf — winner Sunday.
- Quarter 40: Scott McAfee — winner Saturday; Matt Russell — winner Sunday.
F5D Electric Pylon Racing World Championships
This event was held in Pitesti, Romania, August 19–26, 2006. The U.S. team consisted of:
- Dan Kane
- Gary Freeman Jr.
- Travis Flynn
- John Jennings
Drew Telford was the team manager.
According to Gary, it took longer than expected for the airplanes to arrive, and several were damaged. However, enough parts were able to be pieced together to have three models for each pilot. Dan's luggage was even later to arrive, forcing him to add some Romanian clothes to his collection and, even worse, to borrow from Gary.
As a warm-up event before the World Championships, the Romanians hosted the Pre-World Pitesti Cup. This was a great opportunity for everyone to dial in their equipment and test new configurations.
It sounds like the Romanians needed this event. The World Championships were run well, and the style was radically different from what the U.S. team had experienced at the last World Championships in South Africa. The race format featured three qualifying rounds and 16-final heats. The U.S. team qualified in the middle of the pack, missing the main final heats. The final 8 were as expected: Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Romania, Czech Republic, Korea, Poland, and Switzerland. France was close but didn't make the top 8.
The Germans took first, second, and third; the Russians were next and the USA came in fourth. Dan Kane flew very well and just missed making the finals in his first World Champs, which is a great accomplishment for a first-timer.
If you are ready to get serious about pylon racing, join the National Miniature Pylon Racing Association. Go to www.nmpra.org to learn more.
I'll be back in a couple months. MB
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
