Mike Morgan provided some old photos he had taken with his giant Cub aerial platform. Most are from the 2002/2003 season. Click the pics to enlarge: See the In-Flight Video below.
Some SEFSD Racing Rules from 2002:
SEFSD Dragonfly Pylon Racing
Aircraft | 48 inch span Dragonfly* |
Power Unit | 7.2 volt, Speed 400 motors with 7″ maximum diameter prop. |
Battery Pack | either 7x 600 AE’s or 7x 500 AR’s. |
Course | AMA 1/2 course , 10 laps, with a hand launch start. |
Competition | two legs of 100 feet, 5 laps, with an ROG start, and a touch and go on each following upwind leg. In the event there is no wind, “upwind” will be the take-off direction. Competition — two Dragonflys racing at a time, double elimination. |
Must have remote motor start/stop. | |
2-3 planes in each race. | |
All entrants must adhere to the kit and plans with no exceptions. |
* The Dragonfly is an easily constructed, constant chord, park flyer. Kits are available ($69.95) from Diversity Model Aircraft or Northeast Sailplane Products (see page 07, S&E Modeler, July 1999)
For further information contact:
Bill Knoll, (760) 729-1169
e-mail: billknoll@earthlink.net
SEFSD San Diego Scale
– class A San Diego Scale
models with less than 50 inches in wingspan
– class B Open
models with more than 50 inches in wingspan
Flight Standard
The model must be flown to demonstrate its performance. Said flight must be realistic — conforming to the flight of the full scale aircraft
Appearance Standard
The model will be judged to evaluate how well the model duplicates the appearance of the full scale aircraft. To further this end, it behooves the pilot to provide to the judging committee adequate documentation of the full sized aircraft, eg. photographs, drawings, etc.
For further information contact:
Fred Harris, 540 Savoy Street, San Diego, CA 92106
or e-mail: flharris@adnc.com
SEFSD Speed 400 Pylon Racing
Aircraft | Any thing you want! |
Power Unit | Any Speed 400 motor (one only)-you know what is legal!(No .020, AP29—etc). Any prop. |
Battery Pack | 7 cells any size. |
Course | AMA 1/2 course , 10 laps, with a hand launch start. |
Competition | 2-3 planes racing at a time. |
Must have remote motor start/stop. | |
2-3 planes in each race. |
For information contact:
Steve Neu
(619) 284-0816
E-Mail— sneu@aol.com
SEFSD Speed 400 F5B
A new electric event conceived by the Europeans at the last F5B World Championship in Berlin is called F5B S400. It is essentially the same type of format as full size F5B, but is simplified for use with Speed 400 powered models.
The SEFSD will hold an F5B S400 contest on Oct 9th and 10th 1999. Further details on location and schedule will be posted here as soon as they as they are finalized
The rules we will follow are added here for your information, as well as the rules for full size F5B.
F5B S400 Rules
Airplane
There are no limitations on type or size of the model
Power System
- Only motors defined as brushed S400 by the Motor Constant method described in the Aveox Web Site are allowed. The motor/s shall have a motor constant Km of less than 1.15.
- Any manufacturer of motors is allowed
- Motors may be retimed, but no other modifications are permitted.
- The battery that powers the motor must not exceed 7 cells. They may be of any capacity.
- Gear drives are permitted, and any type of propeller is permitted.
- Only one motor per aircraft is permitted.
- There are no other intentional restrictions.
Rules
Flight course.
The flight course will be the same as is flown in normal F5B events, except that the distance between Base A and Base B is 200 feet as opposed to the normal 150 m.
The “Limbo” prior to the Duration segment is deleted. The 3-minute Duration clock starts at the completion of the 3-minute Distance clock period.
Scoring
- 10 points awarded for each leg completed in the Distance Task.
- 1 point is awarded for each second of power off flight time up to a maximum of 180 ( 3 minutes ) during the duration task.
- 1 point will be deducted for each 1 second of motor use in the duration task.
- 30 points will be awarded for landing (stopped) within the 30 foot circle.
- Duration is a precision task with 1 point deducted for each second of flight time over the 3 minute requirement. Ties will be broken based on the landing time closest to 3 min.
The F5B Competition Rules
F5B is an international class for electrically powered model gliders. It is a multitask event. The following description is my interpretation of the rules. You can find the official rules if you go to the FAI website and download a Word 6 document.
Task 1 – Distance
From launch you have 3 minutes to fly, power off, as many 150 metre legs as possible. You score 10 points for every leg completed in this time. There are 2 sighting lines called ‘base A’ and ‘base B’ that ere 150m apart. Spotters at base A and base B sound a buzzer when the model has crossed the line. The pilot turns the model when the buzzer is sounded. The area between base A and base B is called ‘the course’. The area beyond base A or B is ‘off the course’. The electric motor is used to gain height ‘off the course’ as much as desired. Themotor must be switched off before the model enters ‘the course’. The modelmust always enter ‘the course’ at base A. This is the end where the pilot stands.
No more than 10 climbs are permitted
Most pilots fly 4 legs from a single climb. The current record (November 1998) for legs flown in the 3 minutes is 39. That is 5.85km in just 180 seconds, which is 117km/h! This calculation does not include the time taken to climb or the time taken to turn the model at base A or B.
Task 2 – Duration
At the end of the distance task the model must complete a 5 minute duration. You score 1 point for every second that the model stays airborne, up to a maximum of 300 (5 minutes). The duration task starts when the model completes a ‘limbo’ below 3 metres at base A. One point is deducted for every second of motor used during the duration task. If you land before or after the 5 minutes you lose 1 point for every second. In other words, overflying the task by 5 seconds loses 5 points in the same way that underflying by 5 seconds does.
The top pilots are able to complete the duration with 2 or 3 seconds of motor in zero lift conditions. They achieve this by completing the limbo very fast. One option is to climb before the limbo and dive through at great speed. Another is to use the motor to accelerate the model just before the limbo. Several have managed to complete the task without using any motor, but this required thermal assistanceTask 3 – Spot landing
The flight ends with a precision landing. 30 points are added to the score if the nose of the model is within a 7.5 metre radius of the spot. 15 points are added if the nose is within a 15 metre radius.
For additional information, contact:
Bruce Cronkhite, 6783 Rockglen Ave., San Diego, CA 92111
or e-mail: minton@san.rr.com
SEFSD Old Timer / Tlush Mite Pylon Racing
By Harold Reed
- Aircraft — 50 inch span Tlush Mites*
- Power Unit — 6 volt, Speed 400 motors wth any gearbox/prop
- Battery Pack — either 7x 600 AE’s or 7x 500 AR’s
- Course — three legs 200x60x200 feet, 8 laps, with an ROG start
- Competition — two Mites racing at a time, double elimination
* The Tlush Mite is an easily constructed, constant chord, former free-flight design. Plans are available ($4.00
for postage and handling) from:
Harold Reed, 3543 Shawnee Rd., San Diego, 92117.
All entrants must adhere to the plans with the following exceptions:
- Landing gear may be bolted to a plate on the bottom of the fuselage, but must maintain plan profile and location.
- Any kind of wheels, 2 inches in diameter.
- Sub fin may be replaced with a wire skid to hold tail at design point.
- Wing incidence may be altered to permit level flight at racing speed.
- Airfoil must be according to plan — no reduction or modification.
- No nose cowling or wheel fairing permitted.
For further information contact:
Harold Reed, 3543 Shawnee Rd., San Diego, CA 92117
or e-mail: otpylon@adnc.com
SEFSD Glider – Limited Motor Run
Class 1 Speed 400 | |
Aircraft: | Wing Loading less that 15 oz./sq.ft. |
Wing Span: | less that 120 inches |
Power Unit: | Speed 400 or smaller with any gearbox,any prop. |
Battery Pack: | no limit |
Motor Run: | 36 seconds |
Class 2 Open | |
Aircraft: | Wing Loading less that 15 oz./sq.ft. |
Wing Span: | less that 120 inches |
Power Unit: | Pilot’s option |
Battery Pack: | no limit |
Motor Run: | 18 seconds |
Competition:
- Simultaneous Launch of up to 8 aircraft in a single class with CD calling “Launch”, for the toss, and “Off”, for the conclusion of the motor run. (additional heats with a flyoff if number of contestants is higher)
- Duration and a spot landing will accrew points
Scoring
- 6 points per minute (with fractional credit) for duration
- Subtraction of 1 point per foot away from CD’s preselected landing target(s) — distance measured from target bulls eye to aircraft marker.
Notes
- Depending on visibility and climb rates, some pilots may choose to use less than the fully allowed motor run time.
- To reduce congestion at the landing target area(s), pilots will be issued numbered markers to place on the ground where their aircraft stopped. Pilots will announce in a loud voice “On the Runway!” before approaching their planes. Then they shall then place their marker directly under the propellor shaft.
- Pilots are advised to watch for other landing aircraft before running out on the runway, retrieving and marking their own. Officials will measure distances for all competitors after all aircraft have landed.
- All pilots competing are required to attend the pilot’s briefing held 20 minutes before the first heat.
For further information contact: Don Larson, 5345 Toscana Way, Apt. 538 San Diego, CA 92122 or e-mail: dlarson1@san.rr.com
SEFSD Mad Dog Mayhem
Aircraft | Diversity Mad Dog — no modifications |
Power Unit | Multiplex Turbo 450. Any propellor. |
Battery pack | 7-cells |
Tail Streamer | 10 feet, cassette tape (1/4 inch brown mylar) |
The Competition
- Simultaneous launching of a maximum of 3 Mad Dogs. At the end of battery runs, the Contestant who lands his or her Mad Dog with the longest streamer wins.
- This event will take place each day of the Midwinter Electrics and the winner shall be the pilot who has the longest total streamer length during the three days.
For further information contact: Steve Belknap, (619) 693-3739, or e-mail: Let1Fly@AOL.com