2008 Electric Blue Ray Pylon Racing in North Alabama (with plans!)

[rocket_jim]

Hot off the press from Tim:

Sorry guys, but the forecast tomorrow is for 15-25mph winds. I have cancelled the race.

We will be planning the 2009 race season soon, so stay tuned!

Tim Batt

[rocket_jim]

The guys in South Africa got a set of Blue Ray plans, modified it for local materials and preferences, renamed it the Witblitz, and are having a ball! They are making kits, and have a neat web site set up. A video of their first race is at: http://www.witblitzracing.co.za/racing.htm.

Because they are using Depron and hot-wire cut EPP, their pure white planes beg for beautiful decorations; and are works of art - at least till they encounter terra firma or a pylon at full speed!

It's great to see that Blue Ray Electric Pylon Racing has gone international!
Jim

[rocket_jim]

I see where NARCA has three Blue Ray Electric Pylon Races scheduled for 2009. See http://narca.net/ Events for more info as it becomes available.

Dates are:
May 23 - Open Competition
July 11 - Open Competition
August 15 - Open Competition

After my less than stellar 2008 pylon racing season, and my decision to not rejoin NARCA in 2009, I may well sit the 2009 racing season out. I'm staying plenty busy with indoor flying at 3 different gyms and my weekday lunch-time flying at the military parade grounds near where I work.

Jim

[gfdengine204]

Jim,

I've just read thru this entire thread, and gotta say, this looks like it could be a fun little plane to throw in the car and have a little fun with, neverminding the racing aspect. Thoughts?

[rocket_jim]

Originally Posted by gfdengine204

Jim,

I've just read thru this entire thread, and gotta say, this looks like it could be a fun little plane to throw in the car and have a little fun with, neverminding the racing aspect. Thoughts?

Sure! Go for it!

The very first time I saw a Blue Ray, before it even had a name, Tim was showing us how much fun it was to fly around with. With a moveable rudder added, you could do additional pattern manuevers that need a rudder.

Jim

[stevecooper]

Originally Posted by MustangMan

Jim,

I understand the goals of the design.

I'm making my changes more as an exploration of ideas than to try to squeeze every last Km/h out of the airframe. It always bugs me just a bit to have control linkages hanging outside the airframe. I doubt they're that significant aerodynamically at the speeds we're flying at but they just bug me! I've only flown ARF's, built pretty much stock. This is my first built-from-plans plane. I really appreciate the simplicity of the design and low materials cost. I'm using foam-safe CA and the glue costs more than the foam! I'm using the CA on the BR for a slightly lower weight though I'm not sure there will be much real difference compared to a careful hot glue build.

I'm currently flying a SuperFly EPP delta wing assembled with hot glue. The durability of the EPP is astounding. I've smacked it pretty hard several times, pushing the bounds of my skills, and the worst took 10 minutes to repair with hot glue! Knowing that repairs, if needed at all, won't take hours is very liberating at the field!

I have a co-worker who's only owned and flown a slow stick interested in a BlueRay. I'm sure it will be a lot quicker than he's used to. I may set him up on a buddy box to get him started. I offered to give him the foam and even build the wing for him. I've got to get SOMEONE to race against!

Thanks again,
Richard

We just got back from fly'in this Plane and OMG it's fast! mustangMans gotta 2409-18 on her (3cells) and all servos inside the fuse (no drag)
Half throttle ,,goes strait up out of sight in 5 Sec's!!,, I got lots of vid time to watch later, He'll probly post um, bub, stevePS rocket_jim,,YOU DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stevecooper]

MustangMan brought me some Fan Fold so mines will be Next!bub, steve

[MustangMan]

Originally Posted by stevecooper

We just got back from fly'in this Plane and OMG it's fast! mustangMans gotta 2409-18 on her (3cells) and all servos inside the fuse (no drag)
Half throttle ,,goes strait up out of sight in 5 Sec's!!,, I got lots of vid time to watch later, He'll probly post um, bub, stevePS rocket_jim,,YOU DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Definitely a very exciting airplane to fly! It's going to take me a while to used to the idea of flying this thing down close to the ground on a small pylon course. Thanks Jim and Tim for a cool airplane!

I've attached a few photos of mine as outfitted. I've included a couple of images rendered by Google Sketchup of the details of my aileron construction. All servos and linkage are completely enclosed within the fuselage.

Video is ready but I'll have to wait 'til I get home to upload (Vimeo and YouTube are blocked here at the office).

[rocket_jim]

Hey there MustangMan:

Glad you like your plane. Looks Great!

I have no idea how much speed difference keeping the servos in the fuselage will make. You are the first that I know of who has tried it.

Beware that those adjustment jinks in your aileron linkeage may possibly make your ailerons a little "spongy" rather than precise in the air.

One reason the servos are where they are on ours so far is to minimize the building time and emotional "cost". Your Mileage May Vary, of course, but our Blue Rays tend to have a short but exciting life!

Jim

[MustangMan]

Originally Posted by rocket_jim

Hey there MustangMan:

Glad you like your plane. Looks Great!

I have no idea how much speed difference keeping the servos in the fuselage will make. You are the first that I know of who has tried it.

Beware that those adjustment jinks in your aileron linkeage may possibly make your ailerons a little "spongy" rather than precise in the air.

One reason the servos are where they are on ours so far is to minimize the building time and emotional "cost". Your Mileage May Vary, of course, but our Blue Rays tend to have a short but exciting life!

Jim

Thanks Jim. I don't really know either about the drag. The plane feels slippery in the air. Speed seems to be in direct proportion to prop RPM.

The ailerons feel crisp and sure. I used some pretty stiff wire so I'm not seeing any signs of problems with springiness in that part of the setup. I'm sure I have considerably more time invested in my build than your typical BlueRay. As I said before, I was trying out ideas and I know that not all of them provide significant benefit to this airframe.

One of the things that got me moving again to complete the BlueRay was that I'm building a Slipso 400, which I plan to give over 300 watts of power to. I figured flying the BlueRay would help recalibrate my thumbs for higher speeds. And I'm incorporating my building ideas into that airframe as well. Especially in the light of what I perceive to be a very successful BlueRay. If the Mountain Models web site is to be believed I can expect about 125 MPH from the Slipso. I haven't clocked the BlueRay but I'm guessing that the Slipso is nearly twice as fast. I may explore alternative props on the BlueRay to see if any more speed is to be had from that airframe. I may also look into a higher Kv motor. Do you know if anyone has clocked a BlueRay? I don't really have any way to compare mine. I suppose once I start trying to fly a pylon course I'll have some basis for comparison. But that may tell me more about my flying that about the raw capability of my airplane.

Thanks again.

[MustangMan]

As promised...

BlueRay Fan Fold Foam Electric Pylon Racer on Vimeo

[MustangMan]

Originally Posted by MustangMan

82.2 ±3.3 MPH

See linked post for more details. Looks like the Slipso will be roughly 50% faster than the BlueRay.

[rocket_jim]

Lots of Blue Ray derivative racing going on in South Africa. See http://www.witblitzracing.co.za/ for photos, race schedules, etc.

NARCA has three Blue Ray Pylon races scheduled for 2008: May 23, July 11, and August 15. See http://narca.net/ for more details as they become available. Since I did not renew my membership there, I've not been to their club meetings, etc. to hear any more than what I know from their web site. Last year they did not talk Blue Ray at the meetings, so I doubt that I've missed hearing much this season.

The pylon racers around here seem to be all action and little/no talk. I know there are surely some Blue Ray pilots outside of NARCA, but I don't have any contact info on them.

My Blue Ray plane pieces and equipment is currently boxed up, awaiting....

I may go watch part of the race or races, but all by myself my usual enthusiasm is not focused on electric pylon racing this season.

Jim

[MustangMan]

I'm enjoying flying and experimenting with mine. I'm still having just a little trouble with it being very sensitive in pitch. I'm too busy getting ready for SEFF to mess with it right now though. I'm toying with the idea of stepping down in prop and trying a 4S lipo. See if I can get it over 100 Mph. Calculations say possibly, but not yet certain.

[rocket_jim]

It took me a while to figure it out, but I've figured out that pylon racing seems to be something that a few people (out of the masses in R/C flying) mostly do, and they don't talk about it much or at all outside of the races themselves.

I also figured out that in whatever my current R/C flying activities are, I personally want to not only do it, but to have some amount of social interaction including some idea who and when and where will be there to practice, to race, to know who won and why, etc. End result, I shelved my electric pylon racing ambitions.

Jim

[Sky Sharkster]

Hi Jim,
I can understand your frustration, but believe me, you did all you could and I'm sure lots of folks enjoyed hearing about the results of your effort.
Promoting an event is kinda' like being a club officer. You find out quick that 10% of the people do 90% of the work.
And your ideas and enthusiastic approach are clear throughout this thread.
As mentioned, I've tried to get an event going several times, but always got buried in rules squabbles, folks who liked the idea but didn't have the time, don't want to buy a new motor- "Why can't I use the one I have?", etc.
But you avoided all that with a complete design and power system regulation from the start. That's all you can do. Offering plans and building sessions eliminates another potential hinderence.
I would have guessed that racing (in any form) would be a popular format, with lots of interest and many posts from all over. It certainly appears that way on the I/C side of racing.
But electric flying is apparently more laid back. It's more "Sport" and less competition. Perhaps it's the nature of the person who wants to simply throw a model in their car and go out to a field and fly. Or, get together with a few other pilots and horse around the sky.
For whatever the reason, E-flyers seem much less competition-minded than my experience with I/C flyers.
In my area, there are many I/C contests and several glider meets each season. Electric-only contests? Zero.
Fun-Flys? Yes. Contests, No.
So, you did much better than anyone could have imagined, but ultimately ran into the wall.
There's nothing wrong with enjoying the sport aspect of electric, perhaps it will become more competitive as time goes by.
I believe the AMA has stats that show less than 10% of all members fly in contests regularly.
Thank you for your time and effort, I appreciated hearing about the races and results. I'm sure others did also.
Ron