My first racer

[Canardman]

Not sure if this is the right place but...

I picked up a Midget Mustang this weekend. It has a fiberglass fuse and foam core wings (sheeted and covered in poly.) Very nice build, someone put some love into it. I would like to finish this in a worthy fashion. Now my questions are these:
1. the wing is a solid piece at this point. How do I run my servo wire through it?
2. Where can I find a rear exhaust .40 size engine to run this?
3. If I were to race this... where can I find what class this is in.. and rules for this class?
4. What are common mistakes when building a pylon racer?
5. What brand of kit might this be?

Thanks for any help.

[Sparky69]

This Forum is for the Giant scale crowd. I have done some modeling in the small stuff. I would recomend you put any current size OS engine (.55 AX or something similar) or .90 4 stroke in the plane and sport fly this plane. As far as I know technoligy has passed this plane by and you would not be competitive in any current class. Have fun with your little rocketship.
Sparky

[Biff]

Good news is you won't need to to get the pre race jitters. Bad news is it's because you aren't going to be able to race it. Sorry bro. Rear exhaust .40 Formula 1 plane went out years ago and was replaced by Quarter 40. The things went pretty strong for then. I have several K&B rear rotor/exhuast motors. They were the stuff before Super Tiger X-40s came along and then Nelson next. The Rear dump 40s run an exhaust extractor (aluminum pipe with a o-ring groove. Louder than hell, practiced with 45% on race days with good conditions, broke out the "Jungle Juice" 65% with a new GlowBee plug every flight! Here's the real fun, Taking a Rev- UP prop and start wacking away! Make 10 props exactly the same and if you're lucky 2 were fast!

Great flying planes. I flew Super LR1-a. Pole cats, Estrellitas and Ricky Rats.Your Midget Mustang makes escapes me right now but I'll get it. They always flew well. I've got 7 or 8 K&B's and all my props and plugs. They take VERY LITTLE THROW!! They are pretty sweet to fly as long as you're used to some giddy up. You will have a noise issue if there's a human within a 3 mile radius! You'll want a paved runway. Take off hold right rudder and it's gone before you knew your buddy let it go! Landing? So you pass yourself on a down wind and kill the engine (fuel pinch, no throttle) you fly down wind as far as you can see the plane (gliding) then turn her back at you. The things float like crazy. First time you land you'll swear you'll never make it back to the field. Then when you cross the runway knee high at the far end thinking you had it licked, you'll watch her float passed the other end of the runway with a pretty good head of steam!!

There's no longer any races for it, it's stupid loud, good fuel 45% is a good place to stay, props are a bitch to learn, GlowBee plugs are not cheap and they are the sexiest models ever and worth every damn dime!!!!! You'll love it!

[Canardman]

Thanks for the info. I am going to build this up just to have the fastest plane on the block. Hopefully it won't be too much for me.:8a:

[Matchless]

Biff hit the nail and drove it home on that one..... : )

If you wanted to go to the effort, you could slam a ThunderTiger .40 Pro in it and run it as a sport plane. The TT is cheap, fuel is cheap and it will come pretty close to balancing with that setup.

There is a new AMA provisional class called Sport Quarter .40. Its essentially a sport version of the 422 event. It was designed to run the old sheeted wing F1 and Q40 airframes which are now obsolete (yours would qualify).

I designed and built this Shark with input from Duane Gall as the 'test' for this class. It flies well and is fun. Unfortunately, there are few clubs messing with this new class right now, so you still won't have anyone to fly with.......

With the stock setup and a 9x6APC prop I get around 120mph out of it. With a pipe and a 9x8 I get 140-145 pretty easily.

[Biff]

They fly really well, no issue there. Weight in the nose should be kept down. If you go with an engine that's more user friendy, I'd use a Jett .50. You'll have to butcher the cheek cowl but it will have throttle, a muffler, run on fuel you can get anywhere, stock prop and move at a pretty good clip. A four stroke would be alright but you will need to add tail weight and prop clearance could be an issue. Take a look at your motor mount, looks like nylon? Also is it drilled? Final questions! How long is your club's run way, is ot grass and do you have noise limits?

If you want to go fast and are willing to accept noise O-plenty, one of the K&B's would sure be happy to be bolted in a F1 plane again. I have a fresh one that should be pretty nasty ,a couple props saved that had one flight put into the "take me racing" box and enough extra parts to keep it going for a long time. The engine is reall pretty user friendly and as F1 no longer exists, you can run it in a pretty mild set up. Should last a good long time and won't eat glow plugs every flight. You can be sure of one thing, you start this monster at any field and everyone will either jump under their car or come running to see what's going on!

If you can fly a high performance plane, you won't have any problem. As I said these planes fly on rails, only difference is you go from turn to turn 3 times quicker! As I said, just be EASY on the travel.

[Biff]

Matchless, Shark,,,,oooohhhhhh, Shaaaaaark, ooooohhhohohhhooohhhhh, Love it! Wing looks like my Estrallitas

[Matchless]

Matchless, Shark,,,,oooohhhhhh, Shaaaaaark, ooooohhhohohhhooohhhhh, Love it! Wing looks like my Estrallitas

: ) Yup, this is kinda like a 'lita with a squared off tail...and its built off an old fuse mold that Duane used to build F1 and FAI fuses from....

[Biff]

Cozi tail feathers looks like. Foam sheeted wings?

[Canardman]

What about an OS .46 DF engine? http://www.osengines.com/engines/osmg1847.html

Would keep my cowl in tact, and still have a rear exhaust.

[Biff]

What you're going to run into is any other high oompah engine is going to need a tuned pipe to run in the RPM reigon it's intended for. If a pipe down the fuse isn't a problem for you, go for it. Another thought is just go with a Nelson Quickee 500 engine. It would haul the mail, run on 15% and APC prop. That would be your best choice all around. They are REALLY user friendly and go like stink. If you go with a pipe you gotta fuddle with lengths and find a header that has enough raise to get clear of the fuse but not stick 4" out. That will be like finding a left handed 3,5 mm hex head nut 389 mm long. Meaning I guess one exists, but I've not heard of one! Nelson Quickee, deal with the muffler screwing up the purty and let her eat!

[Matchless]

Canardman, the .46 rear exhaust would be good, but like Biff mentions, the pipe might be a problem....

Cool pylon story.... I raced through the 80's and early 90's, then I found girls and cars.... When I raced, I raced with all the big guys even though I was a kid.... Guys like Grunk, Jacobsen, Doe, Whiteaker, Bartels, Katz and the Alabama clan (Clayton bros et al). I bet Biff recognizes a few of those names..... My best friend and flying buddy, Mike Pate even won the nationals somewhere in there. I idolized those guys I raced with and cared about nothing more than good launches and clean left turns.

Time passed, College, marriage and then I got heavy back into the hobby (never really got out of it, just spent more time doing other things.... ). One day, I'm surfing a now defunct forum and I find someone named 'alabamaracer' in a pylon forum. A couple of PM's later and I'd found an old racing buddy (Brad Clayton) and I had an invite to come participate in a quickie race.

Got to the race and started getting all the equipment together. I am recognizing everyone, but no one recognizes me because I'm now an adult and 120lbs heavier!

I see Greg Doe over to one side and introduce myself. He instantly remembers me and my father (who was my caller in those days) and we go through the time warp of growing up, etc.....

Then out of the blue, Greg asks if I would call for him! It was the coolest feeling having one of my childhood idols asking me if I would call for him.... Of course I did. Race went well and I would have won the day but for a cut in my last heat.....

Racing is good stuff.... :)

[rcign]

Your user name have anything to do with this ? Matchless Typhoon G80 TCS, 600ccs of TORQUE...

[Matchless]

Your user name have anything to do with this ? Matchless Typhoon G80 TCS, 600ccs of TORQUE...


You got it buddy! You're probably the first person to actually guess correctly where that came from.... :)

I grew up restoring British Sportscars (Triumphs, MG's) and early Japanese bikes, but I always wanted to build a BitSA or a Matchless, or even a Norton.... I owned a Triumph 650 for a short bit, but never rode her......

[rcign]

Bought mine new in 1960...Serial # 60/80TCS something....Tore up the desert around Phoenix for years, turned 87 mph @14.8 at the drags with a giant knobby rear tire and a 4 inch reverse cone megaphone on the end of the pipe...YEE HAW....:198:

[Matchless]

Yee Haw is right!!!!!! Very cool.

[Canardman]

Well, been blowing my wad on this thing!

Airframe----------------$40
Servos -----------------$120
Engine------------------$110
Header & pipe---------$110
Miscellaneous crap ---$100

Having the fastest plane at the field ---- pricele...wait...about $500.:200:

[Sparky69]

Ralph and Matchless,
I didn't post but I knew that it had something to do with the Motorcycle. And I am not a motor cycle guy. My brother had a Bultaca that he dumped in the yard and mom had a fit!
Sparky

[WangoTango]

Canard,
When I saw the first set of pics I thought it looked familiar.... Your bird looks to be a Prather Lil' Toni.
As far as props go..... I have a stash of Re-Up's that are the old "toothpick" style. Eight inch diameter and weird pitch amounts that depended on the temperature of the day. In one of your earlier posts you were saying "how do I get the servo wire through the wing?" Well, ya don't. The aileron servo sits upright in the center of the wing and you use torque rods from a single servo to activate the ailerons. Is that motor a ST .40 (With an "X" on the side of the case? It says you are up in Waco. Ought to be a ton of folks in the Waco/ Temple/ Dallas area that has a bunch of this stuff in their "archives."
WT

[Canardman]

Canard,
When I saw the first set of pics I thought it looked familiar.... Your bird looks to be a Prather Lil' Toni.
As far as props go..... I have a stash of Re-Up's that are the old "toothpick" style. Eight inch diameter and weird pitch amounts that depended on the temperature of the day.

I just want it to be fast. Racing is out of the question, as I am about 10 years too late:211:

In one of your earlier posts you were saying "how do I get the servo wire through the wing?" Well, ya don't. The aileron servo sits upright in the center of the wing and you use torque rods from a single servo to activate the ailerons.

I don't suppose you could go into more detail there,could you....please:200:



Is that motor a ST .40 (With an "X" on the side of the case? It says you are up in Waco. Ought to be a ton of folks in the Waco/ Temple/ Dallas area that has a bunch of this stuff in their "archives."
WT


It is a ST .40 X. Got it NIB from a guy in N. Texas.

[WangoTango]

Canard,
I'll walk you through it. I'll send you a PM here in a minute.
WT

[Canardman]

Thanks W-T. My buddy has the wing right now and is cutting the ailerons out for me. When I get it back, I'll give you a call.:198:

[rcign]

WHEN you get hooked on racing, check out usrainfo.org...
There are a bunch of our racers is Texas who would be glad to help out if you want to try it...:200:

[Airbus Driver]

Find a Nelson .40, Purpose built Race engine.

[Airbus Driver]

After you get a Nelson .40 you will just need a slightly angled header. These planes do not use pipes or mufflers. VERY FAST!! pulls Approx. 40g's in the turns.