USRA Giant Scale race "THE VIDEO!"

[RobertV]

	Quote:
	HELL YES!!!! AIR BI PLANE COMBAT and PYLON RACING!! FICK that is the BEST IDEA EVER! That little Nemisis is only like 14" WS and I guess they are FAST

!

Guys, the Nemesis is fast enough with the stock motor to make some good racing. Larry Lewis has been cracking us up with his...it's so small that it looks real fast and makes you laugh....let's race 'em! Also, we have the Air Hog bipes with us wherever we go.....it's too bad there are only three frequencies for those things!

Fun Stuff!

[ilovemetro]

	Quote: Originally Posted by SleepyC
	Thanks. What sucks is.. I had a great camera, (Canon GL-2) and someone wanted it a bit more than I did, and it was stolen (FROM a FLYIN!!!). If I would have had that camera the footage would have been AMAZING. But the little Panasonic is still a 3CCD camera and takes clean video, only problem ....I have no sweet leneses for the little guy. But I think for the grayness of the sky... it turned out pretty good! Oh well... Max and gang can catch the last leg of the race and get some sunny footage!!

get a fisheye, it makes flying videos so sweet

[SleepyC]

I had several different lenses for my Canon.
But after it was stolen.. I just don't have the money to put back into a great camera.

[SleepyC]

	Quote:
	Guys, the Nemesis is fast enough with the stock motor to make some good racing. Larry Lewis has been cracking us up with his...it's so small that it looks real fast and makes you laugh....let's race 'em! Also, we haxe the Air Hog bipes with us wherever we go.....it's too bad there are only three frequencies for those things! Fun Stuff!

100% down. Let me know where and when...
that little Nemisis will be part of my hanger soon!

[RobertV]

Here's a video that someone sent me that shows an unlimited race from Ranotul, IL in June. I'm not sure who the cameraman was but it may be Dick Rankin, who was taping the races from approximately this vantage point. It's pretty far away but clearly shows how fast these airplanes cover the big 1600 foot course. In particular, note the white NA-50 of Fred French. This is what nearly 240 mph looks like! And note how quick he covers the six race laps. Also notice how fast he goes by the other 200+ mph planes!

http://www.flyinggiants.com/gallery/...o=8574&cat=572

[Cracky]

thats crazy fast......

[Mithrandir]

I am aquainted with some of the "Stuff" in giant scale racing....
This is truly the one event that could take RC Flying to mainstream... like ESPN.. like NASCAR... giant scale racing has the potential to be the MOST EXCITING RC Venue there is..... The planes are big, fast and loud!!!!

Here's the rest of the story...
Many of the pilots have NO business flying such a dangerous plane. There is no
"Certification" or means of taking a pilot from an entry level class and moving him up
the ranks... There is no means of making sure a pilot has the skills and experiance to do this... they may say there are... but the skill level and the nuimber of close calls indicates otherwise... watch the video of the unlimiteds taking off... they barely get off the ground prior to running off the left edge of the runway.... They all overshoot the landings...Too many of these guys are hacks with a fat wallet!!!
The politics of the genre is also horrible... (I have been out of it for a couple years... so maybe it has changed... but likely not)...
I know someone who made molds of a P-51... (Strega I think) and after the molds were done, the rules changed making his molds obsolete....
Try to buy a prop... if you are "Somebody"... you can get the bad'est prop.. if you are not one of the boys... you wait!

I apologize if I come off as being a cranky ol' ba$turd.... I only mention this because THIS is the facet of the sport that can change the paradigm of models being "Toys" verses models being a serious sport requiring skill and attention to details and seriousness... this is the genre that could get Modelers a little respect!!!! The opportunity is there...but I think the "Players" drop the ball!!

I would only attend one of these races if I had a hard hat and upped my life insurance....

[RobertV]

Mit,

I just have to step in here and reply to your post based only upon my personal experiences. And I will only post on this topic once because the last thing this site needs is to be dragged down by debates.

My team was totally new to the sport at the beginning of last season. We were greeted by absolutely everyone from the very start with open arms, a complete willingness to help us, and nothing but great attitudes and zero politics. From the very first race, it was clear that safety was a prime concern and there are MANY checks and balances in place to enforce it. The USRA is also a democratic organization that is governed with the best interests of the pilots and the sport in mind. It also has the support of very reputable hobby industry notables who would certainly not back a poorly organized or unrealistically risky part of model avaition. As with any facet of the hobby, there are differening skill levels, but nothing I have seen depicts the image of rouge pilots with fat wallets flying dangerously as you have painted it. In fact, I am impressed by the overall skill levels and equipment preparation. And pilots tend to be natrually distributed into classes that correspond to their relative skill levels.

Apparently you have had some bad experiences within this sport in the past, but all I can say is that it is not like that from my first hand involvement in its current form. These are great guys who have fun competing in what is one of the most exhilarating facets of this fine hobby. I am having a great time competing and urge each and every one of you to join us! Maybe this will one day grow to draw the attention of ESPN or the like. I can certainly see the appeal both as a pilot and as a spectator.

[SleepyC]

Let me just add, that even as a registered press agent at the event.
I was limited to certain areas, I had to wear a hard hat, and a BIG orange vest so people would know your "OK" to be any where near the flight line.

The crowd and ANY spectators were probably a few hundred yards behind the flight line .... the whole operation is run with extreme care for safety.

I am also not out for an argument, this is just my opinion as a first hand spectator.

[E-MO]

Is their a rule in the book that states you must land these birds dead stick?
all of the ones in sleep's vid landed dead sick...

[Stainless Skills]

I watched the video and it was sweet, I don’t know how you could have done any better! besides holding still a little bit more and keeping the vibration down....but anyway......

What was with the pilots all way over shooting the runway, it was very painful for me to watch every single landing, and the most painful thing was not even knowing if they got all their planes back, do they have brakes? They must have had to walk like 150+ meters to go get the airplanes if they could even keep a strait line with the airplane that far away, if the runway was that long, without running into a ditch or something.

If I ever over shot a dead stick that bad I would most definitely end up in the ditch maybe with the plane upside down, you would think that they would of had enough practicing landing those planes to grease it in nicely right in front of themselves.

Without brakes, it would seem like all the planes landing in the video would most definitely run into a ditch or off the end of the runway, unless all the pilots had like 20-15 vision and killer ground handling skills.

Then again maybe the planes are hard to land but man, I just don’t understand how so many people could over shoot soooo bad and then get every single plane back in good shape.

I have never been to a race so this is totally speculative but watching the video just messed with my mind, that was all I guess.

[SleepyC]

To me I don't think anyone over shoots landings really.
It seems like dead stick is 1 of 2 things... a rule, or they run out of gas...
think about it.. for racing you only want to carry what you need!

Also.. remember that these planes are pretty heavy and not set up for slow flight capabilities, so they have to keep them MOVING when they come in... so they roll baby!

Also... for trying to keep the airframes light, they all have really hard wheels and barley a tail wheel at all, and on most I don't even know if it turned.. so on take off.. I think if you hit a bump or a pavement wobble it throws the plane around a bit.

Overall I think all the pilots did a great job.. were safe and had one hell of a good time!