This is a thread specifically for forum members who are interested in or wish to race Electric Formula One in the UK, although anyone else is welcome to contribute. Potential participants should read John Jennings's thread "Electric Formula One is here" to get an understanding of the rules and the purpose of the class.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1178471

and have a look at the rules on the NMPRA website

http://www.nmpra.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2379

Lets hear your ideas and your news

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Has anyone any idea of the ideal battery to use for this class? I have a 2650mah one that fits the rules on weight.... just. It seems discharge rate might be more important than capacity. The other thread suggests 1800mah which would be obviously quite a lot lighter. Although you're flat out its only going to be for a minute and a half or so. I guess we are going to find out.

This is my first stab at an ESC. The choice of one with a large heat sink is based on observation of eDucted fans and RC cars which draw humungous amounts of power.

OK Napoleon , sems logical move and a good place to develop UK interest in this class . To date i have contacted approx 12 of our old pylon friends from past years ,have to say no one has discounted the option to consider this class and many have come back with a positive view . This weekend im at Old Warden and no doubt will see a few more so feel the order of the day at present is to keep recruiting interest and making contact with pilots for this class . Be good to see more pictures and videos of models from the USA and also to start collating contacts for kits and accesories . Im sure that when the first Horizon kits arrive then interest will take another step forward - personally cant wait to try one of these models myself . Learning from past mistakes suggest that main focus must be to encourage new recruits as well as seasoned racers , keep a tight hold on the formulae 1 appearance , keep cost to an acceptable standard and HAVE FUN . Jerry Small deserves credit - we have the benefit of watching the intial development in the USA and being able to start from a known baseline - 2010 could be good year

This is my first attempt at a motor. As this seems the most popular choice in the USA it seems a reasonable starting point. They are available in Britain. The prop driver is made of alloy and I can't help wondering if this may fatigue with repeated high RPM use. We shall see. If it does then a high carbon steel replacement is in the offing. This may prove to be completely unnecessary. It may just be my old ic powered pylon racer mentality but years of racing motorcycles, karts, the odd sports car and many dozens of pylon racers have taught me "Strong is good".

motor looks good - when do you think you will be able to run it up -im interested on current consumption against the various props advised . I also feel that metal spinners may not be good form as any additional weight on the end of the prop shaft must hold back performance - do we know of any one making carbon spinners . Contacted another 2 of the old group again positive feedback received ( its funny that most i spoken to all have the same problem and that being of lack of time to build models like we used to - thankfully the delivery of ARTF kits will enable them to come back and play - ) talk later

And where is the link to these ARF kits? Do you mind sharing?

Originally Posted by plowboy1966

And where is the link to these ARF kits? Do you mind sharing?

They're not available yet. Keep an eye on the Horizon Hobby site though. Could be any day now...

Its nice to know you're still active in racing Dave. A slightly, and I mean slight, scaled down version of your Green Top Turkey design would be perfect for this. I have a large photo of it somewhere. If I can find it I'll post it on this forum.

OK Napoleon. I've been trying to figure out your secret identity. I think I know who you are but can you PM me with the right answer?

just returned from old warden -great day ,treated to a full size mustang practising aerobatics for the coming show season - the vintage full size glider club turned up and flew minimoas - petrels and several other classic machines - no wind -bright sunshine with afternoon tea on the lawn . Enough of this the real good news is that i met C Redrup again - by now he has received the links to EF1 and this forum . Chris now flying classic FF power with Dixielanders and OS max 15s plus other FF classes -still competitive . And yes he is interested in having a go . As soon as he replies then be prepared to welcome another vintage pylon man back to the fold - Hey Dave -have you seen an actual little toni for this class - is there a part kit available - or will it only be the pogo that become available intially ???

Originally Posted by DaveSawers

OK Napoleon. I've been trying to figure out your secret identity. I think I know who you are but can you PM me with the right answer?

Hi Dave
Sorry for the delay in answering your query. I was over in Portugal shooting in a clay pigeon competition. A PM is on its way to you! In the meantime now I'm home I can get on with the build of this "Snoshoo"

This is the design I've picked for my first EF1. Its the "Snoshoo". I would liked to have designed another "Stinger" but the rules specifically require models with a straight tapered wing apart from the final wingtip. The semi elliptical wing of the "Stinger" renders it unsuitable from that point of view. I prefer shoulder wing models for racing with the majority of the weight under the wing. I just feel it gives a bit more stability. The "Snoshoo" doesn't have quite the fuselage side area of the "Stinger" which was very good in that respect. Whether its adequate we shall see. This is only the third pylon model I've built with a wooden fuselage.

An additional problem is the need to replace the battery pack after each race. This requires some different solutions since you obviously can't just connect a tube and refill it. So it is going to require a large detachable piece of bodywork that can be quickly and securely reattached.

The wing is going to be foam cores covered in hard 3/32 balsa for stiffness. Wing tips will be blue foam covered in glass. This worked very well on my previous racers. I haven't used film on a model for about 25 years so this will be a learning curve again.

The "Snoshoo" is a "Shoestring" like aircraft so the basic design could be used to emulate any number of similar type racers. You can check out the full size example at www.snoshoo.com They even provide a provide a handy three view which was another reason for choosing this design.

Thats a pretty airplane - just enough difference to make its stand out from a shoestring ,so whats Greg building ? - We (southern area BMFA ) have a stand and tent at the blackbush show in about a months time - i will have the EF1 logo plus pictures of models and other info available to spread the news about EF1 in the UK - any pictures from any source would be welcome please to help us get local clubs interested - plus any plans and or partial kits that may be available . this show is only on Saturday but does draw local clubs so should enable us to spread the news .

About Greg - to be honest I'm not quite sure what he's building. His last racer was a Formula One Shoestring which was mighty fast. Unfortunately the F3D boys had the class banned before he had a chance to race it. He still has it but of course it's too big and heavy for this class plus it has a glass fuselage.

Here is the 3-view plan of the "Snoshoo". I've realised that I'm going to have to build a dummy fuselage out of ply so as to get the fiberglass cowls to fit exactly how I want. The overwing cowl and top of the forward fuselage will be one unit and probably held on with Dzus fasteners. One and a small clip a la Stinger should be OK. Once the moulds for the nose cowl and overwing cowl are done we should be in business not forgeting the form to vac mould the canopy of course.

One of the other threads suggests that lightweight 9gm servos should be adequate. They most assuredly won't, unless they've got a lot more powerful since I last tried some. I'll be interested to see what Dave Sawers fits in his Nemesis.