Short and sweet:

I haven't flown the Saturday night contest in the past, some day I'll combine guts and pilot skills and try it. Most of my night flyers are pushers or prop in slots so not appropriate.

What are some recommends of airframes for the event? I know some Nutballs were flown, some of those Lazy Flyers from Luke's were lit up, etc. Scratch builts, kit builts, ARFs, what has worked well for people?

Figured this might be a good place to ask, though the thread will archive with the special section pretty quickly.

This is probably as good a place as any to post this since you are looking for an airframe.

Next year I am DEFINITELY going to be paying more attention to the model requirements.

I do not want any models weighing more than 24 oz RTF on 3S maximum. I will make sure I bring my fish scale for any that I suspect are heavier than this.

thx
Tom

Tom saw my plane days ahead of Fri's launch and I changed planes because it was too heavy. 49 weeks to plan guys.

Hey Jason,

Here's my two cents FWIW...
- Having something that's reasonably stable is a great way to start. It gets pretty crazy in the scrum and you'll some times find the need to find your plane. Something that has some degree of auto-recovery works great.
- EPP is very forgiving (a little heavier but worth it).
- Make sure your lighting gives very clear orientation. Again, the scrum gets a bit crazy and you want to be able to tell up from down, left from right at a distance (and in a crowd).
- I've tried a few different designs. I'm currently flying a Nutball, which is a pretty forgiving (yet maneuverable) design. A three-channel foam trainer-type design is also something I'd also recommend (more traditional than the Nutball).
- Speed is not your friend here. You're better off being a little slower but more accurate with your flying versus flying around like a nut. I found that with my 3D Delta - plenty of speed but made it difficult to set up for runs.
- Landing gear is helpful. Yes, it is extra weight, but if you happen to go down you may have the opportunity to take off again, Plus it protects your prop
- I'd go with something you find on the RCG Foamies thread (unless it's a pre-cut kit from someone like RA Cores) versus something in a box. It's much simpler to set up a from-scratch plane with lights, plus it'll likely be lighter and less fragile.

If you could find a Slow-Stick type foamy design that would probably be a great way to start. Heck, I might even try something like that for next year

Rob

Also, think large prop (larger kill area). This may give a 2s setup an advantage since you'll be spinning a bit larger prop than you could on a 3s

Rob

I'm looking at some flite test designs. Or a no landing gear, motor on a pod above airframe, I whacked my landing gear during a flite and couldn't take off again until next flight with a hand toss.

Currently I have one of the smaller Fenix planes with lights, most of the rest are pushers or otherwise not appropriate (not putting a discontinued stunt bipe in that scrum). Hard to beat a Fenix.

A Slow Stick may make sense.

Getting RCG Scratchbuilt designs that do most of your recommends is pretty easy, but fewer of them are in EPP or are flat foamie type EPP, which bounces but still tears a good bit. EPP planes with other than flat plate isn't as common.

Some decent airfoiled EPP birds avail from Value Hobby, will keep looking., both for kits and for plans.

You can build a Depron design with EPP coupled with some flat carbon fiber strip if you find a need for extra stiffness. Will add a minimum of weight.

For all of my "contact oriented" airplanes I wrap the leading edges with 3M fiber-reinforced strapping tape. If the plane is EPP then a little Foam-Tac or 3M spray adhesive laid down first will make for a very strong bond. The tape adds a small amount of weight, makes things stiffer, plus provides a much more robust surface.

Lastly, if the plane being modeled is a flat plate design you can always consider adding a KF airfoil to make things a bit more aerodynamic and strong to boot. That's the great thing about foam - it's generally inexpensive to experiment

Rob

Yeah Rob you tend to reinforce with additional KF layers then end up with a beefier motor etc. That's how your delta became such a zoom type plane, mine's still light (though I think I'm selling it to make room).

May look for some EPP planes then use Doculam to stiffen them up some, have lots of both.

Have a WMPF highlander kit on shelf might work nice.

After standing on the sidelines for this years event I decided that I will be designing a dedicated aircraft for the task for next year! If the development goes well, watch Sawn-Craft.com for the details!

My Potenski Christen Eagle served me extremely well the prior two years (3rd and 1st, respectively) and I feel that with the lighter wing loading that a biplane provides it is superior to monoplanes. Your plane needs to be both maneuverable and stable, but when it comes down to it the pilot needs to get their plane to the balloons!

I must say that after all of this discussion I've been contemplating the same thing (i.e. a purpose-designed balloon buster). I also totally agree that this totally comes down to piloting skills - I'll admit to more luck than skill in my placement in this event previously.

I think it would be fun to design something for this event- naturally all in the context of the rules as written by Tom. I'd probably make two - one for myself and one for a more skilled pilot (say Adam perhaps). Since I would expect you to be flying your creation it would be a fair matchup

Sounds like a new thread in the Foamy forum )

Rob

Luck would play a large role in any success I would have in that contest, especially compared to the skills of the other pilots.

Just like the paper airplanes he designed for SEFF, this could be a nice little project for Sawn Craft. Could also easily end up as a group build at NEAT.

Talking lots of prop disc and biplanes, now I want an EPP Gotha or something, twin props and all that wing area

Rob I'll keep an eye out for that thread I think it's an excellent idea.

I actually started to build a twin for the contest but it quickly became too large. I think it's still a valid option but you need to be careful about weight.

Rob

Why stop at a twin...?

What's everyone's thoughts on the night flyer Lazer Toyz has to offer?