Hitec-Multiplex at NEAT Fair 2009
009-04-24
If the call of competition is in your blood, and you are willing to put your creative engineering skills as well as your thumbs on the line, then the Multiplex EasyStar Combat Championship is something you might find to be great fun. This contest will be held mid-afternoon on Thursday, September 17 at the official Neat Fair flying site, in the Catskill mountains in lower NY state. The Neat Fair itself is held Friday – Sunday, visit www.neatfair.org for details on this spectacular electric fly-in. However, many arrive a day or two early to set up and enjoy the huge grassy flying field and facilities.
In our March 2009 issue, page 42, we published a full-contact combat contest in which seven pilots campaigned battle-hardened Wingos. Like the Wingo, the EasyStar features a pusher prop behind the wing, a planform the core group of “fighter pilots” who started this event prefer. For a fresh start we chose Multiplex EasyStars for the second annual foray into foamy combat. We invite anyone to participate.
The rules are simple: you must use an EasyStar and can equip it with any electric power system you wish, and you can modify it by adding tape, wire, beefier servos and linkages or even landing gear or a second main wing to create a bipe. However, weapons systems are not allowed—no blades or protrusions that are not considered aircraft structure. Detailed rules can be found at www.neatfair.org and at www.flyrc.com. Unlike in the Wingo contest, paint ball guns will not be participating.
Experience from the initial contest shows that defensive engineering (battle-hardening) and good piloting are the secrets to winning. Prizes for the winner and runners-up will be announced in a future issue. As we go to press, a second division—flying with virtual reality glasses “from the cockpit” has been proposed by Fly RC Chief Test Pilot David Baron and contributing editor Gino Antonini. That contest, to be flown separately Thursday afternoon, will entail a spotter with a buddy box in conformance with the AMA recommendations for flying with VR goggles, and all combat will be line of sight restricted. Dave and Gino have already done some test flights with pan & tilt cameras synched with control surface inputs and it looks promising.
Modifying a lightweight foamy to withstand the carnage of combat can make for much workbench fun. We will publicize the winner’s airplane and the design features that win the gold in Fly RC. That could be your entry—stay tuned! Draft rules that will be posted at the Neat Fair and Fly RC sites may well evolve further, and here they are:
Rules for posting:
Stop by Hitec-Multiplex's tent at the 2009 NEAT Fair taking place in Downsville, NY from September 18 - 20, 2009. We will be featuring the new 2009 products by Multiplex: The Merlin, The Xeno, and The Funcopter. Check out pictures from last year's event here. Also, Fly RC will be running a contest. Please see the additional information and rules below from Fly RC. 
If the call of competition is in your blood, and you are willing to put your creative engineering skills as well as your thumbs on the line, then the Multiplex EasyStar Combat Championship is something you might find to be great fun. This contest will be held mid-afternoon on Thursday, September 17 at the official Neat Fair flying site, in the Catskill mountains in lower NY state. The Neat Fair itself is held Friday – Sunday, visit www.neatfair.org for details on this spectacular electric fly-in. However, many arrive a day or two early to set up and enjoy the huge grassy flying field and facilities.
In our March 2009 issue, page 42, we published a full-contact combat contest in which seven pilots campaigned battle-hardened Wingos. Like the Wingo, the EasyStar features a pusher prop behind the wing, a planform the core group of “fighter pilots” who started this event prefer. For a fresh start we chose Multiplex EasyStars for the second annual foray into foamy combat. We invite anyone to participate.
The rules are simple: you must use an EasyStar and can equip it with any electric power system you wish, and you can modify it by adding tape, wire, beefier servos and linkages or even landing gear or a second main wing to create a bipe. However, weapons systems are not allowed—no blades or protrusions that are not considered aircraft structure. Detailed rules can be found at www.neatfair.org and at www.flyrc.com. Unlike in the Wingo contest, paint ball guns will not be participating.
Experience from the initial contest shows that defensive engineering (battle-hardening) and good piloting are the secrets to winning. Prizes for the winner and runners-up will be announced in a future issue. As we go to press, a second division—flying with virtual reality glasses “from the cockpit” has been proposed by Fly RC Chief Test Pilot David Baron and contributing editor Gino Antonini. That contest, to be flown separately Thursday afternoon, will entail a spotter with a buddy box in conformance with the AMA recommendations for flying with VR goggles, and all combat will be line of sight restricted. Dave and Gino have already done some test flights with pan & tilt cameras synched with control surface inputs and it looks promising.
Modifying a lightweight foamy to withstand the carnage of combat can make for much workbench fun. We will publicize the winner’s airplane and the design features that win the gold in Fly RC. That could be your entry—stay tuned! Draft rules that will be posted at the Neat Fair and Fly RC sites may well evolve further, and here they are:
Rules for posting:
- Full contact combat, last plane flying wins.
- If a plane lands (or crashes) and takes off or is hand launched then it’s still in competition; swapping out batteries or recharging is permitted.
- As safety allows, pilots will be allowed to retrieve aircraft from the field.
- You can use any electric power system, battery and prop you wish.
- You can “battle-harden” your ship with wire, tape and internal CF sticks but cannot add protrusions, spikes, CF blades or leading edge bar stock cleavers, pyrotechnics, chemical warfare or other “weapons.”
- You can modify the design by adding landing gear, a second wing (of any size) to create a biplane, beefier servos and linkages, etc. but it still must “look like an EasyStar.” Modifications must be aircraft structural mods that enhance airframe strength, flyability or ground handling.
- Nothing can depart the airplane during flight other than pieces inadvertently coming off owing to “contact.” Streamers are not allowed.
- A panel of three judges will resolve disputes and decide the winner.