CEF speed contest Design Discussions

Jim, what diam lines and length (center of handle to center of plane)  are you using and what type? I feel this speed is pretty good. I did a Skyray build some years ago with a hopped up Black Widow. The speeds are similar. Cleaning up the plane is the next step. If you have a tank, build a fairing over it, if possible rid the lines of line clips and use a button bellcrank. I always toy with the idea of using a piece of Nyrod internally through the fuse and have the pushrod internal so there's no parasitic drag. Reducing anything that's more or less just hanging out in the open is going to yield more speed. Don't use rudder offset period. If line tension is of concern, sand a airfoil shape on the inboard side leaving the outboard side completely flat. You could go with solids lines if you wanted to take that route. These are very very fragile however and require the utmost care. If you could find a set of Pylon .006 solids this would also pick up some more speed. Have you also tried to repitch a APC prop? Ken

I would forego the Spiderwire as I feel it's draggier than the steel. It also becomes oil soaked and can really slow a model down. You can improve this by using a towel soaked in alcohol and wiping them down.  While .008's work and I've used them for long periods of time, without failure. .012's are the AMA requirement for Mouse 1. You could use .010 solids which MBS Model supply sells. Using solids means letting no one near your model. if they kink they must be discarded. Don't use them if they get wet from rain or mositure due to them sticking together.  I feel this would certainly improve your speed. I've repitched props using a heat gun. It doesn't take much. The only way to tell if it's working is to time the plane. Lending your eye or several others just watching it , doesn't insure that your going faster. Having a base stock prop and your improved prop trying them back to back is the only way to really see if it's working correctly. Document all of it. If one blade is pitched slightly more than the other, this isn't always a bad thing as both blades are grabbing clean air. Have you tried one of the single bladed props yet? I've also thinned out the blades from the center out . Ken