"Motorsports" redefined...

[Steve Helmick]

Woke up early this AM and flipped the tube on while I was munching a bowl of oaties. Formula "E" race from London. Yep, electric motors and LiPos. They look sorta like a racing car, but sound a bit like a kitchen mixer. What a yawner. Without the stalwart efforts from the announcers, everybody would have been sound asleep.    Steve

[Motorman]

The exciting part was the leader was lapping faster using less energy. That track was stupidly narrow.


MM

[Steve Helmick]

The exciting part was the leader was lapping faster using less energy. That track was stupidly narrow.

MM

Agree that the track was too narrow, but there were plenty of 2-wide passes in the corners. It would have been really cool with shifter karts.

Using less energy while lapping faster is boring. 

[Jim Kraft]

I was the chief maintenance guy for a petroleum pipeline for 27 years. All of our pipeline pump motors were 2400 volt 600 horse power electric motors. I came to hate electric motors. They got no pistons, rods, heads, valves, crankshafts and carbs. Electric motors are just a waste of electricity. If it does not burn some kind of fuel there is just something wrong. Now, do you want me to tell you how I really feel?

I was at the R/C field today and this young man was flying an Ugly Stick with an electric motor. He had stripped a glow motor and mounted the electric motor in the rear of the case with a long shaft going through the glow motor. He had the muffler on it and all. I had to admit it was a novel idea. I told him he needed to put a card on it to engage the prop to make a motor sound. Oh the sacraledge.

[wwwarbird]

Electric motors are just a waste of electricity.

  Quote of the year!!! 

[Phil Krankowski]

Sure it didn't come with a dummy motor for "the look"?
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__54646__Durafly_8482_Retro_Series_Das_UglyStik_Electric_Sports_Model_EPO_1100mm_PNF_.html

can even just get the dummy
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__62961__Durafly_8482_Ugly_Stik_1100mm_Replacement_Dummy_Engine_and_Prop_Shaft.html

[Jim Kraft]

Well Phil; I guess the kid was not so innovative at that. He just bought another toy already made. There were about 20 people flying yesterday, and I do not think a one was built by the flyer. There was one turbine jet that may have been but I doubt it. It is a buy and fly world now. Oh yeah. That jet was very impressive, but I probably could have purchase a new van for what he had in it. Of course, I am pretty sure that every one else is crazy but me.

[Andre Ming]

Re: Fake glow engine w/electric inside...

?

Why not just fly using the real deal?  Has electric become so "politically correct" that it comes to this?

Guess I just don't understand it at all.

Of course, this from a guy that thinks a honkin' Fox 36X eatin' up the air on a vintage Voodoo sounds great!!

Remove the glow engines from my flying, and I'm done with flying. Glow engines are part of the REASON I enjoy flying. 

[Phil Krankowski]

Well Phil; I guess the kid was not so innovative at that. He just bought another toy already made. There were about 20 people flying yesterday, and I do not think a one was built by the flyer. There was one turbine jet that may have been but I doubt it. It is a buy and fly world now. Oh yeah. That jet was very impressive, but I probably could have purchase a new van for what he had in it. Of course, I am pretty sure that every one else is crazy but me.

I get amazed looks at the flying field because the one ARF I have is not much of an ARF anymore having been rebuilt.  I have a couple RC ARFs but cant fly rc yet.

Phil

[bill bischoff]

Will we now have to start differentiating "motor" sports from "engine" sports?

[Tim Wescott]

I was at the R/C field today and this young man was flying an Ugly Stick with an electric motor. He had stripped a glow motor and mounted the electric motor in the rear of the case with a long shaft going through the glow motor. He had the muffler on it and all. I had to admit it was a novel idea. I told him he needed to put a card on it to engage the prop to make a motor sound. Oh the sacraledge.

My RC club has a member who regularly shows up with airplanes that have electric motors underneath wooden replicas of classics -- he got me with a McCoy 35 on a Goldberg Falcon: I was about to chastise him for not having a muffler, but noticed the wood grain on the cylinder just in time.

[Steve Helmick]

Will we now have to start differentiating "motor" sports from "engine" sports?

Yes, I think so. But it was misnamed from the get-go, starting in the early 1900's. The real point was how damned boring the "race" was. It would have been kinda cool to see a few of them let the smoke out of the wires. But I was probably asleep if/when that happened.  Steve

[Jim Kraft]

Oh Yeah, I remember the Offenhauser days. Those big 4 cylinders would make noise like nothing else.

[Chris McMillin]

Oh Yeah, I remember the Offenhauser days. Those big 4 cylinders would make noise like nothing else.

Yeah, especially at about 70 in hg.
Chris...

[Jim Kraft]

Well, along with radials. Huh Chris. I don't want to be disrespectful here. LOL