FYI, the NCLRA has voted to allow (NCLRA legal) Fox Racers to fly with the Super Slow Rats next year. Joint races, separate awards.

We haven't had any issues when flying SSR with Fox racers in the same heats out here. If it even added one entry it was worth it to us. The only issue that might be raised is that one group (or the other) might contend that the "traffic" was slowing them down, and messing up the record status--at the NATS.  I haven't seen a fox racer run close to the record time for an awful long time now, so maybe no worries?

McSlow
SoCal Racers

did I see somewhere that there was going to be a fox race next year at Brodaks.  if so what are the rules and what is the diff in fox racing and what they are doing now

They always have Foxberg at The Brodak.  For the last 12-to-15 years they have ALSO allowed OS LA and Brodak 25's.  While rare, Fox 35 Stunts are still legal in Carmichaels.

True enough.

Brodak Foxberg and Brodak Clown are unique events, seldom flown elsewhere.

Right.  Foxberg includes Goldberg racers with Fox 35 Stunts, and in Carmichaels also Flite Streaks, Lightning Streaks, LA-25's, Brodak 25's a hot dog and a bottle of Rolling Rock.

The rules change came out circa April 16, 2007.  I had a Fox-powered Cosmic Wind 60% complete.
I dumped it for two LA-powered Lightning Streaks and lived happily ever after.

When you own the field, the contest, the city, the county, the beer franchise and are the landlord of the courthouse you can name the event what you want.

And also free food Friday evening.

Also, if you show up with a "real" Foxberg you can still enter.

If you call it "Broberg", people may think it has something to do with Du-bro.

Well, I like the sound of both Broberg and FoxBro but all coolness aside, they don't quite match up to the equipment rules, either. I think an equally, not-quite-right name would be OSLARat, pronounced sort of like Ocelot. It stops trying to define the airframe requirement around something it isn't, and at least captures the majority of the engines that seem to show up.

I think Bill may have a key point here, too. The rules could  be updated to include a requirement for one stock Du-Bro part somewhere on the airframe and one Goldberg part somewhere. Then it would be righteous to call it Broberg. They would probably go faster, too. At least during bench racing.

Or not.

McSlow

PS--Maybe we could get OS to share the secrets of their 25LA "team race fits" with Profi? I sure coulda used that during my last go at it....

As a casual observer and someone who has been timing and counting laps at Brodaks Foxberg event......the La 25s seem to be considerably faster than the Fox powered models.....but the winning planes are capable of going farther on a tank of fuel or have faster pit stops or a combination of both.I'd love to compete in the event but my bum right leg would not allow me to go around in circles 200 times or run to retrieve a plane on the other side of the circle......PhillySkip

Flying Clown at Brodaks ,I fired my Pilot  (JOKE) after he forgot that we had changed pits and he made a perfect landing on the other side of the circle 

Yeah, but it isn't always the pilot that screws up. I had to get after a pitman that went into the circle to catch my airplane once. Now that shows determination, but the problem was we had switched teams and he was supposed to pit someone else's plane, not mine....

After he stopped yelling at me for such a bad approach, he filled her up and flipped. I got back in the race real good. Not sure what happened when another plane showed up right after that....

Pitmen. Ya gotta love 'em. They make the planes go around....

McSlow

Counter-proposal on the rules: if the plane has a Goldberg sticker on it, and meets the dimensional requirements, it's legal?

Counter-proposal on the rules: if the plane has a Goldberg sticker on it, and meets the dimensional requirements, it's legal?

You need to be careful with the sticker placement. You don't want the "CG" too far aft! 

At The Brodak both Clown and Foxberg are flown without shutoffs and on a grass circle.

Thus, the engines sometimes sputter to a stop in the wrong place.   

So while it's best to hit the pit, not every pilot is able to do it every time.

In some cases the pilot is better off at least getting the plane in the better half of the circle rather than trying to whip a full lap and failing.

How true! Seen what happens when that goes all wrong...

Am I missing something here, Paul? Why does the combination of no-shutoffs and grass mean a pilot can't put it into his sector? Is the grass wet or something that prevents whippage? Or are the planes just set up too light and it's windy?  I don't get it....

McSlow

PS--Bill B. you need to be careful to put them Goldberg stickers in the right place--it is counterintuitive. He came out with them for the little free flights, so they add lightness. I put them on the nose of all my nose-heavy jobs....

The first thing to remember is that at The Brodak many, if not most, of the competitors are not hard core, seasoned racers.

In 2016 I was pitting for a fellow club member. Our engine quit a little past our pit so the pilot elected to bring the plane around. While pulling the plane he got out of the center a bit too far and tripped over another pilot who was way out of position during his pit. The whole thing was not pretty. So...stuff does happen.

Am I missing something here, Paul? Why does the combination of no-shutoffs and grass mean a pilot can't put it into his sector? Is the grass wet or something that prevents whippage? Or are the planes just set up too light and it's windy?  I don't get it....

McSlow

PS--Bill B. you need to be careful to put them Goldberg stickers in the right place--it is counterintuitive. He came out with them for the little free flights, so they add lightness. I put them on the nose of all my nose-heavy jobs....

No matter where you put the sticker, that's where the "CG" is. I'm sure we've all seen planes with a "CG" on the vertical fin. How's that supposed to fly?

some pilots don't know which line to land on

"Not a real green dress, that's cruel..."

I liked it better when we didn't have lines...

Ok. That explains things better. Sounds fun, but a bit more of a carnival than I assumed. Thick grass could be a big deal unless you go with Renegade Rules.

We had a team out here a while ago that seemed to like mid-air catches. The pilot was working on whipping skills, but half the time it seemed like he would still be airborne when he went by the his pit. His pit man, though, was really good. No problem at all for him to catch it, put it on the ground and start it. If you actually practiced this on purpose instead of by accident, it would be great over long grass. No tumbles and no landing short. Pretty much illegal under current rules, though.

McSlow

PS--Bill, I think you're telling me that all them free-flighters trim for aft CG, so that's where they put the sticker? On the rudder? That finally makes sense....

Sounds like you mastered it, C.T.  What was your secret? Pick the pit farthest away from everyone else? Iron fuselage? New P/L? Water bottle restarts? Pilot bribes? Threats? Lucky rabbit's foot?

McSlow

I can't speak for everybody, but for us the Brodak Foxberg and Clown are once-a-year events that involve bringing out last year's stuff and finding a pilot at the last minute. 

There are Stunt and Carrier going on at the same time.

You can't always get the pilot you want but you can get the pilot you need.
While not optimum, this helps more people get involved with racing.

Then if you are able to qualify on two teams, there's the repicking of crews for the final.  This is nice because some of those who failed to qualify get another chance at a prize.