Wacky Races Sunday 16 April 2023 – batteries, props & repairs

There has been a question about the permitted competition battery size for eligible Hanky Planky’s. It’s on the main page for the Wacky Races…but access has been less than clear*. Sorry.

You must use no more than a 3 cell LiPO, but any capacity of your choice. Experience suggests that a 1300mAh 3S battery has a good duration and power for reasonable weight. But, the capacity is your choice.

Propeller – again, your choice but an APC 8×6 works well, though maybe be cautious not to use full throttle early in a flight!

Finally, make sure that you reinforce your wing if you are attaching it with bolts. The good news is that the Arlequino is back on the list of runners for the races. She was originally constructed with, and hence the snapped fuselage was largely put back together with, SuperPhatic glue, plus some scraps of balsa to extend the glue joints. However, catching the wing on the ground tore major holes where the fixings had been. I’ve used thin ply (1mm?) discs attached to the wing top to recreate and reinforce the nylon bolt fixing. Obviously, highlighted in orange. The only alternative I could think of would be a new wing.

* Sometimes the web layout catches me out. It’s less than obvious that where an item has sub menus, it still has a main page. So, I have added a ‘sub menu’ item to the 2023 wacky Races menu (and ‘News’ & ‘Flying Sites’) that leads to the main page too.