Hi everyone !!

[Robbie1]

so still waiting on some prices has anyone ever tried aero on rc riggers ? , spoilers ? , and or alternatives to sponson fixing ie , flat aero sections rather than carbon rods ? does it make a difference , come up on plane quicker , or to stabilise under rougher / choppier water ?

[NativePaul]

I have run an aero rear wing on a semi scale hydro that I ran with riggers back in the brushed motor and NiCad days, it gave more lift when the rudder turned to keep the arse up through the bends, and it worked well, but those days are gone IMO, we have so much more power now that is not an issue. The H&M Excess and ExcessII had aerodynamic sponson "booms", and was a popular race boat, but they started to have shorter and shorter fairings with more and more boom sticking out to reduce blowovers as the power went up, and I think I haven't seen one for 3 years now.

There is a Hydro1 Rasch in Electra that runs a rear spoiler to keep the prop down, but personally I believe that there are better ways to achieve that goal.

I won't say it can't be done as I am building a Mini Hydro with aero booms this winter, but mine will not be suitable for Naviga/Electra racing, and I don't see the benefit for that.

[Robbie1]

Interesting thanks paul

[NativePaul]

I forgot about the Bip Bip, that is a hydro1 with aero that works really well.

[Robbie1]

some really weird designs lots of good ideas thou , how much of it all makes a difference ? Is it a case that basically if you compete in the worlds , then some real one offs and unusual designs will show up and just totally kick your arse ? are they quite simply just way faster than anything else on the water down the straights and round corners ?

[Robbie1]

Will i stand any chance with rasch ?

[Robbie1]

just the simple task of getting hold of these hulls is a task all on its own !

[NativePaul]

The worlds was a great but strange experience, with monos it was mainly the best few boats that we see here, over there, so there is probably as much or more variation in the UK, but with hydros it is totally the opposite, most of the boats I had never seen before and most were the only example of that type, there were lots of own designs and outlandish things I've never seen before like the bip bip, or unlike the bip bip.

The Bip Bip seems to make a difference, the rear aero helps reduce blowovers. In the 2013 WC all the heats were rough and he won them all, having said that the finals were pretty smooth and he won that too.

I think a Rasch can be competitive, there are a couple of the designers old Hydro1s (one from the molds Rasch has, and one with that tub but prototype sponsons) running in NADS that look fast enough to be very competitive on the world scale, but they weight under a kilo and my Rasch H1 weighs over 1100g. Mine won't be competitive in calm water giving away that much weight. I would think that a carbon Rasch would be lighter than his glass ones (his monos are), but I can't see anyone doing it professionally taking the time to match the layups of the originals.

I was very lucky with the weather and came 7th with a wooden JAE, had it been calm I'd probably have been dead last, and had it have been really rough the self-righting riggers would have thrashed everyone.

I posted on AStec some social media sites that may get you in touch with some of the cottage industry guys.

[Robbie1]

thanks paul really interesting would love to experience it .

Can you tell me a typical "electra" race meet format , in terms of how many lipo packs do you get through in a typical days racing ? (ie I would be running , mini and hydro 1 ).

Do you charge by the lake between heats ?
Is there practice times ?

eg. 2 heats and a final , plus practice , is that 4/5 lipo packs per boat ?

[Robbie1]

And obviously national events you would charge overnight field chargers ? what do you guys use ? was thinking of the Graupner polaron ex combo charger , and small generator ?

[Robbie1]

nationals only of course with generator ?

[NativePaul]

At Electra and most local type Naviga races there are 3 races per class, and no final, your best 2 scores from the 3 races are added together, and compared to everyone else's best 2 to decide the finishing order.

There isn't a set practice time, but if you turn up early you can have a practice, you can at lunch too, but we often overrun through lunch so don't count on it. To do either you would have to have 2 packs at least, or be over an hour early (batteries take a little over an hour to charge) and Mini Hydro is normally the first or second class of the day.

I have 1 competitive battery for some of my classes classes and 2 for others, there is time to have 1 battery per class and charge it up for the second and third heat, but having 2 batteries means you have loads of time and it makes the day more relaxing. Some people have 3 packs per boat and don't need to bringing a charger, too rich for my blood, but its the ideal solution for an easy day.

For Electra you will need a field charger, a 110Ah+ 12v leisure battery 110Ah to run it from at the races, and a 30A+/350W+ 12v power supply to run it from 240V at home, I have never seen anyone using a generator, and I don't think the constant noise would go down to well.

A folding chair, table and gazebo are also nice to have.

At the nationals and the big international races 240V will be provided, though you will need to bring your own plug adapters abroad and a big cable reel may or may not be required, it is helpful to bring a short multi point extension to the nationals.

There are loads of different chargers being used, including the Graupner one. Look for an adjustable maximum charge voltage, other than that make sure it does 6 cells, which nearly all do and has JST-XH balance connectors as most do. To charge a Hydro2 pack at 1c which is the recommended rate you need about 150W, and it is nice to be able to charge at 2c in an emergency, so 300W is good to have. You will want either a dual channel charger or 2 chargers, so you can charge 2 packs at the same time. I use a previous version of The Fusion Emperor. Some can do much higher discharge currents by using the power to charge your leisure battery rather than just burning it off as heat, it is not a needed feature, but would be nice to drain full packs to storage voltage quickly, and you can test capacity at similar currents to those we see when running.

[Robbie1]

hi guys hope everyone is well , my boats are to be ordered on 17th december

now trying to get all the internals together , tell me paul would it be logical to build and run a rigger that's compliant to world rules if i'm looking to go there , with electra next season ? ie correct weight lipos etc ? or look to build a completely different for worlds in 2017 ? your thoughts ?

[Robbie1]

hi everyone hope you all well been really busy with christmas just recently , ten days until ii order my hulls

[NativePaul]

The builds will be the same, same hull, same motor, same ESC, same hardware. Only the battery and maybe the prop will change.