The Conversation
By David Newland
NAMBA FE Chairman
Tony Heller
District 19 FE Racer
David
: Wassup, T! Sorry you
couldn't make the District 19 race in
Tucson back in April, but hats off to you
and the other district racers for getting
FE represented on the 2011 calendar. It
was a great event, especially with
Richard Romero CD'ing the event. He's
good on the mike, and sounds just like
Eddie Trunk from That Metal Show! I
will say that Saturday the conditions
were bitter cold and wet. I mean, racers
were slippin' and slidin' all day long in
the mud, with scrapes and cuts galore.
Pick a trash can, any trash can, and there
was enough DNA visible that even a
rookie CSI employee would be able to
easily identify who the blood belonged
to! Fortunately, injuries were nothing
more than what a Bandaid (or CA) could
handle. Lenny Blake told me it was
almost as cold as a race he attended in
Montana way back when. However, we
prevailed and had some great racing with
80 rounds completed that day. How's
your racing season going?
Tony
: Well, David, things are a-
happening here in Los Angeles and I'm
really digging it, racing-wise. Of course,
the kickoff to the 2011 season was your
Arizona club's wonderful Winter Warm
Ups VII race, which after my fifth year
there is starting to become a feel-good
reunion for old friends and a chance to
meet new ones. You sure got some hot
up-and-comers giving us old dogs some
new challenges and it was great to see
the Pueblo, Colorado bunch show up this
year.
FE participation in District 19 is
building up. The first H20 Gassers event
at Legg Lake this year had two classes
qualify; P-Sport Hydro and Open FE and
it was pure fun. I got thrown in after my
P-Sport Hydro class win, and was
distinguished with the Two-For-One
Carnage Special Award in Open when
I nailed my dead P-Sport that Jeff
Michaud was running with my own
P-Spec Ltd Hydro! The 40th Annual
NAMBA Gas/Nitro Nat's also allowed
Continued on page 4
PROPWASH
October 2011
3
home the win in P-Ltd Sport Hydro! As for the P-Mono winner, I humbly took the top
honor.
The 2012 FE Nationals, sponsored by Steven Vaccaro of Offshoreelectrics.com,
will be hosted by District 19’s SoCal FE and Scottsdale Model Boaters. The location
will be Legg Lake in beautiful S. El Monte, CA and it will be held June 19-23, 2012.
Lenny Blake has graciously offered up his CD abilities. Thank you, Lenny! This is the
first FE Nationals to be held at Legg Lake, and we’re looking forward to having a
world class event at a world class facility.
There has been some good chatter online about FE tunnels, specifically regarding
A-Nitro conversions. Our P-Ltd power system is a really solid match for this size of
tunnel, and we have had some very consistent and close FE racing for over three years
now. If you like tunnels but are unaware of what our FE P-Ltd powered tunnels look
like, send me a note. I can forward you online information or hook you up with a local
club member that is running them so you can see them in person.
Best of luck during the remaining 2011 racing season!
Safety Corner
By Lohring Miller
NAMBA Safety Chairman
We just finished the 40th anniversary NAMBA Nationals. Since my first Nationals
in 1998 there have been no serious accidents at the Nationals related to the boats. I am
not aware of any boat related accidents at earlier Nationals either. Racing model boats
has probably been the safest thing we do at the Nationals since there have been other
accidents like heart attacks, heat stroke, serious falls, and my infamous car wreck.
Let’s look at trends in model boating over the years to see what the future holds.
Radios have improved more than anything else. The revolution in computers and
electronics has made radio interference a thing of the past. Most racers used 2.4 GHz
systems making radio impounds unnecessary. This was my first Nationals without a
radio impound. Radio costs have not gone up even with these improvements. Batteries
are better and longer lasting. However, we can still have radio failures from water in
electronics, batteries coming unplugged, switch failure, and similar problems.
Glow ignition engine powered boats were outnumbered by gasoline engine
powered boats this year. These gasoline engines are more rugged and dependable, but
are considerably larger. The gas boats are now just as fast as nitro boats, but are larger
and weigh more. No gasoline twins ran, but these boats will be even bigger and faster.
This all is a serious safety concern since the damage potential of a boat increases with
both speed and weight.
Electric motor powered boats ran for the second time at the Nationals this year. The
performance of electric boats has improved to the point where they offer speed with
reliability for standard six lap races. The smaller boats have a reasonable cost and
avoid the size dangers of gasoline engine boats. Motors don’t need to run until the
boat is in the water, avoiding much of the potential for propeller injuries. The latest
speed controls shut off on loss of signal and need to be armed before the motor will
run. Lithium batteries and their specialized charging systems are now much safer.
However, electric boats can still cause serious injuries if they hit people or animals.
People are the biggest reason the Nationals has been safe. The Nationals brings out
the most dedicated racers and their best equipment. I expect continued improvements
in control technology, better power systems, and faster boats. I also expect the people
will be the same. As long as we racers stay careful, model boat racing will remain a
safe hobby.