Waltrip55

That sounds fun

240Z

iTrader: (6)

Would the RM have an advantage over the GT?

If it is all equal, why not run them in an F103xx class?

As fun as the F103 is, I can't wait for Tamiya to come up with a world class Pro-10 pan car.

larrio

Another self-made rumor of yours, Marty??

I should check the barcodes and ban all F103RMs not purchased here in the U.S. That would probably make it a 1-2 car field.

rccardr

iTrader: (8)

Would it even be that large? But...who cares? Surely Mr. Tamiya must be pleased that someone is buying these kits, regardless of where they are coming from and where they wind up.

There's such an obvious pent-up demand for this F1 stuff. Just look at what's happened on eBay in the past week or so. A week ago, a seach for "Tamiya F1" yielded five hits. Five. This morning it was like 50, plus 80+ items in eBay stores. If you consider eBay the purest expression of an open market (sorry, that's the economist in me speaking), that's HUGE.

Last time I checked, the economy was...global.

dragracer72nova

iTrader: (114)

Just make it a Direct Drive Class: Open to F103RM and F103GT

Just an idea for us newbie's that would like to run a F103GT!

Dave

hickmeister

AUGUST 23 AND 24 2008
OPEN PRACTICE AUGUST 21 AND 22
POSTED ON THE TAMIYA WEBSITE

THANKS FRED!!!

BE THERE !!!!!

STEVE

minidriver

iTrader: (2)

YEA! Thanks Fred.

Two Weir's booked already. Unfortunately, no freq flyer slots open at this late date, but it's worth it to race on the good ol' Aliso Viejo facility once more.

minidriver

iTrader: (2)

Travel question.

Now that we can use lipo batteries, what limitations do we face on the airline - anyone done this yet? Carry on only for the batteries, can't be checked, right? And one or is it two batteries allowed per passenger when not connected to a computer?

punkboy

So I hear Mr. Mertes and Mr. Bernard are calling out 101 Coopers for the MD TCS race... That would be a sight to see!

Joemd48

It would be a sight to see....Coopers from CA to MD. Who will be the best?

minimadman2003

iTrader: (44)

You are correct, Dave.

Two "spare" Lipo batteries carried on with you. If you are "gate checking", they must be removed from your bag and carried on. Some airports have even been known to require you to keep them on your person, and do not want you to even put them in the overheads (that's a bit over the top - no pun intended, but it happened to me in Memphis).

Of course your experience may vary..........

racenut123

iTrader: (31)

For those who are coming out for the Union City Ca stop,here is some recent pics of both tracks.Hope to see you all here!

If you have a Durga,Baldre or 501x....bring it!You will not be disappointed!

hickmeister

The Hickman Bros will be there with Mr. Hinkley for WI, VA and So Cal, can't wait to rub some lexan with you guys out there in SF Bay area. Used to race 12th scale back in the 80's up there in Campbell, Monterey, San Jose, Sheldons etc... will be running GT2 and GT3 we run all the TCS races around the country since 1994?
Awesome track looking forward to race on it! we need pit tables and AC power I reckon it is inside 1st come 1st serve? I hope you guys can save some space for us east coast guys traveling all the way out there to race with you guys???
Steve.

racenut123

iTrader: (31)

Steve,

I will check for you guys.I don't think that should be a problem.

minidriver

iTrader: (2)

Did a little poking around on TSA.gov.

A lipo battery that fits the mini is a 3200 mah. TSA rates them by watt hours, which is calculated by mah/1000 x voltage. 3.2 x 7.4 = 23.68 watt hours.

http://safetravel.dot.gov/definition..._lithium_metal

You may not pack lithium ion batteries in checked luggage. Period.

"For personal use, there is generally no restriction on the number of spare batteries allowed in carry-on baggage. This is the case for cell phone batteries, "hearing aid" button cells, and AA batteries/AAA batteries available in retail stores, as well as almost all standard laptop computer batteries.
See "Larger Batteries" to find out about more powerful batteries, such as extended-life "universal batteries" and batteries designed for professional audio-visual applications." http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_main.html

You may carry lithium ion batteries in your carry on. There is no limit on the number of "small" lithium ion batteries. There is a limit of 2 extra (in addition to the one installed in a device (and what that might mean for an rc car, who knows) for "larger" lithium ion batteries. "Larger" is defined as containing more than 8 but less than 25 gram equivalent lithium content (ELC). They say that 8 grams = 100 watt hours, 25 grams = 300 watt hours. Batteries greater than 25 ELC are prohibited (that must be one big sucker of a lipo!)

http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_main.html

http://safetravel.dot.gov/larger_batt.html

If I have done my calculations right, then our typical RC lipo battery is well under 100 watt hours, and thus classified as a "smaller" battery, and thus unlimited.

I have emailed support at team orion to see what they say the ELC of their 3200 pack is.

Will somebody double check my calculations and application of the rules? I'm just a lawyer - not an engineer.

Now, the bigger question: given the multiple pages of TSA regs you have to sort through to get the rules, plus the math, what do you calculate are the odds of the typical TSA screener making the calculation correctly???