VRC Pro = FUN!

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything, so I thought I might post my newest toy. I bought the latest version of VRC Pro a week and a half ago. This is the first time I've ever tried an RC car simulator, and I must admit, I am very impressed with it! I bought it being a huge skeptic, thinking for sure I would be disappointed by the physics. Was I ever wrong!

I also purchased the VRC USB donggle. You simply plug it in to an open USB slot, and plug the two 'servo' wires into a spare receiver. (the grey box in the pic) I set up a model profile on the transmitter, and now I can control my VRC cars/trucks using my DX3! Last night I raced and chatted with 6 other racers from around the world on a server called "OVERCLOCK RC" It was so much fun racing with other real racers!

 There are also onroad cars/tracks. More than offroad, actually. There's 1/8, 1/10 & 1/12 onroad racing. Both electric & nitro are featured. For offroad there is only 1/10 4WD Short Course racing. From what I understand they plan on adding mnore types of offroad racing in the future. There are several on and offroad tracks available to choose from.

Here I am taking a lap with a 4WD Short Course Truck, on the Mikes Hobby Shop track:

If you ever see an online session called TSanRC.com, drop in for some racing!

[/Tim Sanderson]

2WD/4WD A Mains @ CHEO 2012

Here are a couple of videos from the CHEO  race in Ottawa, Ontario this past weekend.

2WD A Main:

 4WD A Main:




I've got a good battle between JB and Rhode on vid as well, and also the 4WD SCT A Main as well. I'll upload those as soon as possible
Sorry for the lame video quality... After my vado died, I had to shift over to my phone to capture the races.

[/Tim Sanderson]

anecdote #1

Sometimes a salvaged LiPo battery doesn't work worth shit.

New Digs

I'm almost ready for the CHEO/Canadian Nationals in Ottawa this week! Here are my new digs:

I've decided to run a B4 Factory Team instead of changing my TLR 22 over to a dirt setup. The decals used for this paint job are the SKULLS & ROSES from XXX MAIN.

See you in Ottawa!

[/Tim Sanderson]

Birdseye View of MMFC

It seems I've been doing more flying than racing these days. I've recently become a member of the Mississauga Model Flying Club. Here is some video I took yesterday by mounting my Creative Vado to the front of my T-28 Trojan. Here's a view of it before I flew it or mounted the camera:

And here is the video:

The lines you see across the screen are from the propeller. I'll have to buy a smaller camera soon, one I can mount on the wing, to get it out of the way of the prop.

[/Tim Sanderson]

Tire Salavging (Semi) Fail

You've heard of the 'Acetone' method for removing tires from wheels. I'm also sure you've heard of the 'Oven' method. Well, not wanting to stink up my house by baking tires off of their wheels, I decided to try out my own method: The 'BBQ the Rubber Off of the Wheels' method.

I heated up the barbecue for 15 minutes. I wrapped up both sets of wheels/tires in foil, (one set of front, one set of rear) and dropped them onto the grille. I probably should have turned off the burners, but instead laid the tires down with the fire burning strong.

The result: The front tires came off of the wheels like a charm. They practically fell right off. The rear tires were another story:

I guess I had them too close to the burner. When I opened the foil, the tires practically poured on to the floor.  Melted to the max! It's a good thing I had them wrapped, or else all that rubber would have made a mess of the barbecue. It'll take a bit more experimenting, but I am positive I can master the BBQ method.

[/Tim Sanderson]

Sutton Aviation RC Track

Here is a peek of the track layout for the 2nd Annual Canadian RC Offroad Championships held in Ottawa this July:

 

 I super-can't wait for this one!!

[/Tim Sanderson]

Pole Cat For Sale

I've decided to sell my Park Zone Pole Cat BNF, not because I don't like it anymore, but because it's time to try another plane tomorrow. (I’m thinking Corsair for my second plane) She's a little beat up, but still flies great. This video was taken just one hour before posting this sale:

Box has been modified to hold a full sized transmitter. (not included in sale)

Includes Plane, charger and one battery.
I'd be happy with $40 for the plane by itself, or $55 for the plane + a brand new wing & tail set. Plane is BNF (ie no radio included)

Pick up only. Mailing this would be too expensive to be worth it.
tsanrc (at) hotmail (dot) com

 

[/Tim Sanderson]

$10 DIY RC Airplane

After recently taking baby-steps into the world of RC flight, I've started becoming more and more interested in projects like the one below. This guy made an RC plane for for $11, (he went a dollar over his $10 budget) and gives very good step-by-step details.




[/Tim Sanderson]

Velocity RC Mag Free Article

Velocity RC Mag Free Article <<< CLICK HERE FOR AWESOMENESS

That's right, that is yours truly show on the first page of the article. This is one of the articles I helped photograph for Velocity RC Magazines first edition. Give it a read, then tell me why you haven't spent $2 to buy the entire 123 page magazine yet!

http://vrcmag.com

[/Tim Sanderson]

Pole Cat

Well, I've put about 20 batteries through the Pole Cat, and she's still flying. Like a prostitute that was in a car accident, she's a little banged up but still performs great.

[/Tim Sanderson]

Kyosh RB5 (second chapter)

I decided against running my 22 on dirt, and decided to run a Kyosho RB5 again. Between this and my original RB5, I should be able to come up with something good for racing.

[/Tim Sanderson]

TLR 22 The Guide

I'm getting my TLR 22 ready for some dirt racing, and came across another great guide from petitrc:

THE 22 GUIDE.pdf
 
What you'll find in this guide:

1. Build Tips From the Experts
2. The Build
3. Problems you May Experience, and What to do
4. Custom Mods, and Upgrades
5. Pro Setups & Sheets
6. Completing Your Ride

Enjoy!

[/Tim Sanderson]

A Few Laps With Chet Kelsey

I had the day off work today, so I thought I’d head over to Sid’s Raceway to burn a few laps. I haven’t switched my TLR 22 over to the rear-motor layout yet, so I just had fun running the Torment. Chet Kelsey was there as well, so I got a few pics and some vids of him turning some laps. He now runs a Durango DEX210. 

Enjoy!

[/Tim Sanderson]

Park Flying

A couple of weeks back I bought myself my first RC plane. I bought a Park Zone Pole Cat. It's a very aggressive  acrobatic flyer, and not usually a good first-time plane. However I taught myself on the Real Flight simulator and  was ready to fly it by the time I bought it. Joel (a buddy from work) and I went out to do a bit of flying after  work on Saturday. It was pretty windy, with gusts at least 15+ kph. I had the Pole Cat and Joel brought his Super Cub Here's a bit of footage of the Pole Cat in  action. (sorry for the terrible quality... they're cell phone vids) On my third battery I clipped one of the  basketball backboards, scoring myself a 3-pointer. It was pretty tricky getting it back down.

Joel was Flying his Super Cub. During a landing-gear-less landing Joel broke a blade off of his propeller. (almost  one entire half of the blade) A little CA glue, and it was back up and fling in no time. It actually held up for  quite a while, but at the end of the video you can see/hear the glued piece brake off.

[/Tim Sanderson]

Spektrum S6100

I picked up a servo for my Hot Bodies D8. It's a high voltage Spektrum S6100. If it works well for the steering, I'll likely pick up a second for the throttle/brake servo.

 [/Tim Sanderson]

Sid's First (and free) Race of the Season

Sid's Raceway's first race came and went this past Saturday. It started off rainy, and was very cold all day, but went very well. The race started later than planned due to the rain, but once it started to dry off a bit, the racing started. Unfortunately the weather contributed to a lower turnout than hoped for. There were 22 entries, with 4WD SCT and 2WD SCT having the most entries. 

While many people had a hand in rebuilding the track, it is Michael Johnson (TractionRC) who deserves most of the credit for organizing the event. He also did a great job in getting Sponsors aboard.  JB Catricalla brought the FastCats timing system, and set things up. Yours truly was happy to call the days racing. 

The track was actually in very good shape by the time it started to dry up. I took JB's Tamiya 201 for a few laps and was surprised how 2WD-friendly the track was. I decided to take the ol' Torment for a spin before the track dried up, and filled it up with a ton of mud. (check out the pic below) However it ran very well before the mud built up. A lot of people were surprised to see how quick it was around the track. I bet it would have done pretty great in the 2WD SCT races. Next time! 

 I'm looking forward to more racing over the summer months. I might just have to pick myself up a 4WD SCT! Here are some pics and vids, taken by Michael Johnson, Will Parsons, and Ryan Luna.

Some pics by Michael Johnson:

Some pics by Will Parsons:

More pics can be found on Will's Flickr site. Click here.

See you all soon.

[/Tim Sanderson]

A Collection of Hint's, Tips, Mods for Venom's Creeper

I've recently started reading up on some of the very cool things you can do with a Venom Creeper, on a forum called RCCrawler. Some of these guys do some some seriously crazy stuff. Check it out here:

  A Collection of Hint's, Tips, Mods for Venom's Creeper

Find the entire Creeper thread here:

Hot Bodies D8

Well, I've decided to try 1/8 nitro racing this year. This is the car I'm buying from my buddy Peter.

It's only got a day's worth of running on both the chassis and the engine. I need to learn nitro for work, so I figure it's best to just jump in head-first. Next year I'll convert it to electric.

[/Tim Sanderson]

Creeper Paintjob :|

It's gotten a little better. I added an XXX Main wrap that helped cover up my blemishes.

Now if I can just do something about the glitter roof...

[/Tim Sanderson]