1/4 Scale Top Fuel Dragster PROJECT!!!!

[M.R. Ogle]

Now, having a whole day off...

Paul will let us know how turkey with stuffing and just a hint of metal polish tastes....

[Juiced Drag Racing]

OK. I will bite, why it is open at the bottom?


Ed

[PaulSongas]

OK. I will bite, why it is open at the bottom?


Ed

The bottom of the box really serves no purpose, becasue the belly pan will act as the bottom of the box. The belly pan is going to stay put except for servo cut outs.

[Juiced Drag Racing]

Got it, thanks!

Ed

[PaulSongas]

I had to check out the parachutes I bought so I stuck them on my 1/8 Late Model.

[Juiced Drag Racing]

Nice,

Looks like you had a fun day!


Where did you get those?

Ed

[PaulSongas]

Local hobby store had all rocket supplies 15% off. They had all sizes of rip-stop nylon parachutes on the wall. These are 24" cross form chutes, and were $9.50 a piece.

My mom is going to make the chute packs for me.

[Juiced Drag Racing]

Cooooool

I need to get me a set.

Thanks!

Ed

[M.R. Ogle]

As I was telling John Foster of Quarter Mortar, who makes a very nice chute assembly...

I've driven a car with a chute, and was a little freaky and panicky to me. When the chute blossomed, I couldn't actually see the car anymore to bring it to a safe stop. I just kept the wheel straight and hoped that the chute bouncing and swinging around WASN'T what the car was actually doing.

It's a brief moment, but it's a bit unnerving at first losing visual contact for a couple seconds. Maybe it's just me, but...

[Juiced Drag Racing]

Ahhh very good point,

A question or two first.

How big was the chute?

Was is a Funny car, Alterd or Rail?

Now a dialogue on this ..... Please correct me if I am off based.

IMHO Parachutes are cool, but if need them to stop, you need better brakes. They are nice for "show" and that was all we were going to use them for on our cars and not on all passes. If and when we build a rail I may heed to readdress that.

On 1:1 cars (the fast ones) they became important as the car would get "squirrely" when hitting the brakes. The parachute settled the car down nicely, keeps it straight and made it more manageable to stop. That would also work great if you have a LONG shutdown. Most of the RC tracks I have seen do not have that luxury, and who wants to go that far to get a car anyway.

If it is a Alterd or rail and you use only one chute, all you are going to see is the chute, especially if it is a true 1/4 scale which should be ether a 30" or 36". (Most full size chutes are either 10' or 12')

Maybe since Paul is using two smaller ones they will blossom to the sides and he can see the car? Either way it will be cool to watch!!!!

I hope to have the luxury of being able to see the car since we are running wider Funny cars.

Tammy and I took out the one car yesterday to a new BIG Lowe's parking lot and did some practicing/tuning. I will have to make it a point to install a chute or two and see how that will all work.

E&T

[M.R. Ogle]

Yeah, you're right. Most 2wd RC cars brake through the rear wheels, and an over-agressive chute (especially true on a smaller-scale car) has a tendency to pick up the rear tires off the ground, so it actually takes LONGER to stop.

As I recall, the owner of the car went to a more'"open-weave" chute material and put a section of elastic in the chute cord so it had some stretch in it and didn't "jolt" the car when the chute hit. He finally took it off when some idiot he was racing crossed over in shutdown and drove right into his chute... I guess he was watching that and not his own car.

I test-drove a rail with a big chute, and i could see the top wing sometimes behind the chute, thankfully. Might be better with a funny car and twin smaller chutes.

[markmrx]

Stumbled across this today.
http://www.kick-asscars.com/car-show/im ... agster.htm

Mark

[Juiced Drag Racing]

Having another car run in to the chute is another good reason to limit their use.

My braking system is more than adequate..(more of an issue of locking up the rear wheels right now) so I plan to use the chutes on single runs just to give me a smile.....

I gather he was using it to try to save weight by removing the standard brake system, or were they like ours, just for fun?)

Crazy Ed

[M.R. Ogle]

For fun.

But it wasn't much fun seeing two cars tangled in chute lines tumbling off the side of the track.

[PaulSongas]

Parachutes....

Simply for the fun of it!! I had parachutes on my bike as a kid growing up even!!!

I went with some slightly smaller scale chutes becasue I have seen R/C cars get out of shape or like Mike said, lift off the ground when then snap open. Some ended up cutting slots in the chutes to let the air pass through to keep the car more stable. I think they will be fine!! My plan is to "hang the laundry" every time I run it. If I need to upgrade to bigger chutes at some point, so be it.


On to some progress.....

I finished the electronics box, and have it pretty much all set up just to see how it fits together. I relocated the charging jacks to the front of the box. Inside, is the battery pack, receiver, and parachute servo. I have also added the brake servo to the belly pan.

The wing is just about done also. I made the spill plates (mid-late 80's style) and cut some decals for the side.











Here is a shot of the under side of the belly pan.