Bob Kopski

THIS COLUMN WILL COVER some big USA/FAI news, some industry news, more motor alternatives, and more speed-control stuff. Steve Neu, the man who dazzled hundreds at KRC in past years with his FAI Electrics, called to tell me of the '94 E-Power FAI meet results. This year's gathering of world competitors took place in Australia in November, and the results are very exciting: the US Team took second overall, with team member Jerry Bridgeman taking individual first place. But-related big news is that the US Team was outfitted with custom Aveox brushless motors! The team's motor controls were designed and individually built by Steve for extreme compactness. He tells me that the Aveox FAI motor and his motor controller measured 90% efficiency at 3000 watts on his dynamometer-to me an unheard-of achievement. Congratulations, team! And guess what? Some other international teams are now carefully studying brushless technology!

THIS MONTH I'll cover the Electric Connection Service (ECS), a safety story, the Shadow of REVOLT!, several new Electric products, and some additional Electric Control Line thoughts. James Kase is this month's ECS modeler. He resides at 1840 Cambridge, Flossmoor IL 60422. James would like to find others nearby to share in the fun of Electric, so I'm asking those in the vicinity to get in touch with him. More than one Electric club has come about by just such action, and here's another opportunity. Let me know how it works out. One local E-modeler is a science teacher by profession, and when the opportunity presents itself, he shares things Electric with his junior high class. He recently used a seven-cell gear-drive Electric to demonstrate motor operation principles. The demo for the eager ninth-graders included live measurement of voltage, current, and rpm over the throttle range.