At the 2023 NATS EF1 event, the rules applicable to servos and their installation in the NMPRA version of EF1 will be used. The below paragraphs will apply to EF1 at this years NATS. These are the requirements that have been in place for EF1 since its inception and will not require any changes if a plane was in compliance with the NMPRA EF1 rules prior to the event becoming an AMA event. The differences are largely in the number of screws per servo that are required and whether servos that are not designed to accept grommets may be used.
The decision to do this for the 2023 NATS was made by the RC Pylon Contest Board through a unanimous vote of the voting members of the Board and with the approval of the AMA Technical Director.
NMPRA version paragraphs applicable to servos and their installation in the models:
3) Servos controlling the pitch and roll functions shall be of adequate strength for the weight and speed of the aircraft. It is recommended that servos have a minimum torque rating of 30 in/oz. (27 m/kg)
5) All screws holding the servos to the servo rails or trays and holding any trays to the airframe shall be in place and secure. Rubber grommets shall be used on all servos designed to accept them. If the heads of the servo mounting screws are small enough to pull through the grommets, washers shall be used to prevent this. Alternatively, servos may be permanently installed with glue.
The reason for this change is, when EF1 was rolled into the AMA RC Pylon Rulebook, the rules, like the other classes, were written to refer to the safety inspection requirements that were already in the rulebook. We did not consider that the servo and installation requirements already in the rulebook were designed for internal combustion racing classes and therefore are more stringent than the requirements that have applied to EF1 since its beginning more than 10 years ago. As a follow-up to this years NATS, the Contest Board will process a revision to add servo and installation requirements specific to electric powered aircraft to the AMA RC Pylon Rulebook.
Jim Allen
RC Pylon Contest Board Chair