EF1 Pylon Racing Page, Charlotte, NC (2026)

05/10/2025

Posted on my personal timeline by Ken Fluney ...

"Here is my Shark and Dara before the maiden flights, everything went very well."

My response was ...

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"great .. I'm getting more and more photos from others as well .. too many to acknowledge on receipt right away .. please keep 'em comin' 😎 .. I will be using this photo at least on the RC Pylon Suppliers (RCPS) website on the EF1 pages .. even photos you might not think of as ready for the public to see may be useful with some photo editing.

I got some major functionality implemented overnight even though the documentation was all over the place, incomplete, and the FluentUI Breadcrumbs component has weird and inconsistent behavior .. but I cracked the code over a 14-16 hour work session starting yesterday evening .. I will be able to use it in my apps that use my framework built on top of Microsoft's Blazor and Blazor Hybrid MAUI framework that allows me to use around 99% of the C #, Razor, HTML, and CSS code for both the web app and the companion mobile apps.

I will probably start deploying the RCPS app to the Internal Tester mechanism on Google Play Store by Sunday or Wednesday at the latest .. anyone who is using any kind of Android device can send me their Gmail email address used by their Android for logging in and accessing the Google Play Store .. I have a limit of 100 testers per app .. you won't have to pay anything for the paid apps .. if they're useful to you, donations will be appreciated and I will provide my instant money transfer addresses soon.

The changes are online on the test website now .. the website should operate the same as the companion mobile apps except for the status bar at the top and the navigation bar at the bottom as long as the device has internet access .. the mobile apps have at least limited capabilities even without an internet connection.

The home page is at .. https://rcpylonsuppliersblazor.azurewebsites.net/

The EF1 page got some work .. https://rcpylonsuppliersblazor.azurewebsites.net/ef1

The majority of work and layout refinement for individual product lists was done on the CMADRacing page accessible from the Vendor's page at .. https://rcpylonsuppliersblazor.azurewebsites.net/vendors

The CMADRacing Ninja and Small Wonder are listed currently with the others coming after I work out optimizing photo size automatically.

See ...

https://rcpylonsuppliersblazor.azurewebsites.net/cmadracing_ninja

And ...

https://rcpylonsuppliersblazor.azurewebsites.net/cmadracing_small_wonder

With the new "breadcrumb" navigation just under the page title, navigation should be easy like it was on the old tech https://rcpro.club/ legacy web site.

ALL FEEDBACK about the website, my apps, and my comments are HIGHLY APPRECIATED whether they are Good, Bad, or Ugly as long as they are not personal attacks."

*********

Thank you Ken and thanks for all of your support.

Don

https://donstegall.com/

05/08/2025

Tom Doe sent me some photos of his and Annabelle's EF1 planes .. I have updated the EF1 Pylon Racing Page and EF1 Pylon Racing Group with those as the profile and cover photos .. I want to update the photos on the Quickie 500 page, the RCPRO Warbird Racing page, the Q40 Racing and AMA Pylon Racing Page at the minimum with photos from others instead of mine for a variety of reasons .. so please send me photos to pick from and do the be shy about the look or quality of if they are "cool" .. I'm getting seriously back in gear on software and publishing while I still have mobility limitations, especially ... I'm having an MRI next week from head to toe with focus on my neck from C3-C7 and the doctors are optimistic that if it is operable, I may regain significantly more ability to walk normally again .. I'm going to take advantage during the time to an operation date to get as much done on my publishing and software work including web sites and mobile apps as possible.

03/14/2025

This is a panel for a constant chord wing for the Miss Cosmic Wind EF1 (MCW) .. I got upstairs for the first time since July of 2024 on February 23 for about 4 hours .. I tagged this for the handyman's crew to bring downstairs .. because I didn't get the top sheeting on when I built this, it warped .. what I was going to do for wing tubes was up in the air at that time, and I didn't want to close it up .. I have 7 more panels kits .. I used plywood on the leading edge strip and it's heavy .. I also used 1/8" x 1/4" spruce on top and bottom of the main spar and the rear spar .. I do have an as yet unopened little laser cutter that can cut 16" x 16" pieces of plywood up to 5/32", but that's not long enough for the spars and leading edge unless I scarf them and I just may do that to lighten the wing a little .. I have the wing tube strategy worked out now and am using CF 14mm OD 12mm ID in the wing with a 12mm OD 10mm ID wing tube .. perhaps overkill but not much heavier than a paper tube in the wing .. I have a MCW fuselage built, and am going to get onto the making of molds for the cowl and hatch .. I'm still limited in my ability to get upstairs, but after my handyman added these grab bars per my direction, I was able to get upstairs by myself this evening .. I have most of what I need to build a wing downstairs now .. one thing I wanted to do since this is a fully sheeted wing is cut foam core shucks so that when I sheet it, I can weight it down properly .. I think vacuum may crush the structure, but I have a vacuum pump other than the 7Hg one I use for sheeting Quickie wings and I might be able to use low vacuum to bag the built-up wing in the shucks to keep it straight .. I should have my downstairs shop ready in a month or two where I can do fiberglass work on the molds for the fiberglass parts .. I have a hatch mold for the Estrellita / Shark as well as a turtle deck mold .. these need to be sanded, compounded, polished, and waxed before being used to make parts .. I may just wax them well and spray parting film in them so I can pull a couple of proof parts .. the cowl mold is half finished .. now that I can get upstairs, I can trim the rough part of the fl**ge off of the first half on the bandsaw, wax it up, spray parting film and finish the other half .. I don't have to have big rolls of fiberglass downstairs to work on these smaller parts .. so I also don't need my 72" x 30" cutting pad for cutting fiberglass cloth .. I should have a classic Hobbico 36" x 24" cutting pad I can bring downstairs .. I'm still limited in my mobility, but I've resumed working on the tail design and new fuselage and cowl design for the T-tail Last Lap Player my late friend Creighton King perished in .. his death really took the wind out of my sails on that project until recently .. it won't be just an Outrageous or Scarlet Screamer fuselage .. not a totally clean sheet of paper design, but I'm planning on a one piece wing instead of plug in panels .. hopefully no health bumps in the road, but my stamina and ability to walk are still limited .. I don't know if I'll ever be able to race 3 pole again, but I'm pretty sure 2 pole is in my future again.

02/27/2025

Do you see an important difference in these pictures??? .. hint .. look at the phone

02/26/2025

I have a set of WEST SYSTEM 105/206 Epoxy Resin and Hardener downstairs now

I will soon start on turning the southwest bedroom of my house into a small model airplane, fiberglass, and composites workshop.

I have a handyman I can work with now.

I cannot walk very well at all and must use a cane or walker or wheelchair.

I figured out how to use rolling chairs to help me and I'm amassing a fleet of chairs and stools tall enough for me to get up from.

I'm putting urethane wheels on them that work MUCH better than the plastic wheels they usually come with.

I'll show photos of my chairs later on in a health update.

01/22/2025

I've been sharing posts from my personal timeline to here, AMA Pylon Racing Page, and RC Pylon Suppliers, but I'm not seeing them here or on the other pages .. I'm going to go back and post those things here because they are relevant.

Here is something full scale Formula One related I recently found and it was a little exciting since I was talking to Creighton King about acquiring a set of Cassutt IIIM plans from him around the time he got killed in the crash of Last Lap Player.

Tom Cassutt's Unreleased Cassutt 111M & 11M Racer Plane Design Files

https://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/threads/tom-cassutts-unreleased-cassutt-111m-11m-racer-plane-design-files.38489/

You can get the document by register as a Free member on HomebuiltAirplanes dot com.

Here is page #1

11/05/2024

I made it .. haven't talked to the doctor yet .. he's doing other surgeries .. may still see him, but more likely someone from the Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates practice tomorrow .. seems like I have more feeling in my legs at least in thighs and can move more .. but I'm just flat in the bed .. could just be wishful thinking .. I can already lift my feet more, and it's especially noticeable in the right leg which has been very weak .. maybe I'll actually be able to walk again without pain and feeling like my legs are collapsing .. and get back to some of my previous activities

My father and his wife Nancy surprised me on Sunday with a visit .. he said a prayer for me and gave me a hug before leaving

Maybe this 4+ year nightmare is ending or on the way to ending

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers.

Lights out for tonight .. please feel free to message, text? email, etc, anytime, but responses may be slow for a few days.

11/02/2024

Even if you know my story, there probably are details in this message you may not be aware of .. I tried to make this an easy read from top to bottom (TL;DR ???) .. this is likely my last message about this until after surgery.

In 2 days, my life will almost certainly change .. possibly very substantially and even dramatically .. it could go multiple ways .. the countdown is about to begin as I have to start prep tomorrow (Sunday) for the surgery on Monday .. the procedures being performed on me are not uncommon at all .. however, for most people these are done for age related degenerative disease or accident related .. in my case, age is a factor with me being 65 years old .. the bigger factor in my case is that the rare bacterial infection that caused the acute vertebral osteomyelitis with discitis in 2020-2021 damaged the spinal bones in ways that age degeneration doesn't .. the bacteria damaged the bones effectively eating away at them .. this causes voids in the bones .. the healing process results in bones that are calcified and brittle .. I had MRI's at the end of 2023 and when seeing the spine surgeon early this year, the prognosis was that the damaged bones would not be able to hold screws and anchors or other forms of reinforcement .. surgery not possible .. with the changes that happened between then and April when my legs got very weak and then another appointment with the spine surgeon and more MRI's (on my spine) for his purposes, the intrusion of even more stenosis (narrowing) of the channels and the constant pain, surgery was planned .. I have significant heart problems and these are a risk. I had to get clearance from cardiology to have the surgery. It was initially denied, but when a cardiologist was to do a heart cath procedure on me, he saw me struggle to try to walk 15 feet to a restroom. We had a discussion about the risks involved in a number of treatment paths and that procedure was canceled. He gave clearance which was received by the surgeon's office on October 21st .. I came to Atrium Health Pineville that day because the pain was unbearable, I couldn't get around the house, and I couldn't take care of myself.

The nightmare of barely being able to walk is hopefully about over. This may or may not happen. The spinal nerves may be too damaged. Having to wait years to have the surgery may have affected the nerves too much. Or the nerves may need to heal over time. Or I might even be able to walk better by Tuesday.

The non-stop pain is hopefully about over. Dr. Ziewacz said he's pretty sure he can reduce the pain with the TLIF and Lumbar Laminectomy.

Two of the vertebrae have started fusing themselves and a thing called a bridging anterior osteophyte has formed at the front of those vertebrae .. a significant amount of work will be done on this area.

I posted these MRI images back in July just after the MRI .. when I saw Dr. Z to discuss surgery, he pulled up 4 images to show me where the problems were and 3 of those were these. The other was from top down, and I can't really interpret those.

There are significant risks. Risks for the procedures on the spine. The aortic aneurysm, the failing and regurgitating aortic valve in my heart is the biggest risk. This is a multi-hour surgery. If my heart doesn't get me through the surgery and anesthesia recovery, obviously the party's over.

The potential rewards make the risks worthwhile. I might be able to do simple things like getting up and down the stairs in my house. I might be able to get in the workshop and do actual physical work on model airplanes. Getting out and flying some R/C. Working on guitars. My dream is flying a plane around the pylons again even though flying 3 pole will probably be a long-term effort.

Sounds like I'll be mostly out of commission for weeks or even a couple of months or more. If the pain is reduced and controllable I'll be doing software work. I have a little collection of scale plastic model airplane kits and a good supply of airbrushing equipment and supplies as well as a hobbyist portable paint booth still in the box. I can't use that stuff in a rehab facility, but it's available if I get to a point and place I can use it.

I'm very excited about what should be going on this week and what the future may hold for me.

I've been fighting to survive and thrive again. As long as I'm still here, I'm going to keep up the fight to continue to have a productive life.

If you believe in prayer, please keep me in your prayers. Please keep me in your positive thoughts regardless.

Info about the procedures ...

https://www.hss.edu/conditions_tlif-transforaminal-lumbar-interbody-fusion-spine-surgery.asp

https://www.hss.edu/conditions_spine-surgery-lumbar-laminectomy.asp

EF1 Pylon Racing Page

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