Yes! It's a really cool feeling when the model accelerates from 100 to 300 kph in less than one lap. And the best part is that you have to hold on to it :)
It's a small world indeed - I've been using Peter's Irvine Specials for a very long time and still have a number of them. Strangely enough I only saw a tethered hydroplane once when the F2A World Champs were in Bulgaria where the two circles are next to each other.
Hey Ricky,
An F2A flyer here. The story behind the integral main bearing is actually rather silly: high quality small size bearings were hard/impossible to find in the Soviet Union, hence the engine makers developed this technology. You are correct that the assembly and proper alignment of such...