Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Bill Hager
Poised for the NMPRA Championship
As I write, about 50 Formula One pilots are making last-minute adjustments and/or changing planes in preparation for the NMPRA Championship Race — the highlight of the racing year. Over 300 Formula One fliers compete for the right to go. Look for race results in the next issue.
Quarter Midget Championships — Rough River, KY
Every year the Quarter Midget (QM) fliers go to Rough River, KY, for the QM Championships. This is one of the most competitive races of the year and is held in a beautiful setting. Families can make a vacation out of the weekend.
Here is this year’s report from Wayne Yeager.
The weather was clear, windless, and very hot. Speed was prevalent — the cutoff time for the Jimmy Doolittle Trophy dash was 1:19.9 (in other words, you had to be under 1:20 to get in). The Doolittle Trophy is a special race held after the main event; only the fastest 12 recorded times qualify regardless of heat results.
Round one saw Dennis Sumner turn a 1:16.53 and lose that heat — just to set the mood for the day. That was the only race he lost; he won the rest with times around 1:17, 1:18 and 1:20, scoring enough points to win the championship. Congrats to Dennis, one of the most consistent fliers around.
Second place went to Dave Latsha, who is also consistent but had a little speed problem early and lost his first three races. Still, three points down was good enough for second in Kentucky.
Third went to Ken Heatlie, the other half of the Sumner/Heatlie (S&H) team. If there had been a team championship, S&H would have taken it.
Fourth was Ken Hulik, who turned a very nice 1:14.9 in the fourth round, breaking his 1:15 record set two weeks earlier at the Toledo Silver Cup Race. Occasional cuts and imperfect instructions from his caller kept him from going even faster — in round five he posted a 1:19 for 11 laps, which shows how fast he was.
All that became academic in round four when Jim Moorhead, with a good call from the "Snotty-Nosed Little Kid," set a new world record.
Top finishers and notable times:
- 1st — Dennis Sumner (consistent heats, winning the championship)
- 2nd — Dave Latsha
- 3rd — Ken Heatlie
- 4th — Ken Hulik (best heat 1:14.9)
- 5th — Greg Doe (fast time 1:19.4, which put him into the Doolittle; after the dash Greg won the trophy)
World record:
- Jim Moorhead — 1:13.62 flying a Jacobson PoleKitty with an old Ron Young Cox motor. This is not the first time Jim has held the record.
Lockport / Hamburg / Jamestown reports (Ernie Nikodem)
The Lockport-area racing reports were sent by Ernie Nikodem.
Hamburg, NY (August 18)
- The race day at Hamburg was busy, with three events flown.
- Strong winds out of the south blew straight across the course and kept Sport event times slower than usual — only two times in the 1:40s.
- There were radio problems: Neil Watson lost a Sport ship due to radio failure; Doug Baker crashed his FAI ship when his radio misbehaved; your editor (Ernie) had a half-second loss of signal while trying to round the No. 1 pylon.
- In Sport, Al Mack and Dave Ford had a midair in the first round. Al lost his trusty old streamlined Scat Cat, one of the winningest planes in the UPRC circuit (the only consistent challenger in 1983–84 was Jerry Muscato’s Purple People Eater). Al showed up at Jamestown with a new replacement and took first place.
- Thanks to Bruce Knox (UPRC worker maximus), Gary Gau (Contest Director), and the Hamburg work force.
Jamestown
- Weather was beautiful: light winds, warm temperatures, no rain. Racing times reflected the good conditions.
- In Sport there were 18 times in the 1:40s. Gary Gau’s 1:39 tied Jerry Muscato’s all-time Sport record.
- Neil Watson’s 1:20 in Formula One is believed to be a new UPRC Circuit record (verification pending).
- No radio problems at Jamestown.
- Incidents: Bob Ball crashed on his first heat when everything went dead after takeoff; Ernie Nikodem experienced three successive glitches (down elevator) on three laps; Dave Gierke had a quick series of glitches in Formula One but regained control about a quarter-second before a crash — he spun, the engine shut down, and the ship was landed normally to race another day.
Acknowledgments
The UPRC and racers extend thanks to:
- Bob Dart, host of the Howard Dart Memorial Race
- Al Hemenger, who assisted Bob Dart
- All the workers and volunteers who make the events possible
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
