Radio Control: Pylon Racing
By Bill Hager
History
Yes, that's what the 1987 FAI Pylon World Championships will be by the time you read this month's column. I hope the guys did well.
As most of you already know, the 1987 Nats is to be held July 11–19 at Lincoln, NE. This year they have added Q500 Racing, and by the responses that I have been getting, it looks as though there is a lot of interest. There has been quite a rush the last several months in order to get a good, workable set of rules finalized. We have been working hard on this for the last four years (and more). But, with this type of racing coming to the Nats, we had to complete the rules.
The engine rules were the hardest to complete. For a long time it looked as though the only engine to have was the Rossi, as this particular engine/muffler combination couldn't be beaten. However, it now looks like (at this writing) Supertigre, Cosmo, and K&B have all come out with the same type of muffler as Rossi and will be equally competitive. So, you have your pick of good engines.
The Nats' Q500 rules were printed in the April 1987 issue of Model Aviation, page 115. Please refer to them. It seems that, no matter how well-publicized new rules are, there will always be some who show up to race with an airplane and/or engine that is not legal. Not legal! Can't be allowed to compete! So, please read the rules, and ask for help if you're in doubt about anything. There ought to be someone in your area who can help.
Takeoff procedure
A quick note on our takeoff procedures. During 1986 in several locales, we tried a new takeoff procedure which made for tighter races. Some fliers already know about this, but if you don't, why not try it? You might like it!
The procedure is simple. You just drop the starting flag twice:
- On the first flag, the numbers one and three planes are released.
- On the second flag, the numbers two and four planes go.
It worked for us.
Arizona Q500 Racing (Phoenix, AZ)
Racing has started out West already! First, we'll have a report from Darwin Barrie on Q500 Racing in Phoenix. ARCS (Arizona RC Society) hosted the first Q500 race of the season on January 25, 1987. The race featured the new 475-ft. course and the NMPRA rules. The California Expert Class also was held, although the NMPRA rules allow anybody to fly the class — none of the Experts took part.
The new-length course took its toll, with zeroes evident on the scoreboard everywhere except for those who had practiced a little. By the time everybody else got the course figured out, it was too late.
The speeds (times) were interesting. The top Standard fliers were at or close to 1:30. Experts' times ranged upward from 1:17.2. The weather was perfect for speed — cool and dry. I don't believe we will get much faster than this in Arizona. The times might go down a couple of seconds in California if everybody stays on the outside of the pylons.
"The Arizona fliers voted to change the rules slightly to facilitate more fliers and to encourage decreased problems with existing engines. Rule change number one: We voted to allow any legal carb to be used on any legal engine. We justify this because of the problems encountered with the carbs used by two manufacturers. The rule will let the fliers retrofit a K&B or Cosmo carb to any engine. These carbs are both cheaper and more reliable than some others.
"The second rule change was to allow engine backplate mounts. There were two good reasons for this. Engines could be mounted closer to the firewall to assist in balancing the model. Some of these engines are heavy! Besides, many (read 'most') fliers already have them.
"We feel that these are positive changes and are in the best interests of racing."
#### Arizona race results Expert Class:
- Darwin Barrie (fast time 1:17.2)
- Rick Marquez
- Mike Del Ponte
- Tom Sonnenburg
- Ray Morales
- Jim Lime
- Ron Mills
- Guy Laine
Standard Class:
- Jim Allen (fast time 1:30.2)
- Bob Black
- Ken Taylor
- Marv Martinez
- Dennis Roeper
- Dave Jackson
- Fred Foster
- Beau Black
- Jerry James
- Ron Mosley
- Bob Smallwood
- Larry Cranton
- Ralph Cunningham
California Quarter Midget Race (El Monte, CA)
California held its first Quarter Midget race February 1, 1987 at Whittier Narrows in El Monte, CA. The San Gabriel Valley Radio Control League (SGVRCL) did their usual excellent job in hosting this meet. These members always put on a well-organized race and the fliers look forward to a race held by the SGVRCL.
When round one was done, there were more cuts on the board than points. Everyone's flying was rusty, and they were trying to gain on the competition at pylon one.
Round two had the same problem — lots of cuts.
With the advent of round three, the fliers were finally settling down and going around the pylons instead of in front of them.
Round four put several hot competitive fliers against each other. This resulted in a heat having both Scott Manning and Ted Burns cutting out and Ken Meade having a DNS. The second heat was flown by Lee Von Der Hey, John Hodges and Lyle Larson. Lee and Lyle collected six cuts, and Hodges won.
In the first heat of round five, Henry Bartle had four cuts, Scott Manning two cuts, and John Hodges won again.
Scott had been bugging me for some time to please take a picture of his Spitfire racer. So, at the start of this heat, I had Tom Melton stop Scott on his way to the starting line and take a picture of the Spit. It was a work of art, looking like a scale rendition of the British fighter.
Well, Whittier Narrows has a reputation for a certain wall, and the wall took on the Spitfire. Scott was landing after a cut when the wall claimed the Spit. Ken was right with Lee. As they readied to turn pylon two, both were blown to bits! What a midair! It sure made the day for the spectators.
#### California race results Expert Class:
- John Hodges — 1:44.13
- Gary Long — 1:48.03 (fast time)
- Bob Nickle — 1:29.15
- Lyle Larson — 1:18.56
- Lee Von Der Hey — 1:18.43
- Ted Burns — 1:18.57
- Tom Costin — 1:33.44
- Gary Parise — 1:21.24
- John Powell — 1:32.76
- Henry Bartle — 1:22.50
- David Gavin — 2:07.12
- Scott Manning — NT ("cutitis")
Standard Class:
- Randy Bloom — 1:48.66
- Ken Meade — 1:39.18
- Alex Vartanian — 1:32.58
- Nancy Hodgson — 1:26.49
Call for contributions
Hey, gang! This is your column. Help me pass along the tips and ideas to the rest of the racers. Send me your ideas or hints.
Well, it looks as though '87 will be the year for Q500. It should be a good year for all. See you at the races!
Contact
Bill Hager 706 Glen Haven Dr. Conroe, TX 77385
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
