Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Bill Hager
LOOK! Yes, let's look around the country to see what's going on in pylon racing—especially since we're right in the middle of the racing season.
Here is a report from Art Arro that is a good representation of racing activity in the Ohio/Michigan area.
GLMAR (Flying Tigers, Toledo, OH)
The GLMAR is one of the very few remaining races offering three AMA/NMPRA events held over a single weekend. This great race has been held on a traditional early-June date for the past five or six years. Its host is the Flying Tigers club of Toledo, OH, and it is sponsored by the Hobby Stop of that same city.
The 1987 version drew over 70 entrants from 11 states and a Canadian province—who came to turn left. Its large turnout was due, in part, to Rex Knepper's decision to try the new NMPRA (National Miniature Pylon Racing Association) Quickie 500 rules, as will be flown at the AMA Nats, and to combine FAI (F3D) Pylon with Formula I.
Quickie fliers wanted to test their skills and equipment as a warm-up for the Nats, and contestants traveled from as far as Tennessee and North Carolina. The Formula I/FAI combo drew pilots from Pennsylvania and New York in addition to Ontario, Canada.
The weather was perfect for racing on Saturday and Sunday mornings, with the wind picking up in the afternoon. However, the direction was right down the course, so it didn't bother FAI/Formula I very much.
Quickie 500 (Q-500, national rules, two-mile course)
Quickie was the first event flown on Saturday morning. A huge turnout of 36 entries delayed the start somewhat, but racing was well under way before noon. The national rules allow a wide variety of engines and aircraft to compete. It was clear that the Rossi .40 and Webra Speed .40 engines were the most competitive. Prop selection and flying skills are also important, but these two engine brands had an edge in horsepower.
The entries and frequency distribution permitted a 4 × 9 matrix, and a full five rounds were completed by mid-afternoon. Dennis Sumner (Westland, MI) was the clear winner with a perfect 20-point score and a fast time of 1:23.86. A four-way tie (for second through fourth) was settled by a very exciting flyoff.
Results (Q-500, "national" rules, two-mile course):
- Dennis Sumner (Westland, MI), Texas Outlaw / Rossi — 1:23.86
- Jon Lemmons (Mt. Juliet, TN), Viper / Webra — 1:32.25
- Ken Heatlie (Westland, MI), Clipper / Rossi — 1:32.70
- John Kilsdonk (Northville, MI), Rossi — 1:32.70
- Doug Whiteaker (Mt. Juliet, TN), Viper / Webra — 1:33.55
It is interesting to note that Sumner and Heatlie comprise the S & H Team, while Lemmons and Whiteaker also fly as a team.
Quarter Midget (QM, two-mile course)
One round of Quarter Midget was flown on Saturday after the awards presentation by Les Haddad of the Hobby Stop. There were 23 entries in QM from Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Maryland in addition to local interest. Racing was fast and furious, and the carnage began in Round 1.
Dave Latsha experienced a high-speed flutter after a race, which caused his Rivet to ram itself into a nearby tree. Ken Hulik had a close call when his P-39 Cobra locked wings with another model right after takeoff. Both models rolled inverted together in an imminent crash. However, Ken had the presence of mind to push over, recover upright, and get back on course to turn. The other model bit the dust.
A full round of QM was completed Saturday evening; workers and fliers retired to cooler quarters and some liquid quencher. Quarter Midget racing resumed Sunday morning. Four additional rounds plus flyoffs were completed. The toll in crashed and damaged models continued to mount. Dave Latsha lost another racer, Gail Jacobson folded a wing, Polekitty and others were casualties. Dennis Sumner straight-won four rounds; midair action in the fifth final round saw Wayne Yeager and others involved. Ken Hulik, fighting off a bout of flu, over-rolled his Cobra at the scatter pylon. A three-way flyoff determined the top three places, and Dennis Sumner was fourth overall, even with his midair in the last round.
Quarter Midget results (two-mile course):
- Rick Moreland (Edgewater, MD), Heinkel / Nelson — 1:19.37
- Rex Knepper (Toledo, OH), Shark / Conquest — 1:23.42
- Ken Heatlie (Westland, MI), Heinkel / Nelson — 1:20.22
- Dennis Sumner (Westland, MI), Estrellita / Nelson — 1:23.05
- John Kilsdonk (Northville, MI), Heinkel / Nelson — 1:24.13
Maryland's Rick Moreland took all the marbles, followed by a herd of local QM fliers.
Formula I / FAI (combined event)
Formula I/FAI started with static judging after the QM awards presentation. There were 11 entries in this combined event, split seven Formula, four FAI. Doug Baker and Dave Ford of the Canadian team were present in addition to Gary Gau, who got fast time in the Australian Nationals. It was interesting to see how the alky burners would compare to the nitro-powered Formula Ones. However, a poor matrix and a heap of zeroes didn't prove very much in this event.
My race partner, Joe Cohen, was paired with Neil Watson for the first three rounds of Formula I/FAI. These 11 fliers managed to lay a total of 26 goose eggs—flameouts, meltdowns, crashes, and brain fades were responsible for the poor showing. The best race was the final between Dave Keats and Steve Metzger.
Oliver won the race on Saturday, with Phil Bussell coming in second. Fast time was posted by Gary Heithold with 1:14.06, and that was fast time for both days. Dub Jett posted the fast time on the second day with 1:14.09.
On Sunday, May 31, we also had 18 entries, and the racing got even tougher. There were lots of fast airplanes, and the weather almost got us. At the end of five rounds Dub Jett was the winner with a perfect score. With a tie for fourth and fifth between Dick Ritch and newcomer Mark Tocci, there had to be a flyoff. It was really close, and the winner was Dick Ritch.
After the flyoff, a Calcutta was held, and the bidding was fierce. Dub Jett was automatically in the money for winning on Sunday. That left six others to fly off for the final four spots. In the flyoff the fliers were Gary Heithold, Dave Layman, and Bruce Hobbs. The winner of that race was Dave Layman with a time of 1:16.23. In the second race, Richard Oliver and Dick Ritch hit on takeoff, with J.P. Hanway having a long discussion. After a final race, the contestants were Richard Oliver, Dub Jett, J.P. Hanway, and Dave Layman.
After all the racing and cuts were over, the order of finish for the final event was:
- Dub Jett
- J.P. Hanway
- Dave Layman
- Richard Oliver
A good time was had by all, and the race was a success.
Formula I results — May 30:
- Richard Oliver — 1:19.51
- Phil Bussell — 1:19.78
- Dub Jett — 1:15.13
- Dave Layman — 1:20.81
- J.P. Hanway — 1:20.09
- Bob Greer — 1:24.34
- Hubert Willis — 1:24.09
- Dick Ritch — 1:20.20
- Gary Heithold — 1:14.06
Formula I results — May 31:
- Dub Jett — 1:14.09 (Fast Time)
- Richard Oliver — 1:17.26
- Dave Layman — 1:18.66
- Dick Ritch — 1:18.13
- Rick Tocci — 1:24.21
- J.P. Hanway — 1:17.16
- Hubert Willis — 1:27.20
- Bruce Hobbs — 1:19.19
- Gary Heithold — 1:21.72
- Gary Howard — 1:22.64
I will continue to write about what is going on in racing around the country.
Send me something from your district.
See you next month.
Bill Hager 706 Glen Haven Dr. Conroe, TX 77385
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
