Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Bill Hager
WOW! Here we are again at the end of another season of racing. For the Formula flier, there is one more race to cap off this year: the NMPRA (National Miniature Pylon Racing Association) Championships, which this year will be held in Florida on October 24–25. I am doing all the last-minute things to get ready for it. Look for a full report next month.
Let's look at some racing around the country this year. Our first report has been sent to us by Brian Palacios and describes the South Texas Air Races.
South Texas Air Races — San Antonio, TX (May 2–3, 1987)
The first races of the season were held May 2–3, 1987 in San Antonio, TX. This year the weather was much better than last year: temperatures were lower and the wind was definitely lighter. At the same time, the barometer hit an all-time low for San Antonio; therefore, the race times were slow.
Before I go any further, I would like to say thanks to the people who helped out at the race:
- Patricia Wiegand and her two kids, Gretchen and Carl — major thanks.
- Donna Bartles — for the second year she came down from California to assist.
- Health Careers High School Aerospace Club — this group of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors served as race officials; they were the best crew I've ever had.
- Patricia Wiegand, Carol Willis, and Elsie Rankin — ran registration for two days.
Now on to the race itself. It's a little difficult to say what happened in each heat from memory, since I was the starter and too much goes on — and there's no time to write. We began with a two-day race with five rounds on Saturday and five rounds on Sunday. Saturday's weather was good, and we got off the ground at 10:00. By 3:00 p.m. we had five rounds flown — with a good amount of demolition derby going on.
Entries were low — and lower after the first day. It was strange, but a lot of fliers could only come for one day. The result was 22 entries on Saturday. After the smoke had cleared, Dub Jett had won again.
Saturday top five:
- Dub Jett — 1:15.79 (fast time of the day and the meet)
- Henry Bartle — 1:16.41
- Rich Oliver — 1:17.58
- Bernie Workman — 1:17.80
- Phil Bussel — 1:19.35
Sunday started with a smaller turnout as several fliers were absent either because of crashes the day before or because they could not return on Sunday. The weather held up, with very light drizzle in the morning, but we continued.
The racing got a little tougher on Sunday. Henry Bartle and Ed Rankin ended up in a flyoff for fourth place. Things were starting to get exciting, because this year we used lights for flags, and the battery gave up the spirit right before the flyoff — so we went back to using flags. Henry won the flyoff and took fourth place. Bernie Workman took top honors this time.
Sunday results:
- Bernie Workman — 1:16.21
- Rich Oliver — 1:16.48
- Gary Heithold — 1:22.28
- Henry Bartle — 1:18.46
- Ed Rankin — 1:19.99
This year's awards were nice. The top five on Saturday received Ace R/C Servo Cyclers. Sunday's top five received Ace R/C Voltmasters. The fast-time winner got an Ace R/C Datamaster. One other award given at the South Texas Air Races is the Best Overall Team; this year it went to Bernie Workman and his caller, Edie Oliver.
The Best Overall Team recipient is chosen by taking the times for each of the top five (for each day) and totaling them. Then we take the fastest time turned each day and give one point for each second that beats 1:20.00. The latter is added onto the previously computed score. Whoever has the highest total gets the award.
This year's winner received a shirt emblazoned with the legend "South Texas Air Races Overall Pilot," and his caller received a shirt with the legend "South Texas Air Races Overall Caller." If the pilot returns to the race next year and wears the shirt, he does not have to pay any entry fee. He also receives several other goodies. When you see Bernie Workman, ask him about it.
I would also like to thank my sponsors this year:
- Ace R/C
- Clayton Hobbies (San Antonio)
- Hancock Engines
- TruTurn Spinners (Houston)
Thanks to each one for their support.
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Next we have two reports sent in by John Kilsdonk.
NMPRA Quarter Midget Championship — Rough River Dam State Park
Quarter Midget has a Championship Race every year. It is always well attended and very competitive. This was the fifteenth annual NMPRA Quarter Midget Championship Race held in the beautiful Rough River Dam State Park. The race is run by the Louisville RC Club and is sponsored in part by the Kentucky State Parks Department. For most QM fliers, this is a can't-miss race due in part to the wonderful facilities and the fierce competition. This year was no exception, despite a slightly reduced turnout.
Processing took place on Friday evening and was followed by a pilots' meeting, with hospitality supplied by the park.
An increasingly diverse spectrum of models entered indicates the multitude of QM kits available. At least a dozen different designs were entered. Note that the Rivets kit made famous by Dave Latsha is now back in production. Matney Models' QM may not have the glitz and glory of Formula I, but the fliers are every bit as dedicated.
Racing began around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday with nobody holding anything back. Several times in the low twenties (and some in the teens) were seen in the first round. It was quickly evident that this would be no cakewalk for anybody, as there were at least a dozen people there who had the potential to win.
Additional finishers (positions determined as noted):
- Polekitty — 1:20.7
- Wayne Yeager (Michigan) — Rivers — 1:17.0
- Duane Gall (Colorado) — P-51 — 1:23.2
- Dave Latsha (Pennsylvania) — Napier — 1:18.0
- Steve Kovach (Georgia) — P-39 — 1:23.1
(*) indicates that the positions were determined by flyoffs.
1987 Midwest Quickie 500 Nationals — Westland, MI (September 20, 1987)
Host: Signal Seekers RC
This was the fifth Q500 event (one remaining) on the CAPS circuit for 1987. A nice cool day greeted a tremendous turnout of 37 fliers. This is traditionally the biggest Q500 event of the year because of the prizes and the chance to fly six rounds. Due to the large entry and impending weather conditions, only five rounds could be completed. We used the standard CAPS handicap rules with Super Tigre or Como engines — no Rossis.
The tone was set early as Ken Heitlan turned a quick 1:29.9 in the first round. Unfortunately, Ken crashed in the very next round. "The Old Lady" (Mrs. Murphy) was far from done, though. In the second round, Dave Keats and Ace Merlino had the most spectacular midair collision that this club reporter has ever seen. On the second lap, they tried a high-speed mating maneuver with both airplanes going straight up locked together and powered only by Ace's engine.
The planes finally wiggled enough so that Dave's unsupported airplane broke loose and did a series of slow-motion tumbles as it fell back to the ground. Meanwhile, Ace was still trying to fly his fuselage and succeeded in doing a perfect stall-turn ending with an arrow-shot directly into the start/finish line!
An added attraction at this contest was the use of a police radar gun at No. 2 pylon. Much to everyone's amazement, most of the airplanes were clocked at around 100 mph, with the top ones running as fast as 111 mph entering turn No. 2.
It is interesting to note that since CAPS changed the rules to require the use of stock mufflers, there is only a two-second difference in race times. The all-time record for our ST or Como powered Q500s is 1:26.4 by Ace Merlino with an ST and a MACS Quickie-X muffler.
All in all, it was another good race with lots of close competitive flying. Adrian Apaza won with a perfect score, while John Kilsdonk and Denny Sumner tied one point down — but decided not to fly off. Joe Cohen finished fourth, and Len Widman continued his season-long steady flying for fifth. Mel Baker won the Best Novice award.
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Thanks again to Brian Palacios and John Kilsdonk for these contest reports. Remember, I want and need your photos, contest announcements, race results, etc. (And I pay for photos used in the column!) I'm always glad to hear from you racers, so write to me sometime!
Bill Hager 706 Glen Haven Dr. Conroe, TX 77385
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
