Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Bill Hager 4 Holly Springs Dr. Conroe, TX 77302
The 1988 season has two major events that should interest Formula One fliers: the AMA Nationals and the NMPRA Championships.
Back in the Seventies we had an annual race in Bakersfield, CA that at one time drew over 100 entries. Just about anyone who was anybody in racing attended that contest. We even had people come from Japan just for the meet. Those were the good old days. It sure would be great to have a race of that magnitude again.
Well, maybe we might just have a chance to have such an event again! It might not be in Bakersfield—but how about Phoenix, AZ? The race held in Phoenix at the end of February has all the makings to become the best-attended, most competitive race of the year—maybe even a replacement for those great Bakersfield meets.
Phoenix Raceway Park
Facility description (report by Darwin Barrie)
On February 27–28 the Pro Flyers of Phoenix, AZ held their third annual Phoenix Classic Formula One Pylon Race. The 1986 and 1987 events were held at the beautiful Spook Hills site in Mesa, AZ—home of the Arizona Model Aviators. This year's race, however, was held at the new, custom-designed-and-built field at Phoenix Raceway Park (PRP), located approximately 25 miles west of Phoenix. The model facility is owned and operated by Patrick Stevens. The facility is the brainchild of Patrick and has evolved over the past couple of years.
Patrick's interest in model racing was kindled a couple of years ago when racing was making a resurgence in the Phoenix area. After attending several meets, he realized that the beautiful modeling sites in Phoenix were not ideally suited for model racing. With this in mind he set out to build the ultimate model racing facility.
Phoenix Raceway Park currently features a drag strip and sand trial strip. Planned additions include a quarter-midget (car) track, go-cart track, and a motocross track. A 1/4-scale quarter-midget track was also in the works and should be completed by the time this report sees print.
The idea was to develop PRP as a family facility for auto racing and modeling activities. The park is not just for competition but is open for practice, where a family can come in and teach youngsters the art of racing in a controlled environment.
The privately funded field rests on wide-open acreage with no residential property in sight. The field features two runways: the main runway is 675 ft. by 75 ft., with five taxiways from the pits; the auxiliary runway angles off the main runway and is 600 ft. by 50 ft. Both are asphalt surfaced and built to high-quality standards. (The Stevens family's main business is asphalt paving.)
The area surrounding the runways has been cleared of obstacles and rolled to a very smooth surface. The runways have no abrupt edges—they are faired into the surrounding terrain perfectly—so fliers should not panic in an emergency landing situation; just land anywhere.
The racecourse pylons are permanently set and can be configured to either F-1 or Quickie length. They are far enough out that they do not interfere with the main runway when it is in use. For safety reasons, only one runway at a time is in use.
Darwin wrote much more about the new race facility—too much to include here. Try to make one of their races to see for yourself.
The 1988 Phoenix Classic
Participants and schedule
The 1988 Phoenix Classic saw representation from Arizona, California, Utah, Texas, Montana, Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Calgary, Ontario, Canada. Dave Shadel and Dub Jett from the U.S. World Champion FAI team attended. The Samurai Racing Team and the Killer Bees were also out in force. Everyone had a great time.
Check-in and static judging took place at the hotel on Friday night. Although the room provided by the hotel for this purpose was not what was promised, the mission was accomplished. Future events will use a hotel better suited to our needs. Another minor problem was that the hotel was located in Sun City and was not accustomed to the basic rowdiness of the pylon crowd. Friday registration will be standard at any Phoenix Formula One event, so plan to come early and enjoy the weather and facilities.
Five complete rounds were flown on Saturday. The Best Finish award went to Keith Davidson with a beautiful black Pola Cat, although that plane later had an argument with a pylon on Saturday and was lost. Sunday again provided beautiful weather and ideal conditions for speed. Lee Van DerHey took fast time with a run of 1:10.03. Several others were in pursuit with 1:10s but were unable to match it. Four rounds were flown on Sunday.
Golf carts with drivers were furnished to provide high-speed delivery of contestants to and from the starting line. On many occasions the next heat had arrived before the airplanes had landed from the previous heat. It sure is nice to have two runways.
Results
When the scores were tabulated, the top finishers were:
- Bob Smith
- Lee Van DerHey (Best Time — 1:10.03)
- Dave Shadel
- Henry Bartle
- Mike Helsel
- Best Finish — Keith Davidson
Trophies and thanks
The trophies were unique: specially made, plaque-mounted Arizona auto license plates. The Arizona Department of Corrections sells novelty license plates as part of its prison industries program. These plates make excellent and interesting prizes.
On behalf of Patrick Stevens and the Pro Flyers, we sincerely thank all those in attendance and hope everyone will make an effort to attend the next event on September 24–25, 1988. You will not be disappointed.
Looking ahead / Club reports
There is a lot of racing scheduled for this year. Send me a write-up about how your club did. Please:
- List the top five finishers in each event and how many entrants showed up.
- Tell how the racing went, plus any special happenings.
- Send in some pictures, preferably ones showing people, competition workers, and spectators.
I will try to get submissions into my column.
Next month: Recommended RC frequencies for Pylon Racing.
See you at the races!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
