Author: B. Hager
Edition: Model Aviation - 1991/12
Page Numbers: 45, 129, 130, 139
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Radio Control: Pylon Racing

Bill Hager 4 Holly Springs Dr. Conroe, TX 77302

We haven't had many race reports this summer, so let's try to catch up. First, don't forget the NMPRA Championship race for Formula One to be held in Dallas, Texas, November 23, 1991. I'm trying to get a head start this year. Our first report is taken from the Pylon Racers of Puget Sound. Here we go.

Bremerton Season Opener 1991

Well, we finally had our first Formula One race of the 1991 season last weekend, and I wish I could say that the season started out with a bang, but it didn't. We had only 11 entrants show up for Formula One on Saturday, and one of the contestants withdrew before he started because of a mishap during a test flight. (See why I never test fly in the morning?)

Overall, Saturday was a day spent figuring a lot of things out. Darrol Cady has flown in three contests this year and his familiarity with his equipment was apparent from the start. He led from the first heat and never looked back until the fifth round when Pete Bergstrom posted a fast time equal to his own. Darrol then proved he was going to win by posting a 1:13.25 for the day.

Jon Packer showed he will have what it takes to win this season by flying consistently like we have never seen Jon before. Congratulations on your weekend, Jon. Tony Huber is back this year after a one-year hiatus with his "band-aid special" (yes, folks, he has real band-aids over the cracks and gouges in the fuselage — you just have to see it). One new flier joined our ranks this weekend — Scott Winslow from Spokane. Finally, JR Wilbur has someone to work with in Eastern Washington. Welcome, Scott!

The Quickie 500 turnout was better than Formula One, with 13 entries on hand to do battle on Saturday morning. The dreaded Canadian contingent was back in force this year with a welcome new (old) addition in Len Yuen. Len is an old-time (way back) Formula One flier who has recently gotten interested in pylon racing again. By winning the Q-500 race on Saturday, Len showed all of us that he had not forgotten what he learned many years before. Job well done!

The Canadians have added yet another racer to their fold — Todd Bremnier out of New Westminster, British Columbia. Todd placed a respectable fifth this weekend — certainly something for a first outing. We also saw the return of Mike Berger from the Spokane area. Mike came out to race us last fall in Spokane (a real bad weekend). I'm glad to see he has persevered and built some new airplanes this year. Good to see Mike!

Sunday morning, April 28th, dawned with temperatures in the 40s and winds of about the same velocity. We waited until about 11:00 a.m. to decide whether or not to fly, but when the cages around pylon No. 2 blew down, we decided to call it a day. So, as I said, our first race wasn't exactly a barn burner. It was a good warm-up for some of us. We will be making up the second day's racing at our next contest in Bremerton in August. We'll run three 5-round contests that weekend (eight rounds on Saturday and seven rounds on Sunday) so that we don't miss out on any season points. For those of you from outside our district, this would be an excellent chance to build some season points and be treated to some of the best racing on the West Coast. Come on out and join us!

Formula One Results

  • 1 Darrol Cady, 15 pts, 1:13.25*
  • 2 Jon Packer, 14 pts, 1:18.00
  • 3 Al Watson, 12 pts, 1:18.79
  • 4 Tony Huber, 11 pts, 1:18.61
  • 5 Andrew McIndoe, 10 pts, 1:21.08
  • 6 Scott Winslow, 8 pts, 1:25.12
  • 7 Bob Hunt, 7 pts, 1:25.96
  • 8 Bill Pettersen, 6 pts, 1:35.86
  • 9 Pete Bergstrom, 5 pts, 1:15.82
  • 10 JR Wilbur, 0 pts, NT

Quickie 500 Results

  • 1 Len Yuen, 14 pts, 1:43.93
  • 2 John Castleman, 13 pts, 1:40.12
  • 3 Scott Puzio, 12 pts, 1:41.79
  • 4 John Headley, 11 pts, 1:44.50
  • 5 Todd Bremnier, 11 pts, 1:51.99
  • 6 Bob Vergeer, 11 pts, 1:53.49
  • 7 Brad White, 8 pts, 2:01.44
  • 8 Ted Puzio, 7 pts, 1:51.82
  • 9 Mike Berger, 7 pts, 2:05.10
  • 10 Doug LaPorte, 6 pts, 1:56.61
  • 11 Dave Guarin, 5 pts, 1:45.18
  • 12 Phil Barnes, 5 pts, 1:45.62
  • 13 Gene Greenlee, 5 pts, 1:49.38

Our hosts for this weekend were the Kitsap ARCS Model Airplane Club based out of Bremerton, Washington. As usual, the people did a superb job handling all of the heats without a single refly. A big thanks goes to Phil Barnes for his first try at being C.D. I think he did a fantastic job and now knows how tough being a C.D. really is. Thanks, guys and gals!

California Championship Race (report by Lou Rodriguez)

If you doubted the Nelson engine, this report should change your mind since everyone in the top ten except Rich Tocci is flying the new engine. RC Flyers Unlimited hosted the 1991 Formula One California Championship at Crows Landing on August 17 and 18. Thirty-four pilots from across the country participated in a great weekend of racing. Rich Tocci's "Kaze Killer" was judged Best-of-Show from a field of fifty airplanes.

Richard Verano set the pace in round one with a winning time of 1:09.54. Lyle Larson and his "Shark" flew 1:09.80 in a close win over Clark Wade's 1:10.12.

Round two saw Dave Shadel win over Henry Bartle and Mike Helsel with a time of 1:08.22. Richard Verano improved to 1:06.81, which held up for first place on the day. Rusty VanBuren and Darrol Cady were wing-tip to wing-tip for ten laps. Rusty got the checkered flag by a one-second margin.

Jeff Carpenter and Dave Shadel were matched in a real shoot-out in round three. Jeff flew his first-ever "one-oh-something," posting a 1:09.02. Lou Rodriguez and Bruce Richmond had a mid-air coming out of pylon three; both airplanes were able to land safely.

Lyle Larson won again in round four ahead of Scott Manning and Mike Helsel. Chip Hyde flew 1:11.49 for a win, and Henry Bartle and Rich Tocci were induced to cuts.

Three pilots had perfect scores at the start of round five. Then there were two, as Darrol Cady had the speed to beat Dave Shadel. Richard Verano and Rusty VanBuren were on top of the leaderboard after five rounds on Saturday. Dave Shadel had third place—one point down. Darrol Cady and Henry Bartle shared fourth at two points down.

Racing resumed Sunday morning with round six. Rich Tocci challenged the leaders with an exciting 1:10.19 victory over Richard Verano. Henry Bartle did a similar deed with a 1:07.63 win over Rusty VanBuren. It was a whole new race now with just two points separating the top seven positions.

Jeff Carpenter continued his winning ways in round seven, recording a victory over Rusty VanBuren and Mike Helsel. Richard Verano and Dave Shadel stayed on top with times of 1:07.99 and 1:08.56 respectively.

Round eight was flown before the lunch break. Dave Shadel was apparently in a hurry to grab a sandwich, since he found the right needle setting right away and flew ten great laps to set a new AMA record of 1:05.88. Congratulations, Dave! Mike Helsel finally flew a clean race (no cuts) in round nine with a 1:10.05 but was matched against that Shadel fellow who flew 1:07.09. Chip Hyde won again with a 1:11.58 over Chuck Brown and Lyle Larson. Paul Benezra won over Clark Wade, who got out of shape at pylon one, then went ballistic and double-cut.

Dave Shadel and Jeff Carpenter were matched again in round ten. Jeff really put the pressure on, flying a personal best of 1:08.46 and forcing Dave into a cut.

Richard Verano flew a perfect race against Darrol Cady, Mike Helsel, and Paul Benezra to get the win with a 1:06.81.

The flyoff for third place had Darrol Cady up against Jeff Carpenter. Both pilots got a cut simultaneously at pylon one on the third lap. Jeff's engine then went rich and he cut out while trying to keep pace with Darrol. Rich Tocci and Lou Rodriguez flew off for eighth place. Rich appeared to have a slight speed advantage, but his cut gave the race to Lou.

My thanks go out to those volunteers who staffed this race. Pylon racing is a labor-intensive activity requiring reliable manpower. Everyone who helped deserves a great deal of credit for a job well done. Special acknowledgment goes to Henry Bartle for towing the pylon equipment trailer from Southern California; Larry Bickers — assistant CD and scorekeeper; and Don Coulter — race starter for 92 official heats.

The following sponsors supported this race with greatly appreciated contributions. RCFU (RC Flyers Unlimited) and NMPRA owe their thanks for the interest and generosity of:

  • California Corvettes
  • Performance Specialties
  • PIC Products
  • Sheldon's Hobbies
  • Bill Smith and Bill Cook (RCFU)
  • Lou Rodriguez
  • Jim Shinohara
  • Futaba
  • Sig
  • Ace R/C
  • Aerospace Composites

If you missed it this year, a great weekend of racing passed you by. The sub-1:10 times reflect the ideal weather conditions we enjoyed. Crows Landing offers a flying site second to none thanks to the U.S. Navy. If you will be racing in 1992, put this one on your calendar!

Top Ten (Crows Landing)

  1. Richard Verano, 39 pts., 1:06.81
  2. Dave Shadel, 38 pts., 1:05.88*
  3. Darrol Cady, 37 pts., 1:09.70
  4. Jeff Carpenter, 37 pts., 1:08.46
  5. Henry Bartle, 35 pts., 1:07.63
  6. Lyle Larson, 35 pts., 1:09.80
  7. Scott Manning, 34 pts., 1:12.17
  8. Lou Rodriguez, 32 pts., 1:11.28
  9. Rich Tocci, 32 pts., 1:10.19
  10. Chuck Brown, 32 pts., 1:14.58

Thanks, Lou! It looks like this race, held annually, has a chance of taking the place of the races held at San Luis Obispo—or maybe even the old Bakersfield races. We'll all be looking forward to your race next year.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.