Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Dave Lane
RECEIVED A LETTER from a fellow in the New York area who would like to see 1/2A racing as an "anything goes" event. I think that instead of stimulating interest as he thinks, the event would end up like FAI. When the guys started to come up with the exotic aircraft and engines in FAI, the event died. The FAI event has been dropped at the Nats.
Another letter concerns Quickie 500. As you know, there are several areas allowing "anything goes" in the engine aspect of Q-500's. The suggestion was to make Q-500 a beginner's class — which was the original idea. This would be done by limiting the engine to an RC .35 (K&B Torpedo or Stallion), engines to be provided by the hosting club. If an individual clobbered an engine during a contest, he would pay the contest management the replacement price of the engine. Everybody would be racing with the same type of "stock" engine. It is assumed that by doing this, more nonracing types will start in the Q-500 racing class. The cost of the Q-500 engines today is going out of sight!
I attended the third Air Race Seminar held in Southern California at the Mojave Airport in early April. This seminar was for the qualification of new pylon judges and timers and any new pilots that were interested. The United States Air Racing Association sponsored the two-day affair.
I managed to wrangle a ride with Jim Mott in his AT-6 Miss-Chief around the pylons. Let me tell you that now I know why those guys race the big ones. It is one of the most exciting and exhilarating feelings to roar around the pylons at 180 mph and 40 feet AGL. Those pylons really come up fast. Even at those speeds, the G-loads are not bad. The most we experienced were 2.5 G's on the down-wind side of the course. If you ever get the chance to go for a ride around the pylons, take it! It can be a little hair raising. Jim Mott gave another fellow a ride after I had gone up and forgot to lower the landing gear prior to landing. Jim said, "I knew something was wrong when I saw the aluminum that started flying past the cockpit."
Jim had finished the laps around the pylons and made a short approach to the field on Runway 30. I watched him make his turn to final and still no gear. I started yelling at Race Control over the CB, but Race Control had gone to lunch! Jim was down to six feet off the deck by now. I figured he was going to make a low pass, but then I saw the flaps were down, and I could see him start to settle in for his usual wheel landing. About that time the prop started kicking up dirt from the runway and Jim poured the coals to her and pulled up to about 15 feet and lowered the gear and landed. After he taxied back to the pits, I looked at the prop. It was 3 1/2 inches shorter and slightly bent! Jim said he needed a new prop anyway.
The Team Turkey was there with a new Formula One bird called Wild Turkey. This is the same group that raced the old Ricky Rat and then modified it to Top Turkey. That plane was a modified Shoestring. Wild Turkey is an all-new, all-metal machine that looks super fast. It should make a very interesting model for Formula One.
The boys had a little trouble with the bird on their only flight of the weekend. The engine quit and they had to land crosswind. The landing broke off the left main gear, damaged the right gear, and bent the prop.
The interesting thing about Wild Turkey is the wing. They are using small high aspect ratio outer panels that mount to a large diamond-shaped center section.
The problem in modeling this design will be the wing. Current rules state the wing must be a constant taper in thickness from the center to the tip. On Wild Turkey the wing tapers from the center to the outer panel joint, then tapers at a different ratio to the tip.
The rules may have to be changed if there are many more new Formula Ones. It seems that the F-1 fraternity is starting to get away from the conventional designs. I am glad to see this. I get tired of looking at all those Formula Ones that look alike except for colors and numbers.
Dave Lane, 4477 136th, Hawthorne, CA 90250
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
