RADIO CONTROL: PYLON RACING
Bill Hager, 4 Holly Springs Dr., Conroe TX 77302
By the time you read this the 1996 Nats will be history. It will be interesting to see the results when Wayne Yeager's report on this year's racing appears in the December Model Aviation. This month we take a look at racing in the Northeast—my old stomping grounds. I see that there are still a lot of the same people I raced with when I was in Ohio. My hat comes off to Mike Haddad—he's still sponsoring racing.
The following race reports were taken from the CAPS newsletter. Keep those reports coming, guys—they're the only way the rest of the world will know what's going on in your area!
Great Lakes Race — Toledo Flying Tigers
The Toledo Flying Tigers hosted their 20th annual Great Lakes Race June 1–2 at the Geiser Road field. This year's race was sponsored by Lester Haddad at Toledo's Hobby Stop West. Les supplied all of the fuel and the plaques that were given to the winners.
Saturday featured Quickie 500 (Standard and Expert). The weather was sunny and warm with a gentle southeast breeze. Eleven registered in Standard and 21 in Expert. Four heats of Standard and seven heats of Expert were flown each round.
Round One highlight was a blistering 1:16.22 flown by Denny Sumner. Also during Round One there was a spectacular midair between Dan Kane and Joe Cohen. Dan was able to return with a backup airplane; Joe was not so lucky and was eliminated for the day.
After Round Two Jim Holbrook led Standard, with Chuck and Bob Wooley tied for second. Expert had a three-way tie for first among Denny Sumner, Mike Stokes, and Craig Grunkmeyer.
Round Three saw Jim Holbrook still in first in Standard with a perfect nine points; Chuck Wooley had eight and Bob Wooley seven. In Expert, Denny Sumner had a perfect nine; Fred Johanson, Mike Condon, and Craig Grunkmeyer were tied for second with eight points each.
Round Four included Dan Kane's second midair of the day—this time with Mike Stokes. Both were eliminated for the day. Jim Holbrook was eliminated in Standard, moving Chuck Wooley into first and Bob Wooley into second. Denny Sumner remained unbeatable in Expert; Craig Grunkmeyer and Mike Condon were tied for second.
After five rounds the final Standard standings were:
- 1. Chuck Wooley — 14 points
- 2. Bob Wooley — 12 points
- 3. Gary Vanhevel — 10 points
Fast time for Standard was Jim Holbrook with 1:31.13.
Final Expert standings:
- 1. Denny Sumner — perfect 15 points
- 2. Craig Grunkmeyer — 14 points (after flyoff)
- 3. Mike Condon — 14 points
Fast time for Expert was Denny Sumner's 1:16.22 from Round One.
Sunday featured Standard Quickie and Q-40. There were 17 entrants in Standard and 16 in Q-40. The weather was the opposite of Saturday—gray clouds and off-and-on rain. Round One was delayed until 11:00 because of rain and was stopped with one heat left; after a 45-minute break the round was finished. Skies cleared by early afternoon. Six three-airplane heats were flown per round; because of delays only four rounds were completed.
After Round Two Joe Schweitzer led Standard with six points; Bob Wooley, Chuck Wooley, Charles West, and Jim Holbrook were tied for second. In Q-40 Marcus Blanchard, Craig Grunkmeyer, and Jerry Salsbury each had perfect six-point scores. Jerry set the pace with a 1:11.38.
Joe Schweitzer crashed in Round Three and was out of contention, producing a three-way tie for first in Standard among Jim Holbrook, Charles West, and Chuck Wooley. Q-40 remained unchanged with Blanchard, Grunkmeyer, and Salsbury tied on nine points.
Final results for Sunday:
- Standard
- 1. Chuck Wooley — 11 points (won on fast time, 1:30.72)
- 2. Jim Holbrook — 11 points
- 3. Charles West — 10 points
- 4. Joe Bolte
- 5. Joe Merlino
- Q-40
- 1. Jerry Salsbury — perfect 12 points (won flyoff; it was Jerry's 50th birthday)
- 2. Marcus Blanchard — 12 points (after flyoff)
- 3. Craig Grunkmeyer — 11 points
- 4. Joe Dodd
- 5. Dan Kane
Jerry Salsbury posted the fast time for Q-40 with 1:11.38. Chuck Wooley's 1:30.72 was the overall fast time in Standard on Sunday.
The Flying Tigers did a great job hosting. The club invested more than $3,000 in new pylon cages, radios, and other equipment. Everything was first-rate and helped the race run smoothly. Contest Directors Rex Knepper and John Borton kept things moving well.
Great Lakes Race — Results (Summary)
Saturday, June 1
- Standard
- Chuck Wooley
- Bob Wooley
- Gary Vanhevel
- Gary Kasmer
- Jim Holbrook
- Expert
- Denny Sumner
- Craig Grunkmeyer
- Mike Condon
- Terry Frazer
- Fred Johanson
Sunday, June 2
- Standard
- Chuck Wooley
- Jim Holbrook
- Charles West
- Joe Bolte
- Joe Merlino
- Q-40
- Jerry Salsbury
- Marcus Blanchard
- Craig Grunkmeyer
- Joe Dodd
- Dan Kane
Cardinals/HAWKS — Second Annual OK Shoot-Out (Cincinnati, OH)
The Cardinals/HAWKS (Hamilton Area Wireless Kontrol Society) Second Annual OK Shoot-Out was held June 22–23 in Cincinnati. Brenda Holbrook and Joe Ruh were the Contest Directors.
Saturday began with Standard Quickie. Although turnout was less than expected, the nine competitors (including three Sport fliers) put up a strong battle. After five rounds Fast Jimmy Holbrook won with 14 out of 15 points and a fast time of 1:29.30. Joe Bolte finished one point behind Jimmy; Bolte recorded the fast time of the day, 1:26.87.
Expert Quickie featured a running team rivalry between Team S.K. (Terry Frazer, Mike Condon, Ray Hendriksma) and Team O.K. (Ben Martin, Dave Martin, Chris Fry). Each team bet $5 per man on team-point totals and $5 on fast time. Team S.K. won the day's money and Terry Frazer took fast time.
In racing action on Saturday, Ray Hendriksma emerged as champion, beating Jeff Jones in a flyoff for first place. Tim Crookham beat Mike Condon in a flyoff in another matchup; Tim posted the fast time of the day at 1:15.83.
Sunday opened with Standard Quickie where Sarah Benham had notable wins—defeating Todd Bailey twice and beating Fast Jimmy in Round Three before finally being beaten by Ken Points, Jr. After five rounds Joe Bolte emerged undefeated and posted a fast time of 1:22.63; eleven heats finished under 1:29.00.
Other Sunday results:
- Sport Pylon (Cincy Sport)
- Winner: Larry Henson (five perfect rounds)
- Fast time: Ken Camiglio — 1:59.80
- AMA 428 Q-500 (14 fliers)
- 1. Terry Frazer — fast time 1:15.59
- 2. Mike Deneve
- 3. Dave Martin
Terry Frazer's wife, Sandy, helped by keeping Terry right on Pylon One every time.
CAPS raffles: Saturday's raffle grossed $82 and was won by Mike Condon, who graciously donated half back to CAPS for prizes at the CAPS Classic. Sunday's raffle grossed $136.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
