Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Bill Hager, 4 Holly Springs Dr., Conroe TX 77302
WOW! A new racing season is getting started—this should be a great year!
The first major race will be in Phoenix, with Quarter 40 (Q-40) and Formula 1. There are still a few 1996 contests to talk about, but I'm going to get on the soapbox first.
Since Q-40 started, it seems as though we can't get through a month without a considerable amount of complaining. Every time someone goes too fast, builds another airplane, or another engine comes out, someone panics. I hear things such as: "We must have an emergency rules change," or "That airplane can't be legal," etc.
How did an event I don't even think should exist become such a mess?
In Texas there have been races in which five events use a .40-size engine, and three of the events are a .40-size — the same speed — which dilutes the events. There was also the problem of too many contests; 20 or 30 in a season sounds good, but people were only attending races close to home, which resulted in bad attendance. For 1997, fewer contests are scheduled and at least one of the .40-size events is eliminated, which should help matters.
Since there was so much controversy about Q-40 last year, a committee has been formed to intervene. There was never much trouble with other events, but pylon racers can't seem to rely on the regular rules-change cycle as everyone else can. This event was put together by people who disregarded the pylon racers' input. Make sure the people who represent you are doing what they're supposed to be doing—talk to them and send them letters, and if they don't do the job, replace them with someone who will.
TRAC Race Report (from Wayne Smith, SEMPRA 11th Lap newsletter)
TRAC Race Report: Tampa Radio Control Aircraft Club hosted the NMPRA (National Miniature Pylon Racing Association) District VII Championship November 9-10, 1996. Morgan Fuels sponsored this event by providing fuel for all of the contestants. The weather was excellent—cool, clear, sunny, and the winds ranged from calm to breezy. I think the Carolina contingent brought the weather with them in hopes that the pilots from Florida would have problems flying in it.
On Saturday, 36 contestants competed (five Standard class; eight Advanced class; 23 Expert class). The day started cool and calm, and Charlie Poulton produced a fast time of 1:07.75 that turned out to be the fastest of the day.
There were nine heats in which the fast time was 1:10 or lower—these pilots were flying the course very tight. Congratulations to Charlie Poulton, James Barr, Gail Jacobson, Robert Beaudette, and Dean Stone on their excellent flying.
The three classes were hotly contested. In Standard, Gerald Armaiz (in his first race) finished first, followed by Gary Coursey and Richard Rosenberg. Gerald flew the fast time with 1:31.43. In the Advanced class, Curt Schuster finished first, followed by Donald Llewellyn (who had the fast time with 1:17.94) and Gary Freeman Sr. In Expert, Danny Shiver finished ahead of Cliff Telford in a flyoff for first, followed by Charlie Poulton. The fast time was Charlie's 1:07.75.
On Sunday, 34 contestants competed (four Standard; six Advanced; 24 Expert). As on Saturday, the day started out cool and calm, and the first heat produced a fast time of 1:06.47 by James Barr. It would ultimately be the fastest time of the day.
There were five heats in which the fast time was an excellent 1:10 or lower! Congratulations go out to James Barr, Don Moody, and Ray Brown. Since this was the second day for accumulating NMPRA championship points, all contestants were competing fiercely.
In the Standard class, James Wetmore finished first, followed by Gary Coursey and James Creech, with the fast time of 1:34.84 flown by Gerald Armaiz. Advanced class: Curt Schuster finished first, followed by Frederic Kilian and Donald Llewellyn. Curt had the fast time with 1:13.37. (Congratulations go out to Curt since he moved to the Expert class.) In Expert, Dean Stone and Cliff Telford had a flyoff for first place. Dean left the line a bit too rich, but was still able to win by a nose length. James Barr had the fast time at 1:06.47.
After point totals were compiled, the following pilots are the NMPRA District VII champions:
- Standard — James Wetmore
- Advanced — Gary Freeman, Sr. ("Sandbagger" was heard from the crowd.)
- Expert — Cliff Telford (third year in a row)
As with every pylon race that TRAC has hosted, I was impressed with the style and competitive spirit of the SEMPRA/NMPRA pilots. As in competitive events, contestants always accept calls made by the judges, though the judges may not always make the correct calls. Those of you who questioned a call (very few) did so in a professional manner and accepted the decision professionally.
On behalf of the course workers and the TRAC, I extend my appreciation and thanks to everyone who participated at this event—you made it enjoyable. I'm looking forward to seeing more of you next year.
1996 Racing Season Results (from the Texas Four-Star 40 Racing Association newsletter)
The third season of Four-Star 40 racing is complete after a two-day finals competition during the last weekend of October. Throughout the past two seasons, 69 pilots from 15 area RC clubs competed in the annual seven-race series. The top 10 finishers are:
- Randy Ritch (again!) — Space City
- Darrel Carpenter — Prop Nuts
- Dan Wiggins — Bomber
- Marvin Pless — Space City
- Charles Loudermilk — SWRC
- Chuck Reeve — North West
- Roger Sander — SWRC
- Don Walters — SWRC
- Joel Borden — Space City
- Rudy Breda — Space City
The pilots were awarded nice plaques and cash prizes for their season-long efforts.
Highlights of the weekend included the crash of Rudy Breda's number-one airplane (it had elevator servo failure) in the first race on Saturday. Since he did not have a backup model, he was forced to watch nine pilots pass his point total by Sunday afternoon.
The best race of the season was among Randy Ritch, Marvin Pless, and Dan Wiggins on Sunday morning. All airplanes were of equal speed and were expertly flown wing-to-wing for the first nine laps. On the south turn of lap 10, Randy decided to execute an advanced tactic of flying knife-edge through the weeds and hiding from his opponents. This trick worked so well that he was able to out-turn his pursuers on the final turn and sneak across the finish line in first place.
Each of the 18 pilots who flew on Sunday was awarded nice prizes donated by the sponsors, including:
- Sig
- SuperTigre
- Ritch's Hobby
- Dick's Hobby
- Kingsway Hobby
- Bob Smith
- Coverite
- Fox
- Futaba
- Airtronics
- Robart
- APC Propellers
- Boca Bearings
- Sullivan
- HobbyPro
- Just Plane Wing Covers
- Performance Specialties
At Sunday's races, all airplanes were impounded as pilots finished their last heats. A technical engine teardown inspection (inspectors used micrometers, calipers, and an eyeglass) was made of engines belonging to the top two finishers and four of the next eight places. The engines were rigorously inspected in comparison to a brand-new SuperTigre engine and new parts off the shelf. All engines passed inspection and no evidence of cheating (filing, grinding, modification, or illegal parts) was found.
What will the new safety for 1997 be? Check next month.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
