RADIO CONTROL PYLON RACING
Duane Gall, 1267 S. Beeler Court, Denver, CO 80231
News on the Rule Front
In the January column I expressed the hope that in the competition rule cycle beginning this year the AMA and the NMPRA (National Miniature Pylon Racing Association) could cooperate better than they have in the past.
The philosophy underlying AMA's recognition of SIGs (Special Interest Groups) is that they can more accurately gauge their members' reactions to rules-change proposals and more effectively communicate their members' needs to the contest boards, which vote on the changes.
Some SIGs communicate their members' feelings very effectively. The NSRCA (National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics), for example, has published, debated, and submitted entire packages of rules changes before the official AMA rules cycle even began. That made the Contest Board's job easier: each board member knew in advance what the pro and con arguments were likely to be, where the NSRCA stood on each issue, and more or less how much opposition there was to each proposed change.
The pylon community hasn't been as organized. A patchwork of rules has complicated matters, and finding things in the rule book is sometimes difficult. Many rules were written 20–30 years ago, and changing technology has made some of them obsolete. An example is the requirement for a "common expansion chamber muffler" in Quickie; the modern tuned mufflers that come with most engines marketed for this event may or may not meet that requirement, depending on interpretation.
In October, NMPRA President Vern Smith appointed a committee of six to update the existing rules to more accurately reflect "life as it is" in the world of pylon racing in 1999. Elsewhere in this issue (or possibly in the next), you may notice the results of that effort. The officially stated goals were:
- To conduct a thorough housecleaning of the rules, eliminating confusion and redundancy wherever possible; and
- To include substantive changes only to the extent necessary to plug loopholes and anticipate emerging problems.
A third goal evolved during the project: to clearly define Sport Quickie (Event 424) as a national "entry-level" class that could be run safely, with on-course officials and cut judges housed in the existing barrier cages used by most local clubs.
The AMA Safety Committee has adopted new, more stringent cage-design specifications in response to dynamic tests run last year. Those tests simulated barrier-cage impacts by Quarter 40 or Formula I aircraft traveling at 180–190 mph. This is substantially more energy than would be developed by a Sport Quickie model traveling at 130–140 mph, but the AMA had to consider a "worst case" scenario for the initial tests.
The rewrite was accompanied by a request for Urgent status. If adopted by the Contest Board, it would take effect January 1, 2000, which would accomplish two things:
- It would put the revised 424 rules in place as soon as possible so that, if the AMA Executive Council approved the use of existing barrier cages for 424, sanctions could be issued and contests could be held without further interruption.
- The revised rules would provide a better background against which to consider any additional rules changes the Contest Board may receive. (Proposals will be accepted at AMA Headquarters through September 30, 1999.)
Briefly, here's what the revision does:
- Consolidates all definitions and other general provisions.
- Streamlines and harmonizes airframe and engine specifications for the different rule formulas using a similar outline.
- Specifically defines, allows, and locks in the design of the tuned mufflers used in Quarter 40 and Quickie 500 (Q500).
- Defines and clearly limits the "expansion chamber" mufflers and "zero-boost" mufflers being used in Sport Quickie (424).
- Bumps up the unofficial Rossi/Webra/MVVS class to 428 for sanctioning purposes.
- Eliminates minor airframe differences between Q500 and Sport Quickie.
- Closes the loophole on minimum propeller diameter in Q500—allows 8-1/2-inch wood props.
- Allows non-Mustang designs to use a smaller fuselage height in Quarter 40 while retaining the existing 12-1/2 square-inch fuselage cross-sectional area requirement.
- Closes loopholes on cowls in Quarter 40.
- Deletes the option to use a "short" (two-mile) course in Quarter 40.
- Clarifies rules on commercial availability of engines and parts, sideline cuts, low-flying "go when ready" starting procedures, tailless aircraft designs, safety inspection, servo strength requirements, mixing of control functions, builder-of-model rule, backplate mounts, and related items.
Just as important is what the rewrite proposal does not do. It does not make obsolete any current aircraft or engines. It does not slow down any radio-control racing events. It does not mandate the use of the new barrier cages, nor does it incorporate any other rules-change proposal that was already on the table. Each of those points will have to stand or fall on its own merits—nothing is being "rammed through" as part of the rewrite. However, some substantive changes were unavoidable.
The result is something none of the committee members consider perfect, but all consider a big step in the right direction. Contact your Contest Board member to let him or her know if you agree.
Semantic Antics
In the May column on modifying propellers for Quarter 40 I made a distinction between "fast" and "insanely fast." Other speed-related terms include "entry-level," "slow," and "hard-core." To clear up any confusion, I put together a glossary of terms. Cut it out and tape it to your pit box when you go out to practice, so you'll know how you're doing.
- Slow: Your model's engine has a functional throttle and a functional muffler; however, neither seems to have much effect on the engine's normal operating speed, which is best described as a high idle. You get a stiff neck waiting for your airplane to fly down the straightaway to Pylon #1, so instead you try watching the airplane's shadow crawling over the ground and find that more comfortable. Headwinds are a problem. You are alerted to complete radio failure by the fact that the engine has quit and the airplane is gliding in a circle to the right.
- Entry-level: The engine came with a throttle and a muffler, but you've drilled them out as much as the rules allow. Your favorite trick is to see if you can get your model to do a complete axial roll in the straightaways. Gusty...
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
