Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Ed Rankin
THE RACING SEASON is over for 1975 and it was a great one with increased activity in F-I, QM, and Quickie 500 contests. No other RC event, and possibly any AMA event, has had so many contests scheduled for 1975. In addition, the NMPRA has experienced increased growth for 1975 and has exceeded all membership records. In the South Central West district there were nine F-I and 13 QM races, which is the most we have ever had. All districts, except the Western and North Central West, had the same increase in contests. I think the main cause for this is the availability of good competitive engines and airplanes.
The 1975 NMPRA Championship Race will be in the past by the time you read this column, and a new F-l champion will have been crowned. The enthusiasm is running high all over the country for this race and we are expecting a good turn out. Trophies through 20 places, fastest time, best scale judging, and best sportsman, have been purchased by RCM and they are beautiful. First place is 4-feet tall with each succeeding place graduated down in increments of 3 or 4 inches. In addition, the NMPRA will give very expensive digital readout watches for the first five places. Great news for next year, the Championship Race will be held in Las Vegas.
The QM Championship Race was held in Rough River, Ky., with Bob Ruether winning again with his Miss Cosmic Wind/Rossi (1:39). I don't have a complete report, but will relay information as soon as possible.
I want to share a human interest story with you. The Fort Worth Thunderbirds had tough luck this year with their F-I races. In May a race was rained out and rescheduled in June. On the June date we had two vandals who came early and shot down eight airplanes in 30 minutes, and the race was canceled for safety after two rounds. On Sept. 21 we were rained out again. The Oklahoma City RC (TORKS) immediately volunteered to hold the F.W. race along with their F-I race on Sept. 28. Five rounds for the O.C. race and five rounds for the F.W. race. Believe it was really a competitive race, because everyone was working for Championship Points to qualify for the Championship Race. This was the last weekend for points since Oct. 1 was the cut-off date.
Thank you Charles Monnet, President; Harold Baker, Contest Coordinator; Dave Harter, and all of the TORKS members. Harold Baker gave up his privilege to fly and worked as starter for the F-I event.
Something to ponder. Before you criticize the AMA or the NMPRA, ask yourself: "What have I done to help these organizations function and grow?" Have you ever volunteered to be an officer in the AMA or a contest director? Have you ever helped in the AMA Nats and sacrificed your privilege to fly to help others? Constructive suggestions we can always use, but destructive criticism from people who do nothing, we can do without. The AMA and NMPRA are not the enemy.
Another thought. I have noticed that there are some Pylon pilots that never help to run their races, but are habitual gripers, and generally make a scene at every race they attend; what really turns off club workers will result in the destruction of the event. To the few that this applies to, they should learn how to be sportsmen and learn how to lose as well as win.
During the winter months, I plan to have some construction articles, building tips, and "how to win in racing" tips. Among the first construction articles will be how to build an NMPRA Clock and lap counter stand.
District News
South Central West District: Five rounds were flown with nine entries on a very humid, hot Sunday in Tulsa, Okla., on July 27. Deeds Bigelow and Hank Filson had a midair with Bigelow losing his Toni and Filson having a rebuild job. Pat Jones put it all together after a zero in the first round with a four-year-old Ballerina/K&B (1:34.3). Larry Bagot won second place (Ballerina/K&B, 1:34.5), and Glen Zellner won third place with a Ballerina/K&B (1:47.6).
Five rounds were flown in 110 degree heat and very high humidity in Salina, Kan., on Aug. 3. There were nine entries with two new pilots racing for the first time — Bart Phillips from Celo and Wayne Lawrence from Wichita. Two had midaired in their first heat. The results of this race were: Jim Bertoglio (Toni/ST), Pat Jones (Ballerina/K&B), Larry Bagot (Ballerina/K&B).
Another good weekend of racing with beautiful weather (85 degrees, 10 mph) was enjoyed at the Beech Aircraft Flying Field in Wichita, Kan., on Sept. 6 and 7. QM was held on Saturday with a barbecue supper enjoyed by the contestants and workers at the Beech picnic grounds. Great fun to sit around the table and enjoy good food and good friends.
The QM event drew 15 entries with five rounds flown. The predominant engine was the Rossi, with all of the times up to National standards. The results of this race were Bill Akin (Minnow/Rossi, 1:46.5), Bob Holm (Rickey Rat/Rossi, 1:46.8), and Gale Helms (Minnow/Rossi, 1:47). F-I was held on Sunday with 16 entries and six rounds flown. Consistency is the name of the game in racing, and the only thing that counts. This paid off in the end with Garry Heithold winning first with his Miss Dara/K&B (1:33.2); second place, Wayne Browning, Toni/ST (1:32.2); and third place, Lee Hudson, Miss Dara/K&B (1:39.3). We welcome Monty Moncrief and Gary Clay back to racing as a team after a year absence. They turned the fastest time of 1:22 with their Stegall Minnow/ST.
On Sept. 20-21 the Fort Worth Thunderbirds scheduled a QM & F-I race. On Saturday the weather was beautiful for the QM event, but the rains came on Sunday, just like the May race, and F-I was canceled. As previously reported, the Oklahoma City TORKS volunteered to hold our race on Sept. 28 in conjunction with their F-I race. The QM event was held on Saturday with 15 entries and seven rounds flown. Bob Holm from O.C. was sixth in the beautiful Rickey Rat/Rossi, followed by Dennis Brown, Gale Helms, and Wayne Lawrence. A dinner was held at Charles Monnet's home and sponsored by the TORKS. Good food was enjoyed by all, and a district meeting was held by Don Downing, NMPRA V.P. Sunday was the big day for the Fort Worth and O.C. F-I race. Five rounds were flown in 3-1/2 hours for the O.C. race with 22 entries. The Moncrief/Clay team easily won this race with their new Toni/Tiger combo with a fast time of 1:24. Don Downing came in second with his Toni/Tiger with a 1:31, followed by Deeds Bigelow (Toni/K&B, 1:39), Tom Downing (LRIA/Tiger, 1:31), Bob Barnett (LRIA/Tiger, 1:41). Consistency was the name of the game again with a lot of zeroes being given for no-starts, and cuts of turns.
West District: The Pylon Racers of Puget Sound, Wash., held a race on June 21-22. Six rounds of F-I racing resulted in Bob Miko, Dave Katariag, and Darrell Cheshire winning the trophies. Six rounds of QM resulted in Nelson Eady, Wayne Mayer, and Dave Katariag taking the top places. Six rounds of F-I racing were also held with Bob Miko, Bob Hunt, and Stu Arestad taking the honors. After six rounds the F-I winners were as follows: Nelson Eddy (Toni/ST, 1:47.3), Al Livesey (Midget Mustang/K&B, 1:55), Bob Hunt (El Bandito/OS, 1:56). The QM event drew five entries and five rounds were flown with the following results: Nelson Eady (El Bandito/ST, 2:03.2); Bob Hunt (El Bandito/OS, 2:35.6); Kirk Storm (Miss Paranoia/ST, 2:21).
RC Pylon Racing/Rankin
continued from page 20
The Hamburg, N.Y. contest drew nine entries in FAI/F-II with Dennis Thomas, Rick Paine, and Dick Smith winning. F-I had six entries and F. Meyers, E. Maixler, and D. Thomas won this event.
The results of the first Canadian National F-I Race were: Al Sager, E.K. Landefeld, and Adam Sattler.
The Metropolitan Air Racing Assoc. (MARA) is another club that is supporting the NMPRA-QM organization with questionnaires and a seasonal point system. Congratulations to George Zink, editor and NMPRA QM Assoc. v.p. They are enjoying a marked increase in Pylon racing. The July MARA QM race results in Standard Class with 16 entries were: R. Tyson (2:17); J. White (2:20); F. Alicandro (2:30). Expert Class had 13 entries and the winners were: K. Hahn (1:59); B. Ferris (1:45.1); B. Bloch (1:59). Paul Zink had a good editorial in their August newsletter on QM exhaust extractors. His conclusion is that they should not be used in any form in the QM event.
The United Pylon Racing Circuit (UPRC) held their third race this year with a total of 47 entries on July 13. Sport Pylon, Expert, had seven entries with Bob Ball, John Grigg, and Dave Smith winning. Sport Pylon, Novice, had 15 entries with Charles Boyer, William Brandon, and Harry Merrill winning. F-II had 12 entries and Rick Paine, Dennis Thomas, and Dave Smith won the honors. F-I had 13 entries with Hal DeBoh, Harry Greenacker, and Ernie Nikodemis winning.
North East District: The Central Penn. Pylon Racing Assoc. (CPPRRA) held their Firecracker Memorial Race on July 6 with 13 entries and five rounds in QM. The race results were: Bobby Bouchon (1:59.5), Wayne Christison, Keith Moody, Dave Latsha (1:52 fastest time), and Ken Hahn. They used a race-horse start and many close heats resulted. Congratulations to the CPPRRA and editor Bob Bresser for including an NMPRA QM questionnaire in their newsletter. I received a letter from Leonard Wiederhoft, secretary of the CPPRRA asking that it be published; however, I will summarize it because of space limitations. The CPPRRA sends their apology for a late change in contest site location from the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation to Carlisle Airport, and then to their club field, with a reduction of entries to QM only. These changes were all due to unforeseen cancellations. Information was sent out as quickly as possible but there may have been people who showed up at the original published contest site for which they apologize.
On Aug. 17 the CPPRRA held another QM race with the following results: B.B. Blanch (P-51/K&B, 1:53.5); S. Baker (P-51/Rossi, 1:44); D. Latsha (El Bandito/ST, 1:55.5).
On July 12 in Schenectady, N.Y., F-I drew seven entries with the following results: Al Sager (Miss Dara/ST); Bill Zautner (Toni/ST), best time of meet 1:24; Bob Barkowski (Mini/ST). FAI drew five entries with Jerry Walker, Bob Barkowski, and Bill Zautner taking the honors.
North Central East District: The Chicago Pylon Club (CPC) is another club that is enjoying increased Pylon activity. They have also tried the "clocked-400-foot" course and called it their scoring method for QM and have rejected it.
The results of the Northwest RC Club/CPC Race is as follows: Sport Pylon—Dennis Bielski, Ray Donovan, Frank Toth; QM—Dan Kane, Dan Santini, Bob Vojislavsek. The results of the Fort Wayne, Indiana Race: F-I—Mike Maki, Bob Selvinski, Dennis O'Brien; QM—Bill Spies, Dan Kane.
On Aug. 24 the CPC held a F-I and QM race in Chicago. QM drew 20 entries. At the end of five rounds, Dan Kane and Dennis Bielski were tied for first place with Bielski winning the tie-off. The F-I event had 14 entries with Bob O'Neal (1:26), Jim Duda, and Bill Preiss (1:26) winning the honors.
The CPC had another race on Sept. 14 at Woodland, Ill. QM had 16 entries with Mike Wiesner, Phil Spies, and Lynn Stevens winning the F-I event had 10 entries with Bill Hagner, Steve Metzger, and Bill Wiesner winning the trophies.
North Central West District: The Rocket Mountain QM Racing Assoc. held two races this season at Colorado Springs, Colo., and were hosted by the Pikes Peak RC Club on May 18. The winners of this race were: Herb Hensley, G. Gates, McGinnis, Bridi and Aycock. Joe Bieri was their guest pilot.
In Broadview, Mont., F-I drew seven entries. After five rounds the winner (Cosmic Wind/K&B) was G. Higgins (El Bandito/K&B, B. 1:45), and Cady (El Bandito/K&B, 1:40) won the trophies.
Southern Calif. District: The QMRC had their first race at Seal Beach and had five rounds in F-I, with the following winners: Jack Stafford (1:42.5), Bob Novak, Henry Arnace were the winners in this race.
The "Pop White Memorial Race" was held at Whittier Narrows and was hosted by the Sacramento Valley RC Flyers. There were 23 entries in Expert and 26 entries in Standard Class. Ron Gilman turned a sizzling 1:13.4 and took top honors in the event. Other winners were: Terry Prather (Toni/ST) 1:13.4; Kent Nobles (Ricker Ray/K&B) 1:18.0; Tony Lu? (Toni/ST) 1:16.3; Joe Vartanian (Toni/ST) 1:17.6; Ken Hotelling (Toni/K&B) 1:19.5. The Valley Flyers had 31 entries in F-I and the winners were: Ernie Deivas (?), Joe Foster (LR/1-A/ST) 1:14.5; Joe Vartanian (Toni/ST) 1:18; Steve Kirsner (Dara/K&B) 1:29.7; Bob Novak (Toni/ST) 1:27.3; Bob Seigelkopf (Toni/ST) 1:27.6. Eight rounds were flown, and there were 31 entries in Expert and 32 in Standard.
The Chula Vista RTC held their F-I race on Aug. 16-17. There were 23 entries in Expert and 25 entries in Standard. The winners were: Frank Rule (Toni/Tiger), Ron Gilbert (Toni/ST) 1:18.6; Terry Prather (Toni/ST) 1:17.3; Ron Neff (Minnow/K&B) 1:18.4; The winners in Standard were: Gary Hawk (Toni/ST) 1:21.4; Dennis O'Connor (Toni/K&B, 1:22.5); Ron Mathias (Minnow/K&B, 1:24.5).
My address is: 6072 Wonder Dr. Ft. Worth, Tex. 76133.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
