Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Bill Hager
Some of you are just getting into pylon racing this year, and you may be having a little trouble trying to get it all together. A big part of doing well at a race is being prepared. What do you take with you? How do you remember all of the little things?
What I have done in the past is to make a checklist and then follow it. This applies not only to what you take with you, but also to race preparation on contest day. I have established a procedure that I have been using for about 10 years now. This is something that I have not written down—it just comes automatically. Or it's supposed to, anyway. At one race this year, I forgot to change a plug after a test run. I had all wins except for that one "zero." If I had written down my checklist and used it, I don't think this would have happened. Granted, this is the first time I have ever gone out to the line with a bad plug, but believe me, once can be too often. So, I think from now on I will use a checklist.
What to take to a race
Here is a list of what I think are some of the necessary items that should be taken with you to a race. It is not ironclad; some things will vary according to your individual situation.
- A field box with all necessary tools for tightening engine screws, adjusting linkages, changing a servo, or changing servo gears.
- Various sizes of screwdrivers.
- Pliers, regular and needle-nose hemostats.
- A set of Allen wrenches (long T-handle ones are good for changing an engine).
- A plug wrench and a prop wrench.
- An X-Acto knife with extra blades.
- A small crescent wrench.
- Enough materials for quick repairs: 5-minute epoxy, Hot Stuff, microballoons, some fiberglass cloth, and anything else useful for a quick repair.
There are probably a few items we have missed, or perhaps a few items that you can think of.
Night-before checklist
There are also a few things that you must remember to do the night before a race, like charging all of your batteries. I usually run through a checklist the night before and get everything laid out, so that at 4:30 or 5:00 the next morning, when I am half asleep, I don't forget anything. Did you ever drive three or four hundred miles to a contest and find that you had left your transmitter, your landing gear, or your fuel at home? If you ever do, then a checklist won't sound like such a waste of time.
Field repair tip
While at a Q500 race recently, I had the misfortune of having the linkage on the throttle break. It was 1/16 wire soldered into a threaded coupler, and it broke right where the wire went into the coupler. With no extra wire and no soldering iron, I was about to call it quits for the day when a friend suggested the following:
Take a short piece of brass tubing, like that used in your fuel tank, about 1 inch or so, and two wheel collars. Put the wheel collars over each end of the brass tubing. Slip the brass tubing over the threaded coupler and over the wire. I put a kink in the wire and put a little five-minute epoxy in the tube at the wire end to fill the gap. Then tighten the set screws in both wheel collars, and presto—you can fly again.
Slo Flyers Race — California State Championship (Camp San Luis Obispo)
Perhaps the largest race of the year has long been held at Bakersfield, CA. It frequently attracted over 100 entries from all over the world. For some reason, the Bakersfield race has been shelved for a while. This year the Slo Flyers, with Gary Hover, decided to promote a race to take the place of the Bakersfield event, and it looks as though they did a pretty good job of it. Here is their report:
This year's Slo Flyers Race, the California State Championship Formula I Race, held at Camp San Luis Obispo, was again an unqualified success. Those pilots and their families who attended were treated to two full days of racing, a Calcutta race, and a Saturday family bar-b-que which 135 attended.
In attendance at this year's race were three Canadians: Doug Rankin, Andrew McIndoe, and Guy Johnson. In addition, there were Ramon Virgilio from Mexico and Don Rice from Seattle. We really appreciate the turnout by those who had to travel such a long distance and hope they will return again next year.
Saturday saw five full rounds of racing for the 34 Expert and 14 Standard contestants. At the end of the 5th round, first place was shared by Dave Shadel and Jerry Boyce with perfect scores. Only one point down, in 3rd, was the ever-present Ron Gilman with his Denight Special.
Round 6 started off Sunday at 8:30. Dave Shadel was the first to drop from the top three, with a flameout in Round 6. Jerry Boyce was then in sole possession of first, with Gilman still only one point down. In Round 7, Ron Gilman, who had been consistently going fast, posted the event's best time at 1:12.8. In Round 9, Boyce faltered, placing 3rd in his heat, and allowed teammate Ron Gilman to emerge the victor of this year's event.
The competition in Standard Class was pretty clear-cut, with Jay Replogle taking it all and posting a best time of 1:28.0. This year's Standard Class was well attended, with the reappearance of some old faces and a few new faces. Two of the older ones were Jerry Skoczylas, who placed second, and Don Dombrowski, placing sixth.
This year's awards included Expert trophies through 7th place (7th was won by Ron Schorr), a fast-time award, and trophies to 3rd place in Standard Class. In addition, if the wife of a trophy winner was present at the race, she received a beautiful indoor plant in appreciation of her supportive efforts.
This year's race also included the publication of our club's first race program. Program advertisements were sold, with the proceeds directed toward offsetting the competition costs. The effort was professional and well done, and will be attempted again next year, as work has already begun.
We want to extend our sincere thanks to all who attended, and especially to those who worked hard to put it on. We will see you next year in May.
Race Results
Expert Class:
- Ron Gilman, 1:12.8 (fast time)
- Jerry Boyce, 1:15.3
- Dave Shadel, 1:16.2
- Eric Ristrim, 1:19.5
- Bob Smith, 1:14.0
- Ed Hotelling, 1:16.1
- R. Van Baren, 1:20.5
- Larry Lannom, 1:16.1
- T. Christopher, 1:14.8
- Doug Ruble, 1:20.8
Standard Class:
- Jay Replogle, 1:28.0
- Jerry Skoczylas, 1:32.0
- Yasuhiro Tsuzuki, 1:32.5
- Jim Kelly, 1:37.4
- Paul Ristim, 1:46.6
See you next month.
Bill Hager 4622 Bridgeport Garland, TX 75043
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
