Radio Control
PYLON RACING
Bill Hager
While my intention is not to have just a lot of contest reports in this column, we've had an unusual start to this year's racing season — and I think it is worth passing on.
As you might recall, in last month's column I did a write-up on the Bakersfield Air Races where Dave Shadel set a new Formula One record of 1:07.76. (For 10 rounds Dave's slowest time was 1:13.32!) While most of us thought (myself included) that Dave's performance meant that we had reached our limit, it looks as though we were wrong!
"Well, who is going to beat that?" you say. One month later at San Luis Obispo, CA (May 15-16) we were in for another surprise. Here's how it went, as reported by Gary McPike.
1982 California State Championship — Formula I Race
San Luis Obispo, CA — May 15-16, 1982
Attendance was down a bit this year; only 49 entries made it to registration at the California State Championship Formula I Race. Fourteen contestants were from out of state, including places as far away as England, New York, Mexico, Oklahoma, and Washington. Nine rounds were flown with some good racing all around.
Friday was "test fly mania," with many pilots trying to get in a few flights — either to test a new ship or to try out some "super-trick" engine or fuel.
Saturday, the racing started at about 9:15 a.m. ("promptly at 8:30") with good solid racing all around. The day was fair and the racing fast. The times showed it. Mike Atzei, Jr. (Huntington Beach, CA) turned a 1:08.89 in the first round. Then he came back in the second round with a new record fast time of 1:07.06. In the fourth and fifth rounds he did a 1:15.42 and 1:14.00 — both for 11 laps. Mike was flying a Denight Special that he built and painted in only eight days. (Maybe that's the secret.)
Sunday was even nicer than Saturday. The gusty afternoon wind didn't appear, and the racing was close (sometimes too close!). Norm Johnson got in front of Ron Schorr's racer at the No. 1 pylon, and they both bought the farm.
In a tight race, Kent Nogy and Mike Atzei, Jr. touched wings coming around the No. 3 pylon — which wrote off both Kent's new plane and the record-setting Denight Special.
As the dust settled, we had a tie for first place between Gary Hover and Tom Christopher. The flyoff was a race of racers. Not once were the two planes more than 20 ft. apart, with the slim lead changing hands more times than you could count. Finally, Tom nosed Gary out at the finish line to win the contest. The only other flyoff was for 10th place — a four-way tie between Rusty Van Baren, Tony Huber, Don Rice, and Gary Heithold, with Rusty steadily pulling away from the pack throughout the race.
Standard class racing saw some new faces this year. Len Oberg, Brad Young, and Matt Russell (from Washington) were all flying in their first contest. Tom Dooly came all the way from the shadow of Vassar College in New York to compete, and two contestants entered from Mexico. Len Oberg placed first in the Standard class (not bad for his first race).
Results:
- Fast time and a new record: Mike Atzei, Jr. — 1:07.06
Top finishers (Formula I):
- Tom Christopher — 1:13.7
- Gary Hover — 1:14.67
- Mike Atzei, Jr. — 1:07.06
- Dave Shadel — 1:09.06
- Mack Moffatt — 1:17.42
All fliers were from the Western district.
A crew of 38 workers did an outstanding job in completing 120 heat races in two days. The workers were rewarded with a drawing for merchandise at the conclusion of the contest.
Other event results: Top Five — Quickie 500:
- Bartels
- Schattauer
- Jacobson
- Ritch
- C. Smith
Top Five — Quarter Midget:
- Parks
- Reuther
- Latsha
- Ferentinos
- Davis
Top Five — Formula One:
- Williamson
- Jacobson
- N. Johnson
- Brogdon
- Jett
It looks as though the way this group handled takeoff order for Formula I worked out well. Keep the reports coming.
Bill Hager 706 Glenhaven Dr. Conroe, TX 77302
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
