Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Introduction
Through all of this you will become a better all‑around flier. You will be more confident. Like I said, this works for me. With some variations it will work for you, also.
Future articles will deal with fuel, props, engine modification, planes, and finishes.
Contest report — Valley Flyers (March 24–25, 1983)
I just received the first contest report for 1983. The report is by Mike Atzei. The host club was the Valley Flyers, and the contest was held on March 24 and 25, 1983.
California's first race of the year got off to a slow start. Two weeks earlier the flying site in the Sepulveda Basin had been completely under water, but, low and behold, our great California sun came out and dried it up. The local flying club did a nice job cleaning up the mess, only to have Mother Nature put in some last words — rain before the race! Needless to say, trying to set up the course in puddles of mud and water was a feat in itself.
Twenty‑seven brave souls made it to the race (twenty in Expert and seven in Standard). Scott Johnson had to put in a test flight prior to the race, and there is no need to tell you what happened — we had 19 in Expert at that point.
With scale judging finished, racing began at 11:00 a.m. The idea was to push for five rounds because the next day's forecast called for more rain.
The only mid‑air of the weekend was between Paul Stenberg and Gene Sidwell. Their parts came down in the pools of mud and water!
By the start of the fifth round, both Dave Shadel and Rusty Van Buren were tied for first place. The sixth heat brought Gary McPike, Dave and Rusty to the starting line. Gary was off first, with Rusty and then Dave behind him. Gary led the race for one‑and‑a‑half laps. Dave came around Pylon Three and ran into some bad air, resulting in a 90° left turn followed by a hard right, just missing a cut at One. Rusty was out in front and Dave looked as if he was out of the race at that point. Jim Shinohara made four outstanding calls at No. 1, causing Dave to nose out Rusty by 1:15.5 to 1:16.0. This concluded the racing for the day.
On Sunday the skies were cloudy, and racing began at about 10:00 a.m. Round nine paired Eric Ristrim against Dave Shadel. Dave had all wins up to this point, and Eric was only one point down, needing this win. Dave was off first with Eric right on his tail. Somehow, the flag at the No. 2 pylon got in Eric's way, which sent pylon and plane crashing to the ground. Our female pylon judge took it like a champ and never left her post during the heat of battle. My hat's off to her — we thank her for a job well done.
It is a bit difficult to recall what happened in the Standard class because we had combined the Standard and Expert classes together. A total of nine rounds were flown with a fly‑off for second and third in Standard between Kennedy and Hankins. Apparently, Hankins never made the turn at Number One and crashed, leaving Kennedy alone, though he eventually flamed out. The decision went by their times. There was only one fly‑off in the Expert class, which was for fourth and fifth place.
Results
Expert:
- Dave Shadel — 1:11.4 (Fast Time)
- Hover — 1:13.9
- Schorr — 1:18.2
- Eric Ristrim — 1:15.0
- Rusty Van Buren — 1:12.7
Standard:
- Leon — 1:41.1
- Kennedy — 1:48.9
- Hankins — 1:57.7
Notes
It is interesting to see what is going on in different parts of the country. But I can't print what I don't receive! If your club has a race, send me a write‑up. You can send pictures if you want (5 x 7 black & white preferred). Send all information and photos to:
Bill Hager 706 Glen Haven Conroe, TX 77302
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
