Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Bill Hager
Hey! For those of you who have not been paying attention: the NMPRA (National Miniature Pylon Racing Association), with Cliff Telford as committee chairman, have been hard at work trying to put together a unified set of Q500 rules that we can all live with. A lot of hard work has gone into this. As most of you know, there is quite a difference in Q500 rules from one part of the country to another, so a lot of information has been gathered and studied to come up with a workable set of rules for us all.
This probably will be your last chance to get your two cents in. If you have any suggestions or ideas, send them to Cliff Telford, 7417 Arrowood Rd., Bethesda, MD 20817.
It has been quite a while since I have discussed FAI (Federation Aéronautique Internationale) Pylon Racing. There was some interest a couple of years ago when the rules were changed, allowing us to fly our Formula Ones in FAI, but no one really took the bull by the horns and started racing. In 1983 we had FAI at the Nats, but as it was put together at the last minute and not given a good time slot, there was limited interest. However, there was interest shown in getting this event going again. There will be FAI Pylon at the 1984 Nats.
1984 Nats Pylon Schedule
- Q/M: Monday and Tuesday
- Formula I: Wednesday through Friday
- FAI: Saturday
Why FAI, you say? FAI is the only way we pylon racers can compete on a world level (something that RC pylon has not had for many years). If you look around, just about all the other disciplines—control line events, RC pattern, sailplanes, helicopters, indoor fliers, and free-flighters—have World Championships. So what's holding up the RC Pylon fliers?
I think we just needed someone to get the ball rolling again. Well, here we go. There will probably be a World Championship RC Pylon race either in late 1985 or early 1986, and the U.S.A. will send a team to compete! Wouldn't you like to go? I would, and it seems as though there are quite a few others out there who are interested.
The go-fast gang in California is already working on a new plane for the race. A little early, you say? I don't think so! We have been away from FAI for several years now, and we aren't going to get competitive overnight. I don't want a bunch of cream puffs representing the U.S.A. at a World Championship. I have already had some people tell me that they are going to go to the World Championship.
I think that this year's Nats FAI Pylon event is going to be a perfect warm-up race. It will more or less just serve to let us know how much work will be needed to get ready for the World Championship race.
The sky is the limit. It's all up to you now. Just how we will go about selecting a team has not been decided yet, but as I said, there will be a team.
Czechoslovak F3D Championships (1983) — Report by Zdenek Malina
The last F3D race, flown at Melnik airfield towards the end of 1983, concluded the Czechoslovak pylon racing season. The Malina brothers, Milos and Zdenek, became the overall victors for the third time in a row. It must be said that this time their victory was a close one. They achieved the best time so far clocked in Czechoslovakia—82 seconds. The second team, Messrs. Kunes and Nadrachal, were only one second slower; the third team, Novak and Buber, clocked a still remarkable 88 seconds.
The final 1983 race was considered to have a rather high standard indeed—of the first 10 teams, eight clocked times under 100 seconds.
Among the more remarkable performances were the races flown by 18-year-old Tiri Klein, who proved himself to be a very good pilot, having been ably supported by his father/mechanic.
The majority of contestants flew Mustangs, Sharks, and Little Tony racers. All teams used the new Czechoslovak MVVS .40 (6.5cc) glow engine, which continues to prove its "world-class" reputation. Among its virtues are high reliability and a high power-to-weight ratio.
Everybody here looks forward to the coming 1984 season, in which we hope to host teams from the U.K. and the U.S.A. The expected appearance of British and U.S. contestants in Europe was the reason behind the agreement with Italian Aeroclub, by which the dates and schedule of both FAI international contests were arranged so as to make them both accessible to modelers from the cradle of pylon racing—the U.S.A.—and from the U.K.
Trofeo OPS will be held in Italy on June 9 and 10, 1984; Modela GP will be flown a week later (June 16 and 17, 1984) in Czechoslovakia. These races are being held close enough together to enable you to attend both events in a one-week period.
Detailed information is available from: Zdenek Malina, Vlasimska 2, 10100 Praha 10, Czechoslovakia.
Top Ten Finishers — Czechoslovak F3D Championships, 1983
- M. and Zd. Malina — 84.6 sec.
- J. Kunes / Zd. Nadrachal — 87.1 sec.
- M. Novak / M. Buber — 88.0 sec.
- J. Padelka / K. Kater — 90.0 sec.
- J. Bily / J. Husak — 90.1 sec.
- Zd. Teply / Zd. Teply — 90.8 sec.
- J. Vomsik / D. Vomsik — 93.2 sec.
- P. Hrdoknar / V. Kucera — 96.3 sec.
- K. Hacker / M. Fiala — 99.0 sec.
- J. Prachrl / J. Chalupka — 99.8 sec.
I think it's time to get FAI off the back burner! I will keep you posted.
I still receive two or three letters a month asking how to join the NMPRA. Yearly dues for non-fliers are $13; flying members $18. Send to Bev Wisniewski, 9222 Cedar St., No. 2, Bellflower, CA 90706.
See you next month.
Bill Hager 706 Glen Haven Dr., Conroe, TX 77302.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
