Radio Control: Pylon Racing
Bill Hager
NMPRA Championship (Formula One)
Every year, at the end of the summer, the NMPRA (National Miniature Pylon Racing Association) holds a Championship race for Formula One. This race is the premier racing event of the year. It is, for model aviation, about what the Indy 500 is to auto racing.
The race is by invitation only, as only the top fliers in the country qualify for this event. The nation is divided into racing districts, and each district is allowed to qualify its top 20% (or the top 10, whichever is greater) of fliers. Also, the top 10 finishers in Formula One at the AMA Nats and the top three finishers at the Canadian Nats are qualified. NMPRA officers and past, active NMPRA Champions are also qualified.
With this makeup of people, the Championship is always the most competitive and fastest race of the year. Even if you don't race Formula One, you should come out and watch!
To be fair to everyone, the race is held one year on the East Coast (usually Florida), another year at a central location (usually Texas), and a third year on the West Coast (usually California). The racing season for point accumulation ends on October 1, and the race is usually held sometime in late October.
The tentative location and dates for this year's race are October 13–14 in Nashville, TN at the Smyrna Airport. The host club will be the Middle Tennessee RC Society, with Greg Doe as Contest Director. This group has put on many first-class races, and they should make this year's Championship Race a first-class event all the way.
Throughout the season I try to write about contests in different parts of the country so people know what is going on in other areas.
Bob Downey Memorial — Whittier Narrows, CA
Report by Mike Atzei, Sr. Host club: San Gabriel Valley RC League
It was announced earlier in the year that scale judging would be eliminated in the Standard Class in hopes of attracting new fliers. Welcome to the ranks of Formula One racing goes to Emil Ghapgharan and Gary Parise, who flew their first races at this meet.
Mild temperatures and light-to-mild winds made for ideal racing weather. One would think that, under those conditions, we would be posting hot times. Boy, was I wrong! I cannot recall a posting board with so many zeros — it seems like 98% of postings were DNF (did not finish) or DNS (did not start). With so many zeroes, I had a hard time recalling any great races.
Mike Atzei, Jr. posted a perfect score out of nine rounds flown. Kent Nogy was down one point, losing only to Mike in an early round. Mike also set fast time, 1:11.22. Flyoffs were between Tom Christopher, Tony Huber, and Tony Lopez to determine fifth place. Tom won easily; Lopez received one cut and Huber a double cut.
Duane Luyen, race promoter for the last two years, presented Kent Nogy with a miniature replica of the Bob Downey four-foot perpetual trophy which he had won last year. Mike Atzei, Jr., who placed first, received the big four-footer this year, plus the Fast Time trophy. Gary Hover received Best Finish. All fliers received a commemorative race patch.
Expert Results
- Mike Atzei, Jr. — 1:11.22 (fast time)
- Kent Nogy — 1:13.63
- Brad Young — 1:19.70
- Gary Hover — 1:22.10
- Tom Christopher — 1:23.08
- Tony Lopez — 1:20.97
- Tony Huber — 1:20.28
- Jay Replogle — 1:23.08
- Ron Schorr — 1:15.17
- George LaCorta — 1:25.27
Standard Results
- Emil Ghapgharan — 1:24.86
- Jim Peterson — 1:34.72
- Gary Parise — 1:41.01
- Leonard Leon — NT
A trial of different propellers proved quite successful, as the other brands seemed to have little effect on the times. The best times were turned with Master Airscrew plastic 9-6 at about 17,000 rpm, while Zinger Regular 9-6, Progressive Pitch 9-4 and 9-6, and the 9-6 Power Props all did well.
CAPS Event (Separate race report)
The race didn't get started until 1:30 p.m. due to continued "possible showers," but when it did, the racing was very close and very fast, particularly for the first race of the year. Due to frequency matrixing, three-plane heats were necessary, and 50 heats plus two fly-offs were completed in a little over five hours. There were no reflys and only two crashes, both at the No. 3 pylon.
Dave Keats, Mike Lasker, and Billy Johnson finished two rounds with perfect scores and provided an exciting fly-off, with Dave taking all the marbles. Frank Baird, a novice, won the CAPS fast time award.
The race results (times given are the two best fast times):
- D. Keats — 20 pt., 1:48 / 1:50
- M. Lasker — 20 pt., 1:48 / 1:50
- B. Johanson — 20 pt., 1:53 / 1:53
- W. Yeager — 17 pt., 1:54 / 1:57
- B. Pence — 17 pt., 1:53 / 2:01
- D. Cohen — 17 pt., 1:55 / 1:57
- J. Cohen — 16 pt., 1:52 / 1:53
- J. Kilsdonk — 16 pt., 1:54 / 1:55
- T. Kwiatkowski — 15 pt., 1:53 / 1:57
- B. Hisey — 15 pt., 1:55 / 2:00
- A. Merlino — 15 pt., 1:58 / 1:59
- R. Morgan — 15 pt., 1:58 / 2:04
- F. Johanson — 15 pt., 1:59 / 2:01
- J. Krauer — 15 pt., 2:00 / 2:00
- A. Apaza — 14 pt., 1:47 / 1:55
Club Racing and Promotion
Almost every club in the country has some sort of inner-club competition. It would be pretty boring to belong to a club that did nothing. Most clubs generate activity (and I would bet almost all of these clubs hold some kind of a race at one time or another). Whether it be Hand-Launched Gliders, "4 As," Sport Pylon, or something else, there is racing in most clubs.
I have been involved in racing for a long time. I have seen areas that had races almost every week, and I have seen these same areas get burned out — they go from 15–20 races a summer down to four or five. What happens? Stop and think about it. There is such a thing as too much! Those who are left usually blame it on something else — usually lack of interest. Well, if you only knew just how much competition was still going on in local clubs (I know — I read the newsletters sent to the AMA).
So, what do you do? Don't just sit around crying about it — do something about it! Promote racing. Don't cancel a race just because you don't think you will have a good turnout; this will do nothing but bury your racing event.
When I got started in racing I was living in Ohio. Formula One racing was just an afterthought — usually thrown in at the end of a Pattern event for fun. Nothing serious. To get good races I had to drive 300 or 500 miles.
So I started promoting racing in my area. I went to clubs that had never put on a pylon race before. I even got a control-line club to sponsor and put on a race. It wasn't easy. It was slow going at first. Usually we would have Sport Pylon and Formula One, maybe 15–20 in Sport and 6–10 Formula Ones. We would get in five rounds at each event in one day (usually Sunday), so one would not have to spend the night.
Quarter Midget later helped a little, as it was newer and less expensive and drew many people into racing. When I moved from Ohio to Texas, we were having 20–30 Q500 racers, 15–30 Quarter Midget racers, and 15–25 Formula One racers show up at each contest. I considered racing in that area to be very good.
Racing in the area I live in now is also very successful because of a few people willing to take on responsibility to get things going and to stick with it.
A prime example: We don't have any Pylon Races scheduled for Houston or the surrounding areas. Why? There are over four million people in this area, and not one willing to promote racing and stick with it long enough to get something done.
If you stop and look around, you can probably count on one hand the spark plugs, the go-getters in your area. Why don't you get on the bandwagon and become one? As for the old excuses — too much noise; no flying field; etc. — that's just so much bull! Come on, gang, get with it.
As for people who canceled a two-day Formula One event just because they were afraid of a low turnout: they will almost guarantee a lower turnout at the next event.
Suggestion: Don't try to hold an event for just one type of racing. If one event has a bad turnout, another event will pick it up. From a promotional standpoint, you usually draw people into Formula One from Q500 or Quarter Midget. So, why not run a weekend contest where you race all three events (or at least two)?
I don't know about the rest of you old-timers, but I got interested in Pylon Racing by becoming involved and helping a friend. You can't get someone interested in something they know nothing about!
Enough soapbox for this month. Don't forget, if you have something you think readers might be interested in, send it to me and I will pass it along.
See you next month.
Bill Hager 706 Glen Haven Dr. Conroe, TX 77302
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
