RC Pylon Racing
By Bill Hager
Location and overview
This year's Pylon Racing Nats was held in Ohio at the former Clinton County Air Force Base, just outside the small farm community of Wilmington. While Wilmington didn't have a lot to offer in the way of lodging, a short drive took you to Dayton, Cincinnati, or King's Island, where there were plenty of motels and fine restaurants.
For contestants who brought their families, there was plenty to do: King's Island is one of the largest amusement parks in the world, you could catch a Cincinnati Reds baseball game, or visit the Air Force Museum in Dayton. Over the past several years, our best-attended Nats has tended to be in the eastern or midwestern part of the country. The 1976 Nats in Dayton, OH, was one of the most successful and best attended, so we were not surprised at a large turnout this year: 71 entries in Formula I and 74 in Quarter Midget.
Our Contest Director this year was Rick Gerling of Quincy, IL. He and his crew had done a lot of preparation, and their work paid off—everything ran smoothly.
Processing and safety checks
The event began Sunday afternoon with transmitter processing and Quarter Midget checks. Each contestant had his transmitter checked for proper frequency. Planes were inspected for wing area, weight, and, most importantly, safety: hinge connections, servo installations, receiver and battery protection, pushrod hook-ups, clevises and control horns, and general construction were all examined.
Many competitors build new airplanes for the Nats and in the haste of last-minute work sometimes overlook something. One year I brought a new Quarter Midget and the safety check revealed an incorrectly hooked-up elevator pushrod. The inspection saved my plane and possibly prevented injury. I believe all RC events should require similar safety checks.
Quarter Midget Pylon Racing
Schedule and weather
This year there were only two days allowed for Quarter Midget Pylon Racing. I feel this was a mistake by the Nats Executive Committee; for some reason they failed to include a representative from the NMPRA at the Nats planning meeting. I hope this won't happen again.
Flying started at 2:00 p.m. on Monday and was to last until dark. With only two days and 74 entries, Rick had his work cut out for him. Racing began under threatening skies. At about 5:30 p.m. the skies opened up and we had heavy rain. When the rain let up about 15 minutes later, Rick and his crew started to put everything back together—but then it rained again and racing was called off until Tuesday.
Tuesday's weather was much better. We managed to get in two more rounds, with time left over. At that point it was decided to take the top 32 fliers and fly another round; a vote was taken and all agreed. Going into the last round, Bob Brogdon, Gail Jacobson, George Parks, Jimmy Bartels, and Robert Nelson headed the top five, in that order. The final round was fast and furious.
When the dust settled, we had three-way and multiple ties that required flyoffs: Bob Brogdon, Gail Jacobson, and George Parks tied for 1st, while Jimmy Bartels, Doug Brueshaber, and Richard Steine tied for 4th.
Quarter Midget results
When the flyoffs were complete:
- Gail Jacobson — Nats Quarter Midget Champion
- George Parks — 2nd (his fourth time)
- Bob Brogdon — 3rd
- Jimmy Bartels — 4th (also won the Fast-Time Trophy with a time of 1:24.93)
- Doug Brueshaber — 5th
- Richard Steine — 6th
A note on the youngsters: when I was CD of Pylon Racing at the Nats in 1976, a young volunteer and his dad helped out. The same pair returned this year; the father helped and the son flew—Jimmy Bartels was clearly the fastest Quarter Midget entrant and only a few bad breaks kept him from winning. Watch out for these youngsters!
Formula I
Processing and scale judging
Tuesday morning was processing for Formula I, with the same transmitter and safety checks used in Quarter Midget. In Formula I, airplanes are also judged for appearance because better-finished planes take off first. With over 100 airplanes this can be quite a chore. We made up four score rows: each of three judges scored a plane from one to four, and the fourth judge broke ties when needed. I helped with the scale judging alongside Rick Gerling, Wayne Yeager, and Matt Smith. With this system, when processing was finished, so was the judging.
Planes with the same score raced together; starting position in that case was determined by a coin flip in the ready box. The trophy for best-finished plane went to Jim Maki's Pole Cat.
While being safety-checked, one very experienced, well-known flier discovered his elevator would pull out when lightly tugged. In his rush to get to the Nats he had forgotten to check it. Again the safety inspection saved the plane—and possibly prevented injury.
Racing and conditions
Formula I racing started Wednesday afternoon. Although we had more time than for Quarter Midget, we had to contend with the evening sun. Luckily the week was mostly partly cloudy, so the sun was not as bad as it could have been. Morning flying creates fewer visibility problems; given the nature of the event, we should avoid evening schedules for safety's sake.
Many fliers had trouble getting engines to run in the very humid weather. A fairly new face to Formula I was former control-line speed flier Phil Bussell; he was either in 1st place or in the top five through most of the contest.
As the contest neared its end it looked like there would be several ties. Brian Richmond wound up with a perfect score of 28 points, making him the 1980 Nats Formula I Champion. Brian usually teams with his brother Bruce; with Bruce absent this year, Brian teamed up with Bob Brogdon.
Formula I results
Final placings and notable flyoffs:
- Brian Richmond — 1980 Nats Formula I Champion (28 points)
- Tom Christopher (won tie with Jim Moorhead)
- Jim Moorhead
- Dave Pearce (won three-way tie flyoff)
- Pete Reed
- Phil Bussell (flew into the number three in the flyoff)
- Dave Keats (won flyoff against Ron Schorr)
- Ron Schorr
- —
- Dave Shadel (tie among Dave Shadel, Glen Scicotte, Norm Johnson, and Bill Hager; final order given below)
- Norm Johnson
- Bill Hager (author)
- Glen Scicotte
(The top 10 finishers were automatically qualified for the NMPRA Championship Race to be held at Titusville, FL on October 25 and 26.)
Conclusion
Most contestants enjoyed this year's Nats and will be looking forward to the 1981 Nats, wherever it may be.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
