RC Pylon Racing
Duane Gall
ART, SCIENCE AND TRUTH come together in RC Pylon as in few other sports. There is art in the aircraft, especially the beautifully finished Formula 1 models. There is science in the crafting of propellers and adjusting of engines. And there is the pilot who guides a plane around the course with grace and precision, executing 30 flawless turns in a row despite the pressure of head-to-head competition, attaining a moment of perfect truth. For a week this past July, some 91 racing pilots met in Richland to test their mastery of these pursuits.
Quarter Midget (Event No. 422)
Quarter Midget (a.k.a. "QM" or "Midget") began Sunday morning's racing. Quarter Midget originated in the early 1970s as a low-key alternative to Formula 1 (F1), which at that time was the only national racing class. Today's QM is definitely not low-key. Thanks to the development of reliable high-performance .15s such as the Nelson, Quarter Midgets now resemble F1s in all except their size, cost, and the absence of high-nitro fuel.
Quarter Midget rules allow for a great variety of aircraft designs. Dozens of QM kits are available, including models of the World War II–vintage Unlimited racers, most of the full-size Formula Ones, and experimental designs like Tsunami and the 1930s Napier-Heston racer. QM fliers are a dedicated bunch, having persisted for the last 15 years or so in the shadow first of Formula One and now of Quickie—the most recent ostensibly low-key event gone wild.
The eastern part of Washington State gets about six inches of rain annually. It hasn't rained in July in the Tri-Cities area since any of the natives can remember—so naturally it rained on the first day of the Nats! Quarter Midget took the brunt of the bad weather. Intermittent rain, 50° temperatures, and a 10–20 mph crosswind made white-knuckle takeoffs the rule. Despite the hindrances, eight rounds were flown with only a couple of mishaps.
Scott Manning of the Samurai Racing Team capitalized on the cut judges' sleepiness in the first heat and stayed clean thereafter to tie with Lee Von Der Hey for a first on points. Lee earned his points with a little more sweat, matching up with me twice. My home-brewed Stinger was by all accounts the fastest QM of the meet, but rusty thumbs limited it to third place. Jovial Paul Benezra, who was tied for first place until suffering a no-start in the last round—even with a new, visually inspected glow plug—had to fly off with Darrol Cady to take fourth. The opera isn't over till the fat lady sings!
The flyoff for first place between Manning and Von Der Hey was the most exciting duel I've ever seen. Von Der Hey cut early, didn't let up, hammering pylon number one lap after lap until he'd almost caught Manning when they came down the last straightaway. In a spectacular final effort, Von Der Hey dove through the final turn around the second and third pylons, shivering the pylon flags in his wake. Starter Tony Huber pronounced it a dead heat, and it was—a hot 1:22 by Manning, and a sizzling 1:22.11 for 11 laps by Von Der Hey! Since the flyoff wasn't decisive, Manning's prior fast time of 1:18 gave him the win.
FAI Pylon (Event No. 427)
FAI Pylon was held Monday afternoon. Due to a recent rules change negotiated by AMA, the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale) now allows American Formula planes, with minor modifications, to compete at the international level. FAI racers are distinguished by tuned pipes protruding from the cowls and by the high-pitched whine they generate. Forty-cu.-in. power plants convert "cough-syrup" fuel (alcohol and castor oil, no nitromethane) into forward motion at 25,000 rpm or better. There is some muffling effect from the pipe; further noise reduction is possible with substitution of a muffled pipe for the straight "stinger" pipe. This makes meaningful test flying possible even at fields where mufflers are required.
FAI drew only six entries this year. Event Director Pete Bergstrom divided them into two heats of three planes, which alternated through seven rounds. Scoring for FAI is based entirely on elapsed time, not order of finish, so there's no harm in racing the same opponents. Heat after heat, Jim Nikodem flew a P-51, while the other fliers used converted Formula I planes.
Clearly the fastest was Henry Bartle's ST-powered Midget Mustang, but glow plug problems and a crash in the last heat kept Henry out of first place. Lee Von Der Hey posted the fast time of 1:21 using a K&B-powered Midget Mustang which appeared closely matched with the author's Picco-powered Prather Little Toni. Everyone had at least one zero—some due to unfamiliarity with the FAI engine/pipe setup, but most due to plain old racing luck. For example, when a pressure line unplugged, Don Rice's nice Stinger went squirrely when vibration got to his rudder servo. In the end, consistency paid off for your correspondent, with Von Der Hey and Bartle rounding out the top three.
In my limited experience with this event, I've found absolutely no basis for the myth that FAI power plants are tricky or difficult to run. Trying to push them to world-record times may make them finicky, but the same could be said of any other racing class. More pilots should give FAI a try—it's neat!
Quickie 500 (Event No. 428)
Quickie, a.k.a. Q-500, is today's entry-level event. Street-legal .40s with mufflers were powering these boxy planes to speeds of 120 mph or more, but the planes slow down nicely for landing and are simple enough to be built in a weekend. The name derives from Glen Spickler's original Quickie 500 kit design of the early Seventies. Today's Quickies resemble the original in name only; most feature V- or T-tails, fiberglass fuselages, and other high-tech embellishments.
Fifty-eight Quickie entrants came out to play on Tuesday morning. California Formula 1 flier Henry Bartle established himself early as the one to beat, posting a 1:17 in the first round. But the guy on top makes a tempting target. In a Round 4 showdown, Bartle and fellow Californian Kent McKenna gunned each other down by posting two cuts each within 1½ laps. Bob Mikko of Puyallup, WA motored steadily through their dust to win the heat. Bartle took another hit in Round 5 at the hands of Canadian Lyn Murray, whose V-tailed, inverted‑Fox‑powered Full Pull outraged Bartle, who then posted a 1:19. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Randy Ritch had joined the chase for fast time with a 1:18. Randy flew a Rossi-powered Texas Outlaw T-tail.
After Round 5, only 18-year-old Scott Puzio (Bonney Lake, WA) had a perfect score. Racing luck turned on runner-up Bob Greer (Coppell, TX) when his Stinger tangled with Chuck Eads' (Roseburg, OR) Scot Cat. In the end, the field was so tight that there were flyoffs for first and second, fourth through sixth, seventh and eighth, and 10th and 11th slots. Rich Verano (Los Angeles, CA) came out on top using a Rossi-powered Rusty 500 V-tail designed by compatriot Rusty Van Baren.
Unfortunately, at least one "cheater" engine was detected, and several others, according to their anonymous owners, went undetected. Although apparently none of the cheaters went home with a trophy this time, the general level of rule bending and outright cheating in Quickie—mainly by seasoned F1 pilots who could fly fair in the wind—was deplorable. If you have to cheat to win, what have you won? And of all events to cheat in, why Quickie? The purpose of this alleged beginner event is to encourage people to get into Racing. It's hardly encouraging for a talented young pilot like Puzio or Patterson to be used as cannon fodder by some guy with a magneto in his basement and a boxful of illegal engine parts. I say Quickie at the Nats should be reserved for those who are entered in F1, QM, or FAI. End of sermon.
Formula One (Event No. 421)
The "Form Ones," as racing parlance sometimes has it, are the Indy cars of the modeling world: big, fast, expensive, and beautiful. Beginners need not apply. Nevertheless, compared to an out-of-the-box Ugly Stik or an overweight biplane, these models are surprisingly easy to fly. They don't give you any surprises—just plenty of speed! And yes, engine modification is allowed.
In the field of 55 entrants, all eyes were on perennial Champ Dave Shadel (Carlsbad, CA), source of the reworked Superstiger X .40s used by most F1 pilots. Both Shadel and Lee Von Der Hey posted 1:20 times in the first round despite having their engines go sour after eight-lap sets. Other fliers had trouble "finding the needle." There were many razors and the point standings flip-flopped all day. Shadel eventually got it dialed in to set a fast time of 1:06 and maintain a perfect point score. Gary Hower was the next fast-setter with a 1:09, but a midair in Round 3 put a zero in his column. Flying was curtailed early on Day 1 due to strong, shifting winds and blowing sand.
Day Two brought calmer, cooler weather and a lot of fast times. The shocker of the day came when Rusty Van Baren (Hanford, CA), like the fictional Rocky Balboa before him, refused to let the Champ off easy. Van Baren pushed Shadel on a double cut, scrambling the point standings once again. By the last round on Day Three, Richard Verano (Los Angeles, CA) had emerged on top with 35 points; Shadel trailed with 31. The fast-rookie matchup between Verano, Shadel, John Barnsley (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), and Duane Felstet (Missoula, MT) became a defensive battle. Verano didn't challenge Shadel for the four-point win, but used his nearly equal speed to cautiously pass the other pilots for second place and three points. It was a relieved and happy Verano who finally landed with an intact airplane, 38 points, and the National Championship!
Many thanks to the contest officials (volunteers all) who slaved in the desert sun to make this event possible. Thanks also to my many new friends who posed for the more than 300 photographs from which only these few, unfortunately, could be reproduced. I encourage everybody who has read this far to go and enter the next Nats—the printed page just can't capture the drama and excitement of being there!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
