RADIO CONTROL PYLON RACING
Author
Duane Gall 1267 S. Beeler Ct., Denver, CO 80231 E-mail: stinger4@earthlink.net
What do you do when you live in a place where paved fields are rare, the grass is thick, and it rains a lot? You race hand-launched airplanes, that's what. I recently received an update from Roy Stubbs (Seattle, WA) of the Snohomish Radio Aero Club (SRAC), which holds contests on the third Saturday of each month from October through April for 1/2A (AMA event 423, with variations), Speed 400 electric, and a one-design class for the Sig Doubler with an O.S. Max .15 engine. Over to Roy.
Roy reports that SRAC has been racing 1/2As for more than 25 years. At SRAC they comply with the AMA rules for event 423, except that they do allow crankcase pressure. This modification gives very good starting characteristics with consistent engine runs around the course. The engine modification—removing the backplate and replacing it with a commercially available backplate with a pressure nipple—is simple and costs only a few dollars.
They also limit the nitro content of the fuel. Most use PowerMaster 1/2A fuel, which Roy believes is no more than 30% nitro. This fuel is easy on the engines, and their Cox plugs often last several seasons. Some Cox Tee Dee .049s in their fleet are more than 20 years old.
SRAC’s starting procedure is unique. They use a prerecorded tape that starts with a three-minute warning and is intermixed with music from Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Reno Pylon Racing sound effects. There is a one-minute countdown from "Gentlemen, start your engines" to a flying start. Hand launching is mandatory.
The start line is a line projected from Pylons Two and Three, with your airplane leaving Pylon Two on the left wingtip. This takes you away from the course if you are over early. Pilots must hold their course until the countdown reaches zero; otherwise it is counted the same as a cut. The actual lap count starts from the conventional start/finish line opposite the starter. This arrangement is safer for a flying start and prevents airplanes that jump the gun from turning back with possible midairs or other hazards.
Over the years, SRAC has found 1/2A racing both exciting and easy on the pocketbook. Roy's teenage son, Trevor, races a Taperwing from Model Aviation plans that is over 10 years old. Trevor started 1/2A racing at age 11 and still finds it as exciting as ever.
Roy also expressed concern about the setback distance required and whether it is appropriate to have the same setback for 1/2A as for events using larger, heavier aircraft. Although you still need 300 feet between the racecourse and the pylon judges on the sideline, for 1/2A the current rule book does not require an additional 150 feet between that sideline and the spectator area. So 1/2A is still a good choice for smaller fields. (The rule-book text is posted at www.modelaircraft.org/templates/ama/PDF-files/Rulebook/rc-pylon.pdf.)
The contest director for SRAC is Bill West (Mukilteo, WA) at (425) 513-8098. Bill supplied the following race report from the club’s end-of-season contest in April 2002. Since I have enough lead time, I'll pass along the first three dates for the 2002–2003 season: October 19, November 16, and December 21.
End-of-Season Race Report (April 2002)
The last race day of the 2001/2002 season was held in reasonably good conditions. If a tad chilly, there was absolutely no sun to get in your eyes rounding Pylons Two and Three—always a blessing. This finished off one of the most successful flying seasons the club has had for some time. They managed to race six race days out of the seven scheduled, with extremely good participation from both pilots and the all-important pit-crew members and pylon judges.
Highlights of the day:
- Tom Richards, with his Bugatti Racer, actually made the starting and finishing line on all but one of his heats. What a sight to see: a Bugatti Racer, a Bf 109, and Group Captain Peter Townsend's Princess Margaret Hurricane, all rounding Pylons Two and Three together. This variety of designs is exactly what the 1/2A racing formula promotes. While these may not be the most competitive configurations, flying airplanes of this type brings rewards beyond simply crossing the line first.
- Maddog brought his usual level of excitement. While diving for the flying start of the first Doubler race he somehow managed to literally shred his Doubler through the trees. The noise as his airplane disintegrated drew gasps from the spectators. Maddog spent the rest of the race day climbing through brambles and up trees and managed to salvage all except the battery. Quite an accomplishment—everyone looks forward to racing with Maddog again next season with his rebuilt Doubler and brand-new GLHs.
- John Reifel suffered another disaster when his Doubler's wing parted company with its fuselage rounding Pylon Two. Inspection revealed a bonding failure of the CA (cyanoacrylate) adhesive at the wing-to-body joint. John agreed that 30-minute epoxy is probably more appropriate in this type of critical joint.
- The club was pleased to welcome Paul Cole back to 1/2A racing. He hadn’t turned out for at least the last 10 years but quickly got back in the swing of things—starting and finishing all heats and crossing the line first in his last heat. Great job, Paul!
- There were several battles for overall season points. Traditionally, trophies and prizes go to the first three places in both classes, awarded at SRAC's annual Christmas banquet. Shane Jensen, with his Norvel-powered Taperwing, and John Reifel, with a Speed 400 electric racer, went into the final 1/2A race with nearly even points for the final overall place. Shane managed to cross the finish line first in what will be his last SRAC race before leaving to start airline pilot training in Phoenix. Congratulations to Shane—we will miss him. Van Caryl wrapped up third place in Doublers. Trevor Stubbs and his dad, Roy, literally raced neck and neck all day for first and second in both classes, with an overall win for Trevor in 1/2A and for Roy in the Doubler class.
Congratulations to all. In the end, participation and the camaraderie of an event like this make every competitor a winner.
Roy and Bill e-mailed some nice photos of the action, but the club is still in transition between analog (film) photography and digital. To reproduce properly in a magazine, digital photos need to be at an absolute minimum of 300 pixels per inch. Most consumer digicams produce images of approximately 70 pixels per inch unless you change the settings, which reduces the number of photos you can store on a disk—hence the default. They’ll get it figured out eventually. In the meantime, if you have photos to share, please do so the old-fashioned way.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
