118 MODEL AVIATION
Kurt Bozarth, 7825 S. Flanders St., Centennial CO 80016; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL PYLON RACING
Winterfest 2005 Q-500 winners (front L-R): G. Freeman Sr., fifth; T. Lopez, fourth; F.
Burgdorf, second and fast time; T. Flynn, caller for top three; G. Freeman Jr., first; R.
Bridge, third. Standing L-R: caller Jason Duda; J. Williams, ninth; CD J. Allen, seventh; K.
Bozarth, sixth; caller Rhonda and D. Cady, 10th.
The ride to and from the Winterfest flightline helped CD Jim Allen attain blistering
five-minute heat-to-heat interval, for more than 70 heats per day!
WINTERFEST 2005: The 2005
Winterfest Q-500 Race was held in
Phoenix, Arizona, January 15-16. This has
been an annual event for years, and it
brings out the big dogs in RC Pylon
Racing. Each year the weather and the
racing in Phoenix promise to be
outstanding.
I made the trek from Colorado to
Phoenix, enjoying the challenges of a
delightful little blizzard. (You may have
seen the driver from Colorado jumping out
of her car just before it slammed into
another at an icy intersection—no
relation.) My racing buddy Brian Neff
joined me on the drive while our other
buddy John Williams followed us a few
hours back.
After driving 250 miles at a speed
slightly faster than that of an
underpowered park flyer, we finally made
it over Raton Pass and into the clear skies
of New Mexico. From there it was smooth
sailing.
However, we had not heard from our
buddy John for several hours and feared he
had slid off the icy road and landed upsidedown
somewhere outside of Trinidad,
Colorado. We considered calling the state
patrol but remembered that John (who lives
in Boulder) had beat us to the last race, so
we waited a few more hours just to be on
the safe side. As luck would have it, his
trusty Saab did just fine through the snow.
Thursday was a great day of practice,
with approximately 20 racers at the field.
Friday was much more crowded; at one
point more than 70 airplanes were in line
waiting for their turn to get airborne.
Pylon racer Doug Clancy’s quote
during Thursday’s practice: “Don’t all of
those motocross racers have a job,
considering it’s a weekday and all they’re
doing is just playing?”
Unknown motocrosser’s quote during
Thursday’s practice: “Don’t all of those
RC Pylon racers have a job, considering
it’s a weekday and all they’re doing is just
playing?”
The Speedworld R/C Flyers host the
annual Winterfest Q-500 Race at the
Speedworld Motorplex (which includes a
motocross track), located on the
northwestern edge of Phoenix. Fearless
leader and club president Randy Dauer and
his staff of volunteers have done an
outstanding job year after year.
The 2005 event was the best to date,
thanks to a new lighting system and a new
timing program that Stan Douglas
developed. If you have never been to a
race hosted by the Speedworld R/C Flyers,
you are missing one of the best-run races
in the world. The average time between
flags is approximately five minutes, to
which most clubs cannot come close.
This year there were faster LED turn
lights at Pylon 1, and a new light system
was used to flag the start of each heat with
a fixed delay between lanes 1 and 3 and 2
and 4. That meant no more inconsistent
delays between the first and second waves
of the flag. I felt like a drag racer watching
the Christmas tree. It benefited me and my
caller when we were on the second launch;
there was less of a “surprise” factor when
the lights came on.
Because of the large turnout (64 pilots
in Quickie 500 [Q-500—AMA event 428]
120 MODEL AVIATION
Chuck Bridge’s Vortex Q-500 after a midair is even more
disturbing than the first victim washed ashore in the movie Jaws.
A Lyle Larson Bird of Prey Q-500 racer lands at this year’s
Winterfest. The design is distinguished by its unique tail.
Lyle Larson of California Speed Pros holds one of his
designs—the Q-40 Dago Red—while sitting on another.
and nine pilots in Sport Quickie [AMA event 424]), CD Jim
Allen decided (supported by a token vote of the pilots) to run the
event as a single race spanning two days. Eight heats of Q-500
and Sport Quickie were completed.
The first Q-500 heat consisted of Jim Allen, Chuck Andraka,
Gino Del Ponte, and Marty Hoppe, and it was airborne at
approximately 9 a.m. Saturday. The racing continued to increase
in intensity throughout the weekend and did not let up until 4:30
p.m. Sunday.
Early in Round One, Mike Tallman and Dave Presta were the
victims of a supersized midair. Dave lost a new Bird of Prey and
Mike lost a Shotgun. There were no survivors, but, as it always
does, the racing continued.
CD Jim Allen and last year’s champ Mike Helsel were also
gunned down by a big-league midair. Travis Flynn, not to be
outdone, showed us what bad air can do to a beautiful Vortex
doing 170 mph around Pylon 3.
In the final round Darrol Cady experienced a flameout on lap
10. Fortunately his model was able to coast the remainder of the
last lap and cross the finish line in NASCAR fashion. (Just
barely, Darrol.)
After seven rounds, Fred Burgdorf and Gary Freeman Jr. had
the only perfect scores. Fred’s fast time from Round Two would
hold out, but his perfect score would not. He finished third in his
final heat, opening the door for Gary, and Gary walked through it
with a first-place finish in his eighth heat, giving him the overall
win. The top 10 Q-500 finishers were:
1) Gary Freeman Jr.
2) Fred Burgdorf (fast time: 1:07.12)
3) Randy Bridge
4) Tony Lopez
5) Gary Freeman Sr.
6) Kurt Bozarth
7) Jim Allen
8) Tom Strom Sr.
9) John Williams
10) Darrol Cady
Gale Enstad owned the top spot and fast time throughout the
first day of Sport Quickie racing, with Bob Ponek hot on his
heels. However, Sunday was a different story. Bob slipped past
Gale to steal first place for the weekend. The results after two
days of excellent racing were:
1) Bob Ponek
2) Gale Enstad (fast time: 1:31.36)
3) Steve Cook
4) Dan Thordarson
5) Don Schelling
6) Tom Skavinsky
7) Ken Busse
8) Wayne Cloud
9) Mark Mellott
The Quarter 40 (Q-40) National Miniature Pylon Racing
Association (NMPRA)/JR Gold Cup Series is intended to improve
the quality and enjoyment of Pylon Racing at the national level.
Gold Cup racecourse facilities and operation standards are high,
ensuring excellent racing environments and competitive racing.
JR (distributed by Horizon Hobby) has sponsored the series in
the last few years, and Powermaster has provided the fuel. JR
provides engraved awards through fifth place, along with a fast
time award at each race. The company also donates $1,000 worth
of Horizon Hobby gift certificates to the host club.
The first JR Gold Cup race of 2005 was hosted by the
Speedworld R/C Flyers at the Speedworld Motorplex in Phoenix,
Arizona. (It’s the same club that hosted the Winterfest Q-500 race
I discussed previously.)
Turnout was excellent, with 72 racers in attendance.
Unfortunately I fell victim to the highly offensive yet incredibly
apathetic demands of work, and I had to cancel my plans to attend
at the last minute.
Stan Douglas was kind enough to post
an update on the Internet after the first day
of racing. As he suggested, webcams in the
pits would be great for those junkies who
are unable to attend events. Perhaps that
will be next on his list of racingtechnology
developments.
After four rounds (more than 70 heats),
Fred Burgdorf was in first place with a
perfect score, Lee Ulinger was in second,
and Darrol Cady was in third. Day Two
robbed Fred of his perfect score, and
engine woes bumped Lee Ulinger out of
contention.
Gino Del Ponte, with only one point
lost to Gary Schmidt, was able to grab the
top spot and hold it. You might recall that
Gino was the 2004 AMA Nats Q-40
champion. He is on fire (and not because
of Mike’s cooking).
The results of the first JR Gold Cup Q-
40 race of the year were:
1) Gino Del Ponte
2) Mike Helsel
3) Randy Bridge
4) Fred Burgdorf
5) Darrol Cady
6) Rusty Van Baren
7) Doug Killebrew
8) Lee Ulinger
9) Randy Smith
10) Drew Telford
11) Dave Shadel (fast time: 1:02.76)
California Speed Pros: In the last few
columns I have been presenting
information about some of the popular
models and designers/manufacturers. This
month I will provide some information
about Lyle Larson and a few of his current
designs.
Lyle’s company is California Speed
Pros—never mind the fact that he lives in
Piedmont, South Dakota—and the Web
site is www.angelfire.com/ok2/racewith
me/lylepage.html.
Lyle has been involved in Pylon
Racing since 1977 and has designed and
manufactured many successful FAI, Q-40,
and Q-500 airplanes. He has flown his own
models to big wins, called for racers who
have flown his models to big wins, and
watched his competition fly his models to
big wins.
Gino Del Ponte flew a Lyle Larson
Dago Red to first-place finishes at the
year’s first JR Gold Cup race and at the
2004 Nats. As are many Q-40 designs, the
Dago Red is modeled after a full-scale P-
51 Mustang.
Fred Burgdorf, Travis Flynn, and
Randy Bridge flew Lyle’s most recent
release—the Proud Bird—to a 1-2-3 finish
in the 2004 NMPRA Q-40 season points
championship. Fred was also the 2004 JR
Gold Cup champion and set fast times at
three of the four series races with a Proud
Bird.
Oh, and if I haven’t mentioned Fred
Burgdorf enough, he set the fast time of
58.91 seconds at the recent FAI Team
Trials flying a modified Larson Vendetta.
Lyle has flown in two World
Championships (earning fourth place in
1991 and eighth place in 2003) and has
attended several others as a caller. This
year he will travel to Tours, France, to call
for Randy Bridge in the FAI world
competition.
Lyle has also had success with his Q-
500 Bird of Prey. The kit comes with a
fiberglass fuselage and gel-coated
composite wing and tail. The model’s Vtail
has a unique design that distinguishes
itself from the generic Q-500 V-tails. Lyle
won his matrix at the 2004 Q-500 Nats
flying a Bird of Prey, and he finished in a
four-way tie for first in the finals.
All of Lyle’s kits are readily available
and at competitive prices. Not only does
he have a wealth of information about
Pylon Racing, but he has more than
enough experience to back it up. Without
suppliers such as Lyle and the long list of
others, our hobby/sport would not be what
it is today.
In the next column I hope to provide
some interesting details about Terence
Palaschuk of Canada and his Neme-Q.
And as always, suggestions and comments
are welcome. I’ll be back in two months.
The best recent online quote is from Gary
S. “If it’s fixable, you aren’t going fast
enough.” MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/06
Page Numbers: 118,120,122
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/06
Page Numbers: 118,120,122
118 MODEL AVIATION
Kurt Bozarth, 7825 S. Flanders St., Centennial CO 80016; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL PYLON RACING
Winterfest 2005 Q-500 winners (front L-R): G. Freeman Sr., fifth; T. Lopez, fourth; F.
Burgdorf, second and fast time; T. Flynn, caller for top three; G. Freeman Jr., first; R.
Bridge, third. Standing L-R: caller Jason Duda; J. Williams, ninth; CD J. Allen, seventh; K.
Bozarth, sixth; caller Rhonda and D. Cady, 10th.
The ride to and from the Winterfest flightline helped CD Jim Allen attain blistering
five-minute heat-to-heat interval, for more than 70 heats per day!
WINTERFEST 2005: The 2005
Winterfest Q-500 Race was held in
Phoenix, Arizona, January 15-16. This has
been an annual event for years, and it
brings out the big dogs in RC Pylon
Racing. Each year the weather and the
racing in Phoenix promise to be
outstanding.
I made the trek from Colorado to
Phoenix, enjoying the challenges of a
delightful little blizzard. (You may have
seen the driver from Colorado jumping out
of her car just before it slammed into
another at an icy intersection—no
relation.) My racing buddy Brian Neff
joined me on the drive while our other
buddy John Williams followed us a few
hours back.
After driving 250 miles at a speed
slightly faster than that of an
underpowered park flyer, we finally made
it over Raton Pass and into the clear skies
of New Mexico. From there it was smooth
sailing.
However, we had not heard from our
buddy John for several hours and feared he
had slid off the icy road and landed upsidedown
somewhere outside of Trinidad,
Colorado. We considered calling the state
patrol but remembered that John (who lives
in Boulder) had beat us to the last race, so
we waited a few more hours just to be on
the safe side. As luck would have it, his
trusty Saab did just fine through the snow.
Thursday was a great day of practice,
with approximately 20 racers at the field.
Friday was much more crowded; at one
point more than 70 airplanes were in line
waiting for their turn to get airborne.
Pylon racer Doug Clancy’s quote
during Thursday’s practice: “Don’t all of
those motocross racers have a job,
considering it’s a weekday and all they’re
doing is just playing?”
Unknown motocrosser’s quote during
Thursday’s practice: “Don’t all of those
RC Pylon racers have a job, considering
it’s a weekday and all they’re doing is just
playing?”
The Speedworld R/C Flyers host the
annual Winterfest Q-500 Race at the
Speedworld Motorplex (which includes a
motocross track), located on the
northwestern edge of Phoenix. Fearless
leader and club president Randy Dauer and
his staff of volunteers have done an
outstanding job year after year.
The 2005 event was the best to date,
thanks to a new lighting system and a new
timing program that Stan Douglas
developed. If you have never been to a
race hosted by the Speedworld R/C Flyers,
you are missing one of the best-run races
in the world. The average time between
flags is approximately five minutes, to
which most clubs cannot come close.
This year there were faster LED turn
lights at Pylon 1, and a new light system
was used to flag the start of each heat with
a fixed delay between lanes 1 and 3 and 2
and 4. That meant no more inconsistent
delays between the first and second waves
of the flag. I felt like a drag racer watching
the Christmas tree. It benefited me and my
caller when we were on the second launch;
there was less of a “surprise” factor when
the lights came on.
Because of the large turnout (64 pilots
in Quickie 500 [Q-500—AMA event 428]
120 MODEL AVIATION
Chuck Bridge’s Vortex Q-500 after a midair is even more
disturbing than the first victim washed ashore in the movie Jaws.
A Lyle Larson Bird of Prey Q-500 racer lands at this year’s
Winterfest. The design is distinguished by its unique tail.
Lyle Larson of California Speed Pros holds one of his
designs—the Q-40 Dago Red—while sitting on another.
and nine pilots in Sport Quickie [AMA event 424]), CD Jim
Allen decided (supported by a token vote of the pilots) to run the
event as a single race spanning two days. Eight heats of Q-500
and Sport Quickie were completed.
The first Q-500 heat consisted of Jim Allen, Chuck Andraka,
Gino Del Ponte, and Marty Hoppe, and it was airborne at
approximately 9 a.m. Saturday. The racing continued to increase
in intensity throughout the weekend and did not let up until 4:30
p.m. Sunday.
Early in Round One, Mike Tallman and Dave Presta were the
victims of a supersized midair. Dave lost a new Bird of Prey and
Mike lost a Shotgun. There were no survivors, but, as it always
does, the racing continued.
CD Jim Allen and last year’s champ Mike Helsel were also
gunned down by a big-league midair. Travis Flynn, not to be
outdone, showed us what bad air can do to a beautiful Vortex
doing 170 mph around Pylon 3.
In the final round Darrol Cady experienced a flameout on lap
10. Fortunately his model was able to coast the remainder of the
last lap and cross the finish line in NASCAR fashion. (Just
barely, Darrol.)
After seven rounds, Fred Burgdorf and Gary Freeman Jr. had
the only perfect scores. Fred’s fast time from Round Two would
hold out, but his perfect score would not. He finished third in his
final heat, opening the door for Gary, and Gary walked through it
with a first-place finish in his eighth heat, giving him the overall
win. The top 10 Q-500 finishers were:
1) Gary Freeman Jr.
2) Fred Burgdorf (fast time: 1:07.12)
3) Randy Bridge
4) Tony Lopez
5) Gary Freeman Sr.
6) Kurt Bozarth
7) Jim Allen
8) Tom Strom Sr.
9) John Williams
10) Darrol Cady
Gale Enstad owned the top spot and fast time throughout the
first day of Sport Quickie racing, with Bob Ponek hot on his
heels. However, Sunday was a different story. Bob slipped past
Gale to steal first place for the weekend. The results after two
days of excellent racing were:
1) Bob Ponek
2) Gale Enstad (fast time: 1:31.36)
3) Steve Cook
4) Dan Thordarson
5) Don Schelling
6) Tom Skavinsky
7) Ken Busse
8) Wayne Cloud
9) Mark Mellott
The Quarter 40 (Q-40) National Miniature Pylon Racing
Association (NMPRA)/JR Gold Cup Series is intended to improve
the quality and enjoyment of Pylon Racing at the national level.
Gold Cup racecourse facilities and operation standards are high,
ensuring excellent racing environments and competitive racing.
JR (distributed by Horizon Hobby) has sponsored the series in
the last few years, and Powermaster has provided the fuel. JR
provides engraved awards through fifth place, along with a fast
time award at each race. The company also donates $1,000 worth
of Horizon Hobby gift certificates to the host club.
The first JR Gold Cup race of 2005 was hosted by the
Speedworld R/C Flyers at the Speedworld Motorplex in Phoenix,
Arizona. (It’s the same club that hosted the Winterfest Q-500 race
I discussed previously.)
Turnout was excellent, with 72 racers in attendance.
Unfortunately I fell victim to the highly offensive yet incredibly
apathetic demands of work, and I had to cancel my plans to attend
at the last minute.
Stan Douglas was kind enough to post
an update on the Internet after the first day
of racing. As he suggested, webcams in the
pits would be great for those junkies who
are unable to attend events. Perhaps that
will be next on his list of racingtechnology
developments.
After four rounds (more than 70 heats),
Fred Burgdorf was in first place with a
perfect score, Lee Ulinger was in second,
and Darrol Cady was in third. Day Two
robbed Fred of his perfect score, and
engine woes bumped Lee Ulinger out of
contention.
Gino Del Ponte, with only one point
lost to Gary Schmidt, was able to grab the
top spot and hold it. You might recall that
Gino was the 2004 AMA Nats Q-40
champion. He is on fire (and not because
of Mike’s cooking).
The results of the first JR Gold Cup Q-
40 race of the year were:
1) Gino Del Ponte
2) Mike Helsel
3) Randy Bridge
4) Fred Burgdorf
5) Darrol Cady
6) Rusty Van Baren
7) Doug Killebrew
8) Lee Ulinger
9) Randy Smith
10) Drew Telford
11) Dave Shadel (fast time: 1:02.76)
California Speed Pros: In the last few
columns I have been presenting
information about some of the popular
models and designers/manufacturers. This
month I will provide some information
about Lyle Larson and a few of his current
designs.
Lyle’s company is California Speed
Pros—never mind the fact that he lives in
Piedmont, South Dakota—and the Web
site is www.angelfire.com/ok2/racewith
me/lylepage.html.
Lyle has been involved in Pylon
Racing since 1977 and has designed and
manufactured many successful FAI, Q-40,
and Q-500 airplanes. He has flown his own
models to big wins, called for racers who
have flown his models to big wins, and
watched his competition fly his models to
big wins.
Gino Del Ponte flew a Lyle Larson
Dago Red to first-place finishes at the
year’s first JR Gold Cup race and at the
2004 Nats. As are many Q-40 designs, the
Dago Red is modeled after a full-scale P-
51 Mustang.
Fred Burgdorf, Travis Flynn, and
Randy Bridge flew Lyle’s most recent
release—the Proud Bird—to a 1-2-3 finish
in the 2004 NMPRA Q-40 season points
championship. Fred was also the 2004 JR
Gold Cup champion and set fast times at
three of the four series races with a Proud
Bird.
Oh, and if I haven’t mentioned Fred
Burgdorf enough, he set the fast time of
58.91 seconds at the recent FAI Team
Trials flying a modified Larson Vendetta.
Lyle has flown in two World
Championships (earning fourth place in
1991 and eighth place in 2003) and has
attended several others as a caller. This
year he will travel to Tours, France, to call
for Randy Bridge in the FAI world
competition.
Lyle has also had success with his Q-
500 Bird of Prey. The kit comes with a
fiberglass fuselage and gel-coated
composite wing and tail. The model’s Vtail
has a unique design that distinguishes
itself from the generic Q-500 V-tails. Lyle
won his matrix at the 2004 Q-500 Nats
flying a Bird of Prey, and he finished in a
four-way tie for first in the finals.
All of Lyle’s kits are readily available
and at competitive prices. Not only does
he have a wealth of information about
Pylon Racing, but he has more than
enough experience to back it up. Without
suppliers such as Lyle and the long list of
others, our hobby/sport would not be what
it is today.
In the next column I hope to provide
some interesting details about Terence
Palaschuk of Canada and his Neme-Q.
And as always, suggestions and comments
are welcome. I’ll be back in two months.
The best recent online quote is from Gary
S. “If it’s fixable, you aren’t going fast
enough.” MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/06
Page Numbers: 118,120,122
118 MODEL AVIATION
Kurt Bozarth, 7825 S. Flanders St., Centennial CO 80016; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL PYLON RACING
Winterfest 2005 Q-500 winners (front L-R): G. Freeman Sr., fifth; T. Lopez, fourth; F.
Burgdorf, second and fast time; T. Flynn, caller for top three; G. Freeman Jr., first; R.
Bridge, third. Standing L-R: caller Jason Duda; J. Williams, ninth; CD J. Allen, seventh; K.
Bozarth, sixth; caller Rhonda and D. Cady, 10th.
The ride to and from the Winterfest flightline helped CD Jim Allen attain blistering
five-minute heat-to-heat interval, for more than 70 heats per day!
WINTERFEST 2005: The 2005
Winterfest Q-500 Race was held in
Phoenix, Arizona, January 15-16. This has
been an annual event for years, and it
brings out the big dogs in RC Pylon
Racing. Each year the weather and the
racing in Phoenix promise to be
outstanding.
I made the trek from Colorado to
Phoenix, enjoying the challenges of a
delightful little blizzard. (You may have
seen the driver from Colorado jumping out
of her car just before it slammed into
another at an icy intersection—no
relation.) My racing buddy Brian Neff
joined me on the drive while our other
buddy John Williams followed us a few
hours back.
After driving 250 miles at a speed
slightly faster than that of an
underpowered park flyer, we finally made
it over Raton Pass and into the clear skies
of New Mexico. From there it was smooth
sailing.
However, we had not heard from our
buddy John for several hours and feared he
had slid off the icy road and landed upsidedown
somewhere outside of Trinidad,
Colorado. We considered calling the state
patrol but remembered that John (who lives
in Boulder) had beat us to the last race, so
we waited a few more hours just to be on
the safe side. As luck would have it, his
trusty Saab did just fine through the snow.
Thursday was a great day of practice,
with approximately 20 racers at the field.
Friday was much more crowded; at one
point more than 70 airplanes were in line
waiting for their turn to get airborne.
Pylon racer Doug Clancy’s quote
during Thursday’s practice: “Don’t all of
those motocross racers have a job,
considering it’s a weekday and all they’re
doing is just playing?”
Unknown motocrosser’s quote during
Thursday’s practice: “Don’t all of those
RC Pylon racers have a job, considering
it’s a weekday and all they’re doing is just
playing?”
The Speedworld R/C Flyers host the
annual Winterfest Q-500 Race at the
Speedworld Motorplex (which includes a
motocross track), located on the
northwestern edge of Phoenix. Fearless
leader and club president Randy Dauer and
his staff of volunteers have done an
outstanding job year after year.
The 2005 event was the best to date,
thanks to a new lighting system and a new
timing program that Stan Douglas
developed. If you have never been to a
race hosted by the Speedworld R/C Flyers,
you are missing one of the best-run races
in the world. The average time between
flags is approximately five minutes, to
which most clubs cannot come close.
This year there were faster LED turn
lights at Pylon 1, and a new light system
was used to flag the start of each heat with
a fixed delay between lanes 1 and 3 and 2
and 4. That meant no more inconsistent
delays between the first and second waves
of the flag. I felt like a drag racer watching
the Christmas tree. It benefited me and my
caller when we were on the second launch;
there was less of a “surprise” factor when
the lights came on.
Because of the large turnout (64 pilots
in Quickie 500 [Q-500—AMA event 428]
120 MODEL AVIATION
Chuck Bridge’s Vortex Q-500 after a midair is even more
disturbing than the first victim washed ashore in the movie Jaws.
A Lyle Larson Bird of Prey Q-500 racer lands at this year’s
Winterfest. The design is distinguished by its unique tail.
Lyle Larson of California Speed Pros holds one of his
designs—the Q-40 Dago Red—while sitting on another.
and nine pilots in Sport Quickie [AMA event 424]), CD Jim
Allen decided (supported by a token vote of the pilots) to run the
event as a single race spanning two days. Eight heats of Q-500
and Sport Quickie were completed.
The first Q-500 heat consisted of Jim Allen, Chuck Andraka,
Gino Del Ponte, and Marty Hoppe, and it was airborne at
approximately 9 a.m. Saturday. The racing continued to increase
in intensity throughout the weekend and did not let up until 4:30
p.m. Sunday.
Early in Round One, Mike Tallman and Dave Presta were the
victims of a supersized midair. Dave lost a new Bird of Prey and
Mike lost a Shotgun. There were no survivors, but, as it always
does, the racing continued.
CD Jim Allen and last year’s champ Mike Helsel were also
gunned down by a big-league midair. Travis Flynn, not to be
outdone, showed us what bad air can do to a beautiful Vortex
doing 170 mph around Pylon 3.
In the final round Darrol Cady experienced a flameout on lap
10. Fortunately his model was able to coast the remainder of the
last lap and cross the finish line in NASCAR fashion. (Just
barely, Darrol.)
After seven rounds, Fred Burgdorf and Gary Freeman Jr. had
the only perfect scores. Fred’s fast time from Round Two would
hold out, but his perfect score would not. He finished third in his
final heat, opening the door for Gary, and Gary walked through it
with a first-place finish in his eighth heat, giving him the overall
win. The top 10 Q-500 finishers were:
1) Gary Freeman Jr.
2) Fred Burgdorf (fast time: 1:07.12)
3) Randy Bridge
4) Tony Lopez
5) Gary Freeman Sr.
6) Kurt Bozarth
7) Jim Allen
8) Tom Strom Sr.
9) John Williams
10) Darrol Cady
Gale Enstad owned the top spot and fast time throughout the
first day of Sport Quickie racing, with Bob Ponek hot on his
heels. However, Sunday was a different story. Bob slipped past
Gale to steal first place for the weekend. The results after two
days of excellent racing were:
1) Bob Ponek
2) Gale Enstad (fast time: 1:31.36)
3) Steve Cook
4) Dan Thordarson
5) Don Schelling
6) Tom Skavinsky
7) Ken Busse
8) Wayne Cloud
9) Mark Mellott
The Quarter 40 (Q-40) National Miniature Pylon Racing
Association (NMPRA)/JR Gold Cup Series is intended to improve
the quality and enjoyment of Pylon Racing at the national level.
Gold Cup racecourse facilities and operation standards are high,
ensuring excellent racing environments and competitive racing.
JR (distributed by Horizon Hobby) has sponsored the series in
the last few years, and Powermaster has provided the fuel. JR
provides engraved awards through fifth place, along with a fast
time award at each race. The company also donates $1,000 worth
of Horizon Hobby gift certificates to the host club.
The first JR Gold Cup race of 2005 was hosted by the
Speedworld R/C Flyers at the Speedworld Motorplex in Phoenix,
Arizona. (It’s the same club that hosted the Winterfest Q-500 race
I discussed previously.)
Turnout was excellent, with 72 racers in attendance.
Unfortunately I fell victim to the highly offensive yet incredibly
apathetic demands of work, and I had to cancel my plans to attend
at the last minute.
Stan Douglas was kind enough to post
an update on the Internet after the first day
of racing. As he suggested, webcams in the
pits would be great for those junkies who
are unable to attend events. Perhaps that
will be next on his list of racingtechnology
developments.
After four rounds (more than 70 heats),
Fred Burgdorf was in first place with a
perfect score, Lee Ulinger was in second,
and Darrol Cady was in third. Day Two
robbed Fred of his perfect score, and
engine woes bumped Lee Ulinger out of
contention.
Gino Del Ponte, with only one point
lost to Gary Schmidt, was able to grab the
top spot and hold it. You might recall that
Gino was the 2004 AMA Nats Q-40
champion. He is on fire (and not because
of Mike’s cooking).
The results of the first JR Gold Cup Q-
40 race of the year were:
1) Gino Del Ponte
2) Mike Helsel
3) Randy Bridge
4) Fred Burgdorf
5) Darrol Cady
6) Rusty Van Baren
7) Doug Killebrew
8) Lee Ulinger
9) Randy Smith
10) Drew Telford
11) Dave Shadel (fast time: 1:02.76)
California Speed Pros: In the last few
columns I have been presenting
information about some of the popular
models and designers/manufacturers. This
month I will provide some information
about Lyle Larson and a few of his current
designs.
Lyle’s company is California Speed
Pros—never mind the fact that he lives in
Piedmont, South Dakota—and the Web
site is www.angelfire.com/ok2/racewith
me/lylepage.html.
Lyle has been involved in Pylon
Racing since 1977 and has designed and
manufactured many successful FAI, Q-40,
and Q-500 airplanes. He has flown his own
models to big wins, called for racers who
have flown his models to big wins, and
watched his competition fly his models to
big wins.
Gino Del Ponte flew a Lyle Larson
Dago Red to first-place finishes at the
year’s first JR Gold Cup race and at the
2004 Nats. As are many Q-40 designs, the
Dago Red is modeled after a full-scale P-
51 Mustang.
Fred Burgdorf, Travis Flynn, and
Randy Bridge flew Lyle’s most recent
release—the Proud Bird—to a 1-2-3 finish
in the 2004 NMPRA Q-40 season points
championship. Fred was also the 2004 JR
Gold Cup champion and set fast times at
three of the four series races with a Proud
Bird.
Oh, and if I haven’t mentioned Fred
Burgdorf enough, he set the fast time of
58.91 seconds at the recent FAI Team
Trials flying a modified Larson Vendetta.
Lyle has flown in two World
Championships (earning fourth place in
1991 and eighth place in 2003) and has
attended several others as a caller. This
year he will travel to Tours, France, to call
for Randy Bridge in the FAI world
competition.
Lyle has also had success with his Q-
500 Bird of Prey. The kit comes with a
fiberglass fuselage and gel-coated
composite wing and tail. The model’s Vtail
has a unique design that distinguishes
itself from the generic Q-500 V-tails. Lyle
won his matrix at the 2004 Q-500 Nats
flying a Bird of Prey, and he finished in a
four-way tie for first in the finals.
All of Lyle’s kits are readily available
and at competitive prices. Not only does
he have a wealth of information about
Pylon Racing, but he has more than
enough experience to back it up. Without
suppliers such as Lyle and the long list of
others, our hobby/sport would not be what
it is today.
In the next column I hope to provide
some interesting details about Terence
Palaschuk of Canada and his Neme-Q.
And as always, suggestions and comments
are welcome. I’ll be back in two months.
The best recent online quote is from Gary
S. “If it’s fixable, you aren’t going fast
enough.” MA