District IV Report - 2012/05
Event summary
The Carolina Speed Rally was held June 29 at the Caldwell Aeromodelers’ field in Hudson, North Carolina. The field, provided by Caldwell County officials, sits on a former landfill and makes a great location for the event. Registration fees were donated to the Hickory Air Museum.
Pilots came from across the Carolinas and one traveled from Vermont. We had 12 pilots and 24 airplanes making runs throughout the day.
What the rally is
The Carolina Speed Rally is a unique RC event. Aside from safety checks, a no-turbine rule, and standard safe-flying practices, there are no restrictions on what or who can participate. We time everything from 30 mph park flyers to helicopters. Pylon Racing classes, hotliners, and overpowered sport airplanes are all common entries.
The rally’s goal is to mimic the Bonneville Salt Flats events of the 1950s and ’60s, where anyone with a hopped-up vehicle could bring it out and wring it out. Most pilots here operate with two throttle settings: wide-open and off. One pilot pushed his throttle so hard trying to get the most out of his airplane that he broke it—an example of the event bringing out the extremes in both pilots and models.
Notable speeds and pilots
- Mike Rutchka, who has attended every rally, broke the 165 mph barrier.
- Chris Mays (from Vermont) was eager to exceed his 149.9 mph personal mark; his smile when he walked back from the line was priceless.
- Seth Nagy’s fastest pass was 166.8 mph.
- Vic Welland set his personal best at 184.4 mph and hopes to break 200 mph at the next rally.
- Eric Meyers recorded 225.5 mph and is owed a sticker for that achievement.
Two-hundred miles per hour had appeared to be the limit; Bill Johansen was the only pilot to clear that mark in previous years.
Awards and recognition
- We issue a Certificate of Speed for each model that makes passes, listing the runs and the average top speed.
- We award stickers for speeds over 125 mph in 25 mph increments. Because 225 mph seemed far out of reach, no sticker existed for it—but Eric Meyers’ 225.5 mph run proves it should.
Club support, publicity, and volunteers
The club does a great job supporting this annual event:
- Lee Parker handled the radar gun.
- Don Bourdon quietly called out the fastest speeds and drew everyone’s attention with a smirk.
- Dave Groom handled public relations and attracted a large crowd.
The local newspaper ran articles two days in a row, including a front-page picture in the Sunday edition. Families came with lawn chairs and coolers—many had never seen model airplanes fly and were treated to some of the fastest models around. Mike McGarvey put on a cooking demonstration that would make an Iron Chef hungry.
Sponsors and resources
A huge thank-you to Dalton Sportswear for hats, shirts, towels, coffee cups, and other items—every pilot went home with something to remember the rally by. Thanks to John and to Eddie Kaiser for pilot gifts.
The club website, www.caldwellaeromodelers.com, has a full list of pilots and their aircraft. If you want to know which engines, motors, propellers, batteries, and airframes go fastest, it’s a great resource.
We hope to see you at the next rally!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
