July 2008 29
THE LAST WEEKEND in February each
year, a Pylon Racing-community tradition
continues on the outskirts of Phoenix,
Arizona. The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers club
has built its Quarter 40 Classic into the
premier Pylon race in addition to the F3D
Pylon Racing World Championships and the
US Nationals.
Jose Calderon’s (Mexico) Wild Turkey heads into Pylon Two during Saturday’s heats.
These models stand out with their radical wing shape and have performed superbly
throughout the years they’ve been around.
The SpeedWorld
R/C Flyers hosts
an AMA-class
Pylon Racing
season opener
Lee Ulinger’s (near) and Peter Thannhauser’s (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada) Polecats accelerate from the start in Round Two action.
by Jim Allen
30 MODEL AVIATION
Paolo Mucedola (Italy) with his caller/wife, Maria Pia, race in
Sunday morning’s action. They’ve joined the battle in Phoenix for
several years and have excelled.
Peter Thannhauser and his caller, Randy Smith (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada), compete Sunday. Peter is also an active F5D (electric
Pylon Racing) pilot and has been a Canadian F5D team member.
Ray Van de Klok (Netherlands) talks to ace starter Jerry Widmer
after an unfortunate heat. This was Ray’s first Phoenix race and
he vowed to be back next year.
Gary Schmidt chases Ray Van de Klok immediately after launch
while the Pylon One judges watch from their cage. The White
Tank Mountains are in the background.
July 2008 31
Fred Burgdorf barely leads Gary Schmidt around Pylons Two and Three
Saturday. Both fly Proud Birds, but they have different designs. They
battled this closely all 10 laps, but Gary came out on top with a 1:02.99.
Darrol and caller/wife, Rhonda Cady (Billings MT), chase Rob Metkemeijer
and his caller/brother, Bert (both of the Netherlands), in Heat 36.
Above: CD Jim Allen rounds Pylon Three with his owndesign
Proud Bird, while Jerry Bednark and his caller, AJ
Hemken (both of Champlin MN), head toward Pylon One.
Below: All 74 entries assemble for a group photo to
commemorate the largest attendance for an AMA Q-40
(event 422) race. The “90” in the foreground (not shown)
is the heat number that ended the first day’s racing.
Everyone involved in the event, from the awesome
SpeedWorld club members to the pilots and callers,
contributed to the record pace of turning the heats.
Photos by Sean Dunavant
In Heat 64, callers for Lee Ulinger, Doug Killebrew, Randy Bridge, and
Tom Strom watch the start lights intently. This heat is detailed in the text.
The lights at the bottom help
starters judge for early launches.
They are part of the state-of-the-art
AMA Pylon system that is in the final
stages of completion, which the Scott
McAfee Foundation made possible.
32 MODEL AVIATION
Authentic Indian Kachina Doll trophies are a tradition at the SpeedWorld winter races. The pilots like them and don’t want any other
type of awards. The Eagle on the far right is for the fast time of the meet.
Bruce and Joanne Coffey were one of four husband-andwife
teams at the event. Bruce adjusts the Jett .40 in
Joanne’s Larson Vendetta. He starts and adjusts the
engine and then they switch positions.
Notice the grafted-on wingtip on Gary Schmidt’s Proud Bird from his caller/partner, Jim Allen.
This is the best way to fix damage to molded composite wings; you need to find the remains of
a like model that’s not damaged.
The Classic started in 1986 as a
Formula 1 (F1) event at a field on
the east side of the Phoenix area. The
Arizona Model Aviators and the
Phoenix Pylon Racing Association
hosted it for two years.
For 1988 the race was moved to
the northwest side of Phoenix, to a
new flying field targeted at Pylon
Racing, with a permanent
racecourse. The site was Phoenix
Raceway Park, which had a 1/4-mile
drag strip. The club that flew at the
field was the Pro-Flyers.
In the late 1990s, the facility that
was home to the Pro-Flyers’ field
changed hands to new owners and
became SpeedWorld Raceway Park.
Part of that change required that a
new club be formed with a name to
go with the facility. That was when July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
the competition most of the way through
Round 5, to get in as much racing as
possible for an earlier finish on Sunday.
The course workers were ready to go
home for the day; it had been a busy one.
Then the club hosted a barbecue for
everyone who was interested, and quite a
few stuck around. The food was great.
Sunday morning dawned with some
cloud cover and, again, light winds. The
racing started where it left off, and the
pilots finished Round 5. There were even
engines running for the first heat of the
day five minutes early. We pressed on
through eight full rounds and were ready
for flyoffs at roughly 2:30.
At the end of Round 8, we had three
ties for positions in the top seven and
needed two flyoffs. Gary Schmidt (San
Diego, California) and I were tied for
seventh, but we let our fast times decide
the positions. Gary was awarded the
seventh spot.
That left AJ Seaholm (Lees Summit,
Missouri) and Tom Strom to fly off for
fifth place. Their fast times were 0.5
second apart, so it looked like it would
have been a close race, but AJ had troubles
starting and wasn’t running when the heat
launched. That left Tom to cruise for 10
laps to fifth place.
Next up with a three-way flyoff for
the second position were Scott McAfee
(Corona Del Mar, California), Fred
Burgdorf (Woodland, California), and Dan Kane (Arlington Heights, Illinois).
The heat started out incredibly close,
and then Dan and Fred earned cuts
approximately midrace. Scott stayed
clean to take the flyoff and the secondplace
trophy.
In the end, Tony Lopez (Phoenix,
Arizona) had the fast time of the
weekend with a 1:00.84—the only flight
faster than 1:01—but Matias Salar
(Northridge, California) was as close as
you can get, with a 1:01.00. For fast time
Tony received the traditional Eagle
Kachina Doll trophy, with its widespread
wings.
In all there were nine racers with fast
times in the 1:01s and nine in the 1:02s.
Of the 74 racers, 42 had best times that
were faster than 1:06. You can imagine
why there were so many close heats.
As the CD of this kind of event (and
participant), I really look forward to this
race, but it’s a relief when it’s over.
After approximately a month of catching
up on things, I can’t wait until the end of
February 2009 to do it again.
The sport of AMA Pylon Racing is an
intense amount of fun, but the
friendships we make along the way are
the icing on the cake. If you haven’t seen
one of these races, it’s worth a trip to
check it out. You can find more
information on the National Miniature
Pylon Racing Association Web site. MA
Jim Allen
[email protected]
Sources:
National Miniature Pylon Racing
Association
www.nmpra.org
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/07
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,32,33,34
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/07
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,32,33,34
July 2008 29
THE LAST WEEKEND in February each
year, a Pylon Racing-community tradition
continues on the outskirts of Phoenix,
Arizona. The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers club
has built its Quarter 40 Classic into the
premier Pylon race in addition to the F3D
Pylon Racing World Championships and the
US Nationals.
Jose Calderon’s (Mexico) Wild Turkey heads into Pylon Two during Saturday’s heats.
These models stand out with their radical wing shape and have performed superbly
throughout the years they’ve been around.
The SpeedWorld
R/C Flyers hosts
an AMA-class
Pylon Racing
season opener
Lee Ulinger’s (near) and Peter Thannhauser’s (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada) Polecats accelerate from the start in Round Two action.
by Jim Allen
30 MODEL AVIATION
Paolo Mucedola (Italy) with his caller/wife, Maria Pia, race in
Sunday morning’s action. They’ve joined the battle in Phoenix for
several years and have excelled.
Peter Thannhauser and his caller, Randy Smith (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada), compete Sunday. Peter is also an active F5D (electric
Pylon Racing) pilot and has been a Canadian F5D team member.
Ray Van de Klok (Netherlands) talks to ace starter Jerry Widmer
after an unfortunate heat. This was Ray’s first Phoenix race and
he vowed to be back next year.
Gary Schmidt chases Ray Van de Klok immediately after launch
while the Pylon One judges watch from their cage. The White
Tank Mountains are in the background.
July 2008 31
Fred Burgdorf barely leads Gary Schmidt around Pylons Two and Three
Saturday. Both fly Proud Birds, but they have different designs. They
battled this closely all 10 laps, but Gary came out on top with a 1:02.99.
Darrol and caller/wife, Rhonda Cady (Billings MT), chase Rob Metkemeijer
and his caller/brother, Bert (both of the Netherlands), in Heat 36.
Above: CD Jim Allen rounds Pylon Three with his owndesign
Proud Bird, while Jerry Bednark and his caller, AJ
Hemken (both of Champlin MN), head toward Pylon One.
Below: All 74 entries assemble for a group photo to
commemorate the largest attendance for an AMA Q-40
(event 422) race. The “90” in the foreground (not shown)
is the heat number that ended the first day’s racing.
Everyone involved in the event, from the awesome
SpeedWorld club members to the pilots and callers,
contributed to the record pace of turning the heats.
Photos by Sean Dunavant
In Heat 64, callers for Lee Ulinger, Doug Killebrew, Randy Bridge, and
Tom Strom watch the start lights intently. This heat is detailed in the text.
The lights at the bottom help
starters judge for early launches.
They are part of the state-of-the-art
AMA Pylon system that is in the final
stages of completion, which the Scott
McAfee Foundation made possible.
32 MODEL AVIATION
Authentic Indian Kachina Doll trophies are a tradition at the SpeedWorld winter races. The pilots like them and don’t want any other
type of awards. The Eagle on the far right is for the fast time of the meet.
Bruce and Joanne Coffey were one of four husband-andwife
teams at the event. Bruce adjusts the Jett .40 in
Joanne’s Larson Vendetta. He starts and adjusts the
engine and then they switch positions.
Notice the grafted-on wingtip on Gary Schmidt’s Proud Bird from his caller/partner, Jim Allen.
This is the best way to fix damage to molded composite wings; you need to find the remains of
a like model that’s not damaged.
The Classic started in 1986 as a
Formula 1 (F1) event at a field on
the east side of the Phoenix area. The
Arizona Model Aviators and the
Phoenix Pylon Racing Association
hosted it for two years.
For 1988 the race was moved to
the northwest side of Phoenix, to a
new flying field targeted at Pylon
Racing, with a permanent
racecourse. The site was Phoenix
Raceway Park, which had a 1/4-mile
drag strip. The club that flew at the
field was the Pro-Flyers.
In the late 1990s, the facility that
was home to the Pro-Flyers’ field
changed hands to new owners and
became SpeedWorld Raceway Park.
Part of that change required that a
new club be formed with a name to
go with the facility. That was when July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
the competition most of the way through
Round 5, to get in as much racing as
possible for an earlier finish on Sunday.
The course workers were ready to go
home for the day; it had been a busy one.
Then the club hosted a barbecue for
everyone who was interested, and quite a
few stuck around. The food was great.
Sunday morning dawned with some
cloud cover and, again, light winds. The
racing started where it left off, and the
pilots finished Round 5. There were even
engines running for the first heat of the
day five minutes early. We pressed on
through eight full rounds and were ready
for flyoffs at roughly 2:30.
At the end of Round 8, we had three
ties for positions in the top seven and
needed two flyoffs. Gary Schmidt (San
Diego, California) and I were tied for
seventh, but we let our fast times decide
the positions. Gary was awarded the
seventh spot.
That left AJ Seaholm (Lees Summit,
Missouri) and Tom Strom to fly off for
fifth place. Their fast times were 0.5
second apart, so it looked like it would
have been a close race, but AJ had troubles
starting and wasn’t running when the heat
launched. That left Tom to cruise for 10
laps to fifth place.
Next up with a three-way flyoff for
the second position were Scott McAfee
(Corona Del Mar, California), Fred
Burgdorf (Woodland, California), and Dan Kane (Arlington Heights, Illinois).
The heat started out incredibly close,
and then Dan and Fred earned cuts
approximately midrace. Scott stayed
clean to take the flyoff and the secondplace
trophy.
In the end, Tony Lopez (Phoenix,
Arizona) had the fast time of the
weekend with a 1:00.84—the only flight
faster than 1:01—but Matias Salar
(Northridge, California) was as close as
you can get, with a 1:01.00. For fast time
Tony received the traditional Eagle
Kachina Doll trophy, with its widespread
wings.
In all there were nine racers with fast
times in the 1:01s and nine in the 1:02s.
Of the 74 racers, 42 had best times that
were faster than 1:06. You can imagine
why there were so many close heats.
As the CD of this kind of event (and
participant), I really look forward to this
race, but it’s a relief when it’s over.
After approximately a month of catching
up on things, I can’t wait until the end of
February 2009 to do it again.
The sport of AMA Pylon Racing is an
intense amount of fun, but the
friendships we make along the way are
the icing on the cake. If you haven’t seen
one of these races, it’s worth a trip to
check it out. You can find more
information on the National Miniature
Pylon Racing Association Web site. MA
Jim Allen
[email protected]
Sources:
National Miniature Pylon Racing
Association
www.nmpra.org
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/07
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,32,33,34
July 2008 29
THE LAST WEEKEND in February each
year, a Pylon Racing-community tradition
continues on the outskirts of Phoenix,
Arizona. The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers club
has built its Quarter 40 Classic into the
premier Pylon race in addition to the F3D
Pylon Racing World Championships and the
US Nationals.
Jose Calderon’s (Mexico) Wild Turkey heads into Pylon Two during Saturday’s heats.
These models stand out with their radical wing shape and have performed superbly
throughout the years they’ve been around.
The SpeedWorld
R/C Flyers hosts
an AMA-class
Pylon Racing
season opener
Lee Ulinger’s (near) and Peter Thannhauser’s (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada) Polecats accelerate from the start in Round Two action.
by Jim Allen
30 MODEL AVIATION
Paolo Mucedola (Italy) with his caller/wife, Maria Pia, race in
Sunday morning’s action. They’ve joined the battle in Phoenix for
several years and have excelled.
Peter Thannhauser and his caller, Randy Smith (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada), compete Sunday. Peter is also an active F5D (electric
Pylon Racing) pilot and has been a Canadian F5D team member.
Ray Van de Klok (Netherlands) talks to ace starter Jerry Widmer
after an unfortunate heat. This was Ray’s first Phoenix race and
he vowed to be back next year.
Gary Schmidt chases Ray Van de Klok immediately after launch
while the Pylon One judges watch from their cage. The White
Tank Mountains are in the background.
July 2008 31
Fred Burgdorf barely leads Gary Schmidt around Pylons Two and Three
Saturday. Both fly Proud Birds, but they have different designs. They
battled this closely all 10 laps, but Gary came out on top with a 1:02.99.
Darrol and caller/wife, Rhonda Cady (Billings MT), chase Rob Metkemeijer
and his caller/brother, Bert (both of the Netherlands), in Heat 36.
Above: CD Jim Allen rounds Pylon Three with his owndesign
Proud Bird, while Jerry Bednark and his caller, AJ
Hemken (both of Champlin MN), head toward Pylon One.
Below: All 74 entries assemble for a group photo to
commemorate the largest attendance for an AMA Q-40
(event 422) race. The “90” in the foreground (not shown)
is the heat number that ended the first day’s racing.
Everyone involved in the event, from the awesome
SpeedWorld club members to the pilots and callers,
contributed to the record pace of turning the heats.
Photos by Sean Dunavant
In Heat 64, callers for Lee Ulinger, Doug Killebrew, Randy Bridge, and
Tom Strom watch the start lights intently. This heat is detailed in the text.
The lights at the bottom help
starters judge for early launches.
They are part of the state-of-the-art
AMA Pylon system that is in the final
stages of completion, which the Scott
McAfee Foundation made possible.
32 MODEL AVIATION
Authentic Indian Kachina Doll trophies are a tradition at the SpeedWorld winter races. The pilots like them and don’t want any other
type of awards. The Eagle on the far right is for the fast time of the meet.
Bruce and Joanne Coffey were one of four husband-andwife
teams at the event. Bruce adjusts the Jett .40 in
Joanne’s Larson Vendetta. He starts and adjusts the
engine and then they switch positions.
Notice the grafted-on wingtip on Gary Schmidt’s Proud Bird from his caller/partner, Jim Allen.
This is the best way to fix damage to molded composite wings; you need to find the remains of
a like model that’s not damaged.
The Classic started in 1986 as a
Formula 1 (F1) event at a field on
the east side of the Phoenix area. The
Arizona Model Aviators and the
Phoenix Pylon Racing Association
hosted it for two years.
For 1988 the race was moved to
the northwest side of Phoenix, to a
new flying field targeted at Pylon
Racing, with a permanent
racecourse. The site was Phoenix
Raceway Park, which had a 1/4-mile
drag strip. The club that flew at the
field was the Pro-Flyers.
In the late 1990s, the facility that
was home to the Pro-Flyers’ field
changed hands to new owners and
became SpeedWorld Raceway Park.
Part of that change required that a
new club be formed with a name to
go with the facility. That was when July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
the competition most of the way through
Round 5, to get in as much racing as
possible for an earlier finish on Sunday.
The course workers were ready to go
home for the day; it had been a busy one.
Then the club hosted a barbecue for
everyone who was interested, and quite a
few stuck around. The food was great.
Sunday morning dawned with some
cloud cover and, again, light winds. The
racing started where it left off, and the
pilots finished Round 5. There were even
engines running for the first heat of the
day five minutes early. We pressed on
through eight full rounds and were ready
for flyoffs at roughly 2:30.
At the end of Round 8, we had three
ties for positions in the top seven and
needed two flyoffs. Gary Schmidt (San
Diego, California) and I were tied for
seventh, but we let our fast times decide
the positions. Gary was awarded the
seventh spot.
That left AJ Seaholm (Lees Summit,
Missouri) and Tom Strom to fly off for
fifth place. Their fast times were 0.5
second apart, so it looked like it would
have been a close race, but AJ had troubles
starting and wasn’t running when the heat
launched. That left Tom to cruise for 10
laps to fifth place.
Next up with a three-way flyoff for
the second position were Scott McAfee
(Corona Del Mar, California), Fred
Burgdorf (Woodland, California), and Dan Kane (Arlington Heights, Illinois).
The heat started out incredibly close,
and then Dan and Fred earned cuts
approximately midrace. Scott stayed
clean to take the flyoff and the secondplace
trophy.
In the end, Tony Lopez (Phoenix,
Arizona) had the fast time of the
weekend with a 1:00.84—the only flight
faster than 1:01—but Matias Salar
(Northridge, California) was as close as
you can get, with a 1:01.00. For fast time
Tony received the traditional Eagle
Kachina Doll trophy, with its widespread
wings.
In all there were nine racers with fast
times in the 1:01s and nine in the 1:02s.
Of the 74 racers, 42 had best times that
were faster than 1:06. You can imagine
why there were so many close heats.
As the CD of this kind of event (and
participant), I really look forward to this
race, but it’s a relief when it’s over.
After approximately a month of catching
up on things, I can’t wait until the end of
February 2009 to do it again.
The sport of AMA Pylon Racing is an
intense amount of fun, but the
friendships we make along the way are
the icing on the cake. If you haven’t seen
one of these races, it’s worth a trip to
check it out. You can find more
information on the National Miniature
Pylon Racing Association Web site. MA
Jim Allen
[email protected]
Sources:
National Miniature Pylon Racing
Association
www.nmpra.org
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/07
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,32,33,34
July 2008 29
THE LAST WEEKEND in February each
year, a Pylon Racing-community tradition
continues on the outskirts of Phoenix,
Arizona. The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers club
has built its Quarter 40 Classic into the
premier Pylon race in addition to the F3D
Pylon Racing World Championships and the
US Nationals.
Jose Calderon’s (Mexico) Wild Turkey heads into Pylon Two during Saturday’s heats.
These models stand out with their radical wing shape and have performed superbly
throughout the years they’ve been around.
The SpeedWorld
R/C Flyers hosts
an AMA-class
Pylon Racing
season opener
Lee Ulinger’s (near) and Peter Thannhauser’s (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada) Polecats accelerate from the start in Round Two action.
by Jim Allen
30 MODEL AVIATION
Paolo Mucedola (Italy) with his caller/wife, Maria Pia, race in
Sunday morning’s action. They’ve joined the battle in Phoenix for
several years and have excelled.
Peter Thannhauser and his caller, Randy Smith (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada), compete Sunday. Peter is also an active F5D (electric
Pylon Racing) pilot and has been a Canadian F5D team member.
Ray Van de Klok (Netherlands) talks to ace starter Jerry Widmer
after an unfortunate heat. This was Ray’s first Phoenix race and
he vowed to be back next year.
Gary Schmidt chases Ray Van de Klok immediately after launch
while the Pylon One judges watch from their cage. The White
Tank Mountains are in the background.
July 2008 31
Fred Burgdorf barely leads Gary Schmidt around Pylons Two and Three
Saturday. Both fly Proud Birds, but they have different designs. They
battled this closely all 10 laps, but Gary came out on top with a 1:02.99.
Darrol and caller/wife, Rhonda Cady (Billings MT), chase Rob Metkemeijer
and his caller/brother, Bert (both of the Netherlands), in Heat 36.
Above: CD Jim Allen rounds Pylon Three with his owndesign
Proud Bird, while Jerry Bednark and his caller, AJ
Hemken (both of Champlin MN), head toward Pylon One.
Below: All 74 entries assemble for a group photo to
commemorate the largest attendance for an AMA Q-40
(event 422) race. The “90” in the foreground (not shown)
is the heat number that ended the first day’s racing.
Everyone involved in the event, from the awesome
SpeedWorld club members to the pilots and callers,
contributed to the record pace of turning the heats.
Photos by Sean Dunavant
In Heat 64, callers for Lee Ulinger, Doug Killebrew, Randy Bridge, and
Tom Strom watch the start lights intently. This heat is detailed in the text.
The lights at the bottom help
starters judge for early launches.
They are part of the state-of-the-art
AMA Pylon system that is in the final
stages of completion, which the Scott
McAfee Foundation made possible.
32 MODEL AVIATION
Authentic Indian Kachina Doll trophies are a tradition at the SpeedWorld winter races. The pilots like them and don’t want any other
type of awards. The Eagle on the far right is for the fast time of the meet.
Bruce and Joanne Coffey were one of four husband-andwife
teams at the event. Bruce adjusts the Jett .40 in
Joanne’s Larson Vendetta. He starts and adjusts the
engine and then they switch positions.
Notice the grafted-on wingtip on Gary Schmidt’s Proud Bird from his caller/partner, Jim Allen.
This is the best way to fix damage to molded composite wings; you need to find the remains of
a like model that’s not damaged.
The Classic started in 1986 as a
Formula 1 (F1) event at a field on
the east side of the Phoenix area. The
Arizona Model Aviators and the
Phoenix Pylon Racing Association
hosted it for two years.
For 1988 the race was moved to
the northwest side of Phoenix, to a
new flying field targeted at Pylon
Racing, with a permanent
racecourse. The site was Phoenix
Raceway Park, which had a 1/4-mile
drag strip. The club that flew at the
field was the Pro-Flyers.
In the late 1990s, the facility that
was home to the Pro-Flyers’ field
changed hands to new owners and
became SpeedWorld Raceway Park.
Part of that change required that a
new club be formed with a name to
go with the facility. That was when July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
the competition most of the way through
Round 5, to get in as much racing as
possible for an earlier finish on Sunday.
The course workers were ready to go
home for the day; it had been a busy one.
Then the club hosted a barbecue for
everyone who was interested, and quite a
few stuck around. The food was great.
Sunday morning dawned with some
cloud cover and, again, light winds. The
racing started where it left off, and the
pilots finished Round 5. There were even
engines running for the first heat of the
day five minutes early. We pressed on
through eight full rounds and were ready
for flyoffs at roughly 2:30.
At the end of Round 8, we had three
ties for positions in the top seven and
needed two flyoffs. Gary Schmidt (San
Diego, California) and I were tied for
seventh, but we let our fast times decide
the positions. Gary was awarded the
seventh spot.
That left AJ Seaholm (Lees Summit,
Missouri) and Tom Strom to fly off for
fifth place. Their fast times were 0.5
second apart, so it looked like it would
have been a close race, but AJ had troubles
starting and wasn’t running when the heat
launched. That left Tom to cruise for 10
laps to fifth place.
Next up with a three-way flyoff for
the second position were Scott McAfee
(Corona Del Mar, California), Fred
Burgdorf (Woodland, California), and Dan Kane (Arlington Heights, Illinois).
The heat started out incredibly close,
and then Dan and Fred earned cuts
approximately midrace. Scott stayed
clean to take the flyoff and the secondplace
trophy.
In the end, Tony Lopez (Phoenix,
Arizona) had the fast time of the
weekend with a 1:00.84—the only flight
faster than 1:01—but Matias Salar
(Northridge, California) was as close as
you can get, with a 1:01.00. For fast time
Tony received the traditional Eagle
Kachina Doll trophy, with its widespread
wings.
In all there were nine racers with fast
times in the 1:01s and nine in the 1:02s.
Of the 74 racers, 42 had best times that
were faster than 1:06. You can imagine
why there were so many close heats.
As the CD of this kind of event (and
participant), I really look forward to this
race, but it’s a relief when it’s over.
After approximately a month of catching
up on things, I can’t wait until the end of
February 2009 to do it again.
The sport of AMA Pylon Racing is an
intense amount of fun, but the
friendships we make along the way are
the icing on the cake. If you haven’t seen
one of these races, it’s worth a trip to
check it out. You can find more
information on the National Miniature
Pylon Racing Association Web site. MA
Jim Allen
[email protected]
Sources:
National Miniature Pylon Racing
Association
www.nmpra.org
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/07
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,32,33,34
July 2008 29
THE LAST WEEKEND in February each
year, a Pylon Racing-community tradition
continues on the outskirts of Phoenix,
Arizona. The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers club
has built its Quarter 40 Classic into the
premier Pylon race in addition to the F3D
Pylon Racing World Championships and the
US Nationals.
Jose Calderon’s (Mexico) Wild Turkey heads into Pylon Two during Saturday’s heats.
These models stand out with their radical wing shape and have performed superbly
throughout the years they’ve been around.
The SpeedWorld
R/C Flyers hosts
an AMA-class
Pylon Racing
season opener
Lee Ulinger’s (near) and Peter Thannhauser’s (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada) Polecats accelerate from the start in Round Two action.
by Jim Allen
30 MODEL AVIATION
Paolo Mucedola (Italy) with his caller/wife, Maria Pia, race in
Sunday morning’s action. They’ve joined the battle in Phoenix for
several years and have excelled.
Peter Thannhauser and his caller, Randy Smith (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada), compete Sunday. Peter is also an active F5D (electric
Pylon Racing) pilot and has been a Canadian F5D team member.
Ray Van de Klok (Netherlands) talks to ace starter Jerry Widmer
after an unfortunate heat. This was Ray’s first Phoenix race and
he vowed to be back next year.
Gary Schmidt chases Ray Van de Klok immediately after launch
while the Pylon One judges watch from their cage. The White
Tank Mountains are in the background.
July 2008 31
Fred Burgdorf barely leads Gary Schmidt around Pylons Two and Three
Saturday. Both fly Proud Birds, but they have different designs. They
battled this closely all 10 laps, but Gary came out on top with a 1:02.99.
Darrol and caller/wife, Rhonda Cady (Billings MT), chase Rob Metkemeijer
and his caller/brother, Bert (both of the Netherlands), in Heat 36.
Above: CD Jim Allen rounds Pylon Three with his owndesign
Proud Bird, while Jerry Bednark and his caller, AJ
Hemken (both of Champlin MN), head toward Pylon One.
Below: All 74 entries assemble for a group photo to
commemorate the largest attendance for an AMA Q-40
(event 422) race. The “90” in the foreground (not shown)
is the heat number that ended the first day’s racing.
Everyone involved in the event, from the awesome
SpeedWorld club members to the pilots and callers,
contributed to the record pace of turning the heats.
Photos by Sean Dunavant
In Heat 64, callers for Lee Ulinger, Doug Killebrew, Randy Bridge, and
Tom Strom watch the start lights intently. This heat is detailed in the text.
The lights at the bottom help
starters judge for early launches.
They are part of the state-of-the-art
AMA Pylon system that is in the final
stages of completion, which the Scott
McAfee Foundation made possible.
32 MODEL AVIATION
Authentic Indian Kachina Doll trophies are a tradition at the SpeedWorld winter races. The pilots like them and don’t want any other
type of awards. The Eagle on the far right is for the fast time of the meet.
Bruce and Joanne Coffey were one of four husband-andwife
teams at the event. Bruce adjusts the Jett .40 in
Joanne’s Larson Vendetta. He starts and adjusts the
engine and then they switch positions.
Notice the grafted-on wingtip on Gary Schmidt’s Proud Bird from his caller/partner, Jim Allen.
This is the best way to fix damage to molded composite wings; you need to find the remains of
a like model that’s not damaged.
The Classic started in 1986 as a
Formula 1 (F1) event at a field on
the east side of the Phoenix area. The
Arizona Model Aviators and the
Phoenix Pylon Racing Association
hosted it for two years.
For 1988 the race was moved to
the northwest side of Phoenix, to a
new flying field targeted at Pylon
Racing, with a permanent
racecourse. The site was Phoenix
Raceway Park, which had a 1/4-mile
drag strip. The club that flew at the
field was the Pro-Flyers.
In the late 1990s, the facility that
was home to the Pro-Flyers’ field
changed hands to new owners and
became SpeedWorld Raceway Park.
Part of that change required that a
new club be formed with a name to
go with the facility. That was when July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
the competition most of the way through
Round 5, to get in as much racing as
possible for an earlier finish on Sunday.
The course workers were ready to go
home for the day; it had been a busy one.
Then the club hosted a barbecue for
everyone who was interested, and quite a
few stuck around. The food was great.
Sunday morning dawned with some
cloud cover and, again, light winds. The
racing started where it left off, and the
pilots finished Round 5. There were even
engines running for the first heat of the
day five minutes early. We pressed on
through eight full rounds and were ready
for flyoffs at roughly 2:30.
At the end of Round 8, we had three
ties for positions in the top seven and
needed two flyoffs. Gary Schmidt (San
Diego, California) and I were tied for
seventh, but we let our fast times decide
the positions. Gary was awarded the
seventh spot.
That left AJ Seaholm (Lees Summit,
Missouri) and Tom Strom to fly off for
fifth place. Their fast times were 0.5
second apart, so it looked like it would
have been a close race, but AJ had troubles
starting and wasn’t running when the heat
launched. That left Tom to cruise for 10
laps to fifth place.
Next up with a three-way flyoff for
the second position were Scott McAfee
(Corona Del Mar, California), Fred
Burgdorf (Woodland, California), and Dan Kane (Arlington Heights, Illinois).
The heat started out incredibly close,
and then Dan and Fred earned cuts
approximately midrace. Scott stayed
clean to take the flyoff and the secondplace
trophy.
In the end, Tony Lopez (Phoenix,
Arizona) had the fast time of the
weekend with a 1:00.84—the only flight
faster than 1:01—but Matias Salar
(Northridge, California) was as close as
you can get, with a 1:01.00. For fast time
Tony received the traditional Eagle
Kachina Doll trophy, with its widespread
wings.
In all there were nine racers with fast
times in the 1:01s and nine in the 1:02s.
Of the 74 racers, 42 had best times that
were faster than 1:06. You can imagine
why there were so many close heats.
As the CD of this kind of event (and
participant), I really look forward to this
race, but it’s a relief when it’s over.
After approximately a month of catching
up on things, I can’t wait until the end of
February 2009 to do it again.
The sport of AMA Pylon Racing is an
intense amount of fun, but the
friendships we make along the way are
the icing on the cake. If you haven’t seen
one of these races, it’s worth a trip to
check it out. You can find more
information on the National Miniature
Pylon Racing Association Web site. MA
Jim Allen
[email protected]
Sources:
National Miniature Pylon Racing
Association
www.nmpra.org
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/07
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,32,33,34
July 2008 29
THE LAST WEEKEND in February each
year, a Pylon Racing-community tradition
continues on the outskirts of Phoenix,
Arizona. The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers club
has built its Quarter 40 Classic into the
premier Pylon race in addition to the F3D
Pylon Racing World Championships and the
US Nationals.
Jose Calderon’s (Mexico) Wild Turkey heads into Pylon Two during Saturday’s heats.
These models stand out with their radical wing shape and have performed superbly
throughout the years they’ve been around.
The SpeedWorld
R/C Flyers hosts
an AMA-class
Pylon Racing
season opener
Lee Ulinger’s (near) and Peter Thannhauser’s (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada) Polecats accelerate from the start in Round Two action.
by Jim Allen
30 MODEL AVIATION
Paolo Mucedola (Italy) with his caller/wife, Maria Pia, race in
Sunday morning’s action. They’ve joined the battle in Phoenix for
several years and have excelled.
Peter Thannhauser and his caller, Randy Smith (Calgary, Alberta,
Canada), compete Sunday. Peter is also an active F5D (electric
Pylon Racing) pilot and has been a Canadian F5D team member.
Ray Van de Klok (Netherlands) talks to ace starter Jerry Widmer
after an unfortunate heat. This was Ray’s first Phoenix race and
he vowed to be back next year.
Gary Schmidt chases Ray Van de Klok immediately after launch
while the Pylon One judges watch from their cage. The White
Tank Mountains are in the background.
July 2008 31
Fred Burgdorf barely leads Gary Schmidt around Pylons Two and Three
Saturday. Both fly Proud Birds, but they have different designs. They
battled this closely all 10 laps, but Gary came out on top with a 1:02.99.
Darrol and caller/wife, Rhonda Cady (Billings MT), chase Rob Metkemeijer
and his caller/brother, Bert (both of the Netherlands), in Heat 36.
Above: CD Jim Allen rounds Pylon Three with his owndesign
Proud Bird, while Jerry Bednark and his caller, AJ
Hemken (both of Champlin MN), head toward Pylon One.
Below: All 74 entries assemble for a group photo to
commemorate the largest attendance for an AMA Q-40
(event 422) race. The “90” in the foreground (not shown)
is the heat number that ended the first day’s racing.
Everyone involved in the event, from the awesome
SpeedWorld club members to the pilots and callers,
contributed to the record pace of turning the heats.
Photos by Sean Dunavant
In Heat 64, callers for Lee Ulinger, Doug Killebrew, Randy Bridge, and
Tom Strom watch the start lights intently. This heat is detailed in the text.
The lights at the bottom help
starters judge for early launches.
They are part of the state-of-the-art
AMA Pylon system that is in the final
stages of completion, which the Scott
McAfee Foundation made possible.
32 MODEL AVIATION
Authentic Indian Kachina Doll trophies are a tradition at the SpeedWorld winter races. The pilots like them and don’t want any other
type of awards. The Eagle on the far right is for the fast time of the meet.
Bruce and Joanne Coffey were one of four husband-andwife
teams at the event. Bruce adjusts the Jett .40 in
Joanne’s Larson Vendetta. He starts and adjusts the
engine and then they switch positions.
Notice the grafted-on wingtip on Gary Schmidt’s Proud Bird from his caller/partner, Jim Allen.
This is the best way to fix damage to molded composite wings; you need to find the remains of
a like model that’s not damaged.
The Classic started in 1986 as a
Formula 1 (F1) event at a field on
the east side of the Phoenix area. The
Arizona Model Aviators and the
Phoenix Pylon Racing Association
hosted it for two years.
For 1988 the race was moved to
the northwest side of Phoenix, to a
new flying field targeted at Pylon
Racing, with a permanent
racecourse. The site was Phoenix
Raceway Park, which had a 1/4-mile
drag strip. The club that flew at the
field was the Pro-Flyers.
In the late 1990s, the facility that
was home to the Pro-Flyers’ field
changed hands to new owners and
became SpeedWorld Raceway Park.
Part of that change required that a
new club be formed with a name to
go with the facility. That was when July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
July 2008 33
The trophy winners (front row L-R): Lee VonDerHey, caller Matias Salar
for Scott McAfee, Scott McAfee, Fred Burgdorf and caller Travis Flynn,
caller Gary Freeman Jr. for Dan Kane, Dan Kane (back row L-R), caller
Gino DelPonte for Tony Lopez, Tony Lopez, caller Tom Strom Jr. for
Tom Strom Sr., Tom Strom Sr., AJ Seaholm and caller Scott Causey, and
Gary Schmidt and caller Jim Allen.
the SpeedWorld R/C Flyers was created.
The new raceway owners had a plan to
expand the property into a facility for all
kinds of motor sports, so it was important
that the club retain its racing roots.
Today SpeedWorld Raceway Park
features drag racing, motocross, a 1/4-mile
dirt oval, a 3/8-mile high-banked dirt oval,
a 100-yard sand drag track, and a BMX
track. The facility has even hosted the hit
SPEEDtv show “Pinks” several times.
For RC there’s a 1/4-scale asphalt oval
track, a world-class off-road car track, and
the wonderful flying field, complete with
two runways and a Pylon Racing course.
It’s a motorhead’s paradise.
The SpeedWorld R/C Flyers hosts three
AMA-class Pylon races and two RCPRO
warbird races each year. F1 was the event
of choice for the February race until the
mid-1990s, when the relatively new
Quarter 40 (Q-40) event became more
popular than the more complex F1.
The 1996 event was the last at which
the Phoenix Classic would consist only of
F1. In 1997 and 1998, F1 and Q-40 were
flown; a half day of each class was
contested on each day of the weekend. At
the 1998 event it was obvious that F1
pilots were simply using up old equipment,
so the 1999 Classic was changed to Q-40
only, as it continues to be today.
The ideal climate in Phoenix in
February has done a great deal to help this
contest’s growth throughout the years, but
the SpeedWorld club’s reputation for firstclass
events has been the key driver in its
development. The club has proven that it
runs well-organized, fair, and efficient
competitions after which the attendees go
home looking forward to coming back the
next year.
In the last several years the Classic has
had entries from 12 countries outside the
US. The 2008 event proved to be the
largest and best yet. By the first of
February, pre-entries had reached the mid-
60s. As of the cutoff date of February 13,
the entry total was 74.
The roster included pilots from seven
countries and 16 states, as well as a
majority of the best Q-40 racers in the US.
Those included three world and numerous
AMA Nats champions.
The contest was held the weekend of
February 23-24. Of the racers from outside
the US, the country with the largest
representation was Mexico, with nine.
Canada had its usual crowd, with six
racers, and the Netherlands had three.
Italy, Germany, and Venezuela each had
one pilot.
It has been great to watch this event’s
entries become more international in the
last few years. It’s another example of how
the Classic’s reputation has spread.
This year’s pilots started arriving the
Monday before the event—especially the
ones who came from snow-covered parts
of the world. The Classic entrants have to
share flying time with the club’s sport
fliers until Friday, when the field is
dedicated to practice flying.
Friday the models are lined up on the
main runway in a circle, waiting for a
chance to fly; only four aircraft at a time
are allowed on the course during practice.
This line can be up to 75 airplanes long,
with more than a two-hour wait for a flight.
Rain dampened practice-flying much of
Friday. But a few pilots braved the coolerthan-
normal temps to fly between the
raindrops and make sure they were ready
for the action to start first thing Saturday
morning.
Saturday’s practice-flying was stopped at
8 a.m. for a pilots’ meeting, with the hope
that racing could get started close to 8:30.
Engines were running for the first heat just
a few minutes after that time. Starting on
schedule is critical when you have 19 heats
per round.
The racing was intense from the start,
and the heats clicked off faster than I had
ever seen. When we stopped for lunch
Saturday at 12:30, 50 heats had been
flown. The last heat flown the first day was
the 90th, most of the way through the fifth
round. That exceeded the club’s record of
80 heats in a day.
Pulling that off took effort from
everyone involved with the Classic, from
the course workers to the racers. We
averaged five minutes per heat the entire
day. It was amazing to watch.
There were very close races at all levels
throughout the Saturday-morning action.
Heat 22 featured Javier Gonzalez
(Guadalajara, Mexico), Bruce Coffey
(Newman, California), Clark Leadbetter
(Agua Dulce, California), and Paolo
Mucedola (Milan, Italy).
The race finished with no cuts for any
of the pilots and a 1.28-second separation
between Paolo at 1:06.01, in first place,
and Javier in fourth. Clark edged Bruce for
second by 0.08 second. It was a rush to
watch, let alone race.
The hot action continued in the
afternoon. Heat 64 was between Lee
Ulinger (Goodyear, Arizona), Doug
Killebrew (Palmdale, California), current
World Champion Randy Bridge (Apopka,
Florida), and Tom Strom (Burien,
Washington). This heat had no cuts either.
Lee turned a 1:04.11, ending up fourth!
Randy had a 1:01.93, to take second
behind Tom’s 1:01.50.
In Heat 66, Lyle Larson (Piedmont,
South Dakota), Travis Flynn (Burbank,
California), and Mark Parker (Grapevine,
Texas) battled and again had no cuts. Lyle
won with a 1:01.80, and Travis finished
third with a 1:02.20. It was a cloud of three
airplanes for 10 laps.
We ended racing at 4:30 p.m. That put
Q-40 Classic Top 10
(After Eight Rounds)
Place Name Low Time Points
1. Lee VonDerHey 1:02.63 32
2. Scott McAfee 1:03.63 F3 30
3. Fred Burgdorf 1:01.60 F2 30
4. Dan Kane 1:01.11 F1 30
5. Tom Strom Sr. 1:01.50 F2 29
6. AJ Seaholm 1:02.01 F0 29
7. Gary Schmidt 1:02.84 F0 28
8. Jim Allen 1:02.91 F0 28
9. Travis Flynn 1:01.67 27
10. Gino Del Ponte 1:01.71 27
“F” Indicates results after the flyoff. For a complete
list of the 74-pilot standings, visit www.nmpra.org/. MA
—Jim Allen
the competition most of the way through
Round 5, to get in as much racing as
possible for an earlier finish on Sunday.
The course workers were ready to go
home for the day; it had been a busy one.
Then the club hosted a barbecue for
everyone who was interested, and quite a
few stuck around. The food was great.
Sunday morning dawned with some
cloud cover and, again, light winds. The
racing started where it left off, and the
pilots finished Round 5. There were even
engines running for the first heat of the
day five minutes early. We pressed on
through eight full rounds and were ready
for flyoffs at roughly 2:30.
At the end of Round 8, we had three
ties for positions in the top seven and
needed two flyoffs. Gary Schmidt (San
Diego, California) and I were tied for
seventh, but we let our fast times decide
the positions. Gary was awarded the
seventh spot.
That left AJ Seaholm (Lees Summit,
Missouri) and Tom Strom to fly off for
fifth place. Their fast times were 0.5
second apart, so it looked like it would
have been a close race, but AJ had troubles
starting and wasn’t running when the heat
launched. That left Tom to cruise for 10
laps to fifth place.
Next up with a three-way flyoff for
the second position were Scott McAfee
(Corona Del Mar, California), Fred
Burgdorf (Woodland, California), and Dan Kane (Arlington Heights, Illinois).
The heat started out incredibly close,
and then Dan and Fred earned cuts
approximately midrace. Scott stayed
clean to take the flyoff and the secondplace
trophy.
In the end, Tony Lopez (Phoenix,
Arizona) had the fast time of the
weekend with a 1:00.84—the only flight
faster than 1:01—but Matias Salar
(Northridge, California) was as close as
you can get, with a 1:01.00. For fast time
Tony received the traditional Eagle
Kachina Doll trophy, with its widespread
wings.
In all there were nine racers with fast
times in the 1:01s and nine in the 1:02s.
Of the 74 racers, 42 had best times that
were faster than 1:06. You can imagine
why there were so many close heats.
As the CD of this kind of event (and
participant), I really look forward to this
race, but it’s a relief when it’s over.
After approximately a month of catching
up on things, I can’t wait until the end of
February 2009 to do it again.
The sport of AMA Pylon Racing is an
intense amount of fun, but the
friendships we make along the way are
the icing on the cake. If you haven’t seen
one of these races, it’s worth a trip to
check it out. You can find more
information on the National Miniature
Pylon Racing Association Web site. MA
Jim Allen
[email protected]
Sources:
National Miniature Pylon Racing
Association
www.nmpra.org