May 2001 113
Duane Gall, 1267 S. Beeler Ct., Denver CO 80231; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL PYLON RACING
Jon with his original design—the Sky Bully II. Unlike most other
Quarter 500 designs, it has a conventional tail.
senioR RecoRD: No, it’s not the
latest release from Tony Bennett; it’s a
national record in Quickie 500 (event
no. 428) by an up-and-coming young
pilot.
We hear so much about how there’s
not enough new blood coming into the
racing community, it’s nice to know that
somewhere there are young people
competing and doing well. In this case,
“somewhere” is Silver Spring,
Maryland.
Following is quoted material from the
letter Dan Myer, the contest director of
the event at which the record was set,
sent to AMA Headquarters.
“Enclosed is an application for a new
Senior 428 Pylon record for the 2.5-mile
course flown by Jonathan Baker. The
record was set at the Prince Georges
[County] RC club field in Bowie, Maryland
on September 23, 2000, during the NMPRA
District 6 Championship Race.
“Our field has a surveyed 2.5-mile
course with permanent concrete pylon
locations. Rick Moreland supervised the
course survey and construction and can certify its accuracy.
The timer, Chic White, is very experienced as a timer and
Pylon competitor. I was the contest director
and starter, and can verify that this was a clean, accurately
officiated heat, and should stand as a new Senior record.
“A note about the pilot: Jonathan Baker has been flying
RC [Radio Control] for several years, all the while being
trained in Pylon Racing by his father, Steve Baker. This year
was Jonathan’s first year in Pylon competition. After three
424 events [same airframe, milder engine] in which he won
every heat and the races, this contest was Jonathan’s first try
at 428.
“While rookie mistakes prevented Jonathan from having a
chance to win this 12-heat contest, he did beat a lot of very
good pilots during heat racing, such as Rick Moreland, Vern
Smith (during the record flight), and David Binger, with times
close to his record run of 1:10.71.
“Having watched Jonathan over several years grow and
learn as a pilot, I have no doubt that the Pylon community will
be seeing and hearing much more about this young man in the
very near future!”
Thanks, Dan. As have other young record-holders—I would
be remiss if I didn’t mention Matt Van Baren (Hanford CA)
and Henson Bartle (Battle Ground WA)—Jonathan caught the
racing bug from his dad.
One of the accompanying photos shows Jonathan with his
record-setting model, the Sky Bully II, and the other photo
shows him at work in the pits with his and his dad’s airplanes
parked nearby.
It is perhaps a sad commentary that we racers tend not to
attract new pilots, but to raise them ourselves. Nevertheless,
Quarter 500 Senior record-holder Jonathan Baker preps his winning entry. Notice the
tidy pit area. Jon was trained in Pylon Racing by his father Steve.
114 M ODEL AVIATION
there is nothing that says you have to be the son or daughter of
a Pylon addict to become one yourself.
Nor do you have to be steeped in racing lore to succeed at
this game. The accompanying three-view of the Sky Bully
shows all you need, airplane-wise. The remaining parts of the
puzzle are:
1) An off-the-shelf famous-brand engine, used gently for a
few dozen flights;
2) An off-the-shelf APC propeller of the correct pitch for the
prevailing conditions; and
3) Practice, practice, practice.
The Sky Bully caught my eye for reasons that have more to
do with building the event than building the airplane.
Unlike 99% of the Quickie 500 (Q-500) designs on the market,
this model uses a conventional tail. And still more unusual, it has the
rudder extending all the way to the bottom of the fuselage, with the
elevator split in the middle to accommodate it.
“So what?” you say. What possible difference can it make to
the world of racing that this particular airplane, with its
particular tail, set a record?
I can answer with the simple observation, “monkey see,
monkey do.”
In racing, there is no incentive to copy anyone else’s stuff
unless that person happens to be winning. Conversely, if you see
somebody winning, you are well-advised to watch exactly what
he or she does, then go do it yourself.
Unfortunately, a successful racing effort is holistic. If the
other competitor just passed you with a pink airplane that plays
the “Blue Danube Waltz” as it goes by and has a triplepolyhedral
wing, you have no idea whether his extra speed came
from the color, the tune, the wing shape, or some magical
interaction among all three.
Some or all of the parts of that unique whole are better than
yours, but you have no idea which. And the elements cannot be
separated easily without rigorous testing—preferably in a period
of several weeks and using a wind tunnel.
Not only that, but your competitor’s unique airplane may
only go that fast with his engine, which he has terribly
overcompressed, and his “sweetheart” propeller, which at some
time in its history was run over by a car.
Put your engine and propeller on the same airplane, and
you’d be dog breath.
If you want to duplicate Mr. Pink Airplane’s winning
combination, you have to copy the whole mixture. Otherwise you
run the risk of leaving out an important component that somehow
interacts with all the others to make the whole thing jell.
That’s what I mean when I state that racing is “holistic.”
Therefore, since the first time a person flying a shoulderwing,
V-tail design began to dominate Quickie racing, the
“monkey see, monkey do” factor ensured that most, if not all, of
those who were paying attention would start building their own
shoulder-wing, V-tail airplanes.
“There’s just something about that setup,” they’d say. “I
don’t know what, but look at it go.”
And what’s wrong with V-tail airplanes?
Nothing, except that the average sport flier is deathly afraid
of them. To start with, you need a radio with a mixing function.
That eliminates many of the low-end sport radios. Then you
have to program it.
Then there’s the voodoo magic of installing the V-tail on the
fuselage without serious misalignment. You either risk
catastrophe your first time out or spend $300 on a goof-proof
prebuilt model.
So none of a V-tail’s basic features are calculated to capture
the hearts of the sport-flying population—which is the target
audience for an “entry level” racing event such as Quickie.
Add to this the conniptions involved in adding a tail wheel to
the thing, and you’ve guaranteed that no sport fliers will build
one just to play with; that is, try their hand at a racing-type
airplane that can double as a sport airplane until they get their
confidence level high enough to enter a contest.
No, because of “monkey see, monkey do,” those who might
have considered that will be convinced they don’t have a chance
without a V-tail. And since they aren’t sure they can build a Vtail
straight without asking around for help, and they know it’s
not going to taxi anyway, they forget all about racing models
and buy a CAP 232 or an Ugly Stik instead.
That is, until today. Jonathan’s record demonstrates that there
is nothing inherently slow about a conventional-tailed Q-500
model. This combination, which can easily be domesticated for
sport/introductory use, is now proven to be fast.
There is no need for guesswork, and no “what if … ?” or
“gosh, maybe, let’s try it and see” empirical research involved.
Thanks, Jon!
To all of you who are on the verge of wanting to play with a
racing airplane, check out this three-view, scratch-build a Sky
Bully or modify whatever other design you may have available,
put a tail wheel on it, and fly it for sport.
When you start feeling lucky, ask around to find the next Pylon
race in your area and gamble $15 on an entry fee. All you have to
lose is some of your pride and some easily replaceable balsa wood.
Rules for 428 and 424 events are posted on the AMA
Competition Department’s Web site at
www.modelaircraft.org/Comp/1999Pylongurgent.htm.
one more source: Periodically I publish sources of racing
aircraft kits and supplies, since they may be scarce in the
mainstream market.
I’ve been informed that longtime racer and craftsman Pete
Reed is offering framed-up Q-500s, ready for covering, for $200
each. This is quite a bargain for a ready-built airplane.
Contact Pete at 49 Anvil Dr., Avon CT 06001; Tel.: (860)
673-7883; E-mail: [email protected]. MA
A three-view of the Sky Bully II. There’s no magic in this
model—just good design and careful construction.
