Radio Control Pylon Racing - 2010/04

(Editor’s note: Scott is taking a break and
welcomed the opportunity for another active
racer to write this month’s column. Please
welcome Don Stegall, who is extremely active
in developing a racing competition that is
becoming popular with many RC clubs
nationwide. Here’s Don!)
THE RESPONSE TO my “Pylon Racing
for Everyone” article about Club 40 Pylon
Racing, published in the October 2009 MA,
has been overwhelming. I have received
many e-mail messages and phone calls from
people who are starting racing in new places.
Many have joined RCPRO, and many
have purchased the Sky Raider Mach II and
the LA Racer 40, available from AirBorne
Models. This is an exciting time for Pylon
Racing, with a lot of grassroots activity.
Ken Erickson,
the RCPRO Club 40
Committee
chairman, has been
getting a workout
trying to keep up
with all of the
questions from clubs
starting. Barry
Reade, the RCPRO
president, is working
on a comprehensive
list of clubs that are
racing.
I have spent
quite a bit of time on
the phone. I’ve been
putting thoughts and
answers to questions
on paper, to help
newcomers and
clubs that want to
race, whether it is
Club 40 or some
other format.
RC Pylon Racing
requires the
cooperation of a
hosting club or
flying field. As an
AMA member, you
value your AMA
Pylon Racing for clubs
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Pylon Racing Scott Causey
Also included in this column:
• Easy-to-build pylons
• Don’t forget your hard hat
• Visibility trick
These are parts for one Portable Pylon. This one
has a pink masthead and bucket top. The
inexpensive parts are easy to transport in the
average SUV.
The yellow LA Racer is “Low Red,” with its neon
pink sticker. The white-and-green Sky Raider Mach II
is “Low Green,” with the neon green sticker.
Right: One person can assemble and stand up this
pylon in approximately one minute. Yellow paint
increases visibility.
coverage, and I’m sure you want it to be in
effect during the entirety of your Pylon Racing
activities.
The best thing to do is try to be as safe as
possible at all times. That requires reading and
understanding the guidelines and rules, and
then making sure that race participants,
helpers, and spectators follow the rules and
safety measures that are in place.
Involving club officers is the best way to
get started. They can help with scheduling and
with field setup.
There will probably be issues with when
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the pylons can be set up and when pylon
activities can take place. The coordination of
these activities typically falls to a person with
a strong interest in racing. It is convenient if
that person is an AMA CD, but the CD duties
may be delegated to another person on contest
day.
Proper setup of the pylon course is a major
part of the safety equation. For Club 40 Pylon
Racing, see AMA Document 540-B: “Set-
Back Distances for Sport Pylon Racing.”
(There is a link to this on the RCPRO Web
site.)
For AMA three-pole racing, see the AMA
RC Pylon Racing rules. They are full of useful
information for all forms of Pylon Racing,
including Club 40.
There are various pieces of equipment that
you will need to run races. The most basic is a
set of pylons. You can pretend all day, but
nothing compares to putting up a set of poles
and flying around them.
You will probably find that once you set
up pylons, even the sport pilots will start to fly
around them. It is a natural thing to do.
In 2001, after I resumed flying, I found
that there were no common designs for pylons
that were easy to break down and transport.
I’m sure that some existed, but I didn’t know
about them.
I spent many hours thinking about how to
build pylons that would get the job done and
meet the AMA requirement of 15 feet
minimum height and 20 feet maximum. I even
wrote a set of requirements.
Then one day I was at my desk at work
and the solution I call the “Quad-Pod” hit me.
I went to the break room and got some straws.
I straightened a couple of staples. I assembled
a prototype using the straws, the staples, and
tape to simulate chain. It seemed like it would
work.
On the way home, I bought PVC pipe, 1/2-
inch-diameter rod and nuts, hooks, and chain.
I built a setup when I got home. I stood it up.
I thought it might come spiraling down,
but surprisingly it stayed up, even without the
chains. With the chains, it was solid.
I drew plans for the Portable Pylon,
published them on the Internet, and they have
been built around the world. I later designed
the Ultra Portable Pylon. These are easy to
build and easy to position.
A permanent pylon installation is nice, but
having these pylons on hand is good for trying
different course setups. They are perfect for
Club 40 as well as AMA-class racing. Most
RC pilots like to build things. You can find the
plans on the RCPRO Course Equipment page.
(See the “Sources” listing for the Web site
address.)
The Portable Pylon is the best choice for
clubs for which storing pylons is not an issue.
They ride easily in the back of a standard
truck. Even a compact truck will do if you tie
them down. The Portable Pylons have much
more mass than the Ultra Portable Pylons and
are easier to see while racing.
If transportation is an issue, the Ultra
Portable Pylons can ride in an SUV, because
no section is longer than 5 feet. But they are
not as visible.
MA Editor Michael Ramsey wrote about
using pool noodles on pylons in his October
2009 “The Inside Loop” column, and you can
bulk them up for better visibility. Look for
pool noodle enhancements on the RCPRO
Web site.
Once you get the pylons up, you can start
practicing. It is important to remember that
hard hats are required even for practice. It is
best to get people into the habit early, so that it
becomes second nature on race day.
You can use common construction hard
hats from The Home Depot or Lowe’s, for
roughly $10 apiece. But I prefer to wear a
skateboarding helmet with a chinstrap, so I
don’t have to worry about it falling off. You
can wear a cap under the helmet and the bill
will provide a nice sun visor.
Some people have fun with their helmets
and decorate them with horns, miniature
airplanes, or airplane parts. When you start
practicing, start out slow and get the feel for
the course.
Just as you have a club flight instructor, you
need a club Pylon Racing mentor. As you
learn the course, remember how you
progressed so you can teach new people.
The Club 40 airplanes are nice and stable
at slower speeds, so throttle back and find the
groove. You will want to fly just above the
tops of the pylons. If you fly below the tops,
you might hit them; if you fly too high, you
will have a hard time judging where the
pylons are.
It is best to fly one model at a time to start.
This will let you focus on it.
You need a “caller,” who tells you when to
turn, where traffic is, and where aircraft are
when landing. The pilots who do the best in
races typically have callers they use on a
regular basis.
When you think you have the course
somewhat mastered, fly against another racer
or two. Don’t fly more than four models on
the course at the same time. More than that is
too much, and midairs or crashes are too
likely.
The standard race format for most Pylon
Racing in the US is 10-lap heat races. The
field of contestants participates in one heat
race per round, and a complete race consists of
a specified number of rounds.
This means that each pilot flies in the same
number of heats. The participants are shuffled
in the heats so they fly against different pilots
in each round, if possible.
Heats begin with a rise-off-ground
standing start, known as a racehorse start. To
make things simpler for the race management
and course workers, pilots are assigned
“lanes.”
The lanes are technically only for starting
and for keeping up with the models in the air.
The airplanes don’t have to physically stay in
a particular airspace.
The fliers at Speedworld in Phoenix,
Arizona, came up with a wing-sticker
convention that is used in AMA racing, and
we have adopted it for Club 40. Fluorescent
pink and green barcode labels from Uline are
used on the wings out at the tips, to identify
which lane a model is in.
Lane 1 is “Low Green.” A couple of green
stickers are attached to the top and bottom of the
left wing. Lane 2 is “Low Red,” and a couple of
pink stickers are attached to the left wing.
Lane 3 is “High Green,” and green
stickers are attached to the right wing.
Lane 4 is “High Red,” and pink stickers are
attached to the right wing.
With the airplane on its side, the
orientation becomes obvious. The course
workers, including the cut judges, lap
counters, and starter, can easily identify
aircraft during a race. It is much easier
than trying to identify them by color
scheme.
Truth be told, even the pilots and callers
sometimes rely on those stickers when the
action gets tight. And it makes it easier to
keep up with what the competition is doing
in a heat.
RC Pylon Racing is exhilarating. Even club
racing with slower airplanes is a ton of fun.
Dave Glasscock is one of my relatively
new friends. He has gone from sport-flying a
Sky Raider Mach II a couple years ago to kitbuilding
Quickie 500 designs to fly in Quickie
25 races this year.
Dave likes the camaraderie and the fun
of competition. When I asked him recently
when he expects to stop racing, he replied
“When I stop flying RC.” That’s cool and
it makes my day. MA
Sources:
RCPRO
www.rcpro.org
RCPRO Course Equipment
www.rcpro.org/html/equipment/equipment.htm
Uline
(800) 958-5463
www.uline.com
AirBorne Models
(925) 371-0922
www.airborne-models.com
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