Author: Aaron “AJ” Seaholm
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/12
Page Numbers: 138,139,140
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2010 AMA Nats recap

Attending the AMA Nats has been an annual Seaholm family tradition since 2002. Each year we return and are reminded why we make the 1,100-mile round-trip trek to Muncie, Indiana. The event is as much about reuniting with close friends from across the country as it is about intense competition.

This year Ralph Rinaldi came to Muncie from the highly competitive NEPRO (North East Pylon Racing Organization) and flew with ice in his veins all week. Ralph was crowned the Quickie 500 (Q-500) National Champion after a hotly contested flyoff with Scott McAfee. Scott could not hold off Ralph’s charge to victory.

When the dust settled in Q-40, Ralph had finished in fourth place; that cemented his position as the Overall National Champion. Congratulations, Ralph. This is one of the largest accomplishments in our sport.

Event team and acknowledgments

I want to recognize Gary Freeman Jr. for doing an exceptional job, once again, as the 2010 AMA Pylon Nats event director. Dave and Gloria Doyle, the Cadys, Ed Smith, Jimmy Allen, Mike Tallman, Hank Kauffman, Tom Scott, Matias Salar (for getting Jr. to the field every morning), and many others were instrumental in another successful Nats. Well done, Jr. and team.

On a personal note, I thank my teammate Scott Causey for helping me win back-to-back Q-40 National Championships. This is a period in my pylon racing experience that I will treasure the rest of my life. Thanks to Scottie and to all the others who have helped me throughout the years, including my father, Earl, for getting me involved in this activity so many years ago.

The importance and challenge of calling

Many years ago Dave Norman of Minnesota told me that calling is way harder to master than flying. RC pylon racing is very much a team sport; you can be the best pilot in the world, but if you don’t have a talented caller by your side, your success will be limited. The caller launches the model, tells the pilot when to turn at Pylon 1, and keeps the flier informed of pertinent information such as which lap he or she is on and if any competitors have a cut (which means that he or she has incurred a one-lap penalty).

Maybe you read the preceding paragraph and said “That doesn’t sound so tough.” Now envision four models screaming on the line, ready for takeoff; your pilot is so amped up that his or her heart may pop out of its rib cage at any moment; and you’re sandwiched among three of the best teams in the country, and you know that they will take advantage of one mistake and shuffle your pilot to the back of the pack. Once the model is airborne you have 6–8 seconds per lap to get the right amount of information to your pilot, so that he or she doesn’t fall further into adrenaline overload. But wait! Half of that time you must have the rhythm and internal clock of a skilled musician to tell your pilot when to turn at Pylon 1. All the while, you have to compensate for slight changes in flight path, wind velocity, and airframe speed.

Count out loud: “2, 3, ready, turn,” and then hold your breath hoping that the turn light comes on. Tell your pilot “Good light” or “[Insert expletive], sorry.” Pick up the display board, analyze the race status, process the lap and cut information, filter it down, and relay the appropriate status to your pilot in 3–4 seconds before the entire procedure starts again.

Repeat all of the preceding for 10 laps and then head back to the pits to drink some water and let your processor—brain—cool off for a few minutes. That is the essence and challenge of calling.

Scott Causey, my teammate, is an exceptional caller. I am still progressing. If you find a talented caller, don't be a jerk if he or she makes a mistake during the chaos I have described. It is a difficult skill to master, and those who have done so need your praise and appreciation.

So I'm going to bite my tongue the next time I'm inclined to give Scott a hard time about the one cut he calls me into every three to four races—not heats but events.

While I'm on my soapbox, buy your teammate dinner the next time you're out racing.

Loyalty and equipment notes

I catch a great deal of flak from fellow racers for supporting certain individuals in the pylon community.

Dave Shadel of Performance Specialties has been helpful when I have had requests, as far back as when I flew RC Combat. So I try to stay loyal to him for all those years of support. No one can accuse me of being disloyal.

You dedicated racers might be aware that Henry Nelson has retired and is no longer making cases for his RC Pylon .40-size engines. I have four Nelson LSs; although the Jett LS power plants are readily available and equal in performance, I will continue to run the Nelsons I have in inventory.

With the Nelson LS Q-40 setup I have been running the last couple of years, the sleeve height is .193 inch and the deck height is .017 inch. I'll cover what that means and my technique for measuring these components in a future column. To save space this month, there are two .003-inch sleeve shims and a .008-inch head shim in both of my Q-40 engines.

I primarily run the APC 7.4 x 7.6 Q-40 propeller, but I did take quite a few beatings at the 2010 Phoenix Q-40 Classic by pilots who were using the 7.4 x 7.5. I'm sure it was the propeller's fault and had nothing to do with my lackluster flying; at least that's the story I'm telling. Anyway, both are good propellers, but I've had better consistency with the 7.4 x 7.6.

The Nelson LS runs differently on the multitude of Q-40 designs out there, so results may vary. But I'll let you in on my approach on the Speed Pros Proud Bird II with remote needle.

Needle-setting sequence (Nelson LS on Speed Pros Proud Bird II)

The needle-setting sequence I've been using starts with richening the engine a half turn and then starting. I keep my thumb over the venturi slightly, and slowly move it off the venturi to let the engine come up on the pipe and up to temperature. Then I bring the needle valve leaner until the power plant reaches peak (usually approximately 25,000 rpm) on the tachometer and immediately starts richening.

I usually start at roughly 1,200 rpm off peak and slowly lean each flight during practice until there is a slight caramel color on the glow plug when it is removed from the engine. For some reason, more caramel color does not equate to better airspeed with this combination.

Sport Jett .40 Q-500 experience

My local racing bud, Lonnie Finch, was kind enough to loan me a Sport Jett .40 Q-500 for the fall Wichita race. Dub Jett builds high-quality performance engines for both RC pylon racing and horsepower-starved sport modelers. In addition to being a respected engine manufacturer, Dub attends national races at which he and his teammate, Mike Helsel, are tough to beat.

The Sport Jett Q-500 is a new design with target airspeeds of approximately 150 mph on a Q-500 airframe. There has been a growing movement in the pylon community to slow Q-500 (AMA event 428), to more evenly space the airspeed between Sport Quickie (AMA event 424), which uses a stock Thunder Tiger engine, and the fastest class, which is Q-40 (AMA event 422).

There are approximately four of these engines in the Kansas City area now. Each is nearly identical in performance and exceptionally built.

After breaking in the Sport Jett .40 on the bench per Dub's included instructions, I mounted the engine on the RTC (Ready-to-Cover) Great Planes Viper that I featured in the September RC Pylon column.

The engine comes with a venturi and requires the use of a fuel shutoff. This is easy to install using a 1/32-inch-diameter spring steel wire bent into a loop. Drill a 9/32-inch-diameter hole into the firewall. Retract the wire loop into the firewall, folding the fuel tubing over on itself and stopping the fuel flow.

I ran this engine/airframe combination with the APC 8.8 x 8.5 and 8.8 x 8.75 propellers in Wichita. The Viper flew smoothly with the added airspeed, and I was fortunate enough to set fast time with a 1:06.58 on the AMA short course (2.0 miles for 10 laps).

The .40 really came to life with the additional load of the 8.8 x 8.75 propeller in the hot, humid Kansas air. The 8.8 x 8.75 was used for the quickest time.

I have no head-spacing or sleeve-height information to relay at this time. I ran the engine as I received it from Jett Engineering.

The Sport Jett Q-500 power plant has exceptional quality, is very user-friendly and forgiving on a broad needle range, and makes the event a blast to fly on the AMA short course. I can't wait to race it again; I hope Lonnie doesn't repossess it before the next race.

Until next time, race hard and have fun.

MA

Sources

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.