Author: Aaron "AJ" Seaholm
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/12
Page Numbers: 119,120,121
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Radio Control Pylon Racing

Aaron "AJ" Seaholm [[email protected]]

NATS RECAP

Overview

The 2011 AMA RC Pylon Nats was a nail-biter. The event included four separate contests and represented a departure from the norm: historically the Pylon Nationals has been scheduled for two classes. In addition to the standard Q-500 (AMA Event 428) and Q-40 (AMA Event 422), the provisional National Miniature Pylon Racing Association (NMPRA) event Electric Formula 1 (EF1) and the newest official Q-500 class (AMA Event 426) were added to the schedule.

In recent years the format had been two days of Q-500 (AMA Event 428) followed by a half-day of finals, then Q-40 (AMA Event 422) for the final 2 1/2 days, wrapping up with the Q-40 Finals. This year the featured qualifying and finals event was 426 Q-500, flown the first two days, followed by Q-40 on days three and four. The 428 Q-500 event and EF1 were flown as single-matrix contests on days four and five.

426 Q-500

The final standings in 426 Q-500 required two flyoffs to establish the top five places. The first flyoff paired Randy "Mr. Consistent" Smith (from the frozen Canadian Northland) against Billy Johansen. Billy established an early lead and forced Randy Smith and caller Roy Andrassy into a cut while trying to catch up. Billy Johansen and Randy Smith finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

A three-way tie at two points down (18 out of a perfect 20 points for five rounds) determined the top positions. The logjam included Gino Del Ponte, Dub Jett, and Tom Scott. When the dust settled, Tom Scott had registered a cut and placed third; Gino Del Ponte buzzed a propeller on takeoff and could not get around Dub Jett. Gino also posted Fast Time with an impressive 1:02.84.

  • 1st: Dub Jett — 426 AMA National Champion
  • 2nd: Gino Del Ponte
  • 3rd: Tom Scott
  • 4th: Billy Johansen
  • 5th: Randy Smith

Congratulations to Dub Jett on the 426 AMA National Championship.

Q-40

The Q-40 top five took one flyoff to establish the final standings. Gary Freeman Jr. finished fifth, four points down. He was edged out by fellow Floridian Randy Bridge, six-time Overall National Champion and former World Champion, who finished fourth (three points down).

The flyoff for second place pitted Dub Jett of Jett Engineering Inc. against Mike Langlois, manufacturer of the Nelson engine line. Mike won the head-to-head and took second place, also securing manufacturer bragging rights. Mike Helsel, with the support of caller Dub Jett and Jett propulsion, navigated the five rounds of the Q-40 Finals perfectly — he did not drop a single point and secured the Q-40 National Championship without a flyoff.

  • 1st: Mike Helsel — 2011 Q-40 AMA National Champion
  • 2nd: Mike Langlois
  • 3rd: Dub Jett
  • 4th: Randy Bridge
  • 5th: Gary Freeman Jr.

With the victory in 426 and a third-place finish in Q-40, Dub Jett was crowned the 2011 AMA Overall National Champion. Congratulations, Dub, on securing the highest honor in US Pylon Racing.

428 Q-500

Following the Q-40 Finals, the 428 Q-500 contest was flown for five straight rounds. Mike Helsel again put together five rounds of perfect scores to secure the 428 AMA National Championship — one day, 10 rounds of Nats racing with no losses.

  • 1st: Mike Helsel — 428 AMA National Champion
  • 2nd: Gino Del Ponte
  • 3rd: Matthew Fehling
  • 4th: Dub Jett
  • 5th: Terry Frazer

EF1 (Electric Formula 1)

Day five dawned with many tired racers after the previous action-packed day. EF1 was on the agenda, and most pilots I spoke with enjoyed the slower pace and lower intensity of the new provisional NMPRA EF1 event. Horizon Hobby sponsored the inaugural EF1 event with trophies and pilot goodies. Loaner models supplied to pilots helped inflate the 37-entry total; many who wanted EF1 to succeed were willing to loan models and time to give pilots a taste of the competition.

The event came down to a four-way flyoff for second place.

  • 1st: Gino Del Ponte — EF1 Champion
  • Fast Time: Dennis Cranfill — 1:10.97
  • 2nd: Travis Flynn
  • 3rd: Jerry "The EF1 Godfather" Small
  • 4th: John Jennings
  • 5th: Mike Helsel

Acknowledgment

A special thank-you to former NMPRA President Scott McAfee. Scott's leadership and dedication have poised RC Pylon for the future. He was instrumental in driving the EF1 and 426 events. With these changes in place, Scott has left the sport on a sustainable and stable flight path for many more years of exciting pylon racing.

A Racer’s Story: Dub Jett

In my August 2011 column I introduced new racer Lonnie Finch of the Kansas City area. That and other stories struck a chord with readers. In this column I tell the story of a seasoned racer: Dub Jett. In July 2011 Dub clinched the 2011 AMA Overall National Championship with a win in 426 Q-500 and a third-place finish in Q-40. His teammate Mike Helsel captured the Q-40 National Championship — not a bad week for the Jett and Helsel team.

I called Dub for his story and we had an enjoyable conversation about his pylon experience. As a disclaimer, these racer’s stories are accounts as told by the racers; I do not fact-check them for historical, biological, technological, statistical, or other accuracy — I simply tell the story for readers’ enjoyment.

This year’s AMA Nats marked the 49th Nationals Dub has attended. The first 23 years of his model aircraft career were spent flying CL Speed. He has been an AMA member since 1953 — nearly 60 years of modeling.

Dub's racing career started at a Texas Q-500 race in 1979 after he learned to fly a K&B-powered Quickie. At that time there was a Q-500 race nearly every weekend and the consistent competition had great appeal. Dub attended his first Pylon Nationals that year and flew Formula 1. "I cut my teeth in racing flying F1," he said. He amassed three F1 NMPRA Point Championships and a couple of Nats titles.

In the mid-1980s Dub was lured into FAI F3D. Much tuned-pipe technology came from his time in CL Speed. During those years he lowered the World Record by five seconds (from 1:19 to 1:14) and held the FAI world record for seven years, from 1986 to 1993. In 1991 Dub won the World FAI F3D Championship and earned a free trip to the 1993 World Championships, where he finished 34th. "FAI will ruin your life," he warned, referring to the time and monetary investment required to compete at that level.

A vivid memory is the 1991 World Championship: judges initially signaled another competitor had won by a mere 0.1 or 0.2 seconds after 14 rounds. Dub was dejected until his teammate John Shannon came running over, jumping up and down, to tell him he had actually won.

In 1992 Dub was laid off from the oil field, where he had worked as a research and design engineer. He decided to start an engine-building business. He had thought there was no market in model engines, but he was drawn into it. Today he gets to go to work every day building model engines. Jett Engineering focuses on high-performance sport engines, and Dub has spent considerable time developing carburetors that allow his engines to reliably run and idle.

Dub recounted several NMPRA Point Championships in Q-40: he won the Q-40 NMPRA Championship race three times and roughly four Quarter Midget .15 national titles. He had won the Nats in all the events twice — except Q-500 — but that changed this year with a National Championship in 426 Q-500. He is a fan of Q-40 and believes the event has given him another 20 years of pylon racing.

The Overall National Championship this year is a pinnacle achievement for Dub, notable even with a World Championship on his résumé. I have raced with Dub for several years. He is a fierce competitor and has supported our events for many years. Thank you, Dub, for sharing your history, and congratulations on your many RC pylon accomplishments.

Team USA F3D and World Championship

Team USA F3D was unable to repeat as the Team World Champion, but not for lack of effort. Making the team and representing U.S. pylon racers takes great dedication and effort. Tip of the hat to Team USA.

Have fun, race hard! AJ

Sources

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