RC Pylon Racing - 2012/12

The 2012 AMA RC Pylon Nationals, known simply as the Nats, is in the
books for the 2012 season. Mother Nature was not on our side this year with
unseasonably hot and humid temperatures the first three days of competition,
followed by rain the final two days of competition. As a result, Q-40 (AMA Event
422) was flown under a single matrix rather than the traditional Qualifying and Finals
format.
The Nats kicked off with two days of Q-500 (AMA Event 426) on Monday and
Tuesday. Dennis O’Brien, respectfully known as “Heavy D,” took down Randy Bridge
in the final heat to secure the National Championship by one point. “Rocket” Ray
Brown provided the “hucks” and championship-grade calling.
Dennis has been involved with Pylon Racing for a long time, has helped many and
brought many laughs to countless races, and I am thrilled to report on his Q-500
National Championship. The best time was 1:03.72.
Electric Formula 1
On Wednesday, we made the switch from Ritch’s Brew glow-power propulsion to
electrics, for the second annual Electric Formula I (EF1) event at the AMA Nationals.
EF1 is a National Miniature Pylon Racing Association (NMPRA) Provisional Event.
After four hard-fought rounds, Gary Schmidt and teammate Jim Allen secured the
victory and the EF1 National Championship with a best time of 1:15.07.
Q-40
The rain-shortened, four-round Q-40 (Event 422) created a logjam at the top,
requiring a four-way flyoff to decide the championship. Randy Bridge, Chuck
Andraka, Gino Del Ponte, and Gary Freeman Jr. squared off in a winner-take-all
heat. Congratulations to Randy Bridge and teammate Travis Flynn on the 2012 Q-40
National Championship.
The Q-40 championship and second-place finish in Q-500 earned Randy Bridge an
amazing seventh overall national championship. Wow!
Thanks go to
Gary Freeman Jr. for
running the event
amid challenging
weather conditions;
Ed Smith and Trey
Witte for operating
the starting line all
week; Randy Smith for
matrix duties; Darrol
and Rhonda Cady for
tech inspections; Mark
Parker, Dennis Cranfill,
and Lee LaValley for putting on the great
cookout Wednesday evening; Dan Kane
for organizing the large tent to keep
racers out of the sun and rain; and to all
who contributed to the “World Series of
Pylon.”
For a complete Nats recap, please
visit the NatsNews section of the AMA’s
website.
Cliff Telford Memorial
Scholarship Fund
The passion and generosity of Pylon
racers continue to impress me, even
after 25-plus years of being around the
sport. Each year, Pylon racers attending
the Nats donate to the Cliff Telford
Memorial Scholarship fund. This is done
out of respect for Cliff and provides us a
way to give back to our hobby.
Cliff was a longtime Pylon racer who
donated many hours of his time to
AMA and helped create this scholarship
fund. Cliff passed away before my 2004
ScoreS
Q-500 (AMA event 426)
1. Dennis O’Brien 1:03.72
2. Randy Bridge 1:04.21
3. Randy Ritch 1:06.87
4. Jim Allen 1:03.88
5. Bill Johanson 1:06.29
Fast time: Gary Schmidt 1:03.38
electric Formula 1
(NMPrA Provisional event)
1. Gary Schmidt 1:15.07
2. Dub Jett 1:14.55
3. Gino Del Ponte 1:09.31
4. Tom Scott 1:15.12
5. Roy Andrassy 1:12.70
Fast time: Gino Del Ponte 1:09.31
Q-40 (AMA event 422)
1. Randy Bridge 1:02.76
2. Chuck Andraka 1:01.11
3. Gino Del Ponte 1:03.07
4. Gary Freeman Jr. 1:04.54
5. Joe Tropea 1:04.35
Fast time: Jim Allen 1:01.11
reentry in the sport, but his legacy and
impact on lives is apparent whenever his
name is mentioned.
I had the pleasure of getting to know
Nancy Telford. Nancy has continued
to support the Nats since her husband
passed. Nancy has a heart of gold housed
in a pint-size frame and is one of those
special people who warms your soul.
Tom Scott has been the driving force
behind this effort for many years. He
enlisted Dennis O’Brien’s daughter, Sally,
and my daughter, Taryn, to help loosen
up wallets.
This year he turned it up a notch
(as racers like to do) and teamed up
with Scott Causey, Dennis O’Brien,
Dub Jett, and Pete Bergstrom from
Horizon Hobby, to raffle off an RTF,
test-flown 426 Ninja, distributed by
ChinaMadeAmericanDesign (CMAD)
Racing. The racer was fully equipped
with Jett propulsion and Spektrum
guidance.
Raffle sales began at the Phoenix
Q-500 race in January and carried on
throughout the Nats. When Sally drew
Gary Schmidt’s name as the winner, a
whopping $4,676 had been raised. To up
the ante further, an anonymous donor,
who has a heart comprised of a similar
metallurgy as Nancy’s, matched the
donation to bring the total to $9,352.
Ron and Jane Morgan accepted a
check from the entire Pylon Racing
community on behalf of the AMA
Scholarship Committee during
Thursday’s rain delay.
Let that sink in for a minute … nearly
$10,000 donated to help future students
achieve their dreams of working in
aeronautics, all raised by a small, closeknit
group of racers. Not just any racers
though—RC Pylon racers. That’s pretty
amazing in my book.
My most sincere thanks go to all who
organized and contributed to this special
effort.
EF1 Firsthand
After promoting EF1 in several past
columns, I now have some real-world
racing experience to relay. The 2012 Nats
was my first EF1 race.
The biggest speed secret I have
The starting line for an
EF1 heat at the Helena
Fall Classic in Montana.
This race had 20
registered EF1 pilots and
also featured Q-500.
to share from my Nats heats is the
importance of battery and charging
management. I flew a Horizon Hobby
LR-1A Pogo that I borrowed from my
father (thanks, Dad). The Pogo was
equipped with the NMPRA-approved
E-flite Power 25 motor. A Thunder
Power 65C 2700 mAh pack and E-flite
60-amp speed controller provided the
power.
Gary Schmidt, via longtime Electric
racer Troy Peterson, told me about
the importance of charging your pack
as close to your race heat as possible.
During the first trim flight Wednesday
morning, I used a battery charged the
day before and was noticeably slower
than the other airplane test flying.
During the second practice flight, I
flew with a pack right off the charger and
my speed was consistent with the other
racer. I followed this strategy the rest of
the day and my speeds were equal to the
competition.
I experienced a bad case of “cut-itis”
during my heats of EF1, but had a great
time racing in some close heats. Most
memorable was a heat with Jessica
Haxhi, fresh off a long racing hiatus
dating back to the Shinohara-led Team
Samurai Formula 1 days. Thanks for the
whoopin’, Jessica.
Because I control the content of this
column, I would like to point out that I
was in the lead when I cut. Even if it was
only a few feet of a lead and I cut trying
desperately to keep it, that is irrelevant
and not important to this story. What is
important are that the two other wellknown
racers—who I am sure prefer
to remain nameless—have to live withthe burden of getting soundly beaten
by a girl the entire heat, not just the last
couple of laps. Ha!
Great to have you back in the mix,
Jessica. You flew awesomely in EF1
and Q-500. I am sure there are several
boys who wished you would go back
into retirement. Do not give them that
satisfaction.
EF1 Success Story
I received a note from Leonard
Cloninger of the Helena Flying Tigers
Club in Montana. I grew up racing in
Helena, Montana, and I am thrilled to
see Pylon in this area taking off again.
The Helena Fall Classic race was held
during Labor Day weekend and the
turnout was fantastic. There were 20
registered in EF1 and 19 Q-500 pilots.
The rejuvenation of Helena Pylon
could be attributed to EF1, but I contend
that is shortsighted. As I have said many
times in the past, classes alone will not
grow our base; CDs and event organizers
are the workhorses of growth.
I do not want to marginalize all of
the hard work it took to bring EF1 into
existence, but without local races, a class
alone can only carry us so far. Tip of the
hat to Travis Elbert, Leonard Cloninger,
and their families for making it happen.
Fred Burgdorf Memorial Race
Fred Burgdorf was a fierce Pylon
competitor and a great man. The
Woodland-Davis R/C Club in Woodland,
California, and Robert Holik hosted an
event to honor Fred’s memory.
Travis Flynn, Fred’s longtime
teammate, and Richard Verano, were the