rc pylon racing 2013/07 Q-40 event coverage

Above: Winners from the Basin
Q-40 Classic were (L-R, front):
Gary Schmidt, Rusty Van Baren,
Doug Killebrew, Roy Andrassy,
David Lloyd; (L-R, back): Doug
Houston, Jim Allen, Mario
Salazar, Dan Coe (Mario’s
caller), Travis Flynn, Randy
Bridge, Craig Grunkemeyer,
and Tom Scott. Robert Holick is
not pictured.
Right: Basin Q-40 Classic Fast
Time (58.45) winner Mario
Salazar (L), next to contest
winner Rusty Van Baren.
Q-40 event coverage
by Aaron “AJ” Seaholm
[email protected]
This month, I’ll recap two Q-40
events. One is on the West Coast
and the other is on the East
Coast—shore-to-shore coverage for the
Pylon Racing faithful.
AMA Event 422, also known as
Q-40, became a class approximately
two decades ago. It is a popular, highperformance
event. The consistency
in performance between Jett and
Nelson power plants, a wide range of
competitive airframes, and exhilarating
speeds that exceed 190 mph, all make
this AMA’s most adrenaline-enriched
Pylon event.
MA has provided new column
guidelines that allow words to be
exchanged for photos, and this month I
am going heavy on the photographs.
Basin Q-40 Classic
February typically is the time for the
largest Q-40 event of the season because
contestants tend to flock to sunny
Phoenix for the Q-40 Classic. Because
of field issues with the Speedworld
complex, the event was moved to the
Apollo 11 field in the Sepulveda Basin,
near Los Angeles. The February 23-24
event was hosted by the San Fernando
Valley Radio Control Flyers.
The Basin Q-40 Classic drew 57
contestants. Judging by the results, the
air was fast and the competition was
fierce.
Basin Q-40 results:
1. Rusty Van Baren 59.63 28
2. Gary Schmidt 1:00.70 28
3. Roy Andrassy 1:00.80 24
4. David Lloyd 1:02.25 24
5. Mario Salazar 58.45 22
6. Travis Flynn 1:01.05 22
7. Craig Grunkemeyer 1:01.66 22
8. Jim Allen 1:01.90 22
Fast time:
Mario Salazar 58.45
The wind picked up on Sunday,
causing plenty of carnage, but seven
rounds were completed. After the
final round, Rusty Van Baren and Gary
Schmidt were at the top of the field,
each with perfect 28-point scores.
The gusty winds contributed to Gary
nosing over during the flyoff, and Rusty
cruised to victory. Congratulations,
Rusty.
Our Canadian friends were out in full force at the 2013 Basin Q-40 Classic.
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International competitors at
the Fort Lauderdale Q-40 race
included Nicolas Yepes (L) from
Spain and Gabriel Tahan from
Venezuela.
CD “Rocket” Ray Brown oversees Q-40 action
at the Fort Lauderdale race. Notice Dub Jett’s
September Faith coming around Pylon 2.
Newcomer Mario Salazar put down
a blistering 58.45 time to capture the
coveted Fast Time trophy. Well done,
Mario.
Fort Lauderdale Q-40 Race
The Fort Lauderdale Q-40 race
was hosted by the Markham Park
Pilots Association (MPPA) club at the
beautiful Markham Park field, April
5-7. I had not attended a contest at
Markham Park since 2009, but I’ve
always enjoyed racing at this location
and 2013 was no exception.
There were 19 registered Q-40
contestants for eight rounds of racing
action.
Fort Lauderdale Q-40 results:
1. A.J. Seaholm 1:00.53 24
2. Matt Fehling 1:01.43 23
3. Scott Causey 1:02.13 22
4. Gabriel Tahan 1:01.78 20
5. Joe Hodgin 1:02.77 19
Fast time:
A.J. Seaholm 1:00.53
CD “Rocket” Ray Brown graciously
hung up his transmitter to start and
guide the contest. Thank you, Ray, for
giving up your weekend to
allow us to race.
The MPPA club members
and Civil Air Patrol workers
did a fantastic job officiating
with only one refly required.
This was a smaller contest
but the competition was excellent.
There were countless photo finishes.
Tight racing also leads to midairs and
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Winners from the Fort Lauderdale Q-40 race
were (L-R, front): Matt Fehling, A.J. Seaholm,
and Scott Causey; (L-R, back): Joe Hodgin and
Gabriel Tahan.
several models were lost on Saturday.
As I reflect on this race, the placing
was great, but more than anything, the
memories that come to mind are of
the people. Reigning Q-500 National
Champion Dennis O’Brien has to
be one of the funniest men alive. My
stomach still hurts from laughing.
I always enjoy spending time with
Randy Bridge, Tom Scott, Ray Brown,
Dub Jett, Billy Johnson, Mike Helsel,
Gabriel Tahan, and the rest of my
racing family. I have said it a thousand
times, but will say it again: the people
of RC Pylon are what keep me coming
back.
I was fortunate that some of my
mistakes did not heavily cost me.
This, along with my teammate Scott
Causey’s typical perfect calling,
allowed me to bring home some
hardware. I was happy to see him finish
third. You flew great, Scott.
I was also happy to see that my
teammate did not call our gracious tent
host and good friend, Randy Bridge, to
a faster time. Randy put down a 1:00.9,
only missing Fast Time by 0.4 seconds.
That was close!
Matt Fehling flew on rails all
weekend to a second-place finish.
Venezuelan Gabriel Tahan finished
fourth and Joe Hodgin rounded out the
top five. Congratulations to all of the
top finishers.
SOURCES:
National Miniature Pylon Racing Association
www.nmpra.org
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