RC Pylon Racing
Kurt Bozarth
A day-by-day account of the Nats 2005 Pylon Racing action
THE 2005 RC Pylon Racing National Championships was held in Muncie, Indiana, July 10-16. More than 65 racers were in attendance to compete in AMA event 428 (Quickie 500, or Q-500) and AMA event 422 (Quarter 40, or Q-40).
Hurricane Dennis remnants (now barely a memory in the wake of Hurricane Katrina) were a constant threat throughout the week. Event Director Mike Condon compressed the schedule from the start to allow for the more than likely rain delays. His forethought resulted in the completion of every scheduled round in both classes. Nice job, Mike.
Sunday July 10 consisted of registration and safety inspections for both classes and a pilots' meeting. During this time we learned of Cliff Telford's passing. Bob Brodgon took a few minutes to share some nice memories of Cliff. A moment of silence was observed in his honor.
Cliff, along with his wife Nancy, had attended the Nats for many years. Most recently the two of them managed the radio impound. Cliff served on the AMA RC Contest Board as the director and had dedicated many years to the National Miniature Pylon Racing Association (NMPRA). He will be dearly missed by all who knew him, and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
During the pilots' meeting Mike Condon announced that he will not be available to run the event in 2006. After a short uprising, a vote was taken and it was unanimously decided that Mike will in fact be available next year. (We'll see.) Sunday's formal activities ended with a good, old-fashioned NMPRA barbecue.
Sunday's weather turned out to be the best all week. It allowed for plenty of practice throughout the day.
RC Pylon Racing
Kurt Bozarth
During this time I witnessed one of the most beautiful takeoffs I have ever seen, perfectly on course with just a hint of climb to clear the grass at the end of the runway. However, my euphoria was rudely interrupted by the words "The receiver isn't on!" The rest is too painful to recount.
Because of the large number of contestants, the "matrix" concept was again implemented. Each class was divided into two fields: Matrix A and Matrix B. Each racer would compete within his or her own matrix, with the top 14 from each moving into the finals.
Day One: Q-500 Matrix A racing started Monday morning. The plan was to beat the rain and complete five rounds by noon, and then turn the course over to the Q-500 B Matrix racers. Winds were light and the skies were partly cloudy, but Hurricane Dennis weather loomed on the horizon.
A. Rotundo, Rich Beers, and Dennis Cranfill were the first to race. By 1:00 five rounds had been completed, just as planned. Terry Frazier was on top of the Matrix leader board, followed by Randy Bridge, Darrol Cady, Stephen Vaclav, and Gary Helton. Two more rounds of Q-500 A Matrix would be flown Tuesday.
The Q-500 B Matrix started competition after lunch Monday. Hurricane Dennis weather had not yet arrived, allowing five rounds of Q-500 B Matrix racing to be finished by late afternoon. Mike Helsel, Travis Flynn, and Dan Kane were tied for first place, followed by Mike Condon and Marcus Blanchard, each a point back.
Two more rounds of Q-500 B Matrix would be flown first thing Tuesday morning, assuming that the weather would cooperate.
Up to this point, Randy Bridge held the fast time in Q-500 with a 1:07.47. We all knew this would be improved upon in the finals.
Carnage up to this point was minimal (unless you were one of the unfortunate souls), with few midairs compared to last year's devastation. A.J. Seaholm and Jason Duda dazzled the crowd with a spectacular midair at Pylon One. This was icing on the cake for Jason's day. (Note to self: Make sure caller knows which lane I'm in.)
Monday wrapped up at roughly 6:00, giving everyone ample time to pack up before the Hurricane Dennis rain finally arrived.
Day Two: Q-500 racing resumed Tuesday morning, with beautiful weather and calm winds. The first heat of the day launched at approximately 8:30 a.m., with the goal of completing two more rounds of A and B Matrix Q-500 before the finals. These rounds would be the last chance for racers to qualify for the finals.
Few changes were made to the leader boards during these last two rounds. The top 14 racers in each matrix were posted and then promptly told to gear up and get ready for the finals. The winds were picking up and the sky had become completely overcast.
The Q-500 finals started with a bang; Mike Condon banged into Dub Jett in the first heat and Jimmy Allen banged into Roy Andrews in Heat Four.
Jimmy was flying his backup model because of his earlier midair, and it suffered only a broken wing bolt and propeller, thanks to Roy's unselfish act of positioning his airplane underneath Jimmy's when they hit the ground. Their models, having stuck together after the midair, gently (almost!) helicoptered to the ground.
Winds steadily increased throughout the finals, and a short rain delay was required after Round Four. The fifth and final round was completed shortly after 4:00. Only one flyoff was required; Randy Bridge, Fred Burgdorf, and Mark Parker were tied for second place.
Congratulations to Mike Helsel for landing the top spot in Q-500! The top 10 finishers were:
1) Mike Helsel: 1:08.00 2) Mark Parker: 1:10.30 3) Randy Bridge: 1:06.84 (fast time) 4) Fred Burgdorf: 1:08.77 5) Gary Freeman Jr.: 1:08.25 6) James O'Brien: 1:08.77 7) Stephen Vaclav: 1:09.34 8) Dan Kane: 1:09.63 9) Matthew Fehling: 1:12.88 10) Jeffrey Amismin: 1:13.61
This year's top Senior in Q-500 was Matthew Fehling. Brian Blanchard was the top Q-500 Junior. Congratulations to everyone who competed in this event.
In what will hopefully become a postrace tradition, someone put up $25 apiece to have the top six engines inspected. Henry Nelson was on hand to help, and all six power plants passed without issue. Instead of pocketing the money, the owners donated it to the AMA Scholarship Fund, in accordance with Cliff Telford's wishes.
With Q-500 completed and the likelihood of rain increasing, Mike Condon pushed the start of Q-40 back to 11:00 a.m. Wednesday. Again, he was right on the money.
Day Three: We awoke Wednesday morning to rain and overcast skies. Many entrants were getting in test flights by approximately 10:00, and the first heats had not yet subsided. However, the race was on by noon.
Five rounds of Q-40 Matrix A were completed by 5:00, leaving two more to be finished first thing Thursday morning. Q-40 B Matrix would then follow in its entirety.
Most racers were conservative in these earlier rounds, giving me little to poke fun at. I observed no spectacular midairs or notable acts of heroism. As in Q-500, the goal while flying in these preliminary rounds was to finish in the top 14 and qualify to fly in the finals.
Day Four: Q-40 A Matrix rounds six and seven were quickly finished Thursday morning. Sitting alone at the top of A Matrix was Tom Scott (an early favorite) with 28 points and the fast time of 1:05.10. Ray Brown was one point down, followed by Jimmy Allen, Randy Bridge, Rich Beers, and Travis Flynn.
Q-40 B Matrix racers, who were fed up with having to watch the A Matrix racers for the past two days, finally started racing shortly before lunchtime Thursday. Gino Del Ponte (last year's Q-40 champion) was out in front after four rounds, followed by Dan Kane, Fred Burgdorf, A.J. Seabloom, Rusty Van Baren, and Mike Helsel.
Three more rounds of Q-40 B Matrix races resulted in little change to the order, with the exception of Dan Kane stealing the top spot with a fast time of 1:03.49. The Q-40 finals started Friday morning.
Day Five: Friday's weather saw no improvement; it presented overcast skies and intermittent rain showers, but it was not bad enough to stop the Q-40 finals. Racing was fast and furious, with above-average aircraft destruction thanks in part to Tom Scott. In the end, Tom could not be beaten and was this year's Q-40 national champion. Congratulations, Tom!
The top 10 Q-40 finishers were:
1) Tom Scott: 1:03.45 (fast time) 2) Randy Bridge: 1:04.32 3) Lyle Larson: 1:04.58 4) Mike Helsel: 1:04.49 5) Ray Brown: 1:04.20 6) Fred Burgdorf: 1:04.91 7) Travis Flynn: 1:04.53 8) Gary Freeman Jr.: 1:05.05 9) Gino Del Ponte: 1:04.35 10) Dan Kane: 1:04.62
Who was this year's overall champion? The results were not known until IBM's Deep Blue ran the calculations to 1000th of a decimal point. After a month of calculating, the final results were beamed to Mike Condon.
For the sixth straight year the overall Pylon Racing championship went to Randy Bridge with 219.00 points. Mike Helsel was only .5 point back! Congratulations to both!
Regardless of the weather, the Nats was and always is a great experience and an event not to miss. It is exciting to see what the top contenders are doing and to have the chance to meet the many faces in the Pylon Racing community. You will not find a more friendly or helpful bunch of misfits. I hope to see all of you next year.
The 2005 F3D (FAI Pylon Racing) World Championships was held August 27–September 3 in Tours, France. The US team consisted of Richard Verano and caller Robert Holik, Randy Bridge and caller Ray Brown, and Craig Grunkemeyer and caller Tom Scott. Jim Allen was the team manager.
The US team did exceptionally well, taking ninth place overall. In the individual standings, Richard Verano was the top US competitor with a fourth-place finish.
The team can tell you better than I can that competing at the world level is incredibly challenging and much more difficult than anything most of us will ever experience in our little Pylon lives. Congratulations to the US team!
The Netherlands took the top team honors, and Chris Callow of Australia is again the individual World Champion. If you would like more information about the 2005 F3D World Championships, go to www.rnmpa.org. Jim Allen posted daily updates throughout the competition.
The 2007 F3D World Championships will be held in our own back yard (Muncie, Indiana). The estimated date is early September.
This Just In: The 2006 US F5D (RC Electric Pylon Racing) team will consist of Dan Kane, Gary Freeman Jr., and Travis Flynn. John Jennings is the alternate. The team will travel to Romania to compete in the F5D World Championships. The dates are to be determined.
I'm out of space. As always, please E-mail me with suggestions and questions anytime. KB
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
