Returning to the Montana skies - 2012/08

As I sit down to write this column,
the summer racing season is in
full swing. There are parts of
the country hosting races that have
not done so in many years. The recent
upswing of this phenomenon can
likely be attributed to a new Electric
Formula 1 (EF1) event, the plentiful
supply of quality kits, and the increased
production of ARFs.
I plan to attend a Q-500 AMA Event
424 and EF1 race in Billings, Montana,
for the first time in nearly 15 years. My
father, Earl Seaholm, introduced me to
Pylon Racing in Montana roughly 25
years ago, and I have vivid memories of
going fast and turning left in the “Big Sky
Country.” I look forward to experiencing
it again.
Tip of the hat to Ed Alves, the
Elberts, Leonard Cloninger, Dad, and
many others for rejuvenating Pylon in
Montana.
Although EF1 has helped spur
interest from many past and future
speed addicts, classes alone will not
grow this sport. You must have races and
dedicated event organizers to provide
the means for Pylon prospects to get
a taste for this exciting form of RC
modeling. Classes are the bait; races are
the hook. To all the dedicated CDs and event organizers reading this article, I give
my sincere thank-you.
Trimming Basics Revisited
A smooth-flying, consistent model is critical to laying down quick laps and
progressing up the leaderboard. The material in this section has been covered in past
issues, but it is so important that I wanted to revisit it for some of our newer racers.
Model setup is a huge piece of the Pylon puzzle. The faster events in RC Pylon
amplify this importance and do not provide much time to fight your model around
the race course. You really need to concentrate on entry and exit point for your turns,
traffic, and flying
consistency. This
is not possible,
even by the most
skilled pilots,
if the model
does something
different every
time you move
the sticks.
CG should be
used to dial in the
straights between
Pylons Three and
One and Pylons One and Two. If it feels as though your model drifts toward the
center of the course through the straights, it is nose-heavy and needs the CG moved
aft toward the tail. Conversely, a tail-heavy racer will feel elevator-sensitive on the
course and will carry the nose high on landing approach once the engine has been
turned off.
Rudder trim should be used to set the yaw of your racer in the straights. If the tail
is hanging low or high, trim this out with a couple of clicks of rudder. If your racer
flies with the tail
up or down, it
exposes the side
of the fuselage to
the air and acts as
a parachute. As I
have mentioned
countless times
in this column,
drag is the enemy
of speed and fast
times.
“But won’t
rudder trim add
additional drag and
slow the model
down also?” you
might ask. Good question. It is the lesser of two evils and
a straight-fl ying aircraft will travel faster
than one fl ying knife-edge.
If you have been to a race, you
have likely seen some type of weight
affi xed to a wingtip. Tip weight is used
to control yaw through the turns. If
your model feels as though it dives or
balloons up through the turns when the
elevator stick is buried, use lead tape or
coins for tip weight and minimize this
disconcerting tendency. If the tail kicks
up, the model needs tip weight on the
top wing.
If the tail wants to kick down through
the turn, add some low tip weight. After
several years of trying to fi gure out the
physics of this phenomenon and getting
several varying explanations, I have
decided to just accept that it works.
These three trimming basics will help
fi ne-tune your racer and make your pilot
duties less stressful. The less you fl y the
model and provide inputs to those little
drag makers we call control surfaces, the
faster you will go.
Nats Finals
In a past column, I discussed the
AMA Pylon Nats Qualifying and
Finals arrangement that was initially
established by Mike Condon in 1998
to allow pilots to work the course.
This month, I will provide additional
information on how the Nats is run, and
try to convey the adrenaline rush that
only its fi nals can deliver.
In 2012, the
featured events
are Q-500
AMA Event
426 and Q-40
AMA Event
422. The entire
fi eld for each
featured event
is divided in
half into A and
B Matrixes. The
A Matrix fl ies
in the morning
of the fi rst day,
followed by the
B Matrix in the afternoon. The following
day the order is reversed to provide B
Matrix competitors an opportunity to fl y
in the faster morning air.
Generally, seven rounds of qualifying
for each Matrix are completed. The top
14 fi nishers from each Matrix, and the
two fastest not in the top 14, go onto the
fi nals. The fi nals generally have fi ve to six
rounds, and everyone from each Matrix starts with a clean score. Qualifying
position does not affect the fi nals Matrix,
but the fastest time from qualifying
counts for the entire event.
So, you have dodged the big mistakes,
fl own fast, and punched your card
for a spot in the big dance: the Nats
fi nals. I have fl own in roughly a dozen
AMA Nats fi nals and have found many
interesting and unique ways to not win.
The level of competition is tough, and
it takes a combination of exceptional
fl ying, reliably fast equipment, great
teamwork, and a little luck to fi nish near
the top.
Racing in the AMA Nats fi nals is
awesome. You really have to try to keep
your nerves and adrenaline in check. It is
easy to go out there for the fi rst heat and
shoot yourself in the foot by posting a
zero.
Many Nats have been won when the
winner took second in one or two heats,
which is referred to as being one to two
points down from a perfect score. If
you get behind early, try to stay patient
and do not cut or crash. It’s easier said
than done, I know, but it takes fi ve to six
exceptional rounds, not one or two.
Try to approach the fi nals as just
another contest, and remember to have
fun. The payout for fi rst place is the
same as last, but the feeling of being
crowned National Champion will last a
lifetime. I am pumped just writing about
the Nats fi nals, and cannot wait to get
back there this year. I hope you get to
experience it someday for yourself.
I was unable to attend the 2011 Nats
because of work commitments. I was
fortunate to win back-to-back National
Championships in 2009 and 2010.
I have spent plenty of time thinking
about those successful years and what
was different compared to the four
previous unsuccessful years. If I could
point to only one difference, I would
pick the comfort level and exceptional
calling abilities of my teammate, Scott
Causey.
If I had to pick another, I think it
would be consistency. Both years I flew
the same airplane, same engine, and
same propeller. I flew a large number of
races on the setup and knew what the
combination would and would not do.
When temptation set in to lean it out
just a little more, I resisted because of
the data in my head from previous runs
and slow downs.
This year, I will have a new racer
because I have retired the other. I have
a new, top-end engine because the other
has begun to slow, limiting practice time
in the past couple of years.
Chances are, I will not take home top
honors and that is okay by me. I look
forward to the “family reunion,” and
racing will just be icing on the cake. I
will never forget 2009 and 2010.
Painting Safety
In the two-part “Painting Tips and
Techniques,” I failed to mention the
importance of safety equipment and
good ventilation. The automotive paints
described in these articles are toxic.
Please take all the precautions suggested
by the paint manufacturers. This should
include a respirator designed for the
type of paint being used. Also, I suggest
working in a well-ventilated area.
Before my move to South Dakota,
I used my garage to shoot these paints
with the garage door open for the
basecoat colors. For the clearcoat, I
painted with the garage door closed to
minimize foreign material flying around
and landing on the surface. After the
clearcoat had dried to a dust-free state, I
opened the garage door to evacuate the
area. Be sure to seal off all entry points
to and from the garage to your home, if
connected.
If you have photos or experiences
using the techniques described here,
please pass them along and perhaps I’ll
share them with our readers in a future
article.
If you have photos of your aircraft,
please email them to me for possible
inclusion in a future article.