Radio Control: Pylon Racing
On October 29-30, The Indian River Kontrol Society hosted its annual OktoberFAST Pylon Race at Valkaria Airport. Despite the 70% chance of rain forecast for the entire weekend, a record 43 contestants on Saturday and 40 on Sunday traveled to Florida's east coast for this classic event. This race was also scheduled as the 1994 NMPRA District 7 Quickee 500 Championship. Two separate SEMPRA Sport Pylon races were held over the course of the weekend. Both days were jam-packed with plenty of Pylon Racing action. There were many very close races (you know, the kind that you live for and your plane dies for) and I can only recall two midairs the entire weekend. Five rounds of racing were completed each day, with the threat of rain pushing the tempo of the heats into high gear.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
THE FAI PYLON TEAM selection for 1995's World Championships was hosted by the Pro-Flyers November 11-12, 1994 at Phoenix, Arizona. Eleven contestants flew in the FAI team trials. Only the top three qualify for positions on the prestigious United States FAI team. The World Championships are to be held at the new AMA site in Muncie, Indiana next August. Dave Shadel and Jim Shinohara led all qualifiers and quickly distanced themselves from the field. Their average time for ten rounds was 1:07.9. They will represent the USA at their sixth World Championships. Second through sixth places were very tight, and went down to the twelfth and final round. Chip Hyde edged out Lou Rodriguez for second place. Gary Hover became first alternate, finishing fourth, with Lloyd Burnham in fifth place.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
FOR THIS ARTICLE, I have just picked some letters and input from various areas. So here we go: First, a little input from the NEPRO News by Pete Reed (who, by the way, is our NMPRA president for 1995). It looks like these guys still have an event for the beginner-the one-engine/one airplane type. Here is what Pete has to say about the little engines they use: "When I took my latest repaired Lee Custom engine out of the box I started thinking about what a bargain we get from Clarence and what a tremendous positive effect Clarence and K&B have had on New England racing. Without them we would not have the relatively level playing field we now have.
NMPRA Championship Race
The National Miniature Pylon Racing Association (NMPRA) holds its year-end Formula Race in one of three states (Texas, Florida, or California) on a rotating basis. The 1995 race was held in California at Sepulveda Basin (just north of Los Angeles) October 21-22. Ron Schorr was the Contest Director. We had some veteran fliers running this year's race, so everything was first-class. How do you qualify to go to this race? You must be one of the following: a past Championship winner, an NMPRA officer, a top-ten finisher at the AMA Nationals, or a top-20% finisher in your district. Under special circumstances you can ask for an exemption to enter the contest. Only the best get invited to this race.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
SOME OF YOU THINK that there is a deep, dark secret to winning races. I have heard such things as, "he gets special engines or better airplanes or special props," and the list goes on and on. In the past I have also been guilty of some of these thoughts, and I in some cases this might have been true. Some of the engines that we had to use in Formula One were so touchy that if everything was not perfect they were not competitive, and not everyone had a fair chance to get a good engine.
