Radio Control: Pylon Racing
PYLON RACING should enjoy a good year in 1983, since it looks as though we will all have a pretty full schedule of racing events within our reach. For those of you who have been having radio interference problems, we now have a wealth of new radio frequencies to choose from. We won't be sharing these frequencies with some commercial outfit-these are for RC use only. I know that for some of you this won't mean much, but there are some localities where many of our RC frequencies are totally unusable due to commercial radio transmissions.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
THERE has been quite a void in FAI Pylon Racing since the United States dropped out of the event. While in some countries FAI Pylon is one of the main Racing events, here in the U.S., our main Racing event was (and still is) Formula One. Here is where the problem seems to have been. With all the effort one must put out to be competitive in Formula One or Quarter Midget, there just wasn't enough time left for FAI. A person had to build at least two planes for FAI for the season and, unlike Formula One engines, the FAI engines (which run on 80% methanol alcohol and 20% oil) must be set up differently. The prop, and the rpm at which it runs, are different, and with the tuned pipe you have a whole new ball game. All this, plus the fact that you were only going to be able to race FAI a couple of times during the year, made this event too much work for what you got out of it. So we ended up just dropping the event. This left Pylon Racing out of international competition-at least for the United States.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
As I write this, the Northeast is having its worst snow in over 40 years. It is about 65 degrees here in Conroe, TX. Eat your hearts out gang! Not all is lost, though, as the bad weather allows for plenty of time to build your new Formula One, Club 500 racer, or Quarter Midget. While you are at it, you might pick up an extra check cowl for your Formula One - or just modify the one that you have to accept both the short pipe we use in Formula One and a turned muffler or pipe so you can compete in FAI. Remember that the FAI F3D rules have been changed so that you can fly your Formula One in either event.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
RACING season is here again, and by the looks of the mail that I am getting, there are going to be lots of new fliers on the Pylon course this year. I am still getting plenty of mail about Club 500 racing. What are the rules? What about having Club 500 racing at the AMA Nats? And so on. Let's take the question about making Club 500 racing a part of the Nats. Club 500 racing was started as a fun event that anyone could enter and have a chance to win. It is supposed to be a low-key, simple, easy event. In almost every case, this is how it started out, with people using a stock engine, a non-altered stock kit, stock prop, and usually the host club supplied 15% nitro fuel.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
WINNING. A common question that a person interested in Pylon Racing will ask is; "What does a person have to do to win a Pylon Race?" It doesn't matter what type of Pylon Racing you want to do. There are some simple and basic things a person can do to help improve his chances of winning. Let's start with you. No matter what the sport is, I don't know of anyone who has become competitive or has become a winner without a lot of practice and/or training. For the most part, in Pylon Racing you will by flying at about 20 to 30 ft. above the ground and turning left. But what about when the unexpected happens? What about when someone gets in your way, when you overturn a pylon, or a gust of wind gets you? Any number of things that can happen do, in fact, happen. If your reflexes are not fast enough, you usually end up with a crashed airplane.
