Radio Control: Pylon Racing
IN PAST YEARS I've tried to describe the Nats Pylon competition with a single word; one year I called them the "fragmented" Nats. This year it was very difficult-the Pylon venue was turned over to the National Miniature Pylon Association (NMPRA) for the first time. How 'bout I just call it the "different" Nats? For the first time the entire worker pool was selected from the contestants, with the exception of a few stalwarts, including Paul Page, Bob Campbell, Charlie Robinson, Brigette Brown, and Jim and Bernie Allen. Since workers have become an extinct group, Pylon needed a new plan. The details of the plan were developed during the Nats planning meeting last fall; the meeting was attended by the Nats management staff and the involved AMA Special Interest Groups (SIGs)-in Pylon's case, NMPRA.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
SEVERAL RACERS TOLD ME they weren't going to the 1994 Nats because: "it's too hot," "it's too dusty," or "it's too windy." I hate to say I told you so-but you guys blew it! The weather was lovely. It got quite warm in the afternoons after we were finished for the day, but the mild temperatures and steady breeze in the mornings kept things quite comfortable. In fact, the weather for this Nats was some of the best since I've been involved. Contestant entries were down, including Pylon. However, there were adequate numbers in everything but FAI, which is normal. There was somewhere around one-quarter of the total number of entries for everything-Sailplane, Helicopter, Pattern, Control Line-you name it. We processed 102 Quickee models on the 15th and ended up with 63 entries. This resulted in a 4-by-16 matrix, and we were guessing about ten rounds total, since our daily time allocation was 7 a.m.-1 p.m.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
THE NATS WAS supposed to be poorly attended this year. People didn't like the fact that the Nats were divided among three different cities. But we set attendance records in two events! Quickie had 120 and Quarter 40 had 56. Formula I was down, and FAI was normal (five entries), but the other two were great! Problem is, with 120 entries how do you get in a credible amount of racing? The potential for a very large number of ties from first on down is immense-but you can't tell them to stay home, either.
F3D World Championships
In the August issue of the National Miniature Pylon Racing Association (NMPRA) newsletter, Cliff Telford wrote about the Nationals: "If the August weather in Muncie is as hot as July in Lawrenceville, it should be a very interesting World Champs. The European fliers rarely compete in the conditions that have been prevalent in the US Midwest this summer." Well, it was-and they did! The 1995 F3D FAI World Championships were held August 14-16 in Muncie at the AMA National Flying Site. I was at both meets, and I think it was hotter in Muncie, but the weather was only one part of the World Championships drama. World Champion. It has a nice ring, doesn't it? Not many fliers are able to achieve this lofty goal, and reaching it more than once means you have more than luck on your side. There is no tiptoeing through the matrix in F3D, like there sometimes is in Quickie, Quarter, or Formula I. The F3D scoring system requires fast flights for every heat. Also, in addition to having an individual World Champion, F3D has a World Champion Team-there is much more at stake than just individual honors.
F3D Pylon World Championships
This was supposed to be a report on a glorious World Championship, where the US dominated again, and where the contest was a wonderful experience, with nothing but happy people from all over the world. We did have people from all over the world, but happy? Ha! The fact is, it was a sad contest, and it was very poorly run. I was Team Manager this time, which means that I had the glorious task of begging people for money to help defray costs, plus I got to see to it that we all arrived at the right place, and not 5000 miles somewhere else.
