Radio Control: Pylon Racing
AVAILABILITY: I've received quite a few letters this summer wanting to know where to get a certain kit or engine rework, etc. You will find an updated list at the end of the article. Are you having trouble with your needle valve? You need to break in your new needle valve! Read on. Here are a couple of things that you should consider. It helps matters if the needle is supported where it exits from the fuselage. A rubber grommet works well here. It must be a tight fit. Most racing engines will have a needle valve assembly utilizing a jam nut on the spray bar to adjust for the desired grip on the needle. This is where we must be very careful. As we run in a new engine and carb, we will have to readjust the jam nut to maintain a solid grip on the needle. What has happened is that the needle threads wear (due to adjusting and engine vibration) where it is generally set for running. It should never have to be moved more than a turn or so for the proper engine setting.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
What is in store for us in 1990? For Formula One there has been an engine shortage the last few years, but 1990 could change that. Dave Shadel and Henry Nelson are making a .40 for Formula One and for FAI. These engines will be ready to run out of the box. The FAI version will even include a tuned pipe. The bolt pattern will be the same as for the Super Tigre X.40, and even though the case will be a little larger it should bolt right into what you have now, provided that you are using an X.40. Anyway, these engines should be out sometime in March. Get your orders in now. Call Dave Shadel at 1-619/729-1658, or Henry Nelson at 1-412/538-5282. Also, I hope to pass on more helpful hints and ideas. Please, guys - send some to me so I can pass them along! Also, I'm going to - by popular demand - print a list of people who supply us with Racing goodies. This month I'm going to finish publishing the NMPRA's "Pylon Race Procedure Guide." Please go back to last month's column for the first part. I don't think that anyone should run or work a Pylon Race without reading this contest procedure guide for RC Pylon.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
New Stuff: I don't often make it a point in this column to highlight commercial products, but I do try to pass on information that will help the racer. So here goes. Let's look at some of the products that Ace R/C puts Out: No serious flier could do without a device to cycle-test his batteries. Well, Ace has the Digipace I for the job. Most of the competition fliers I know use one. I just bought a Tach Master II as a kit and built it in one evening. It works great. (I also have several Ace battery chargers and have built several of the receivers.) The latest thing that I think will be a must for everyone is a device called an Add-A-Trickle. It allows you to add a trickle charger to any existing overnight charger. After the initial or overnight charge, just flip the switch, and you get about a 10-mA trickle. At this low rate you can leave your batteries plugged in indefinitely with no worry about overcharging. It's great! Your batteries will always be at their peak. No more worry about having to remember to put things on charge the night before a race. I've got one on every one of my chargers. I could go on and on, but you can get one and see for yourself. See your local dealer for more in formation on Ace R/C products.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
SUMMER'S END usually means Championship Race time for most Pylon Racers. Our latest event-Q500-has really taken off. And so of course we have a Championship Race for that event. The following report was supplied by Bob Greer, who also was the Contest Director for the '88 races. "This year's National NMPRA Q500 Championship was held at North Lake/Dallas on October 8-9. We had a good turnout, with fliers coming from Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix, California, and Texas. Donna Bartle came all the way from California to be the starter. She did her usual great job. The week before the race she hurt her arm, so she had Marc Greer do the actual flagging. He did a great job for his first race as starter.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
NEW RULES? In the March 1989 edition of the "Competition Newsletter" section of Model Aviation you had a chance to see how the Radio Control Racing Contest Board members performed with their Initial Vote on the proposed rule changes for 1990-91. Let's look at these rules very closely. If they survive the forthcoming Final Vote, we will have to live with them very soon. Let's look at RCR 90-8. This restricts fuel used in Formula One to a content of 15% nitromethane, and would be supplied by contest management.
