Radio Control: Pylon Racing
BY THE TIME you read this issue of Model Aviation I hope all you pylon racers have given some thought to the rules proposed by the P.R.O.P.S. of Seattle and the rules published in RCM for 1/2A racing. This writer would like to see a combination of these rules so that we would have a uniform set of parameters for the airframe in 1/2A. Until this happens you will not see very many manufacturers jump on the bandwagon and spend money to tool-up for a 1/2A racer if the specs are different across the country. One compromise of these rules would be to allow the tapered wing; maintain a 2 × 4 in. measurement for the fuselage (not necessarily at the same point); and use two wheels and a landing gear if the field permits, i.e., grass fields-no landing gear, pavement-landing gear required.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
A COUPLE of issues back I made a statement to the effect that Quarter Midgets had to have a steerable nose wheel or tail wheel. I have been corrected by a couple of Quarter Midget people as to the fact that the rules do not state that the third wheel has to be steerable, only that the airplane be controllable on the ground. It is nice to know that at least some of you guys out there are reading the column. I would like to hear from more of you racers in the model world and let me know what you would like to see in this column.
NSRCA Championships
The NSRCA 1976 Championships were held in Southern California at Mile Square Regional Park, Fountain Valley on September 4, 5, and 6. Novice, Advanced, Expert and Master Classes were flown with a total entry of 47 competitors. The largest entry was in Novice with 15, Advanced had 9 as did Expert, and the Master Class managed 14. Tony Bonetti from New Jersey (now known as the Albanian Prince), Bob Beltrano from Hawaii, George Hill from Virginia, Bill Hemple and son from Tucson, Arizona, Curt Oberg from Litchfield, Arizona, and Howard Danforth from New Mexico represented the fliers from outside California.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
I ATTENDED THE Valley Flyers Formula One Race at Sepulveda Basin in July and observed some very competitive racing. Whit Stockwell showed up with his Prather Lil Toni and walked off with all the marbles. Not bad after not flying since the Nats in 1975. Same racer he used at the '75 Nats too. Jack Stafford was having trouble keeping the engine tied down in his Top Turkey (modified Stafford Rickey Rat) so he came up with one of the most elaborate magnesium motor mounts I have seen. It is based on the same idea as the aluminum speed pans used in CL Speed (see Fig. 1).
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
QUITE A FEW of the Formula One pilots in Southern California seem to be unhappy with the way scale judging is being accomplished at various races. According to the 1976-77 AMA rule book, the aircraft should be lined up wing tip to wing tip and judged in descending order. In California the judges are splitting the aircraft into four groups, one through four. Number one starts first, then number two second, etc. Obviously, when a heat comes up with two or more aircraft with the same handicap number, you have to resort to the toss of a coin.
