Radio Control: Pylon Racing
A PICTURE IS WORTH waiting for, I hope. Here is Matt Mikko's Q40 Dago Red (from the Lyle Larson kit), as seen at the JR Gold Cup race in Phoenix. Matt also built the beautiful Miss Ashley featured here in the July issue. The Ashley is Matt's #1 racer; he brought the Dago along as a DOBUS (Dirty Old Backup Ship). Mere photos don't do it justice. It's two-tone red with white trim, panel lines, and rivet detail. Matt doesn't like it as well as the Ashley because the little American flag (visible just behind the canopy) is a decal. Everything else is hand-masked and -painted. And they don't even do static judging in the Q40 class as they do in Formula I! Matt just decided to put in the extra effort because well, "just because." And yes, it even goes fast.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
AS YOU READ this, the Racing season is nearing its end in the northern climes. And the deadline for rule proposals for the 2002-2005 rule book is almost upon us. Get them signed and sent to AMA HQ by September 30, 1999, or forever hold your peace. Now let's sit back and enjoy a couple of race reports from earlier this year. The first is from Orv Steinmetz: Rockford IL, May 16: What a great day of racing! Thanks to the excellent help of our workers and the forbearance of the rain clouds, we got in five rounds of racing for 17 pilots and a real good lunch by 1:50 p.m.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
GOT SOME pictures again this month. That's the good news. The bad news is, I had to supply them myself. Some folks have a face made for radio; I have photographic skills made for writing. One photo shows the sideline judging/signal light system described in the race report that appeared here last month. Time/space coordinates are Longmont, Colorado June 6, 1999. Note the absence of barrier cages on the course. The only folks out there are the pilots and callers, plus the starter. Note also that one of the halogen signal lights at Pylon One has just been switched on and is clearly visible, even in broad daylight. The light appears as a bright dot in the photo, just above the arrow. The aircraft that has just turned Pylon One is visible at upper left. The four signal lights are arranged in a horizontal row, color-coded with translucent plastic and enclosed in a six-foot-long box that's perched on the small trailer we use to haul the equipment. The 110V generator and control relays are in the bed of the trailer.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
THE 1999 NATS blossomed under a mellow summer sun, blending vestiges of the past with portents of the future. This was the year the Formula Is gathered for the last time, announcing their impending hibernation with a raucous call that echoed through the rolling Indiana hills like the late-afternoon buzz of cicadas. It was the year when four of the top places were left open by America's FAI team, who stayed in touch from half-a-world away. And it was the year in which the world champion came from the United States, while the US champion came from Mexico.
