Hello to all you RCPRO Pylon Racers. My Name is Barry Reade and I took over the Presidency of RCPRO at the request of Mr. Don Stegall, the RCPRO Chairman of the Board of Directors, in July of this year. Our goal at RCPRO is to promote R/C Pylon Racing and the enjoyment and camaraderie associated with it. This newsletter will be sent out on a bimonthly basis for the next year and then we will evaluate if we need it more frequent than bimonthly.
We want the RCPRO Forums to become more active and sharing of ideas, events, techniques in building, tuning of engines, electrical and batteries, how to travel or ship your airplanes, etc. Anything associated with this great hobby we have.
Currently RCPRO is focusing on three venues. Club 40 which is the most basic entry level pylon racing. Quickie 25 is the next level up from Club 40 and gets one into the Quickie 500 (424/428 AMA Class) airframe. The Warbird venue has something for everyone. It has three different classes Bronze, Silver, and Gold just like the Reno Racers. The planes are basic to extreme with the Gold class reaching speeds of 150 mph. We have a couple of other venues that are currently dormant but are expected to grow in the future.
This last year has seen Club 40 really start to grow around the country. Some Club 40 programs have been around for years and are continuing to grow.
There is an RCPRO Committee for each one of these venues and each committee has a chairman. Each chairman is encouraged to have input to this newsletter from their committee.
RCPRO will be sending out a survey before the end of October to all AMA clubs in the Continental U.S. about Pylon Racing. Ask your club officers if they got it and have they responded. If they haven't, offer to give them a hand. RCPRO would like to get each clubs input so we get a feel where Pylon Racing is and where it is going.
If you are interested in getting involved with RCPRO contact me. My email mmcm267@comcast.net or phone 404-805-8302 and I will get you to the appropriate committee to assist.
When our President, Barry Reade, asked for an article for the RCPRO newsletter, I had no idea where to start. Then, that Saturday, at a club function, one of the members mentioned that he had seen my name in Model Aviation. I figured, correctly, that RCPRO Chairman of the Board, Don Stegall's, article on Club 40, "Pylon Racing for Everyone", had been published. So, now I do not have to "start". If you haven't read the article ( how can that be?) grab the October issue of MA and turn to page 66.
Probably due to space limitations, there is no description of Club 40 Sport in the article. Very simply, Club 40 Sport uses the same airplanes with less powerful engines. This results in top speed below 65 mph instead of the 90 to 95 mph of Club 40. I know that Club 40 Sport is near and dear to Don's heart. Heck, he just likes all kinds of racing. The Engine rules for Club 40 Sport are on the RCPRO website, on the same page as those for Club 40.
On the various web forums, you can read about the wonderful equipment race promoters are using to build the matrix and count the laps. Yes, it is wonderful, but most is totally unneeded if you are starting out with a small number of racers. For your first race, having three (3) plane heats, you should have 9 people: Two (2) cut judges, three (3) pilots racing, three (3) persons counting (they can be three (3) pilots who race in the next heat) and a Starter. You can even get by without the Starter, if one of the counters will yell, "Three, two, one, GO!". If you are really starting out, have two (2) plane heats and you only need 6 people, without a Starter. Even with more participants, like 12 or 13, the pilots from the previous heat do the lap counting.
In order for any event to grow, it must first get started!! If you are not involved with racing and interested in starting some and if there is any kind of racing in your area, go to a race. Like anything else, it will take a while to actually know what you are seeing, if you are new. I am not going to be talking about making your planes go faster. I will share what I have learned from trial and error and error to help get racing started in areas where there is none. Please call or e-mail me.
We have gotten inquiries as a result of the article. So far no one has specifically asked how to start some racing. They want to know where the racing is. The fact that there are not a lot of such places being made known, is one of the reasons Richard Storm, Bob Severance and I, in 2005, started working toward what has now become Club 40. (We were not the first to race Sky Raiders but because we asked, on the forums, how to do it, we were noticed.)
We are trying to compile and make available a list of clubs or locations where racing occurs. We will list any kind of racing, just tell us what you do. You may send the info to any of the committee chairpersons, President Barry Reade, or Chairman of the Board, Don Stegall. We want those who are looking for a place to race to find you.
Ken Erickson
Ken_Erickson@comcast.net (that's an underscore, not a space)
(812) 418-8124
Here we are rapidly approaching the end of another pylon racing season. Although some parts of the country still have a month or two of scheduled racing to complete. Most of us have to start preparing for next years racing season and staying on top of possible rule changes for 2010. Since Q-25 is in its infancy as a new class of entry level pylon racing it is starting to grow in popularity in some areas around the country. Airframes used in the 424 pylon class using only wood or wood over foam wings and tail feathers are allowed. Fuselage can be wood or fiberglass and a .25 engine is the only power plant allowed. These factors yield an entry level pylon racing class with a speed around 100 MPH which the average sport flyer can manage and a much lower affordable cost to pylon race. Thanks to the new set back distance rules (see AMA document 540-B) almost any flying club can now hold 2 pole pylon races on their flying site without a special wavier from the AMA. Another great thing about this class is just by changing the engine and moving the battery pack location your Q-25 racer can now fly 424 class with speeds around 115-120 MPH. With that being said it is time for the Q-25 pylon racers to be heard and unite with the help of RCPRO. We are currently working on a set of rules, inspection procedures, an engine list, and a standard race course length for this class. We need you to tell us what your group is doing in your area and be a part of helping create a national set of rules for Q-25 pylon racing. With your help we can grow strong.
Gene Hodges
RCPRO Q-25 Committee Chairman
Hi Gentlemen, As we approach the end of the season, many of us are preparing for the race in Phoenix. The Phoenix races always draw the most entries and seem to have the biggest variety of planes. With the addition of Tucson this year the season no longer ends in Phoenix so we will have to wait until December to see how the world points work out. No one has a clinch on it this year. It was with sadness that we lost Kingman from the circuit this year. Carry Buschbaum moved to Texas and it was just too difficult for them to carry on without Carry and his family. I have spoken with him and he said he is getting good response from the folks in his area about starting up some RCPRO warbird racing there in Texas. On another note, there has been some talk this season about making some adjustments to the wing area chart. Part of it was due to the increasing sizes of some of the more popular engines, especially the YS 4 strokes. What started as a .91 engine was replaced by the 1.10 and now will be replaced by the 1.15. Many guys had built airframes to use with the .91 but now find the planes unusable with the increase to 1.10. Now with the 1.15 coming out, we have to decide if it will have to run in a 1.20 airframe. I know that SAMS is talking about revising their chart to accommodate the new engine. I myself would like to see some changes to allow some of the larger 2 stroke engines to be competitive. If you think about it, the new 91 2 strokes are basically punched out .61's. The problem is that the wing area required to run a .90 2 stroke is just too big to make it competitive. I would love to have some discussion about this so that we might look at making some changes for next season. It is exciting to see that some folks in North Carolina are starting up some RCPRO warbird racing. I have been in contact with some of the clubs in So Cal as well and hope to be able to add at least one more venue from there. It would be great if some of you could talk to the clubs in your area and see if we can interest more clubs to host an event. I know that Bert Mitchell has been looking into have some races in the Las Vegas or south Utah area. I'm looking forward to that. Thanks to all of you who have helped build up the RCPRO community. It is starting to gain in popularity and so far we have a good reputation. I think we have a solid foundation and as long as we can manage it well, we have a chance to bring warbird racing back to life.
Blessings,
Terry Yates
RCPRO Warbird Chairman
In closing RCPRO is here to support and promote you, The R/C Pylon Racer.
Go Fast Turn Left, sounds easy doesn't it. For those that have raced they know the answer. For those that haven't, try it.
Barry Reade
RCPRO President