RE: Evening the field
Sorry if I sounded defensive, that was not my point.
Have you talked to the people with the faster planes and asked what they were doing to go so fast?
How clean are the planes, are they doing little things like internally mounting switches, antennas, etc..? Flush / countersinking of all bolts? Do you remove the flashing on your propellers? How tight is your covering? Is it full of Vinyl stickers, etc...?
We race a lot up here, and of the 20 or so regulars several of us do routinely lap the majority of the racers on race day and I know I am not cheating. Hang in there, practice and work on the plane from nose to tail and do everything you can to make it faster and practice. Get someone with a portable radio down on the pylon and let you know how far you are going past it. I don't normally fly 2 pylon, but getting use to distance and depth perception while looking at an angle is not precise. You may be going 50 foot past the pylons on both ends, and the faster guys are staying within 10 feet.
Just my ramblings.