MJD
Posts: 5122
Score: 125
Joined: 5/28/2003
Last Login: 2/2/2012
From: Orangeville,
ON, CANADA
Status: offline
|
From MAN May 2001, by Hal deBolt, found it on an articles posting site at History of pylon racing
THE BEGINNING
Like most things, RC competition began in a small way. In 1956, the AMA held its first competitive event, and Chet Lanzo took top honors with a 2 1/2-minute program that included two controlled turns. It took 15 more years for a contest maneuver schedule to emerge, and at about the same time, our urge to race with RC became obvious.
Early AMA pylon "races" involved only one plane flying against the clock around two pylons for four, 1/4-mile laps. Because radios weren't very reliable, few of us were confident enough to risk the required low, precise flight!
With the arrival of citizens band (CB), the RC hobby was accessible to a multitude of modelers, and increased demand for RC equipment soon led to developments that made it more reliable. RC contests featuring rudimentary maneuvers became commonplace. There was still one hurdle to be overcome: only one contestant could fly at a time, so during a day, there wasn't time for any pilot to fly more than once or twice. To ameliorate the situation, contest organizers scheduled two simultaneous events. With the addition of pylon racing, entrants could fly several times-usually more in pylon than in stunt. This was still "AMA pylon"; most flew their sport planes, or even their stunt-pattern craft.
Interest in pylon contests led to the development of special pylon racers, and rules soon called for two sizes with specified wing areas:
* for up to .15 engines and 350 square-inch wing area;
* for .19 engines (the more popular) with 600 square-inch wing area.
In those early AMA pylon days, the goal was to complete the course in 3 minutes, racing only against the clock; today, 1 minute is the goal for the 2 1/2-mile pylon course.
The first license-free CB spot was 27.255MHz, but the popularity of RC flying impressed the Federal Communiications Commission so much that it opened five frequencies on the 27MHz band. Having five frequencies allowed planes to race alongside one another, and these early, rudimentary, unofficial races showed potential.
RC racing was modeled after full-scale events: the early Bendix Air Races inspired the Cleveland Air Races and the Reno Races, and the full-size "pylon polishing" racers attracted huge crowds to these events. We enjoyed the Cleveland Races for decades, but then dramatic and tragic crashes-caused, in part, by skyrocketing speeds led to a concern for public safety and, ultimately, the end of the event-a disaster for the speed merchants who wanted to know how they could continue to race; in fact, there was so much interest that a group formed a committee with the idea that racing could be both exciting and safe. Its members proposed a new class of racing with new restrictions; for example, only stock Continental BS engines would be allowed, and aircraft size would be limited. But ideas are nothing without sponsors, and that's where Goodyear stepped in.
From there, it's history. The Goodyear Air Races caught on and, when no longer sponsored by Goodyear, became the "Formula One" races.
_____________________________
I try to be pessimistic, but why bother?
Hide Signatures
|
Search This Thread
Printable Version
All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC >> Vintage Delta kit 
Vintage Delta kit - 
