Go Back  RCU Forums > RC Airplanes > Pylon Universe - RC Pylon Racing > Q-500 Racing
Reload this Page >

North TX Pylon Race #5 , Saturday, October 26th 2013

Notices
Q-500 Racing Discuss AMA 428, AMA 424, and any other variants of Quickie 500 racing

North TX Pylon Race #5 , Saturday, October 26th 2013

Old 10-25-2013, 05:18 AM
  #1  
GSJames
Thread Starter
 
GSJames's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Weatherford, TX
Posts: 579
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default North TX Pylon Race #5 , Saturday, October 26th 2013

The North Texas Racing Organization's 5th EF-1 & Q-25/C-40 Pylon Racing Event is Saturday October 26, 2013.

The location is the Golden Triangle RC Club field: http://www.gtrcc.org/directions.html

EF-1 Pilots will follow the NMPRA EF-1 Rules.

Q-25 Pilots will follow the AMA Q-25 Rules except the engines will be 0.25 cu. in.

Pylon Course will have the Two (2) Pylons 400 feet apart, with the start line distance half way between the two Pylons.

We will alternate heat rounds between Q-25 & EF-1.
Starts will be: Odd number Heats - planes 1 & 3 first, planes 2 & 4 second.
Even number Heats - planes 2 & 4 first, planes 1 & 3 second.

Entry Fee will be $15.
Lunch will be available for $5.
Registration - 10 AM
First race - Right after Pilots Meeting at 11 AM

Gary James, CD Cell: 817-689-3778 gsjames at earthlink.net Verne 'Sarge' Bell, CD, Cell: 817-629-1909, [email protected]
Old 10-28-2013, 03:17 PM
  #2  
countilaw
 
countilaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Grand Prairie, TX
Posts: 1,311
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

For all you guys that missed it, WOW !!! what a great meet. The overcast prevented the sun from being in our eyes, the wind was right down the runway. Lunch was great. The club furnished enough pylon judges so the pilots just needed to concentrate on their flying and planes.

For all you guys that were there, What a great show. I'm looking forward to next year.
Old 10-29-2013, 02:21 PM
  #3  
GSJames
Thread Starter
 
GSJames's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Weatherford, TX
Posts: 579
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

We had a fairly small turnout for the race, only 6 Q-25'ers and 4 EF-1 pilots, but those who came had a good time. The wind was moderately strong, about 15 knots but it was right out of the South, pretty much straight down the runway. With 6 Q-25 pilots, we chose to fly 3-man heats with the idea of decreasing the mid-air probability. Well, THAT didn't happen... In the very first heat, Jerry Hellums and Gary James had a bit too much "togetherness" at pylon #2 on lap #2 and took down both airplanes. Jerry didn't have a spare, so he was out for the day. That left only Jerry Stafford to complete the race. He won... duh. Then, again on the very first heat of EF-1, Jerry Small and Rich Beers airplanes actually got stuck together on the takeoff roll, flew for a short distance and ended up in the grass. Meanwhile, Chuck Anderson had a wheel that was hanging up a bit and also ended up in the grass during takeoff. Once again, that left only Jerry Stafford to complete the race. Hmmmmm. Nobody wanted to fly against Jerry anymore Regrettably, Jerry tumbled his EF-1 on the landing and that took him out of the rest of the day too. The rest of the Q-25 heats were going pretty well, until Patrick Stubblefield found his airplane to be occupying the same point in space as the top of pylon #2. The pylon won... That left only 4 "survivors". At the end of 5 heats, there was a 3-way tie for first place, but the pilots decided not to fly it off, that way they can ALL brag that they came in 1st .

With only 2 EF-1 guys left to compete after the disastrous first heat, Jerry Small and Chuck Anderson faced off for round #2. Chuck's wheel was still giving him problems and once again he ended up in the grass, but fortunately with no damage. After a few test takeoffs, Chuck decided that the risk to the airplane wasn't worth it and wisely threw in the towel for the day. We made Jerry Small fly around in circles a couple of times just for fun ( and a timing experiment) and afterward declared him the winner.

We uncovered a few issues with EF-1 racing. First, it appears that it is possible to defeat the circuitry in the chargers and overcharge the batteries. There is not currently a rule against such a practice, but it is certainly a dangerous thing to do and is not in keeping with the intent of the rules. The NMPRA has issued a statement regarding this practice and is taking steps to prevent it from occurring in the future. Checking the voltage of the batteries at the start line is one possible solution. Properly charged batteries range from about 16.6 to 16.8 volts. For the immediate future however, the event CD should not allow the practice of overcharging under the safety provisions. I think that the text of the NMPRA statement is on the NMPRA fourm.

Secondly, from what we saw, it would be a good idea to have holders or launchers for the EF-1 airplanes at the start line, just like fuel planes, especially on a two-pole course. Even with a staggered start, the torque from the instant startup of the motor causes the airplanes to swerve on takeoff and creates a collision hazard on the start. The pile-up on EF-1, heat 1 clearly demonstrated the problem.

A great time was had by all, and a special THANKS! to the Golden Triangle RC Club for hosting the race at their field. The next and final North Texas Q-25/C-40 and EF-1 race will be on November 16th at the Fort Worth Thunderbirds RC Club field. Yours truly will once again be the CD. I hope to see you there!

Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version

Name:	Q-25 26 Oct 13.jpg
Views:	66
Size:	32.8 KB
ID:	1934472  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.