As with anything new to us, there's a learning curve. This can be embraced and enjoyed, or it can be cursed and dreaded ... As everyone should well know by now, I'm having a great time learning about racing r/c airplanes (otherwise known as Pylon Racing). The July race was another great learning experience that shows I've got to get more stick time if I want to get better. But, that's jumping ahead in this story, let's start at the beginning of the day ....
As I drove up to the Wine Country Flyers airfield, the morning was gloomy and dark. I needed to use the wipers a few times, it almost looked like rain! In July! When I got to the field, there were a few guys there getting ready for the pylon racing. I waited a little while before unloading, just to make sure nothing would get wet. The clouds stayed until 11'ish and then the sun came out, so most of the racing was done in the gloom. But, that did not put a dampener on the fun!
My first lesson of the day came early, "Don't break your plane before the racing starts". I went out to test fly my T-28, practice a few touch-n-goes, and shake off the nerves. There was a slight break down in communication while I was landing, and I smacked into Bryan Germone's Corsair which was sitting idle in the middle of the runway. It could have easily been the end of my raceday .... But, we had a good laugh about it and after a quick repair job my racer was ready for action.
Lesson # 2: Don't cut the course. T-28 / Corsair was again the biggest class of the day, with 12 pilots entered. The racing was really great and I tried really hard to step up my game. During my second heat, Jake McDonald and I were really racing very close, both wanting the win in a bad way. I was trying to overtake Jake going into the 1st pylon and ended up turning in two early and short cut the course. Two laps in a row! Two cuts means you get a 0 for that heat race. Points are everything in Pylon Racing, so this is an important lesson to learn!
In the Reno 450 class, I had a rougher day pilot skill wise. The plane was very fast, but I mostly felt a little behind it and my timing was off. Bryan Germone and I had some great racing, dicing back and forth for 2nd place in a couple of the heats. But, I could not string 15 solid laps together.
Lesson #3: Fly smooth and stay in the game! So, during heat race #3 of the Reno 450 class, I dang near stuff "Fury~S" into the ground. Missing the runway, and what was sure to be many, many foam bits and pieces, by about a foot. The cause was a simple over rotation on entry of the turn and then yanking full up elevator, which should have made a nice arcing turn but instead made the plane dive immediately towards the ground.
I reacted by climbing up to the safety of the big blue sky, while trying to get my heart started again! Phil was calling for me this round, he gave me some great advice ... "Calm down and get back in the game!" I reacted by rolling back on course and getting back to racing altitude. I ended up finishing the heat in the points, with a 3rd place.
So, all things considered, it was a great day. I won two out of three heats in the T-28 / Corsair class, and came home with two flying airplanes. I've got some things to practice before the next race and a few tweaks to make to both planes. The season is at the half way point and I'm doing well in the WCF series. I'm still surprised at much I'm enjoying the pylon racing! Anyone who's interested, come by the shop and I'll tell you all about it!
Unofficial JPH July WCF Pylon Report:
The 1/12 Nitro class had only two racers show up with planes. During the 1st, and only, heat flown for this class, Steve Cole crash landed his plane after a flame-out and it ended up in pieces. This gave the heat and overall win to Jake Williams. Points haven't changed much in this class, Adam Clemente still leads Steve Cole. Expect a bigger turnout and more competitive racing next month!
In the Reno 450 Class, Adam Clemente came into this raceday with a big 6 point lead over 2nd place Steve Cole and a 13 point lead over 3rd place Anthony McDonald. Adam had a great day of racing, keeping his RareBear out front and out of trouble. Steve was flying a borrowed plane, an Alfa Spitfire, and made it look good. Anthony had an Alfa 109 out and did well with it. Bryan Germone was out for only the 2nd time this season and really livened up the party. He was flying a "Cole built it" Afla Spitfire and that thing was fast!
When the day settled out in the Reno 450 Class, Steve Cole took the overall win, Adam Clemente in 2nd (only 1 point down), and Jake Rosen took 3rd. In the Series, Adam's points lead shrunk by 1, Steve still holds onto 2nd, Anthony is in 3rd, and Jake moves into 4th.
The T-28 / Corsair Class had some new and some returning pilots and a few of no-shows. This will surely change up the standings. Anthony and Jake McDonald were both out again, flying very well, taking 1st and 2nd for the day. Jeff Penner had a great raceday, and Phil Leech seemed to be on his game as well. First time racers Marcel and Gabe enjoyed the event very much. Points leader Jake Rosen struggled a little bit, continuing his learning.
In the T-28 / Corsair series, Jake Rosen holds onto a narrow lead over Anthony McDonald. With throws being used, Wylie Walters moves into 3rd, Jason Deloach into 4th, Dave Mercer into 5th, Brian Young into 6th and Jake McDonald into 7th. There's only a 12 point spread over this group!
Keep an eye on the www.wcflyers website for the current points standings in all classes. It's not official until it's posted!
Once again, I'd like to the thank all the pilots and WC Flyers members who make these racing events happen and make them so much fun! Anyone wanting to watch pylon racing should make the trip up on August 14th. And, anyone who is wanting to give pylon racing a try, I'm always here to lend a hand and help in anyway that I can (as are the rest of the racers as well).
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