June 12th was a near perfect day for flying r/c airplanes. Beautiful blue skies, light winds, charged batteries and airplanes ready to fly. Well, ready to RACE is more like it. The 12th was the day for the monthly WC Flyers pylon race. And, I had been looking forward to it for the last 3 weeks.
As everyone is well aware, I've really been enjoying the WCF pylon events. (Actually, I've really, really, REALLY been enjoying air racing with the club!) I've been learning a lot about air racing and thoroughly enjoying it. The T-28/Corsair class is perfect for the newer racer, the speeds are appropriate as is the handling characteristics and low cost of repairs. I've been doing well in this class as I perfect my race craft and fine tune the airplane.
So, to pass the 3 week wait, I assembled a Reno 450 entry. Starting life as a Thunder Tiger September Fury, modifications were made and the paint scheme changed. Renamed "Fury~S", this is a much faster airframe than the T-28 / Corsair class I have been racing in. I have no delusions of doing well in the Reno 450 class, I just wanted to get a feel for it in hopes of being competitive next season. The planes are fast and they can be a handful to hang on to during a race! They cover a lot of ground in a short time and racing close with other planes makes your heart really pound.
As it turned out, the racing went by very fast this day. A light turnout and running two class kept me hustling around the pits. Which, was probably a good thing, my nerves were kept busy that way! T-28 was super fun as usual. Close racing and a very fun time. I thought for sure there would be a few mid-airs, as the racing seemed closer (contact wise) than usual.... I do think planes bumped a couple times, but everyone finished up in one piece.
The Reno 450 class was a thrill. 15 laps of fast racing action, that went by in a blink of an eye. I was doing all I could just to hang on and keep the plane on the line. Although I did get to race close with other planes, my concentration was not where it needed to be to keep the plane in the groove the whole time. Flying wide, or high, or just turning late, cost me. I'm learning and it's a blast! I can see how mid-airs happen often in this class, one second you're cruising around, the next there's two or three planes battling for the same air space around a pylon. Super fun!
I can not stress enough how fun and addictive air racing is! Flying fast planes is one thing, flying them around a course, with other planes about the same speed, is a joy I wish I had found early and I'm making up for lost time! Plus, the Wine Country Flyers are just about the nicest group of guys you would ever want to fly competitively with. Always ready to lend a hand, offer advice, or just plain make you feel welcome. I highly recommend that anyone should give racing with the WC Flyers a shot!
Thanks goes out to Steve Cole, Jon Stychno, Adam Clement, and especially Red Jensen, for lending a hand, offering suggestions, and showing enthusiasm while building "Fury~S". It's much appreciated and I hope to be giving you guys a run for the money soon!
The JPH Unofficial WC Flyers June Pylon Racing Report (Or JPHUWCFJPRR for short!):
The 1/12 Nitro class was plagued with engine woes and new plane blues this round. Red Jensen brought out his new "Tsunami" P-51, but the fuel delivery system needed tweaking and it wasn't running on all one cylinders. He called it quits early, after one scary dead stick landing down a dirt road in the grapevines. Going into this round, Adam Clement and Steve Cole were tied in points. Unofficially Adam may have gained a few points this round during the first (and only) heat flown for the day.
The Reno 450 class also came into this round with Adam Clement and Steve Cole tied for points. Steve was debuting his new "Voodoo" P-51 but had a rough day with the pylons, chalking up one solid hit and a "few" cuts. This allowed Adam to gain a good amount of points. 3rd in points, Anthony McDonald was a no-show. Sitting 4th in points, Jon Stychno had a mid-air last round and was flying his back-up Corsair in hopes of salvaging a few points and keeping 3rd place in sight. The unofficial results for the class (our best guess) was Adam taking the win, Jake Rosen pulling off 2nd, and Jon Stychno taking 3rd.
T-28/Corsair had some great racing as usual. The points race was very close coming into this round, With Anthony McDonadl leading, Wylie Walters, Brian Young and Jake Rosen all tied for 2nd only one point back! The no-shows of Anthony and Brian let Wylie and Jake make up some points and will tighten the race in the long run as throw-outs will be used. The unofficial results showed Wylie and Jake tied for first for the day.
Keep an eye on the www.wcflyers.com website as the current points will be updated soon (results are not official until posted).
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