The 2023 Season Is Here!

2023 is finally here and we are ready to go in circles again.

We had essentially no racing in 2020 or 2021, keeping everyone safe and healthy was our priority. But in 2022 we got to start racing again. Now it is time for the 2023 season to begin.

Congratulations to Terry and KC, and Duane for their first, second & third place finishes in the T-28 Class, and to Terry, Greg and Rick for their first, second & third place finishes in Reno Class last year.

Select here for the final results of the 2022 Racing Season.

We did not take pilot pictures for 2023, but here is the pilots from the 2022 pictures.

2022- From left to right Terry H., Contest Coordinator/ Pilot Duane B., new racer George B. and KC P. Missing from today's photo and planning to race are Rob S., and new racer Jim Brown. A sample of race planes is shown in front of the racers.

Select here or above for an enlargement

Background

The February 2011 issue of Model Aviation has a story about the Chino Valley (Arizona) Model Aviators club which has been racing Parkzone T-28 Trojans for two years and reports great success. Aron "AJ" Seaholm wrote an article for Model Aviation that quoted Randy Meathrell regarding their methodology. If it works for them, why not give it a try? So, we did.

The basic idea is to have a single type of rugged yet affordable airplane that everyone can race on equal footing. The all-foam Parkzone T-28 certainly meets these requirements. It's simple construction, availabilty of parts, and relatively low speed coupled with high maneuverability make it a great competitor. Restricting modifications keeps the costs down and places the emphasis on pilot skill and tactics.

For more information, contact the Race Coordinator.

Event Re-name

During 2013, there was some confusion about the name "Pylon Racing". According to the AMA Pylon Racing Competition Regulations: "The AMA recognizes four classes of RC Pylon Racing for US competition. All are intended for multi-channel RC aircraft powered by conventional 2-stroke glow engines" (see here). In order to eliminate the confusion, it was decided that T-28 Trojan racing would be referred to as "Park Flyer Racing".

With the addition of the Reno Class, the events will now be refered to simply as Racing.

Reno Class Racing

At the conclusion of the 2014 season, it was decided to create a new class of racing, later named the "Reno" class. The intent was to open up racing to a wider variety of aircraft.

The class is open to both electric and fuel-powered airplanes. Wingspan is limited to 50 inches, maximum flight weight permitted is 50 ounces and the top airspeed is limited to 75 mph.

We did not take pilot pictures for 2023, but here is the same pilots from 2022 pictures.

2022 - Pictured from left to right are Terry H., KC, Greg T., and Rick.

Select here or above for an enlargement

Scoring

We keep score using a points system loosely based on the system used in Formula 1 auto racing. Pilots are awarded points based on their finishing position in each Section.

Place Points PlacePoints PlacePoints
1st
2nd
25
18
     3rd
4th
15
12
     5th
6th
10
8
Select here for the current standings of the 2022 season

Rules

Previous Years Results