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, albeit very few. The 2023 season was only slightly better as people were still "Covid shy". The 2024 season was a bit better season. More participation would sure make it more interesting.
Congratulations to Terry Hubbard, Duane Barrett , and KC Patton for their first, second & third place finishes in the T-28 Class, and to Rick Fuller, John Calhoun, and Terry Hubbard for their first, second & third place finishes in Reno Class last year.
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.
With eFlite buying out the Park Zone (PZ) line of products we now have an eFlite version of the PZ t-28. While the plan form is the same they have changed the ESC and motor to allow the use of either a 3S or a 4S battery (4S will NOT be allowed in this racing class.) eFlite has also colored the basic airframe all yellow. As of 2025 we will be incorporating the eFlite version of this plane into the T-28 Park Flyer class. Since it is slightly slower and slightly heavier we are requiring the PZ T-28s to set their ESC timing to 10 degrees and not exceed 8300 rpm with a fresh racing battery. This change may be spot checked by the Racing Coordinator. This should make the yellow, slightly heavier/slower eFlite planes competitive.
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 or Competition Saturday, since there is also an RC combat event the same day..
