A Wet Day at the RC Pylon Nats

By Dan Kane

Sunday, July 17, was scheduled to be the first official day of pylon racing. We were scheduled to fly AMA 424 (entry-level QUICKIE). The weather had other ideas as it rained most of the day, causing havoc with large pools of water throughout the site. At one point, we all simultaneously received a national weather service warning.

The view from my camper on Sunday.

Despite the rain, many pilots remained on-site and were able to finalize model processing. On Monday, July 18, the plan is to fly both 424 and EF-1.

Tom Doe is seen here assembling his EF-1 Miss DARA with the help of his daughter, Annabelle. The second picture is what the assembled model looks like. The EF-1 class holds a “Best of Show” competition where all of the models are judged against the others and the best is awarded a special prize. It is nice to see all of the extra efforts put into these models in an attempt to win the best of show trophy.

Speaking of Annabelle, she recently completed assembly of a Rickey Rat kit. These kits are complicated and require a delicate hand to assemble. Her completed model is beautiful and one worthy of a double look. Well done!

Annabelle’s assembled Rickey Rat.

Dean Stone handled the model processing duties for EF-1 and Q-40. Jay Cappis’s EF-1 Miss DARA is shown on the table in front of Dean.

The large tent over the top of the blacktop helps ease the pain of the rain, especially when the grass is as wet as it was on Sunday.

Duane Gall and Gordon McWilliams were kind enough to loan Aussie pilots some EF-1 models. Shown below is one of the Proud Bird models loaned to Steve Mawson. Thank you to Steve for all the photos that he supplied.

We ended the day with a group gathering. Horizon Hobby and Ritch’s Brew welcomed everyone still on-site to enjoy some of Texas’s best barbecue. Randy and Rylan Ritch handled the steak-cooking duties, while Dennis Cranfill helped with the sides. Horizon Hobby’s Marketing Director Steven Petrotto, as well as Jessy Symmes, were on-site to welcome everyone to the steak dinner. Personally, I enjoy group gatherings such as this to unwind and share a meal with some great people. Thank you all who made this happen today! The food was EXCELLENT!