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National Miniature Pylon Racing Association • Since 1965 • AMA Affiliated • December 2005

Presidential Notes

Hello everyone,

Season’s greeting to all, and if I may, Merry Christmas anda Happy New Year! Hopefully, the politically correct won’tbash me for that greeting. We’re going to do the newslettera little differently this time as we were so pushed to get thelate, late, late October newsletter out that we just didn’thave time to request inputs from the district V.P. s andpoints coordinators. I promise we will do better next time.There were also some other factors that I won’t go into atthis time.

NMPRA ELECTIONS

The NMPRA elections for officers for the 2006 year arenow complete. Thanks for all who took the time to voteeven though most positions were uncontested and thanksto all willing to serve to help support the organization. Iwould say it is a thankless task, but I have recently hadmany people thank me for taking on the task of beingpresident. I hope I am up to it!

As mentioned, all positions, with the exception of district 2,were uncontested. District 2 had a really close racebetween Matt Russell and Tom Strom Sr. with Matt pullingit out coming around pylon three. Congratulations, Matt.The other district V.P. change is for district 5. DaveNorman has stepped down; thanks for your time andefforts, Dave, and Dan Kane has stepped up to serve fordistrict 5; thanks Dan. Last, but not least, Joanne Coffeywill take over as Q-40 points coordinator for the NMPRAChampionship Series and the Q-40 points.

In case you were wondering about the fact that I am nowpresident and still have the secretary/treasurer position;well, that is going to change. David Doyle has volunteeredto take over as Sec/Treasurer and will do so when he getssettled in his new Florida home. We will transition the

position when we can do it smoothly and seamlessly. Inthe meantime, I will cover both positions; the plan is tomake the transition in early 2006.

NEW MEMBERS

I want to welcome and recognize the following newmembers. If you know any of these people, please besure to thank them for joining the NMPRA and helping tosupport pylon racing. We need more members, bothyoung and not so young.

Ken Busse of Livermore, CACharles Kline of Davis, FLLuis Ochoa of Clemmons, SCRick Ruede of Lakeland, FLChris Seager of Tucson, AZ Jeremy Voth of Hepburn, SK Canada

Thanks for joining us, guys.

NMPRA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Okay, we have the Championship Race Series set; thedates are elsewhere in this newsletter, but just tomention, the date for Ft. Lauderdale is now firm for April22 and 23 with practice on the 21st, and theChampionship Race is scheduled for October 21 and 22with practice on the 20th in Medford, OR. I’m stillworking on the details for the Championship RaceSeries, but the plan is to award bonus points to all whoattend all the series races and then crown a serieschampion. I hope we can have a good turn-out at eachseries race; there are not that many of them so please tryto attend.

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Presidential Notes, cont’d

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

I would like at this time to recognizePete Reed. Pete has served aspresident of the NMPRA, supportedpylon racing, served as assistantstarter at the NATS, and is the head ofthe RC pylon racing rules board. Petehas recently learned that he hasAmyloidisis, a rare disease thatattacks the organs. Pete will beundergoing treatment over the nextseveral months and we wish him well;I ask that you include him in yourprayers. Pete has a positive attitudeand plans to be in Phoenix inFebruary. I would like to nominatePete to the NMPRA Hall of Fame.Comments are welcome.

NMPRA NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Jacob Raquet has had to resign asnewsletter editor due to workpriorities; thanks for trying. Jacob. Mywife, Linda, who was already proofingthe newsletter and is a retired Englishteacher, has volunteered to take overthe duties of newsletter editor. Iwelcome her on board and ask thatthe people making inputs make themon time. She will bug you if you don’t!Inputs for the newsletter are due on

the 25th of the month prior to thenewsletter distribution month. Thenext newsletter will go out in February2006 and inputs for it are due January25, 2006. Linda’s email address isbrogdonlh@comcast.net.

NMPRA DUES

Just in case you missed it, dues aredue; according to the by-laws, duesare due by the 31st of January, butmany people prefer to pay at theFebruary race in Phoenix, so I willaccept dues then, but if you don’t payby then, any points earned prior tojoining will not be counted for year-endawards.

As to dues, some have asked if theycould pay with Visa or MasterCard. Ihave checked and the cost isprohibitive. I also had a request to

look at using PayPal which is lessexpensive, but even that wouldrequire us to raise the dues. I wouldlike to make payments easier, but Idon’t know how to do it withoutincreasing the dues, any comments?

2005 NATIONAL POINTS

The 2005 national points competitionended September 30, 2005 and Ihave received the final standing forall three events. Congratulations toGale Enstad for taking top honors inAMA 424 and Fred Burgdorf forbeating out the young guns in bothAMA 422 and 428. Way to go Fred!The complete listing of results can befound elsewhere in this newsletter.Look over the lists and, if your nameis in the top twenty of any list, sendme a note with your shirt/jacket sizeso I can get the awards on order.

TANGERINE 2005

Dennis O’Brien and the RCACF clubheld the 2005 Tangerine meet over

the weekend of December 8th

through the 11th; that’s a longweekend isn’t it. It was also a verywet weekend, but we were able toget six rounds of AMA 422 and 428and 11 rounds of AMA 424 flown. Iextend a big thank you to all thecourse workers for working in lessthan ideal conditions. The number ofcontestant was pretty good eventhough a number of the regulars forthis event weren’t able to attend andmany of the heat races wereoutstanding. Congratulations toDustin Buescher for winning AMA 424quickie; I believe this was his firstever race. Also, congratulations toRandy Bridge for winning AMA 428quickie and Tom Scott for winningAMA 422 Q-40. The full results arelisted below.

Also, thanks to Dennis and Diana forhaving a party with lots of food anddrinks for all. Everyone seemed toreally enjoy the opportunity tosocialize and relax in a no pressureenvironment.

High Performance InformationHigh Performance is published

8 times per year.Information for publication can be

forwarded to:NMPRA Editor, Linda Brogdon

5251 Hermitage Dr.Powder Springs, GA 30127

Phone: (770) 421-8838Email: brogdonlh@comcast.net

If possible, please submit information inMicrosoft Word format

Race Announcement PolicyHigh Performance will publish announcements ofupcoming races free of charge, on first come, andspace available basis. Also, camera ready copy no

larger than 7.5" wide by 2.5" high (borderdimension). Copy must be

received by the Editor no later than theannounced due date.

Advertising RatesRates are for camera ready artwork.

Artwork, composition and typesetting willbe charged at cost. Printable are 7.5"x10",

lpi=133, halftone permitted. Ads forupcoming issues must be received by

the deadlines published below.

Size Single AnnualFull Page 7.5"x10" $ 50 $ 3501/2 Page 7.5"x5" $ 35 $ 2451/4 Page 7.5"x2.5" $ 20 $ 140Card Ad 3 5/8"x2 3/8" $ 10 $ 70

WantedInteresting photos of planes and events.

Send photos by electronic formatto the editor.

ALL Current Pylon Recordswere set using

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District News

20. J.D. Glass 4.0 1:08.59

4

JR Gold CupJR Gold Cup Series 2004Series 2004

A Very Special A Very Special

Thank You Thank You

To Our SponsorsTo Our Sponsors

February 25/26 Phoenix, AZ

April 22-23 Ft. Laudredale, FL

June 3-4 Bowie, MD

October 21-22 Medford, OR

NMPRA Q-40Championship

Series

NMPRA Q-40Championship

Series

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District NewsNMPRA 2005 NATIONAL POINTS

RESULTS

424

Place Name1 Enstad, Gale2 Coletto, Raniery3 Cook, Steve4 Schelling, Don5 Fehling, Jack6 Saenz, Raymond7 Rosenberg, Richard8 Lyon, Denis9 Ponek, Robert10 Batt, Brad11 Graves, Tom12 Johanson, Bill13 Brogdon, Robert14 Helsel, Mike15 Duda, Jason16 Walther, Michael17 Thordarson, Dan18 Roney, Scott19 Batt, Rod20 Cranfill, Dennis21 Jett, Dub22 Jacobson, Gail23 Blake, Raymond24 Moreland, Richard25 Del Ponte, Michael26 Anderson, Charles27 Hammett, Michael28 Berwick, James29 Bridge, Randy30 Baker, Jonathan31 Laine, Guy32 Baker, Stephen33 Blanchard, Marcus34 Powers, Douglas35 Oehrle, Gary36 Martin, Ben37 Coe, Daniel38 White, Regis39 Strom Jr, Thomas40 Cranfill, Rickey41 Bass, Gene42 Cloud, Wayne43 Silwanicz, Bryan

428

Place Name1 Burgdorf, Fred2 Bridge, Randy3 Schmidt, Gary4 Flynn, Travis5 Helsel, Mike6 Cady, Darrol7 Freeman Jr, Gary8 Teague, Norm9 Allen Jr, Jim10 Leavengood, Barry11 McAfee, Scott12 Coe, Daniel13 Jett, Dub14 Leadbetter, Clark15 O’Brien, Dennis16 Norman, David17 Yousey, Tim18 Thordarson, Dan19 Rinaldi, Ralph20 Burnham, Lloyd21 Andrassy, Dr Roy22 Cranfill, M W Red23 Eldridge, Charles24 Smith, Vern25 Masi, Mike26 Del Ponte, Gino27 Freeman Sr, Gary28 Killebrew, Doug29 Strom Jr, Thomas30 Galarneault, Pat31 Palaschuk, Terence32 Tallman, Mike33 Fehling, Matthew34 Cranfill, Rickey35 Doyle, David36 Batch, Bryan37 Dobyns Jr, Tom38 Strom Sr, Thomas39 Brown, Raymond40 Russell, Matt41 Seaholm, A.J.42 Tahhan, Gabriel43 Duda, Jason44 Perdue, Jonathan45 Hegland, Tom46 Hoppe Jr, Martin47 Mahnken, Chris48 Vaclav, Stephen49 Cloud, Wayne50 VanBaren, Rusty

51 Helton, Gary52 Elert, Jerry53 Anderson, Charles54 Ponek, Robert55 Llanos, Joe56 Perdue, James57 Houston, Doug58 Hammett, Michael59 Smith, Randy60 Norred, Kevin61 Scott, Tom62 Walther, Michael63 Smith, Edward64 Graval, Cecil65 Nalley, Dan66 Baker, Stephen67 Moldenhauer, Richard68 Batt, Brad69 Batt, Rod70 DeChastel, Bruce71 Bozarth, Kurt72 Grunkemeyer, Craig73 Reed, Pete74 Baker, Lyle75 Lopez, Anthony76 Pacini, Anthony77 Coffey, Joanne78 Huber, Tony79 Henderson, Jim80 Small, Jerry81 Mijares, Oscar82 Pacini, Tanner83 Bass, Gene84 Williams, John85 Marquez, Rick86 Ulinger, Lee87 Cranfill, Dennis88 LaValley, Lee89 Travieso, Mario90 Hendriksma, Ray91 Parker, Mark92 Kummer, Carl93 Moreland, Richard94 Kane Jr, Dan95 Tucker, Richard96 Baker, Jonathan97 Johanson, Bill98 Thornton, Cole99 Telford, Drew100 Moen, Loren101 Rotudo, Alejan102 Brogdon, Robert103 Blanchard, Marcus

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District News428 cont’d

104 Benezra, Paul105 Hamula, Murray106 Martin, Ben107 Holma, Paul108 Larson, Lyle109 Clancey, Douglas110 Lime, Jim111 Hill, David112 Blake, Raymond113 Berryman, Delbert114 Vagas, Bill115 Coffey, Bruce116 Jacobson, Gail117 Brown, Steven118 Seay, David119 DeAscentis, Joe Sr.120 Gall, Duane121 Swaney, Charles

I apologize for being unable to list thetotal points for each person in quickie;I did not receive that information asrequested.

2005 NATIONAL POINTS FOR AMA422, Q-40

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District News

Well folks, that’s all for now. Again I wish you a MerryChristmas and a safe and Happy New Year. I lookforward to seeing many of you at the races.

Bob Brogdon

Crap Trap #16- Dub JettVIBRATION

I get calls often about engineand airplane vibration. It goeslike this: "There is somethingseriously wrong with my engine.The whole nose is shaking!!!What did you do wrong?"

First, and foremost, 2-stroke,single cylinder engines are notbalanced. They will shake, rattleand jump all over the place,particularly at some RPMs. Therods will click and bang near topdead center and new engineswill feel like they are binding.This vibration can be better, orworse, depending uponexternal circumstances too.Some of these things are underyour control, some not. If youwere to take your engine andput it on a test stand, (surelyyou do this to all your enginesbefore you fly them) then youwill find that as you change fromprop to prop and increase ordecrease the RPMs, the engineis smoother in some places andvibrates more in others.

This is because the engine,muffler, propeller and test standhave a natural frequency wherevibrations are added together.The engine is also pounding atits own frequency. When theycome together, then you getmore vibrations than at otherspeeds. Thus, you have twosystems. Theengine/stand/plane, and the

rpm. Also there is a third factorthat complicates the equation.Engine tightness. If the enginehas a pinch at the top the forcescreated by the crank and rodare amplified, making it worse insome places and better inothers.

HERE IS THE CRAP TRAP:There is practically nothinginside any engine, compared toanother, that would make itvibrate excessively, save a tightpiston and liner. When you yell,"Something is wrong with thisengine!!!," you just haven’t doneyour homework.

Let’s take a look at the engine:

1. Design is out. If one and onlyone engine runs smoothly,then the design is notsuspect—there has to besome other variable causingthe problem.

2. Quality you say? OK. Whatparts are moving? Crank.Rod. Bearings. Wrist pin.Piston. Sure there is somepossibility that the crank fitsthe bearings so loose that itbangs. OOPS. What aboutsleeve bearing engines? Verysloppy. Smooth too. Whatabout the rod? OOPs, did youknow that ducted fan engineshave huge rod clearance?Wrist pin? Yes. Check it andsee how often you have thathappen. I’ll give you this one,but only for fun since I haveseldom had an engine

returned with the pin beat outof the piston. Maybe the headis banging the top of thepiston. Again, pretty rare—still I’ll give you _ point.Nevertheless, these arethings to look for before youstart doing something drastic.

3. If the engine is running fineand showing no signs of selfdestruction, then you canpretty much rule out the basicengine, save the tight fit. If theengine is not tight, then let’stake a look at the externalparts of the engine. Balancethe prop. Replace the prop.Tighten the muffler and makesure that the screws are nottoo long and bottoming outinstead of tightening. This isalso particularly true (Godhelp us) of the backplatemount. I have had enginesreturned with the backplatemounts screwed on withscrews that are too long,leaving a gap between theengine and mount. Prettyscary!! . Shake the muffler andmake sure it has no looseparts inside. Another thing tolook for is the spinner point--isit true when you rotate theshaft? If the prop is not flat onall sides, the spinner nut canpull the shaft over to one sideand give you run out. Replacethe prop. Full spinners helpthis.

4. Finally, sad but true. Thecase or muffler can becracked. Both Jetts andNelsons are not made from

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District News

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District NewsS t r o n g a s h e l l i u m .Costalotium, yes, but notIndestructium. NASA cannoteven afford them. When youcrash, things happen. Checkout those parts.

So, I have told you that youknow nothing and there is neveranything wrong with the engine.True, but the engine is what’scausing the problem. You donot have a matched system.The best solution is to changesomething. Here are somethings you can change, or fix:

1. Make sure your bolts are tightholding your engine. On a Q-500, blind mounts are betterthan the inserts. Make yournose stiffer—this is almostalways better, as it raises thenatural frequency. Make thenose shorter. Same thing.Reinforce with glass, wood, orcarbon the area at the wingleading edge. Fiberglass canbe very hard, but balsa hasadded cross section.Reinforced balsa is probablybetter than reinforcedfiberglass. Tie down the wingbetter—it makes the fusestiffer.

2. Add a counter balancedspinner or front end. Thisdoes not balance the engine.It moves the vibration pointsomewhere else. It mightmake the system shake moreon the ground and less in theair, or the opposite. Youwould do well to test at

different and higher RPMs.On a Q-500 a counter balancespinner acts differently thanon a QM-40. Again, test.

3. Try the opposite of number 2.Again, test.

4. Balance the prop andspinner. Prop is moreimportant than spinner.Weight toward the center hasless effect.

5. Change the rpm range of theengine. This is easy, andmaybe not the most practical,but you move to a differentand hopefully smootherrange.

6. Break in the engine and let itnaturally improve. Here youcan use a smaller prop andachieve both.

7. Finally, if you have a beammount, look for cracks (and) ifit is not aluminum, then themount itself might be too weakto hold the engine. Thesecheap composite mounts cancause problems.

One final comment. I havelectured about looking for whathas changed. If you take offone engine that is smooth andput on another that is not, whatdid you change? More than theengine? You replaced the propdidn’t you? Backplate?Screws? Muffler? Screws?Venturi? Carb? Spinner….getthe point?

Dub Jett

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District News

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2006 NMPRA Membership ApplicationPlease check all appropriate boxes.

■■ New Member ■■ I am a current Contest Director■■ Renewal ■■ Please donate excess remitted monies to the FAI Team Fund■■ Change Address

Name _____________________________________________________ Phone Home _______________________

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only $20.00 anywhere in the world.

Make Check Payable To: NMPRA Mail To: NMPRASecretary/TreasurerBob Brogdon5251 Hermitage Dr.Powder Springs, GA 30127phone 770-421-8838

NMPRA OFFICERSPresidentBob Brogdon5251 Hermitage Dr.Powder Springs, GA 30127770-421-8838R.A.Brogdon@comcast.net

Secretary/TreasurerBob Brogdon5251 Hermitage Dr.Powder Springs, GA 30127770-421-8838r.a.brogdon@comcast.net

District 1 VPTravis Flynn1424 N. Naomi St.Burbank, CA 91505(818) 843-4107flynnracer@aol.com

District 2 VPMatt Russell28128 N. Perry Rd.Chattaroy, WA 99003509-869-6300warussells@earthlink.net

District 3 VPRichard Moldenhauer50 Chomyn CrescentSaskatoon, SK S7K7R4Canada306-242-7102rmoldenhauer@shaw.ca

District 4 VPJohn Williams1906 Logan St.Longmont, CO 80501303-884-1130jsand@jefferson.lib.co.us

District 5 VPDan Kane1703 W. Grove St.Arlington Heights, IL 60005847-870-8053dkane@lodan.com

District 6 VPSteve Baker12215 Malin LaneBowie, MD 20715301-352-4580sbaker@bis.doc.gov

District 7 VP:Tom Dobyns2115 Manor Dr. NEPalm Bay, FL 32906tdobyns@cfl.rr.com321-722-1914

District 8 VPDennis Cranfill110 BirchLake Jackson, TX 77566-4214979-418-7661dccranfill@sbcglobal.net

NMPRA ChampionshipSeries and NMPRA Q40 Points VPJoanne Coffey2031 Stoneglen Dr.Newman, CA 95360209-862-0550coffeyjoanne@sbcglobal.net

Quickie 500 Points VPBarry Leavengood10855 Remmet Ave.Chatsworth, CA 91311818-988-4564Bleavengood@sbcglobal.net

NMPRA Nats CoordinatorMike Condon9335 Eastwind Dr.Livonia, MI 48150734-464-7027mcondon@twmi.rr.com

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