North Texas

Pylon Racing Organization

ABOUT NTx-PRO

AND IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS ... Gene Hodges and later Gary Alphin who can be thanked for conceiving and running the Q-25 and then Q-25 & EF-1 races for nearly a decade. But, alas, it was time for some new folks to take on their burden. To this end, the North Texas Pylon Racing Organization was formed in January of 2012 by a small group of dedicated racers to help ensure that the fun will continue and grow. This group includes Gary Alphin, Darrell Barabash, Verne "Sarge" Bell, Gene Hodges, Gary James, Jim Pope & Jerry Stafford.

Both of the racing classes promoted by NTx-PRO provide racing excitement and fun in a form factor that is easy on the wallet. Most importantly, they are conducive to being held on many of our urban club fields that cannot otherwise meet the safety setbacks or noise restrictions as required by the mainstream racing classes.

	The Q-25 class is basically a Q-500 (or Quickie 500) airframe with an OS-25 engine and 8x6 prop. This combination provides for readily obtainable airplanes that "fly like they're on rails" while keeping speeds under 100mph. This event is intended to be the entry point to the more advanced (faster) classes of racing. With the equipment restrictions essentially leveling the playing field, pilot skill is the most significant factor that determines placement. The idea is that everybody should have a roughly equal chance regardless of how fat your pocket book is.
	The Club-40 class is really just a Sport 40 type airplane (only two specific ARF's are legal) with a 40 size engine. You can use this aircraft as one of your regular everyday models but also run it in our races. This way you can get into racing without a purpose built racer. With the thicker airfoil, beginning racers will find it a bit easier to land, especially on shorter fields. At the 2008 "Waco Challenge" we raced mixed Q-25 and Club-40 heats and found that they were evenly matched in the end. While the Q-25's were faster in the straights, the Club-40's won on the turns. After about 25 heats, the difference between the classes came out to one point (and this took several recounts!). So ... whether you decide to go with Club-40 or Q-25 airplanes, you will be competitive and have fun.
	EF-1 is an Electric Formula-1 class conceived by Jerry Small. Jerry has worked with Horizon Hobbies to have EF-1 ARF kits produced and they are now available at a very reasonable cost. Depending on the motor and battery combination, the airplane can be flown for sport or at 100mph+ for some very fast and exciting pylon racing.

For further information on NTx-PRO or Q-25 racing contact Jim Pope, Darrell Barabash, Jerry Stafford or Verne "Sarge" Bell.

Contact webmaster Darrell Barabash