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Pylon Racing School (PRS) 2016

AX-O

Well Known Member
Just wanted to provide information to folks about PRS in case anyone else is interested. I saw that Bob Mills made a similar post about 5 years ago. Little did we know he would be the Sport class president later on.

We arrived on Sunday afternoon after fighting some weather. We were one of the first students to arrive. The flight leads had been training for 2 days to get ready for the rookies. They really ended up investing a lot of time/resources to get us going. I can’t thank them enough. By Sunday afternoon the hangar looked like this.
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Monday and Tuesday were spent doing formation flying and doing a few other maneuvers to include flip-flops and 4G level turns. For the most part we flew with similar aircraft or airspeeds that were close enough. But let’s be honest, RVs are the slowest things there. Even the Formula 1 aircraft are faster. It was humbling to know I/Dilemma were at the bottom of the food chain. As the week progressed and the flying continued, I began to make new friendships and learned that every person there had an interesting story. Some from aviation industry, some previous military and some not involved in aviation on a day to day basis.

Luckily for me I also knew a few RV folks there and always had someone that was giving me advice. Monday and Tuesday were fairly easy operations compared to the rest of the week. Only flights going out to the working areas and back. The consensus around the hangar was that RVs were taking over. And there were many. 2 Rockets, a super 6, a super 8, 4s,-6s, 7s and 8s.

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A few RV folks; Cypher, Turbo, Slasher.
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We had a ramp boss, our very own Mark Fredrick. Below talking to my “crew chief” for not taking care of the plane. I also think he was jealous of her outfit. Mark spent all week staging folks on the ramp based on the schedule with help from other volunteers and this cool little towing bar.

https://youtu.be/E2pjzsB3hKs No, I did not add the music. There was an ice cream truck running around.

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Wednesday was spent in the classroom all day in briefs. The amount of rules and don’t dos approached the number infinity. Qualified racers spent the day on the track while we got indoctrinated via Power Point slides. Did I mention ALL DAY LONG?

Thur, Fri and Sat were spent on the track. Those 3 days were exponentially more complex for ops and schedules. We were in a tight timeline that was driven by the multiple classes and the number of pilots. The rookies went out with leads in small groups as they continuously evaluated our flying and the ability to execute emergency landings on the airfield. As the week progressed the number of aircraft on the track was increased and they allowed us to start passing. The winds were strong for the most part of the week. Ops were cancelled one afternoon. I ended up doing 2 go-arounds because of 25 kts plus cross winds.

Take offs and landing were CRAZY. Opposite direction take offs and landings with folks co-altitude, 75 ft away, hulling the mail. Absolutely mind blowing to see someone at race speeds, co-altitude, opposite direction. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh got it, the reason for the multiple power point briefs. On top of that, there was a possibility to have folks on the track, folks on the cool down at 7,500ft or above, folks in the Cue at 7,000 ft, folks leaving the Cue for pattern altitude at 6,000 ft, folks entering the shoot and take offs/landings.
 
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In the down time, I kept an eye on my plane. During a pre-flight brief I discovered a lose PMAG cooling tube. A few folks from other teams gave me a hand. One of them was this young man, Justin. He has a history with RVs. In exchange for the help he got to make airplane noises in my plane.
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These are a few shoots taken off Cypher's GoPro. I have spent a lot of time looking at the video, looking at my data and understanding my mistakes. The video is invaluable.

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I have been babying my plane for a while now. I absolutely put it to work for a week and she did well. I cannot describe to you the feeling of building an aircraft and then taking it to Reno. If I don't end up qualifying that is 100% ok. The fact that Dilemma made some laps around the track and that I was also able to fly those laps still does not compute in my mind. My wife is also very proud of our accomplishment. Keep drilling holes, keep pounding rivets, keep laying fiberglass, keep running wires or just simply keep dreaming of these moments. Whatever it takes!!
 
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Axel
That wild orange paint job on the RV8 in the background of one your pictures is my old RV8. Great to see N214TK there.

Have fun buddy & be safe

Sincerely
Darren Kerns
RV7 N599DT
 
Updated post.

Break

Darren, That plane represented the Spot class in the Rookie PRS picture. beautiful paint job. We share a very similar tail number.

13495500_10206595845396171_844327324456893099_o.jpg
 
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That sounds like a real thrill! Thanks for sharing. I'm gonna have to be content with a 45-degree banked turn at 3000 ft AGL, which is still a ton of fun!
 
I have been watching this race for years.....on the ground. I Envy you. Fly safe, have fun!
 
Thanks for letting me move the stick and make airplane noises! You've got a super cool airplane, definitely one of the best I've seen.
 
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