Giant Scale Air Racing was started in 1991. It was founded by two R/C enthusiasts in Southern California that wanted to bring professional competition to the R/C community on a grand scale. This competition consisted of two facets: 1.) Reno Style Air Racing with Giant Scale Aircraft 2.) Team Multi-plane Aerobatic competition on a professional scale. The intent was to bring a replication of Reno Style Air Racing to local communities with the flavor of the Scale Warbirds and the spectacle of Giant Sized R/C Aircraft. To bring Giant Scale Aircraft to local flying fields, the Multi-plane aerobatic competition would foster the formation of Air Show teams that would be the ambassadors for the Radio Control sport.
The event was promoted for nearly 2 years prior to the first event. Once the word got out, entries were submitted from across the country from California to Florida and even Japan. A down payment on your $300 entry fee would get you a newsletter to keep you posted on the rules as they developed and notification of the venue once it was secured and announced. A venue had to be found that could accommodate the magnitude of this planned event. It would require a large space for the ¾ mile race course of 100” wingspan P-51s, P-38s. Sea Furys and even Pond Racers. These R/C Aircraft had never been built before for this purpose. It has to accommodate the large number of spectators that would attend as well as the Vendor Gallery to promote the newly developed Aircraft, Engines and hardware that would emerge to support this new sport.
These two R/Cers became “Promoters”. They got the word out about the event that was to occur. They promoted it to the model aircraft magazines with press releases and feature stories. They promoted to the local communities the entertainment value of the event. They visited many R/C clubs to foster interest in participating in this radically new type of R/C competition. They also became Rules Writers. They first had to set the basic parameters – 100” wingspan and 14 lb Maximum engine weight. Other requirements had to emerge later such as the minimum servo power standards, pilot qualification and procedural rules such as the course layout and flight/pit crew requirements. They had to become Technical Specialists in order to formulate a set of rules that would not only work for the many aircraft that were beginning to be built but that were safe for all concerned. When the time came, they became Contest Directors (CDs) for the AMA in order to run one of the biggest events the Model Airplane Industry had ever seen short of the National Championships.
Known as the Madera
Racers
Once the venue was secured, the word was sent out – Madera, California – September 1991. Well over 100 pre-entries had signed up and received an Official Race Number. Who knew exactly how many would actually build an airplane and show up to race? If someone built an airplane, it still had to be tested. These were all “experimental’ aircraft and the designs and equipment had never been tried before. What airplane to build? What engine to use? What fuel and prop would work? Who could fly such a thing? How fast would they need to go? How fast was FAST? Where do you get this stuff? Everyone that entered that first Madera Air Race was breaking new ground. They were “Pioneers”. They brought a wide range of Aircraft, Engines, Props, Retracts and even tires. Hundreds of Pilots, Crews, Sponsors and supporters and even Spectators descended upon this small Central Valley town of Madera and filled the Hotels and Motels as far away as Fresno and Stockton. Madera Regional Airport was suddenly put on the map and in the minds of thousands of R/C modelers for years to come. The sport would soon become known as “the Madera Air Racers”.
Realize that this “Inaugural” Race consisted of ONE (1) Racing Class – Reno Unlimiteds. A replica of any aircraft that “qualified to race” in the National Championship Air Races at Reno in the Unlimited Class was acceptable to fly at Madera. The major stipulation was that the scale had to be based on the 100” wingspan. That means that if you built a Dago Red which had a clipped wing, your Dago Red had to be scaled to the 100” before clipping. Then your model would end up with about an 89” clipped wingspan (and about 22.5% scale). What they didn’t count on was a 100” wing A26.
Also realize that the procedures were quite different from today. For about the first three years, your entry fee (about $300) got you the opportunity to “qualify” to race. This means that you flew the course against the clock in time trials to determine the Class (Gold, Silver or Bronze) that you would fly heat races in. Only 10 aircraft were selected for each class (30 heat racers) and the others packed up and went home. There was no problem getting the 30 “Qualifiers” and the heat races were exciting and the winners won big money that first year. They earned “Place money” for the heat races and the 5 planes in the “Trophy Race” all received trophies, cash and prizes from the promoters and sponsors. This was such a grand event but the promoters lost money.
The Second Ever Giant Scale Air Race was held in April 1992 at Tucson, AZ. Again, this was just one “Unlimited” class with Gold, Silver and Bronze heat categories. The race was sponsored and promoted by the local Tucson R/C club. The “Madera rules” were adopted for use. 21 aircraft showed up to race owing to a death in the family of one team from Indiana, about 5 aircraft failed to show. Spectators were charged $5 for admission and this brought home the reality that this is a “professional” sport and people were counting on your showing to put on a race. The nice thing was that everybody that showed up got to race in the heat races because the total entries didn't exceed 30. However, the Qualification process was still used to determine which class the entries would fly in. The low turnout meant that we “should” fly more rounds to fill the time throughout the day for the spectators. One team objected to having to fly more than 5 heat rounds because they didn’t want to subject their aircraft to the additional “risk” of crashing before the Trophy Race which was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. It was at this race that an announcement was made that the next Madera Race (September 1992) would be run by new owners of the organization and would include a new Class – AT-6 racers.
AT-6 Class
When the announcement came, you could feel the excitement. This class was seen as a balance for the pilots that had more flying skill than engine building skill. Any 101” AT-6 was eligible with a STOCK Zenoah G62 engine. The Fuel and Prop would be supplied by the organizers in an effort to keep the speeds the same regardless of the kit that was built and to highlight the flying skills of the pilots. Mistakenly touted as the “Entry level” class, AT-6 Pre-entries soon exceeded 60 in numbers. Everyone wanted to try their hand at Giant Scale Air Racing in the AT-6 class. By the end of qualifications at the 2nd Madera Air Race in September, 1992, the AT-6s that didn’t qualify for the 30 Gold, Silver and Bronze racing slots, had to pack their stuff and go home. There were a lot of them. The next race, the following year, had to have a cap of 60 pre-registered entries for the AT-6 class. Slow entries above 60 were put on a “stand-by” list in case an earlier entry had to cancel. Your money was still taken and not refunded if you didn’t make it.
Reno Air Races
1993 and 1994 brought us to Reno, Nevada in June. Sponsored by the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) and several Casinos in the Reno area and hosted by the local R/C club. In hopes of helping to promote the full size Reno Air Races, RARA put $25,000 into the purse for prize money. They also put a more strict “Scale” element into the qualification standards. For example clear canopies were required with scale pilots and instrument panels. Each airplane was judged on a loose scale standard by R/C scale judges. This score was factored into your Qualification time to determine your racing class – Gold, Silver or Bronze. There were plenty of entries and the prize money was real. But the honor of racing on the “Actual Course” that is used for the Full Scale Reno Racers was overwhelming. We raced on the front stretch directly in front of the famous RENO Home pylon in front of the spectator grandstands. We even got our morning briefing in the same “Pilot Briefing Room” that was used by Bob Hoover to brief the Full Scale Reno Pilots. 1st Place in the Gold paid $4,000 and 5th Place in the Silver class paid over $1,000.
More Standards were
needed
Several racers objected to the “Scale” judging element. Other rules were being changed on the fly at Madera by the promoters. The Madera Races were promoted by GSARA which was also the people that were writing the rules. Sometimes the rules were changed at the event and/or announced at the race giving the racers no voice in the establishment of any of the standards or procedures. It was soon realized that the Racers needed an organization to represent the interests of the racers. This organization would establish standards, specifications and procedures for racing that would hold up no matter where the race was held and no matter who promoted the event. This would leave the “promotion” of the event strictly to the promoters and free the promoters of the tedious details of rulemaking and race procedures. The standards would be set and the Promoter would go from there and establish the venue and promote the event leaving the rules and procedural tasks to the racing organization. The Unlimited Scale Racing Association USRA was born in 1994. This created two rule making bodies, GSARA and USRA. There were several differences that divided many racers and teams. A Formula 1 class was established by both organizations with very different specifications. USRA specified a 6 cu. In. (100cc) engine with a 12% airfoil. GSARA specified a 4.6 cu. In. (75cc) engine with a 10% wing airfoil. Both agreed on the 42% scale size requirement and eventually the USRA permitted the 10% wing airfoil. Then, in 1997 the 100cc engine flew its last race as a F1 class. Other subtle rule differences divided the racers and diminished the participation in both racing organizations. Many rulings were based on the “promoter” not wanting to loose a contestant rather than standing by the written rules and the “intent of the rules”. An example is the AT-6 class. The class was intended to provide a “one design” class that would equalize the racing machine and make the outcome the result of pilot skill and minimize the expense in aircraft and engine. Over the years, several kit manufacturers have fallen by the wayside (Byron’s, Saxton, DLD) while a particular racing kit (Race Pro) came on the scene which created a speed advantage over the Scale kits. Scale outline was compromised, wing dihedral was taken out and the aircraft cost soared to over $2,000 for a kit just to be competitive. Now, the manufacturer is gone, participation has dropped off and the class is pretty much dead. All this after the 60 entry cap and a waiting list just to enter. The original intent of the class was lost in the interest of making a faster airplane. It is ironic that the class has evolved back to a “One Design” (though non-scale) class with carefully massaged "Stock" engines but the cost is prohibitive if you can find a competitive airframe.
USRA Today
The USRA today has brought a variety of promoters that are not strapped with devising or enforcing the rules with a variety of venues across the nation. A Promoter can concentrate on establishing the venue and promoting the racing event. The venue is selected based on USRA standards for size, facilities and procedural requirements. When a racer goes to an event whether it is at home or across the nation, he knows that certain standards in practices and procedures will be in place to ease the stress and difficulty of just participation in a professional and safe environment.