At this point another member of my current family shared the desire to compete in pylon, my wife, Cathy. Cathy called for me up until we had children. Cathy and I finished as high as 2nd at the US nationals (beating Travis Flynn in a fly-off with Drew Telford as his caller). I currently compete in 2 US classes, QM40 and Q-500.

I enjoy designing and building airplanes almost as much as flying them. I have designed a National record setting Q-500, (Record set by Craig Grunkemeyer in 1996). This record has since been broken, most recently by fellow teammate, Travis Flynn. I have also CO-Designed the polecat QM40 with Bruce DeChastel. This design has recently won the US nationals 2 out of the past 3 yrs (Tom Scott) and set fast time at the Nationals all of the past 3 years (Tom Scott 2x’s and Myself 1x). In addition to it’s success at the Nationals, the polecat has won the NMPRA championship race for the past 3 yrs. (Tim Lime 2003, Dub Jett 2004, Randy Bridge 2005).

In 2002 I competed in F5D for the first time. Here in the US the FAI events are not flown very often. In fact there usually, are only flown at the team trials or the world champs. I traveled with my family to Switzerland to compete in the 2002 world champs and finished 6th and the US team finished 3rd. In 2004 I finished 5th and the US team finished 2nd . I currently hold the US national record for F5D at 66.85 seconds, (Travis officially posted a 65 sec run in 2003 but the proper paperwork was not filed).

Thank you for your support.

Name: Travis Flynn
Age: 35

R/C info:

I was lucky enough to get involved with three of the best in F1. Team Samurai legend Jim Shinohara gave me one of Dave Shadel's old F1's and Richard Verano took me under his wing to teach me every thing he knew. When Jim gave me a Team Samurai shirt I knew I had made it.

Since the days of F1 I now compete in four different events. Here is a list of some of my accomplishments. I am the current Q500 record holder. I am a two time NMPRA championship winner. (once in F1 and once in Q40). I have competed in the AMA Nationals for the last 10 years with many top 10's.

More recently thanks to Fred Burgdorf of APC props I have now been racing F3D at more contests than just the US team trials. Last year we traveled to race in the Euro Cup series where I finished 2 nd , but the best part of the year was winning the Grand Prix of Melnik. Randy Bridge (my caller) and I got to stand on the top podium with the National Anthem playing, fireworks blasting and of course Champaign flowing.

This will be my second F5D World Championships, thanks to Tim Lime and Dan Kane for getting me involved into electrics in 2003. In 2004 in York , England I won the International F5D Preworlds and finished 6 th in the Worlds competition. Plus as a team we finished 2nd .

This year I feel like we have a very strong team. Gary, Danny, Drew and I have been good friends, competitors and teammates for many years. This time we are all working together to try and bring the gold to the USA .

I want to thank all of our current supports and any new ones that we acquire. Without you we would not be able to compete at our top level.

Name: Gary Freeman, Jr.
Age: 28

R/C info: I have raced pylon for the past 15 years and have flown R/C since I was the age of 5 with my father Gary Freeman Sr. I had really only raced nitro pylon until Travis and Danny asked me to be the Team Manager and Team caller for the 2004 F5D World Championships. It was such a great experience and one I will never forget. Finishing 2nd as a team was a great accomplishment. I hope this year we can bring home the GOLD. The best part of being on the team is that the other guys are such great friends. Thanks to all that have and will support us.

Name: John Jennings
Age: 54
R/C info:

I started flying R/C in 1960 with single channel escapement radio systems.
I've been R/C pylon racing since I was 13 years old. I flew my first pylon race at the 1964 Nationals with a Midwest delta wing Hustler, a Super Tiger
15 on 65 % nitro and a reed radio. That's when I first starting working with the CL Speed guys Dub Jett and Phil Bussell that were already experts building and tuning the hottest engines around. I was a factory sponsored pilot for the Bonner factory who produced one of the first successful digital proportional radio's in the 60's. I also flew competition pattern aerobatics as well. The most personal win for me was when my dad was alive and was my builder/caller in 1967. We won the overall Grand Championship for the Wright Brothers Memorial Contest, by having top finishes in Pylon and Pattern. From there I have been involved in R/C Pylon ever since. I served a stint as NMPRA Secretary. I helped bring over too the dark side (R/C Pylon Racing) some well known controline speed fliers including Dubb Jett.

I started flying full scale aircraft when I was 13 yrs. old. Back in the 70's I built and co-engineered my own Formula One full scale pylon racer.
This interest was a direct offshoot of my R/C formula one modeling experience. This airplane was one of the first Formula One planes besides Shoestring to utilize a high aspect ratio wing. I raced in several full scale air races including the "Great Miami Air Race in 1971", and was the youngest active member of the Professional Race Pilots Association at 20 years old. At that time I was an active skydiver as well, training that felt useful test flying experimental aircraft. As a full time race car driver during 1984-87, I campaigned a 700 hp winged modified race car on some the same tracks that the World Of Outlaws Sprint car series raced. I’ve also driven competitive T/Q midgets and competition Go-Karts for 10 years.

For the last number of years I've flown in many types of modeling competitions including competition R/C sailplanes, R/C electric sailplanes, competition free flight models and R/C QM40 pylon racing and the last 3 1/2 years, electric pylon racing. I'm a technology guy and have focused on high performance electric since 1987, when electric RC was at is basic beginnings. Other hobbies include Amateur Astronomy, Competition Shifter Kart Racing and Amateur Radio. I'm the owner, sponsor and engineer/tuner for a competitive Kart Racing Team that races on the Snap on Stars of Karting circuit around the United States. I’m a Z06 Corvette owner and enthusiast. By profession, I'm Vice President of Engineering for a national online stock brokerage firm.

R/C info: I have been flying R/C pylon for over 30 years, and have been involved with pylon ever since I was old enough to hold a transmitter. My father Cliff was part of the Telford-Violett team that won the FAI F3D World Championships three times in a row in the early '70s, and that exposure led to the beginning of my own participation in R/C pylon racing starting with AMA Q500 in 1974, and Formula 1 and Quarter Midget events in 1976, continuing with Q500, Q40, F3D and F5D these days with a couple victories and some fast time trophies collected along the way. Over the years, I've enjoyed helping many new racers enter the sport, and served as caller for many of my friends as they earned the Fast Time trophy for the contest, and three times as National records were set in either Q500 or QM15. I'm proud to have attended the AMA U.S. Nationals more than twenty times, with many top 10 finishes and a 3rd place in Q500 in 2000. My participation in FAI events began at the 2000 and 2002 F3D U.S. team trials, and I served as Team Manager at the 2001 and 2003 F3D World Championships for Team Mexico.

In 2003, I served as caller for Dan Kane, Travis Flynn and Tim Lime at the U.S. F5D Team trials, where Travis and Dan earned the top two spots on the 2004 U.S. F5D Team with Tim finishing 4th to earn the alternate spot. I am proud to be selected to serve as Team Manager for the 2005 U.S. F5B and F5D Teams, and we intend to represent this great country of ours in terrific fashion and with great performances! On behalf of both teams, I want to thank you for viewing this website and for your insterest in our sport and our team members, and especially thank the many of you who have or will share in our experience by supporting us through donations, good wishes, and assistance of many kinds.