We had 13 pilots show up for our May edition of the T28 races with several newcomers to the series.
T28 Contest Results
We had a great turnout for the April 8th edition of our T28 racing series with 13 pilots in attendance. The weather was near perfect with clear blue sky and calm winds.
The preliminary rounds had lots of very close racing with the placings often being determined by who made the fewest errors. In one case Otto was attempting to catch me by flying very low—I was at maybe 5 feet above the ground heading west and he was at 3—but the daisies were at 4 feet resulting in Otto having a unplanned layover in the flowers for his plane—which was undamaged and able to fly the rest of the event!
The finals results were as follows:
Bronze:
1) Otto
2) Fredrick
3) Quan
4) Artie
5) George
Silver:
1) SteveM
2) Mark
3) Brian
4) Fritz
Gold:
1) SteveN
2) Brad
3) Alex
4) Daric
Our May race date is May 13th at 10am. All planes should have their assigned number on the top and bottom to help the turn judges in identifying the planes. Also I would like to thank Jovi for being being the race day marshal and also to Carl and Dennis as our turn judges.
If you break the stock 3 blade T28 it can be replaced with a 7x6E 2 blade APC prop. I made up a batch of CNC aluminum adapters that make it easy to install. The APC works just as well as the stock for 1/3 the cost and it is much stronger and less likely to break in the first place.
See you at the next race—
Steve Neu
The rain gods decided that they would work overtime —the result was a very wet race day with the field being closed and locked to prevent damage to the soft runway by people walking on it. Our next scheduled race day will be April 8th starting at 10AM. If you need a racing number please contact me by email.
For those new to or interested in more information on our T28 racing series follow this link to additional information and rules: https://www.sefsd.org/club-contests/t28-racing/t28-rules-information/
The series of rain storms that have come through San Diego in the past few weeks have required us to limit access to the field for a day or two after we have heavy rain. This is done by an additional lock that is painted RED. Until this lock is opened the field is closed to all flying. The reason is to limit damage to the runway surface from people walking on it before it has had a chance to dry.
Steve Neu
On February 11th we held our second monthly T28 race. Initially we had 7 pilots but when “usually late” Quan arrived 15 minutes after the official starting time we had a total of 8 ready to do battle in the sky.
This month the final results were heavily influenced by the number of cuts committed. The honors for the most cuts in the preliminary rounds went to Quan with 5 cuts. There were also a couple cases of CFIT. (Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) occurs when an airworthy aircraft under the complete control of the pilot is inadvertently flown into terrain, water, or an obstacle. The pilots are generally unaware of the danger until it is too late.) After the dust settled from the preliminary rounds the and the placings and cuts added up the groupings for the 10 lap finals was set as follows:
Bronze:
1) George
2) Quan
3) Brian
Silver:
1) Brad
2) Fredrick
Gold:
1) SteveN
2) SteveM
3) Artie
For those that need a racing number I have done some housecleaning of the list. #2 and #5 are available. Let me know by email to “sneu@mac.com” if you need a new number or want to change an existing.
Our next race will be March 11th starting at 10am. Here is a link to the rules as well as tips for setting up your T28 for racing——hint it is quite different than the setup for fun flying! https://www.sefsd.org/club-contests/t28-racing/t28-rules-information/
We took a weather gamble and lucked out for our first T28 racing session of 2023. The forecast was for rain by early afternoon which gave us the motivation to expedite getting through the racing in record time. We got all the racing done and awards presented in a little under an hour. A special thanks to Jim for being the race master and keeping things running fast and smooth.




We had a good turnout of 9 pilots for the second to last T28 race for the year. Many regulars attended along with a some new racers. Things started out with SteveM and Alex trading places numerous times in the first round followed by Brad and SteveN having a similar battle for the checkered flag in the second heat. There were a few touch and go midair love taps but no major damage. The one more serious solo crash happened when Artie’s T28 decided to dive into the ground near pylon one in the second round. A few new parts and it will be back in the mix next time.
The results of the 3 preliminary rounds set the order for the final bronze, silver and gold races with the results as follows:
Bronze:
Silver:
Gold:
We are planning for one more T28 “bonus” race on Dec 10th at 10AM. It turns out we have a set of medals and we need to use them. If you have not already got a T28 check out the FMS web site or Discount Hobbies to find stock. There is more info on the planes and racing format here: https://www.sefsd.org/club-contests/t28-racing/t28-rules-information/
New T28 pilots needing a race number please email me to get one assigned. sneu@mac.com











Our May T28 races were held May 14th with most of the usual suspects in attendance. Racing got underway at a little after 10am . Larry had some bad luck starting out when his plane decided to make a hard left turn after takeoff right in to the side of Jovi’s pickup truck—most of the damage was limited to Larry’s pride but the crash put him out of the rest of the races. After that most of the races were mostly without drama—there were a number of very tight races with planes crossing the finish line wing tip to wing tip. Several of us got tagged by eagle eye Jovi at the starting line for crossing early—protests proved pointless:)

By Steve Neu
We had our largest turnout yet with 16 pilots with most of the usual suspects as well as a 5-6 new pilots. I suspect the fact that our local Discount Hobbies got a fresh shipment of T28s is the cause of the increase. It was great to see so many new pilots!
With 16 pilots we conducted the preliminary races with four planes in each flight group. After the dust settled from the preliminary rounds and the results tabulated the finals racing groupings were set. There were a couple accidents putting a couple of planes out of action but most should be repairable.
The Bronze class was hard fought with Steve M and Fritz dueling for first place with Steve crossing the finish line first.
The Silver class race had some drama with Larry Kosta and Quan planes tangling near the downwind pylon resulting in DNFs for both. Brad and Alfred took first and second place.
The Gold class race was hotly contested with Otto and Alex trading places for most of the 10 laps——I was about half a lap back following the battle up front—then near the race’s end, Alex lost control of his plane for a split second loosing his line and allowing me to slip ahead of him—but Otto still crossed the finish line first but as fate would have it Otto had a cut recorded earlier while trying to keep ahead of Alex—handing first place to me.
The February event saw the debut of our new awards that sport an image of a T28 courtesy Frank Sutton—they look great!
See you at next months races! Next month we will try a new racing matrix that should save 10-15 minutes off the process of setting flight groupings for the preliminary rounds—thank you Steve M.
The first T28 race of the new year is in the books. There were most of the usual suspects along with some newcomers The 3 preliminary rounds ran very smoothly with the 3-4 planes in each heat. There were plenty of tight races with planes trading positions multiple times. The scores for the preliminary round results were totaled and the 10 lap final rounds were set with the results as follows:
Bronze Cup
- Frank Gagliardi
- Alfred Ramirez
- Fritz Logan
Silver Cup
- Quan Nguyen
- George Sullivan
- Larry Kosta
Gold Cup
- Steve Neu
- Alex Sutton
- Bob Stinson
- Steve Manganelli
It was notable that there were zero cuts during all the preliminary flights or the finals—a first. There was some speculation that the absence of Otto Dieffenbach at this months race might have been a factor in the absence of cuts—after all Otto is one of the hard core racers that is often pushing the limits and others follow his example…….
There were several fresh new T28s in the flight line—now that they are back in stock at Discount Hobbies. If you have been waiting to get involved in our T28 races now would be a good time to get a plane setup and going. New pilots will need to get their race numbers assigned —-email me with your choices and I will get check to see if it is available—-numbers should be between 1 and 99. The numbers under 20 are all taken so select accordingly. The rules and setup tips can be found on the SEFSD web site here:https://www.sefsd.org/club-contests/t28-racing/t28-rules-information/
Our next T28 races will be February 12th at 10am. Be ready to go fast and turn left!
Steve Neu
Bob Simon, Otto, SteveM and myself were in the gold cup race with every lap being contested—The finish was Otto, Steve Manganelli and me and then Bob Simon—after the cuts were counted Otto and Steve M slipped positions. After the cuts getting factored in the finish order was as Steve N, Bob Simon, Steve M and Otto.
We will continue our T28 racing series in the new year on the same monthly schedule. All pilots should get a number to help identify their plane—you can pick your favorite number by emailing me—I keep the list and will tell you if the number is available or not. Numbers up to 99 can be picked but all the numbers below 20 are already taken.
Discount Hobbies got a good sized batch of FMS T28s in stock. The new ones come with some upgrades including a stabilization system—the sale price has increased but what hasn’t. If you are new to T28 racing go back and read up on the SEFSD web site on the rules and suggested modifications and setup tips.
Go fast and turn left!








See crash video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-9CFgHBTMs
We had another fun knock down drag out series of T28 races on Saturday 9/11. Prior to the start of racing at 10am we had a very nice flyby with Larry Kosta flying his Piper Cub towing an American flag as remembrance of 9/11.
We had a good turnout with most of the regulars in attendance. We followed the regular format with the preliminary rounds being 5 laps followed by the finals with 10 laps. It worth noting that the overall quality of flying for the T28 races is improving with this set of preliminary races having very few cuts and accidents.
The Bronze and Silver class results came in as follows:
1st) Daric Knight
2nd) Mark Davis
3rd) Ty Thompson
1st) Steve Manganelli
2nd) Bob Stinson
3rd) Alfred Ramirez
Things got a bit more aggressive with the Gold Cup heat races with more cuts and yours truly trying to shorten the course by flying through the west end pylon! The winner it turns out was the one who stayed out of trouble —no cuts or pylon clipping!
1st) Quan Nguyen( zero cuts)
2nd) Alex Sutton (second most cuts)
3rd) Brad Bender( had the most cuts)
4th) Steve Neu( got pole position)
For those getting a new T28 ready to race and are looking for the APC prop adapters see me and I will give you one–I had a batch machined. They are is no cost for these. Also for those new to our racing series I encourage you to look at the SEFSD web site and read the various articles from the last year and a half—there you will find some useful tips for racing and setting up your plane.
Our next race is set for October 9th at 10am. I understand that a new shipment of FMS 800mm T28s should be arriving soon—so for those who have been looking, the drought should be ending soon!
Last thing—if you don’t have a pilot number yet please email me with your request—FYI most of the numbers below 20 have been taken already! The number you pick should be < 99.
Steve Neu



After a number of close and hard fought laps around the pylons the matchups for the finals were as follows:
Bronze:
Silver:
Gold:
Quan took first place in the Bronze Cup.
The Silver Cup between Alex And SteveN was likely the closest and most hard fought 10 laps of the day with both planes “cutting the grass” and trading places numerous times. In the end it came down to the last turn before the finish line with yours truly getting ahead of Alex by < 3 feet.
The Gold Cup was anticlimactic after the the Silver Cup drama—Both Otto and Frank put themselves down a lap by jumping the start or cutting a turn—which gifted the Gold Cup win to SteveM who coasted to an easy win by staying out of trouble.
We learned a few things and next time we will revise the audio file so as to make the countdown to the start clearer and easier for pilots to follow so as to avoid some of the late/early crossing of the starting line—also some of the sounds will be toned down a little.
In watching some of the flying during the races it was clear that several pilots had their planes setup for what I would call “sport flying” with way too much control travel for racing 6 feet above the ground—the last thing you need is to snap roll the plane while pulling a hard pylon turn. Go back and read some of the setup advice in the newsletters earlier this year.
We have two races on the schedule for next month with the first on October 12th @ 10am and the second two week later on the 24th at 10am. get in some practice and get your planes trimmed for speed!
Steve Neu
Now for the video from Hobie Sutton Studios (Frank & Alex Sutton). Just click