Yesterday we had the chance to go check out an R/C Pulling event located in Central Square, NY (~1.5 hour drive). It’s called the Big Bird Pull, due to it’s proximity with Thanksgiving. They also served Turkey, and everyone brought something to pass. I found out about it in the NR/CTPA section of RCMT.net. I always knew there was r/c pulling, but had never seen it in person, or knew that there was a place doing it so close to me. I am glad I checked it out!

The event is one of a few yearly events put on by Dave Engle of the Radio Controlled Pullers of Central New York. It’s held at his place, also known as “The Hanger” because it resembles an airplane hanger. To find out more info about their operation, visit their Facebook page. Below is a shot of the track and the facility in general.

The Hanger isn’t an enormous facility, but there was enough space to accommodate the over 70 entries they had for this event (trucks, not drivers). It seemed like most everyone there ran a multitude of classes. I didn’t get a class count while I was there, but it seems they have something for everyone. They had low cost Bolink/RJ Speed Diggers, 2wd Stock (any 2wd truck), and everything inbetween up to gas trucks (running weedeater engines). Garden tractors, Semi-Trucks, Dual engine nitros, Tamiya Lunchboxes and Midnight Pumpkins all had their place here.

The object is to pull a weight sled the full distance of their track (around 40 feet). The sleds work like their full size counterparts with the weight transitioning forward as the sled gets pulled forward, making it harder to pull towards the end of the run. The amount of weight that is in the sled is determined by the class rules. I believe smaller trucks like the Digger class pull an empty sled, while the big gassers pull as much as 75lbs.

Pulls are not timed, and are measured by distance if you do not make a full pull (across the line). One cool thing we noticed, they measured the distance with a bluetooth laser distance meter, that auto-dumped data into their spreadsheet. The spreadsheet that kept track of all the day’s progress was displayed on a large LCD for all to see as well. It is definitely unlike a traditional racing setup where you fight the clock, and then compete head to head on a course. I found it rather refreshing, a change of pace. Below is a shot of a pull being measured.

Some other unique features to pulling that I’ve never seen before were the track groomer and the nitro exhaust system. The track was groomed after almost every pull to give everyone a fair chance and not get into a rutted or loose area. The track is made of a dirt/topsoil/clay mix and can get spun up by these super high torque pullers. The grooming utility is basically a wheeled cart that drags a few pieces of angle iron. It seemed to work quite well.

The other neat thing we noticed was the exhaust system used for nitros. The event is run indoors, and rather than poisoning everyone with fumes, they have this tubing rig that follows the truck and sucks most of the engine exhaust out of the building. It follows a guide wire and is on a pulley system that seems to move pretty slick without putting too much extra strain on the trucks.

Now that I’ve likely bored you with track basics, we’ll get into the good stuff. My trusty helper Kris Button took a few photos and videos.

Here’s a Digger pull video:

Video of 2wd Stock class (in this case, a Midnight Pumpkin):

Gas class:

Garden Tractor class:

If you have an interest in pulling, your best bet is to visit said NR/CTPA section of RCMT.net. There’s tons of guys on there than can help get you into it. To check out The Hanger, contact them via their Facebook page to find out when their next event is. They could also probably point you in the right direction if you are looking to get started in R/C Pulling.  Check out page 2 for more pics.