Jim Allen got his start in modeling when he was about 4 or 5 in Monmouth, Illinois. His dad, Jim Sr, built a Sterling Ringmaster with a McCoy .35. He tried to fly it a couple of times, but struggled with getting dizzy. The plane sat in the garage rafters for a few years until Jim Jr asked if they could try and run the engine. They did, and decided to fly it. Jim Jr took to it like a fish to water, and his modeling career was off to the races...literally. Over the next several years, Jim started building and flying control line planes and even designed a few of his own.

In the Fall of ’75, Jim was 14 and the family moved to Jacksonville, Illinois. He and his dad decided to attend a club meeting for the local club. In the Fall of ’76 they got a Sig Kadet, Fox .36 RC engine, and soon Jim was flying RC. His focus soon moved toward competing in FunFly’s where he became very competitive.

Jim then decided to attend Parks Air College in the St Louis area and graduated with an Engineering Degree in ’86. While there, he continued to fly both CL and RC, and started designing his own airplanes for Fun Fly competitions, including the Blue Max that was sold as a kit after being published in Model Aviation. It was during this time that he got his start in pylon in the St Louis area, racing as much as he could.

After graduation, Jim moved to the Phoenix area to work for Garrett Turbine Engines in engine Assembly and Test Engineering. Now a part of Honeywell, he manages the Accident Investigation group of Product Integrity.

When settling in Phoenix, it didn’t take long for Jim become involved with the Phoenix Pylon Racing Association in October of ‘86. Over the next couple of years, he quickly became the guy to beat in Q500 on the West Coast, designing and evolving his own airplane series called the Quik-V, with his long time team mate Gary Schmidt, who he still flies with after 30+ years. The Quik-V series has grown to the 6th version that has been sold as an ARF by Great Planes.

Over the last thirty plus years, Jim has done almost everything there is to do in pylon. Aside from winning multiple times at the most prestigious events, including the NATS in QM and Q500, the NMPRA Champ Race and flying on the 1997 USA F3D Team, and the 2015 World Air Games, Jim has been instrumental in running the Phoenix Winterfest Q500 and Phoenix Classic Q40 races, as well as several NMPRA Q40 Championship Races held in Phoenix. In addition, Jim has been the Team Manager for three US FAI F3D Pylon teams, and Co-Event Dir of the 2007 World Champs. He has been the Chairman of the R/C Pylon Rules Committee for the AMA as well as the US Representative for the FAI Pylon Sub-Committee.

Jim Allen With His Quik-V Racer Design

Jim Allen Working On His Formula 1 Racer - Phoenix 1991

Jim Allen 1st Place & Fast Time 2009 Phoenix Winterfest With Long Time Teammate Gary Schmidt

Jim Allen 1st Place Q40 At 2018 NATS With Long Time Teammate Gary Schmidt