Practice Day #1

Well I had a great sleep last night except for the train (did I mention it was 100 feet away!) that went by every 2 hours or so! It’s the only downside to the field location :-)

Numerous pilots started to arrive with Ethan and Colin Chariandy being the first in the parking lot this morning. They had flown in the day before and picked up the rental vehicle at the airport… unfortunately Colin didn’t “see” the speed limit sign and got a speeding ticket within 10 minutes of leaving the rental facility. Not quite the hospitality I have been raving about. :-(
They got the ZNLine Caelestia and Oxai Axiome put together and started flying some practice rounds as others arrived. 

Ethan gets ready for his practice flight.

Dennis & Dave discuss field layout while Danny gets ready for his flight.

Cross winds of 26 km and overcast skies made for a good challenge for all. Dennis Peperkorn had his BJ Craft Biside up and flew some nice Advanced elements and Bill Hawkes from Victoria arrived with his Vanquish. Danny Gill, Dave Blaby and Stan Anderson all flew as well with Ron Kennedy getting several rounds in with his new SebArt Mythos 125. Alan Wesley had his YS powered Twister cranked up for bug control but with the wind it really didn’t matter. The 9 degree C temperature did not help the fingers either!

John Bentley from Arizona arrived with his Nuance long with Co-CD Nedim Bek and Michi Akimoto (not flying today!) for moral support.

Everyone got in rounds but the winds were soon joined by rain that intensified quickly and shut down flying. We all packed up and some folks headed to hotels to check in & warm up while others congregated in the club house to tell stories and pass the time.

Will Gross from Red Deer arrived and we chatted about his recent trip to Muncie for the AMA Nationals. A great experience for all.

The forecast called for clearing around 6 PM so we waited out the rains and low and behold we started flying again at 5:30 PM.  The “hardy” pilots managed some additional flights as a late dinner was now inevitable :-)

I am sure tomorrow will see lots of activity as the rest of the competitors arrive. A judging seminar will go at 4 PM for judges and all pilots are welcome to attend.

Off to the rack!