Pictures-What a weekend-The Good the Bad and the Ugly-but a warm fuzzy buzz!

It was a magnificent weekend. Nary a cloud in the sky. Temps were high 40s in the early morning and not a cloud in the sky. The temps quickly climbed into the low 80s Saturday and high 70s Sunday with 10 or so mph winds on Saturday, and only treetop swirls on Sunday. One of those gusts helped me cost myself 25 points. But all went pretty well, and I confirmed what I knew; it's a lot harder to compete flying full pattern stunt than beginner stunt.

Half of my flights all weekend had the stunts directly in the Sun. I really need to learn to deal with that. In Profile Stunt on Saturday, I forgot to put my sunglasses on and I couldn't see where the left bottoms of some of my maneuvers were, like the outside square loops and 8s and also the horizontal 8. I just did those pullouts and corners on blind faith so to speak. I got most of them at the right height, but on the second down leg of my sq 8 I pancaked the Osprey, inverted of course. I had gotten the first one right and felt like the lines were pointed in the same place on the second down leg, but apparently I was a tad off. It didn't even break the tail. Wing flex tore a bit of Monokote on the bottom of the wing, but a few strips of scotch tape and a new prop later, I was ready for round 2. The sun was higher now and only the overheads like the V8, hourglass and loop 1 of the cloverleaf were in the sun and I managed to fly a respectable pattern on my second flight. Profile is ten times more fun than any other event because there about 20 other pilots competing and we all have so much fun together pitting for each other, critiquing our flights, commiserating our failures, and just shucking and jiving with each other. It lasts about 4 hours.

PAMPA stunt on Sunday was on the upper circle surrounded by trees with no wind on the ground, but no freakin telling what might be coming over the trees.. I drew first flight at 9:00 AM and had to hurry to get rigged and fueled. I was a little off for the first flight, felt kind of like I was standing on marbles, but held it together for a fairly decent flight but had the plane buffet badly at the top of my hourglass to make me come down way in the wrong place. I went around and did it again fairly wall, but lost points for that. On my second flight I was  more relaxed and was putting it together at my usual level of getting through it. But this time on the vertical 8 I started the first bottom loop and somehow, don't ask because I don't know why, I pancaked it again, this time wheels first. Splayed LG and a broken prop, but no other damage.

The Good/the Bad/the end result:


After the awards sunday afternoon, the usual tradition is all are invited to Watt Moore's house for some grilling and fun flying. It's on the way home so we dropped by. I'd had the old Ray Copeland Skyray as my backup in the car all weekend and I decided to put it up. Dead calm. Boy I had forgotten what a dream it is to fly. It pulls like a brick even straight overhead. Rather than fun fly lazy 8s and loops, I wanted to try a pattern with it, just to compare. It's very sure footed and with no wind I was having an easy time with it. Until the vertical 8. I flew the complete pair of V8s and was in the middle of my pullout loop when it JUST QUIT TURNING! Full up. It would not turn.

The Ugly:




I guess I'm over it now. No sense in not being over it, and I can't cuss here anyway. So we watched the Philly flyers, who were most of the gathering at Watt's, entertain us. Dan banjock flying the ugliest, loudest, fastest ringmaster I ever saw... in the dark... sitting on the ground. And three Bi-Slob combat. Larry Wilkes flew his combat wing, we ate really good burgers and came home.

A great weekend other than my dear old Skyray. Now all my crap is in the carport and I'm signing off to lug it back to the shop.

I have many pictures and some videos to post later.
Rusty