The 14th annual Spring Classic hosted by the Bay City Flyers has come and gone, and it was another great southeastern contest! Pilots started arriving early Friday and reports are that by noon, over 20 planes were set up and their pilots practicing for the upcoming competition. The winds were enough to keep the bugs away, and very manageable. Unfortunately, I had to work all day Friday and didn’t arrive at the hotel until after 10pm.
Saturday we got started early with the pilots meeting at 8:15. CD Greg Baggerly went over his expectations to get in four rounds, flying three flight lines. I think some were skeptical at first, but with two lines in parallel facing north and another line facing southwest, it soon became apparent that Doc new exactly what he was doing. The toughest challenge for him was keeping judges in the chairs. The sun was never an issue as a slightly overcast condition occurred around noon. At the end of the day, 35 pilots had flown and judged 4 full rounds, and most of us were worn out! After competition, several pilots cut loose and flew 3D and freestyle until sunset. Little Tony Schinoff, who is only 5 years old, was even seen putting his new 50cc plane through its paces. This kid will surely be one to watch in the near future!
Unfortunately, the weather on Sunday would not cooperate and we were rained out. After waiting until 9:30 and checking radar and forecasts, Greg called the contest. Pilots prizes and awards were handed out under the shelter and we were back on the road by 10:30. The closest score was in Basic with .5 points separating Robert Bjorkman 2nd and Ryan Keene 3rd. JC Alvarez took 1st in Basic with calls to “move up”. Sportsman winners were Greg Baggerly 1st, Dave Ortmayer 2nd, and John Nelon 3rd. Then in Intermediate, Kevin Garland, Tony Russo, and Mariano Barrios battled to finish 1,2,3. I managed to hold of Sergio Schinoff to win Advanced and once again, flyin Brian Luckett took first place with a perfect 6,000 points. Dan Rathbun showed up and borrowed John Schroder’s new plane, and the two of them gave Brian all the competition he cared for. Great flying guys!
There were no incidents or accidents during practice or competition, but Kevin Garland did have an engine flameout at a bad time during the afterhours flying. Fortunately it was his freestyle plane and it wasn’t hurt badly, just a hard belly flop. It will fly again!
See you in Jacksonville,
Kevin Wilson
IMAC ARD - Florida