The 2009 NE Region IMAC Season is off to a running start with our second and so far, largest contest of the 2009 season. The Farview IMAC Challenge was a huge success and the participation was almost double when compared to last years event at the same field. You could not have asked for better weather for the weekend.
Friday at the field, several contestants showed up for a day of practice to get ready and hone their skills for the weekend’s competition. The wind throughout the weekend was about 5-10 MPH and the temperature was very comfortable. Thanks to the sound system that Albert Santiago provided, it proved to be a very fun and productive Friday with some practicing and coaching while enjoying some tunes.
Saturday, the host club started the day off right with coffee, donuts and pastries ready for the morning.
Albert Santiago, one of the NE regions most experienced Contest Directors, kicked off the day with a pilots meeting at about 9:30 AM. Delay was due to a slight problem with the laptop that was used for the contest but with some excellent and very quick help, it was soon up and running.
Overall, there were 31 pilots flying in the Farview IMAC Challenge contest. In no particular order they were: Robert Both, Steve Stanton, Kenneth Warren, Frank Puccio, Kenneth Donnely, Riley Kissenberth, Roy Meiselbach, Anthony Massaro, Galip Guvelioglu, Kent Hutsinger, Artie Johnston, Mark McQuaide, Jerry Gleicher, Robert Pleasanton, Bill James, Bill Pitsko, Dave Michael, John Banks, Taylor Gunder, Alex Davis, Trent Schneider, Matthew Fortin, Ray Buyukgurel, Jake Rudy, Jim Cyr, Tony Bonano, Stan Berger, Isabel Deslauriers, Scott Shoemaker, Neil Westdorp and Jeff Whitaker. These pilots flew a grand total of 546 judged sequences.
This contest was flown according to modified rules which included the addition of the Seniors class.
Jeff Whitaker won the Basic class. There were 6 pilots in Basic. The winning order was: (1) Jeff Whitaker, (2) Kenneth Donnely, (3) Kenneth Warren, (4) Robert Both, (5) Frank Puccio and (6) Steve Stanton. They flew 9 known sequences (5 rounds). The scores ranged from a low of 6,174.1 to a high of 6,893 (a range of 718.9 points).
Robert Pleasanton won the Sportsman class. There were 13 pilots in Sportsman. The winning order was: (1) Robert Pleasanton, (2) Artie Johnston, (3) Bill James, (4) Kent Hutsinger, (5) Riley Kissenberth, (6) Anthony Massaro, (7) Roy Meiselbach, (8) Jerry Gleicher, (9) Galip Guvelioglu, (10) Alex Davis, (11) Taylor Gunder, (12) Mark McQuaide and (13) Bill Pitsko. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 5,074.3 to a high of 6,824.7 (a range of 1,750.4 points). Bill James came from 6th place during his unknown and last round of known to finish 3rd and was the biggest jump in placement for the contest.
Neil Westdorp won the Intermediate class. There were 7 pilots in Intermediate. The winning order was: (1) Neil Westdorp, (2) Isabel Deslauriers, (3) Stan Berger, (4) Scott Shoemaker, (5) Jake Rudy, (6) Jim Cyr and (7) Tony Bonano. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 5,113.2 to a high of 7,000 (a range of 1,886.8 points).
Matthew Fortin won the Advanced class. There were 4 pilots in Advanced. The winning order was: (1) Matthew Fortin, (2) John Banks, (3) Trent Schneider and (4) Ray Buyukgurel. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 5,716.4 to a high of 6,862.7 (a range of 1,146.4 points).
Dave Michael won the Unlimited class. There was 1 pilot in Unlimited. The winning order was: (1) Dave Michael. He flew 4 known sequences (2 rounds) and 1 unknown round.
In addition to the standard classes, there was 1 special class: Seniors.
Jerry Gleicher won the Seniors class. There were 2 pilots in Seniors. The winning order was: (1) Jerry Gleicher and (2) Steve Stanton. They flew 9 known sequences (5 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 0.580 to a high of 0.652 (a range of 0.072 points).
The tightest competition was for 7th place in the Sportsman class, with only 0.823 points difference between Roy Meiselbach and Jerry Gleicher.
The contest completed at approx 2:00pm on Sunday and then was followed by the Freestyle event which had 3 participants. The Freestyle winner was Neil Westdorp. After a few minutes to tally the Freestyle event scores, everyone was called to the host clubs covered patio/kitchen area for the awards ceremony.
I would like to pass along a thank you to the Farview Flyers RC Club of Hamburg, PA for their gracious hospitality throughout the weekend and for allowing us to use their gorgeous field for the weekend.
The next stop on the path to the NE Regional Championship is the Two Tonys Lums Pond IMAC Challenge hosted by the Delaware RC Club in Bear DE on 06/06/09 and 06/07/09. The field will be open for practice on Friday 06/05/09 This contest will be a good one, please remember to pre-register and don’t miss out on what is expected to be an awesome contest. In case you do not know, this contest is at the same field where the Warbirds over Delaware is held every year.
Respectfully submitted by;
Bill James, North East Regional Director
For the Contest Director
Albert Santiago