The 3rd contest of the season for the NE Region is in the books. Mark McQuaide and the Delaware RC Flyers pulled out all the stops and threw what could only be considered an AWESOME contest.
There were 27 pilots competing with all classes full. The competition in all classes was fierce and pilots battled throughout the weekend for their spot in the standings.
Due to rain on Friday, not many were able to get in that day of practice that they wanted, but a few did make it in the air for a flight or two.
On Saturday, pilots started to arrive at the field early and were treated to some coffee and donuts. Mark McQuaide called together the pilots meeting about 9:30 AM. Flight orders, flight lines and judges had already been determined for the day which helped to get a quick start following the meeting. Bill James and Tony Bonano had prepared some judges quick reference sheets that they passed out as a refresher to help keep the scoring skills fresh and as an aid to any newcomers to help them get up to speed on flying and judging criteria. The pilots meeting adjourned and wheels were up for the first round of the day shortly thereafter. 3 Known rounds were flown followed by some wild freestyle by Neil Westdorp. The spirit of friendly competition was all around.
At the end of the first day –
Basic – Andrew Bird was taking a commanding lead winning 5 of the 6 sequences. Robert Both took the other one on his first sequence of the day.
Sportsman – Close competition here. Robert Pleasanton took to an early lead winning the first 3 sequences. Alex Davis put a quick stop to that by winning the 4th. Then, Artie Johnston got his game on to win the remaining 2 sequences of the day.
Intermediate – More close competition. Jake Ruddy wins the first round (flying a borrowed plane – must have been fly’n it like it was stolen!). Stan Berger just wouldn’t let that be and stepped it up a notch to win the 2nd sequence. Then here comes Mark Vukmanovich, who wins the next 4 sequences.
Advanced – Neil Westdorp flying his first competition in Advanced won all rounds for the day (sand what?). Pete Castine and Troy Wallace were close behind and trading hits back and forth between themselves.
Unlimited – Jon Leyland was off to a great start winning 5 of the first 6 sequences. Dave Michael took the 4th sequence of the day to let Jon know it ain’t over til it’s over.
The Delaware RC Flyers provided a great lunch with barbecue pork and chicken, sauerkraut, baked beans, cake, chips, beverages and all the fixings. Flying for the first day ended about 6:30 and Unknowns were handed out to pilots when they were done flying for the evening. Some took to the air for a little fun. Three guys were playing electric foamy combat, Scott Shoemaker was ringing out his Yak on the deck, and some were just ready for a little food, drink, and sleep.
Day Two - started with a pilots meeting at 9:30 AM with wheels up soon thereafter for a round of Unknowns. At one point in the morning, I looked down the flight line and saw 10 people, most with callers, giving it one more run through with their stick plane before the big game. Basic pilots flew one sequence of Knowns.
Basic – Let the games begin! Ken Warren kicks it up a notch to win the first sequence (Unknown round). Robert Both wins the 2nd, and Andrew Bird wins the 3rd.
Sportsman – Robert Pleasanton opens up his lead by doing some great flying to a win during his Unknown sequence as well as the first sequence of Knowns. But Artie Johnson just won’t give up and gives one more shot by winning the 2nd sequence.
Intermediate – Stan Berger isn’t ready to let Mark take it to the bank. Stan does some great flying during his Unknown and wins the round. It’s too close to call at this point – but wait – Scott Shoemaker who has been held back by engine header problems on day one, is ready to play! Scott wins both sequences of round 4.
Advanced – Pete Castine deals a crushing blow when he beats Neil in the Unknown (When you beat a guy who has won every round so far – ya gotta rub it in just a little). Neil pops back to win the remaining 2 sequences and Pete and Troy continue to fight it out by trading highs on the last 2 sequences.
Unlimited – Jon Leyland wraps it up with a win in the Unknown and both Known sequences. Dave Michael and Andy Kane are close behind.
We had a little excitement when Dave Moyer struck a bird on takeoff causing problems with his right aileron. He was able to get it back on the ground safely…..but then…..smoke starts to roll out from his canopy. With a fire extinguisher on hand, he removed the canopy only to see flames coming from inside the fuselage! Hopefully he can figure out the cause and get it back in the air shortly.
The Delaware RC Flyers served up some good chili dogs for lunch – should make for some pleasant rides home…..
Scores were finalized and pilots gathered around for the awards ceremony at 3:00 PM. Awards were handed out with the top 3 in each class receiving a nice Delaware IMAC Challenge hat and the top pilot in each class receiving a gift certificate from Smart Fly. 50/50 Raffle numbers were drawn with the lucky winner receiving half of the kitty and the other half for the club. The winner of the silent auction was announced for an electric airplane donated by Horizon Hobby. Additional items that were provided from Smart Fly were given away by drawing. Mark and all contestants thanked the host club for their help with the contest and keeping us well fed throughout the weekend and Mark’s son for his hard work keeping score and getting the results posted quickly. Everyone thanked Mark McQuaide for all his work on what was an exceptionally well run contest.
Overall, there were 27 pilots flying in the Two Tonys Lums Pond IMAC Challenge contest. In no particular order they were: Bill James, Steve Stanton, Robert Pleasanton, Robert Both, Kenneth Warren, Frank Puccio, Scott Shoemaker, Jake Ruddy, Tony Bonano, Brian G. Foveaux, Dave Michael, Andy Kane, Andrew Bird, Mike Evans, Dave Moyer, Henry Belflore, Billy Buchard, Artie Johnston, Earl Andrews, Jim Wadkins, Alex Davis, Stan Berger, Mark Vukmanovich, Pete Castine, Neil Westdorp, Troy Wallace and Jon Leyland. These pilots flew a grand total of 486 judged sequences.
This contest was flown according to modified rules.
Andrew Bird won the Basic class. There were 9 pilots in Basic. The winning order was: (1) Andrew Bird, (2) Kenneth Warren, (3) Robert Both, (4) Frank Puccio, (5) Steve Stanton, (6) Henry Belflore, (7) Mike Evans, (8) Billy Buchard and (9) Dave Moyer. They flew 9 known sequences (5 rounds). The scores ranged from a low of 2,307 to a high of 6,997.9 (a range of 4,691 points).
Robert Pleasanton won the Sportsman class. There were 6 pilots in Sportsman. The winning order was: (1) Robert Pleasanton, (2) Artie Johnston, (3) Bill James, (4) Earl Andrews, (5) Alex Davis and (6) Jim Wadkins. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 6,232.8 to a high of 7,959.3 (a range of 1,726.5 points).
Stan Berger won the Intermediate class. There were 5 pilots in Intermediate. The winning order was: (1) Stan Berger, (2) Mark Vukmanovich, (3) Jake Ruddy, (4) Scott Shoemaker and (5) Tony Bonano. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 6,859 to a high of 7,754.5 (a range of 895.6 points).
Neil Westdorp won the Advanced class. There were 3 pilots in Advanced. The winning order was: (1) Neil Westdorp, (2) Pete Castine and (3) Troy Wallace. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 7,157.4 to a high of 7,920.6 (a range of 763.2 points).
Jon Leyland won the Unlimited class. There were 4 pilots in Unlimited. The winning order was: (1) Jon Leyland, (2) Dave Michael, (3) Andy Kane and (4) Brian G. Foveaux. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 6,454.6 to a high of 8,000 (a range of 1,545.4 points).
In addition to the standard classes, there was 1 special class: Seniors.
The tightest competition was for 3rd place in the Intermediate class, with only 57.9 points difference between Jake Ruddy and Scott Shoemaker.
The next stop on the road for the NE Regional Points Series is the Maine IMAC Challenge on June 13th and 14th hosted by the Skystreakers Model Club of New Gloucester, Maine and Contest Director Tom Chabot. Hope you can attend.
Brian Foveaux
ARD NE Region
For the Contest Director
Mark McQuaide