Bear, DE
June 5-6th 2010
The 3rd Annual Lums Pond IMAC Challenge is in the books and the season is now well under way. This was a great event as usual hosted by the Delaware RC Flyers of Bear, DE. Mark McQuaide did his usual great job as the CD of the event.
18 Pilots competed in the event with quite a few showing up on Friday for a little pre-competition practice and/or fun. We were treated to a really great evening Friday with cool temperatures and not very much wind. Unfortunately for me, I delaminated a prop on the 2nd practice flight and had the evening go to waste but still got to hang out with friends. Thanks to Jon Leyland and Neil Westdorp for offering their spare props for me to be able to fly the competition (my spare was sitting on the workbench at the house – oops!).
Pilots meeting was held at about 9:30 on Saturday morning and flying started following that using 2 flight lines. Because the contest moved along so smoothly, we were able to stop flying and take a lunch break. The club served up some great roast beef with sandwiches, chips, cake and all the fixings. We completed 3 rounds of Knowns by about 4:30 and called it quits for the day. The weather was pretty nice with just enough wind to keep you cool. It was really great finishing up so early and not completely worn out from the sun because many continued to fly for fun and practice into the evening. I saw all kinds of electric toys coming out including an electric jet. I wish I had been down at that end of the field to see that closer but I was putting in a practice flight at the time trying to get my snaps to land a lot more consistently.
And then on to “The Challenge” – If you read the IMAC forums you probably heard about this: A little friendly wager that Neil could fly the “Invitational Class” Unknown from a past Tucson Shootout and receive no less than a score of 5 on each maneuver when given the sequence only 30 minutes before take-off. The K-factor for this Unknown was nearly twice the K-factor of a normal Unlimited Unknown. I got the honor? of being his caller for it. All in the spirit of fun, Neil put on a great attempt and did a really good job but ended up the wrong way on one maneuver and it was all over (probably the caller’s mistake……). From there, Neil kept his composure and finished the sequence as we tried to quietly get him back in the right orientation without the judges picking up on it - but unfortunately they had already found us out! Impressed with the attempt and after having so much fun, Bill played up regardless – after all, it was just for fun!
Sunday – did anyone notice a little breeze? I saw a few planes flying a straight line at a 45 degree angle to the flight path. We started with round of Unknowns followed by a round of Knowns. Once again the club served up a great lunch. The skies had dark clouds and the wind was quite strong, even more so at times. Mark was monitoring the radar for us and giving us updates to put us at ease and to give us ample warning to get the planes protected before any rain hit. The rain was supposed to roll in about 2PM and it did – just after finishing the round and getting the planes put away. Thanks to Mark to holding the awards ceremony a bit to allow everyone to get their planes put away because it started to rain at the awards ceremony while we were under the pavilion. No planes were lost (Well – if you don’t count Freestyle) despite landing in gusting 20-30 mph winds. A great job by all.
Freestyle competition was a real joy to watch as usual with 4 pilots putting on their best show. Unfortunately, there was a little – oh how do I say this – LACK OF ADEQUATE GROUND CLEARANCE! (A high spot on the runway? Or a low spot on the elevator?). Jake was throwing down and holding nothing back, putting on one heck of a show when during an on the deck rolling harrier a gust of wind hit him from behind so hard that even full power and stick couldn’t lift it up. The runway grabbed him by a few inches – Sorry Jake, but thanks for laying it on the line for the show.
Lums Pond IMAC Challenge
Overall, there were 18 pilots flying in the Lums Pond IMAC Challenge contest. In no particular order they were: Troy Wallace, David Moyer, Steve Stanton, Bill Bouchard, Robert Both, Artie Johnston, Tony Bonanno, Alex Davis, Charles Davis, Mark McQuaide, Neil Westdorp, Brian G. Foveaux, Stan Berger, Jon Leyland, Jake Ruddy, Louis Scarborough, Davey Moyer and Mike Marafioti. These pilots flew a grand total of 324 judged sequences.
This contest was flown according to modified rules.
Davey Moyer won the Basic class. There were 7 pilots in Basic. The winning order was: (1) Davey Moyer, (2) Steve Stanton, (3) Robert Both, (4) Bill Bouchard, (5) Louis Scarborough, (6) Mike Marafioti and (7) David Moyer. They flew 9 known sequences (5 rounds). The scores ranged from a low of 4,378 to a high of 5,990.1 (a range of 1,612.2 points).
Charles Davis won the Sportsman class. There were 2 pilots in Sportsman. The winning order was: (1) Charles Davis and (2) Mark McQuaide. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 6,639.7 to a high of 7,500 (a range of 860.3 points).
Alex Davis won the Intermediate class. There were 5 pilots in Intermediate. The winning order was: (1) Alex Davis, (2) Artie Johnston, (3) Stan Berger, (4) Tony Bonanno and (5) Jake Ruddy. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 6,851.7 to a high of 7,386.7 (a range of 535 points).
Troy Wallace won the Advanced class. There was 1 pilot in Advanced. The winning order was: (1) Troy Wallace. He flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round.
Neil Westdorp won the Unlimited class. There were 3 pilots in Unlimited. The winning order was: (1) Neil Westdorp, (2) Jon Leyland and (3) Brian G. Foveaux. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 6,647.8 to a high of 7,395.5 (a range of 747.7 points).
In addition to the standard classes, there was 1 special class: Seniors.
Neil Westdorp won the Freestyle class. There were 4 pilots in Freestyle. The winning order was: (1) Neil Westdorp, (2) Brian G. Foveaux, (3) Troy Wallace and (4) Jake Ruddy. They flew 1 freestyle round. The scores ranged from a low of 782.3 to a high of 1,000 (a range of 217.7 points).
The tightest competition was for 1st place in the Unlimited class, with only 19.8 points difference between Neil Westdorp and Jon Leyland.
Many wives and family members came to watch their “Big Kids” play with their “Big Toys” for the weekend. It sure is great having them come out and have fun too – and also for having their support. Thanks.
A special thanks to Mark McQuaide for organizing and CD’ing the event, Bill James for doing the tedious job of scoring all weekend, the club for setting us up with some great food, and most of all, thanks to all the members of the Delaware RC Flyers for hosting the event and giving up their field for the weekend and allowing us to come fly. We really appreciate it.
Upcoming Events:
See you all out then!
Brian Foveaux
ARD NE Region IMAC