Thanks to all involved who helped make this event a huge success for the Southwest Area Park Modelers! We drew a field of 20 pilots from all over the NE region, with some especially talented "young bucks" in the mix, namely Eric Johnson and Tyler McCormack.
The weather was almost perfect with clear skies and light winds, albeit it got a little "warm" on Sunday. The "executive" decision to cancel a 4th round of Knowns on Sunday was received well, as the midday heat started to kick in.
The format of holding a freestyle round on both Saturday and Sunday worked well. I know it is always the favorite portion of any contest to me, and from the response of the many spectators that came, it was their favorite, as well. Only four pilots competed in freestyle, Tyler McCormack, Eric Johnson, Cody Wojcik, and Eddie Meyer, but all their routines were enjoyable and exciting. Tyler flew a completely different routine on Sunday to a different music mix from Saturday. Keep your eyes on Cody Wojcik in the Unlimited class, as this young man (yes, 23 is young when you are 53 like me!) flew head to head with long time Unlimited competitor, Dave Michael all weekend long, squeezing out a 2nd place finish just 3.4 ahead of David. Cody's freestyle routines were magnificent to watch with some incredible low to the ground 3D rolls and flips, all in perfect harmony to his music!
Special acknowledgment should be given to Eddie Meyer, who let Eric Johnson fly his J-Tec Extra 300C all weekend long after Eric's plane was damaged on the way to the contest when the trailer it was in fell into a nasty pothole in NYC, breaking the engine box loose.
I would especially like to thank all the volunteers from our club that worked so hard all weekend long, setting up, cooking, keeping score, etc., etc.. Also, thanks to Nir Schweizer, the official CD for the event for getting the sanction, running the contest
portion, organizing the judges, and keeping the flight line moving. Thanks again for a great contest and I'm looking forward to seeing all of you again next year.
Art Vail, Contest Coordinator
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Basic
Final scores in Basic ranged from a low of 2,645.6 to a high of 5,000.0 (a range of 2,354.4)
Pilot Final Score
1 Erik Haakonsen 5,000.0
2 Luke Pallansch 4,603.5
3 Jim Fino 4,449.3
4 Richard Dore 4,310.3
5 Tom Johnson 3,676.2
6 Ron Grimm 2,645.6
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Sportsman
Final scores in Sportsman ranged from a low of 3,686.0 to a high of 4,988.7 (a range of 1,302.7)
Pilot Final Score
1 Eric Johnson 4,988.7
2 Tyler McCormack 4,827.4
3 Steve Stanton 4,794.7
4 Kirk Adams 4,707.8
5 Fred Lumb 4,672.4
6 Bradley Davy 4,564.0
7 Bob Pollokoff 4,105.3
8 Bill Bouchard 3,763.3
9 Robert W Both 3,686.0
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Intermediate
Pilot Final Score
1 Zack Bury 3,000.0
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Advanced
Pilot Final Score
1 Eddie Meyer 5,000.0
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Unlimited
Final scores in Unlimited ranged from a low of 4,800.9 to a high of 5,000.0 (a range of 199.1)
Pilot Final Score
1 Ty Lyman 5,000.0
2 Cody Wojcik 4,804.3
3 David Michael 4,800.9