PNW Region 04172010 "Polar Bear" At Olympia Contest Impressions…
The week end of 17 &18th April saw the holding of the 53rd annual Polar Bear IMAC competition. It was hosted by the Radio Aeromdelers of Seattle (The RAMS) and was held at the Thurston County Miniature Aircraft Association (TCMAA) flying field with Mike (The Rainman) Raines as the CD.
Members of TCMAA co-operated with the hosts to provide scribes and put on lunch for the competitors. The only thing that did not co-operate with the hosts was the weather, cold and wet with torrential rain that disrupted the schedule and was (as many of the competitors from previous years commented) typical “Polar Bear” weather.
There were 31 pilots signed up for the event and with clear directions (at the pilot briefing and the frequent exhortations of the CD) take off, landings and flights were performed slickly and safely with no unplanned landings in the Scotch Broome that is a significant hazard for off piste landings at this venue. Despite the weather there was a great spirit of camaraderie amongst the competitors and flying in all classes was of a high standard. It was noticeable in the results that the scores of most competitors in each class were close together and contributed to a very competitive event.
Sunday morning was grey and overcast with considerable mist. It was rumored that Rainman had done an inverse rain dance to send the rain clouds elsewhere but at this stage the ceiling was less than 100ft (verified by an intrepid “searcher after truth”) who flew his plane into the overlying clag until it vanished. Fortunately none of the clouds had hard centers and, when the plane returned to Terra Firma, it was decided to postpone flying for about 15 min.
Competition got under way at about 10:30 and continued through the day in glorious sunshine with little wind. Just before flying started all competitors and helpers gathered round to sing "Happy Birthday" to Mike Raines (his undisclosed age is generally assumed to be "Old enough not to be carded” at the liquor store).
With the fine weather, the hold ups from the day before were made up and all the unknowns were flown were completed in all classes by 4.30 pm. Only “The freestyle” to come! This was started by an impressive performance by the youngest competitor, who at thirteen years old already has three years competition experience. The freestyle pilots provided a truly dazzling display of awesome skill and control but unfortunately ended with one competitor discovering that Terra is definitely Firma than air. However after retrieving the airplane it was found that it was suffering from "Gravitational Disfigurement" rather than "Gravitational Dismemberment", the pilot claiming he will have it repaired in a couple of weeks. This is the true spirit of freestyle.
Mike Raines ended the day by distributing the trophies and thanking all the helpers who made this day such a success and non more so than the two guys who slaved unseen in the clubhouse entering all the data into the computer and eventually coming up with the answers as to who had won what. This was from guys who had come to watch and socialize, were drafted to the interface and hardly saw daylight for two days and still came out smiling at the end. To them a big thank you.
Submitted By Mike Driver.
04172010 "Polar Bear" At Olympia Contest Results…
Overall, there were 31 pilots flying in the 04172010 "Polar Bear" At Olympia contest. In no particular order they were: Jerry Ruscheinski, Mike Raines, Rick Sowell, Henry Piorun, Jim Robb, Geoffrey Dryer, Ron Ash, Chris Elliott, Nick Bowling, Rick Gadd, Robert Hoover, Mark Anderson, Greg Zettler, Matt Strasbourg, Kevin Miller, Bill Newman, Dan Lurvey, Keith Bodeau, Michael Verzwyvelt, Keith Leifsen, Jeff Merritt, Brandon Woyshnis, Darren Kuhn, Warren Wilson, Kyle Woyshnis, David Easley, Bill Fong, Vince Girolami, Harvey Dhiman, Mike Carreiro and John Wondra. These pilots flew a grand total of 402 judged sequences.
This contest was flown according to modified rules.
Jeff Merritt won the Basic class. There were 3 pilots in Basic. The winning order was: (1) Jeff Merritt, (2) Chris Elliott and (3) Jim Robb. They flew 7 known sequences (4 rounds). The scores ranged from a low of 4,805.1 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 194.9 points).
Robert Hoover won the Sportsman class. There were 13 pilots in Sportsman. The winning order was: (1) Robert Hoover, (2) Ron Ash, (3) Bill Fong, (4) Nick Bowling, (5) David Easley, (6) Greg Zettler, (7) Bill Newman, (8) Rick Sowell, (9) Geoffrey Dryer, (10) Mark Anderson, (11) Dan Lurvey, (12) Keith Leifsen and (13) Brandon Woyshnis. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 2,322.3 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 2,677.7 points).
Henry Piorun won the Intermediate class. There were 6 pilots in Intermediate. The winning order was: (1) Henry Piorun, (2) Matt Strasbourg, (3) Vince Girolami, (4) Mike Raines, (5) Rick Gadd and (6) Warren Wilson. They flew 4 known sequences (2 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 2,807.1 to a high of 3,750 (a range of 942.9 points).
Harvey Dhiman won the Advanced class. There were 4 pilots in Advanced. The winning order was: (1) Harvey Dhiman, (2) Darren Kuhn, (3) Michael Verzwyvelt and (4) Jerry Ruscheinski. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 3,821.7 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 1,178.3 points).
Kevin Miller won the Unlimited class. There were 5 pilots in Unlimited. The winning order was: (1) Kevin Miller, (2) John Wondra, (3) Kyle Woyshnis, (4) Keith Bodeau and (5) Mike Carreiro. They flew 4 known sequences (2 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 2,240.3 to a high of 3,750 (a range of 1,509.7 points).
In addition to the standard classes, there was 1 special class: Seniors.
Ron Ash won the Seniors class. There were 8 pilots in Seniors. The winning order was: (1) Ron Ash, (2) Nick Bowling, (3) David Easley, (4) Greg Zettler, (5) Dan Lurvey, (6) Bill Newman, (7) Rick Gadd and (8) Warren Wilson. They flew 8 known sequences (4 rounds) and 2 unknown rounds. The scores ranged from a low of 0.381 to a high of 0.614 (a range of 0.233 points).
Kyle Woyshnis won the Freestyle class. There were 4 pilots in Freestyle. The winning order was: (1) Kyle Woyshnis, (2) Mike Carreiro, (3) Brandon Woyshnis and (4) Darren Kuhn. They flew 1 freestyle round. The scores ranged from a low of 703.9 to a high of 1,000 (a range of 296.1 points).
The tightest competition was for 7th place in the Sportsman class, with only 7.4 points difference between Bill Newman and Rick Sowell.