PNW Region 05012010 "Medford Madness" Impressions…

Saturday morning was cold and overcast but nothing would deter the PNW warriors attending this awesome IMAC contest from taking to the crisp, cool air. I have it under good authority the engines run better, props bite harder and control surfaces react crisper under these conditions.

By all accounts the competition was a resounding success. With a turnout of 23 pilots, there were almost enough for four or five fliers in every class! The more the merrier the pilots say. Keeping the competitive juices flowing, reports indicate we lost one brand new 40% airplane. After the appropriate condolences and autopsies, rumblings indicate insufficient juice in the batteries. What a shame! Late Saturday afternoon’s freestyle aerial show was a blast with 4 excellent entries. We had the best BBQ dinner on Saturday night of any contest ever! Congrats to all our cooks!

Sunday morning dawned clear and beautiful, with friendly winds and even friendlier competitors making for a perfect day of flying. A big hand goes to Jeff Jarvis, the CD for the “Madness”. He did a very nice job running the contest.

The contest results follow.

Contest Results : Medford Madness -- May 1-2, 2010

Overall, there were 23 pilots flying in the Medford Madness -- May 1-2, 2010 contest. In no particular order they were: Mark Tobin, Robert Knudsen, Steve Coleman, Jeff Merritt, Paul Chapman, Jim Spurlock, Robert Hoover, Dale Bush, Dan Lurvey, Darin Miller, Darren Kuhn, Keith Bodeau, Jeff Jarvis, Dave Davis, Eric Kees, Kevin Miller, Ron Good, Alex Stephens, Art Kelly, Pete Johnson, Don Velasquez, Bill Burgad and James Strickland. These pilots flew a grand total of 346 judged sequences.

This contest was flown according to modified rules.

Jeff Merritt won the Basic class. There were 5 pilots in Basic. The winning order was: (1) Jeff Merritt, (2) Steve Coleman, (3) Eric Kees, (4) Art Kelly and (5) Paul Chapman. They flew 7 known sequences (4 rounds). The scores ranged from a low of 3,198.4 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 1,801.6 points).

Pete Johnson won the Sportsman class. There were 6 pilots in Sportsman. The winning order was: (1) Pete Johnson, (2) Dale Bush, (3) Robert Hoover, (4) Dan Lurvey, (5) Don Velasquez and (6) James Strickland. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 3,231.2 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 1,768.8 points).

Jim Spurlock won the Intermediate class. There were 2 pilots in Intermediate. The winning order was: (1) Jim Spurlock and (2) Ron Good. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 4,334.2 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 665.8 points).

Mark Tobin won the Advanced class. There were 5 pilots in Advanced. The winning order was: (1) Mark Tobin, (2) Alex Stephens, (3) Bill Burgad, (4) Robert Knudsen and (5) Jeff Jarvis. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 2,743.3 to a high of 4,979.7 (a range of 2,236.4 points).

Kevin Miller won the Unlimited class. There were 5 pilots in Unlimited. The winning order was: (1) Kevin Miller, (2) Keith Bodeau, (3) Darin Miller, (4) Darren Kuhn and (5) Dave Davis. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 3,851.2 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 1,148.8 points).

In addition to the standard classes, there was 1 special class: Seniors.

Dale Bush won the Seniors class. There were 5 pilots in Seniors. The winning order was: (1) Dale Bush, (2) Jim Spurlock, (3) Dan Lurvey, (4) Bill Burgad and (5) Robert Knudsen. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 0.484 to a high of 0.742 (a range of 0.258 points).

Mark Tobin won the Freestyle class. There were 4 pilots in Freestyle. The winning order was: (1) Mark Tobin, (2) Alex Stephens, (3) Steve Coleman and (4) Darren Kuhn. They flew 2 freestyle rounds. The scores ranged from a low of 576.7 to a high of 1,961.1 (a range of 1,384.4 points).

The tightest competition was for 2nd place in the Sportsman class, with only 11.4 points difference between Dale Bush and Robert Hoover.