The drive from Snohomish to Wenatchee is absolutely gorgeous! The rushing waters of local rivers, the Stevens Pass climb/descent, the scenic towns (Leavenworth) and, the relaxing, winding drive into Wenatchee itself.
As always, the Red Apple Flyers, Wenatchee, Washington, aerodrome entrance impresses. It bears repeating from last year; the comfort of running water, the luxurious flush toilets and, the balcony view are astounding! This facility exhibits all the functional extravagances any R/C enthusiast can dream of! The amenities include a full kitchen, entertainment room with flight simulator, a working shower, concrete pit tables (each with electricity), a laser leveled, smooth 600’ asphalt runway and lot’s of manicured grass to land on. The only difference between this and Vegas are the slots, the drinks and the ladies!!!
There you have it; my shameless plug for such a great R/C Flying facility.
The weather was warm but windy during the days and cool with a bright full moon both nights. The sun is behind the pilots most of the day, making visual orientation on your bird relatively easy.
And the people and hospitality are first class! As luck would have it, my 55th Birthday fell on the Saturday! The BorderLine Team got together and provided me with a “Sponge Bob Square Pants” balloon and led a chorus of about 50 people in a resounding rendition of Happy Birthday to yours truly. I really appreciated the gesture very much.
Michael Hunt (the CD, Boss Man & Head Honcho) kept the event flowing smoothly with nary a hitch. The volunteer help from the Red Apple Flyers Club was outstanding once again (many thanks to “Hot Hands” and the crew) and I understand the “Lemon Shots Party Saturday” night was outrageous! They had a blast “flying after hours” so to speak.
This was the second “Jeff Cackler Memorial Event” held in Wenatchee. It bears repeating that the attention to detail at this contest is awesome and will keep it on the PNW IMAC schedule for years to come.
Thanks for having us Wenatchee!! See you all again soon………
Pete Butschek.
Official Contest Results -- Jeff Cackler Memorial
Overall, there were 33 pilots flying in the 06252011 Jeff Cackler Memorial Contest. In no particular order they were: Michael Verzwyvelt, Henry Piorun, Cheri Kuhn, Charles Frady, Max Trowbridge, Gale Vasquez, Ken Simmons, Steve Astlund, John Eells, Greg Zettler, Brant Gladstone, Bill Newman, Geoffrey Dryer, David Easley, James Robb, Jeff Merritt, Brian Keith, Brian DeVerter, Trevor Young, Harv Dhiman, Keith Bodeau, Darren Kuhn, Dan Lurvey, Azhar Osmanbhoy, Robert Benson, Jeff Greene, Brandon Woyshnis, Michael Williams, Stephen Lenz, Harley Dickinson, Keith Leifsen, Aron Gruetzke and Bill Burgad. These pilots flew a grand total of 497 judged sequences.
This contest was flown according to modified rules.
Harley Dickinson won the Basic class. There were 9 pilots in Basic. The winning order was: (1) Harley Dickinson, (2) Max Trowbridge, (3) Cheri Kuhn, (4) Stephen Lenz, (5) Gale Vasquez, (6) Charles Frady, (7) Robert Benson, (8) Ken Simmons and (9) Jeff Greene. They flew 7 known sequences (4 rounds). The scores ranged from a low of 3,787.5 to a high of 4,966.2 (a range of 1,178.7 points).
Jeff Merritt won the Sportsman class. There were 15 pilots in Sportsman. The winning order was: (1) Jeff Merritt, (2) Dan Lurvey, (3) Geoffrey Dryer, (4) Aron Gruetzke, (5) Azhar Osmanbhoy, (6) David Easley, (7) Brant Gladstone, (8) Brian Keith, (9) Brandon Woyshnis, (10) Trevor Young, (11) Greg Zettler, (12) Brian DeVerter, (13) Bill Newman, (14) Keith Leifsen and (15) James Robb. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 4,067 to a high of 4,991.4 (a range of 924.4 points).
John Eells won the Intermediate class. There were 3 pilots in Intermediate. The winning order was: (1) John Eells, (2) Michael Williams and (3) Steve Astlund. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 4,578.3 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 421.7 points).
Henry Piorun won the Advanced class. There were 3 pilots in Advanced. The winning order was: (1) Henry Piorun, (2) Michael Verzwyvelt and (3) Bill Burgad. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 4,228.5 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 771.5 points).
Darren Kuhn won the Unlimited class. There were 3 pilots in Unlimited. The winning order was: (1) Darren Kuhn, (2) Keith Bodeau and (3) Harv Dhiman. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 4,402.1 to a high of 4,969.2 (a range of 567.1 points).
In addition to the standard classes, there was 1 special class: Seniors.
Dan Lurvey won the Seniors class. There were 7 pilots in Seniors. The winning order was: (1) Dan Lurvey, (2) David Easley, (3) Greg Zettler, (4) Bill Newman, (5) James Robb, (6) Bill Burgad and (7) Robert Benson. They flew 7 known sequences (4 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 0.614 to a high of 0.803 (a range of 0.189 points).
Darren Kuhn won the Freestyle class. There were 5 pilots in Freestyle. The winning order was: (1) Darren Kuhn, (2) Harv Dhiman, (3) Aron Gruetzke, (4) Harley Dickinson and (5) Brandon Woyshnis. They flew 1 freestyle round. The scores ranged from a low of 651 to a high of 1,000 (a range of 349 points).
The tightest competition was for 10th place in the Sportsman class, with only 0.4 points difference between Trevor Young and Greg Zettler.