by Chris Hammond ---
The contest schedule for the NW Region is now firmed up and posted , one change this season is that IMAC has standardized the regional championship points. This is FANTASTIC news for us as it means we have a chance to compete for points without the excessive travel required in the past. The championship is determined by your best 5 finishes. There will be 3 points counting contests in Alberta this year: Calgary, Lethbridge and Edmonton (the 1-day season opener in Stony Plain will not count.)
The sequences are all up on the site too. Those in Sportsman and up should note that there are new forms of the hammerhead this season the same as the IAC introduced 2 years ago. Basically hammerheads can have 45 deg entry and exit lines before the vertical sections.
The regional championship is Oct 3/4 in Coeur D’Alene which is a “close” drive for us. If you can make the Calgary, Lethbridge, Edmonton one US contest and the finals in October then you are in with a chance for the regional points championship (or you can substitute two out of region contests e.g. the Canadian Nationals out East.) You MUST be an IMAC member for regional points to count. I suggest you join anyway – its $20 / year. Without IMAC we would not have the rulebook, unknowns for our contests every weekend, known sequences, judging seminars, scoring programs etc.
The Tucson shootout is Oct 17/18 and in case anyone is aiming to try and qualify you will need to hit a lot of early season US contests to build your resume unless you have a few seasons of contests under your belt already.
On March 7 Chad Northeast and I are planning a one day event where we will have aerobatics seminars, swap meet and airplane displays/setup demos. Location TBD – likely at a hall in Edmonton somewhere.
I have a tentative date for an Alberta Boot Camp of May 23/24 but I have no field for this event. If anyone has or knows of a field that might be willing to accommodate us please let me know. We planned to make this a pattern and IMAC combined venture (same as the March 7 one) and it was going to be at ERCS NW in Edmonton. That field is no longer suitable due to the flying zone restrictions.
I hope Santa was good to everyone and that you are getting ready for a great season of friendly competition.
Chris.
Asst. Regional Director
Alberta