The 2011 Venice IMAC event was the 11th Annual event hosted by the RC Fliers of Venice Inc. Club this past March 12th & 13th. Paul Cormier did a wonderful job as Contest Director and with the help of his lovely wife Jude, good friend Bob Shapiro, and eager volunteers from the club, insured the success of the event and a good time for all who came out to witness the spectacle.
Friday was a typical practice day before an event, but the wind was so strong that only the bravest dared to put their prized aircraft in the air to hone their skills before the competition started on Saturday. The weather for the actual contest was great, a little chilly in the mornings, but warmed up nicely with lots of sunshine throughout the day. Saturday was a bit breezy, but Sunday made up for those hardships by being a perfect Chamber of Commerce day thoroughly enjoyed by the pilots and spectators alike.
The contest this year was characterized by the contrast of pilots who dominated as opposed to other pilots who fought tenaciously to hold on to the lead in their respective classes. JoJo Rodriguez (Basic), Michael Abraira (Sportsman), and Steven Hamilton (Unlimited) were the pilots who dominated and pressed the issue of second and third place battles. Richard Brink, Dave Ortmeyer, Tom Reifsnyder (All in Intermediate) as well as Pedro Jordan and Alan Cook (Advanced) characterized the close contest we have come to expect, not knowing who won until the awards ceremony. One other noteworthy occurrence in this year’s event was the way Forest Waller stormed back to take second place in the Sportsman Class after a terrible 8th place first round start. One other bright spot highlighted by this year’s event was JoJo Rodriguez’s (15 years old) and little Kal Reifsnyder’s (7 years old) freestyle demonstrations. These two pilots put on a freestyle demonstration that really pleased the crowd and rang the warning bells to all those pilots in the ranks that the next generation of nationaly known great pilots is on their way.
Contest results are as follows:
JoJo Rodriguez won the Basic class. There were 8 pilots in Basic. The winning order was: (1) JoJo Rodriguez, (2) Tom Miskura, (3) John Hepler, (4) Paul Rich, (5) Thomas Johnson, (6) Mike Jackson, (7) Kal Reifsnyder, and (8) James Brown. They flew 7 known sequences (4 rounds). The scores ranged from a low of 3,199.8 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 1,800.2 points).
Michael Abraira won the Sportsman class. There were 9 pilots in Sportsman. The winning order was: (1) Michael Abraira, (2) Forest Waller, (3) Carlos Bonachea, (4) Dowd Kieslich, (5) Yasunobu Muraki, (6) Tom Heller, (7) Lorenzo Garcia, (8) Don Gentry, and (9) Doug Bracey. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 3,341.1 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 1,658.9 points).
Richard Brink won the Intermediate class. There were 8 pilots in Intermediate. The winning order was: (1) Richard Brink, (2) Dave Ortmeyer, (3) Tom Reifsnyder, (4) Gerry Dale, (5) Patrick Selva, (6) Peter Jackson, (7) Jim Neal, and (8) John Nelon. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 3,127.6 to a high of 4,932.7 (a range of 1,805.1 points).
Pedro Jordon won the Advanced class. There were 3 pilots in Advanced. The winning order was: (1) Pedro Jordon, (2) Alan Cook, and (3) Alex Miller. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 3,887.1 to a high of 5,000 (a range of 1,112.9 points).
Steven Hamilton won the Unlimited class. Steven joined the ranks of other well known past Venice Champions like David Moser (2006), Chip Hyde (2004), and Mark Leseberg (2003). Steven competed against John Schroder, also a well known past National Champion and fierce advocate/supporter of IMAC. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 4,599.8 to a high of 5,000 (a range of only 400.2 points).
In addition to the standard classes, there was 1 special class: Seniors.
Richard Brink won the Senior class. There were 7 pilots in Seniors. The winning order was: (1) Richard Brink, (2) Dave Ortmeyer, (3) Gerry Dale, (4) John Schroder, (5) Tom Heller, (6) Doug Bracey, and (7) Jim Neal. They flew 6 known sequences (3 rounds) and 1 unknown round. The scores ranged from a low of 0.528 to a high of 0.754 (a range of only 0.226 points).
The tightest competition was between the top three pilots of the Intermediate class. Only 7.8 points separated Tom Reifsnyder’s third place finish from Dave Ortmeyer’s second place finish, who was only 36.3 points behind Richard Brink’s first place finish.
Overall the 2011 Venice IMAC event will go down as one with great flying and camaraderie, without any major mishaps, and one enjoyed by all, pilots and spectators alike.
Happy flying and be safe,
Dowd Kieslich