The top five Intermediate competitors posed for a photo.
By Matt Neumann
Beginner and Intermediate classes of Control Line Precision Aerobatics were flown on Sunday July 6th. There were two entrants in Beginner with seven in Intermediate. These events were flown on the grass circles. Grass is much more forgiving, than asphalt in case of an accident.
The day started out flyable, but conditions got challenging as the day went on. Most of the time, those not affiliated with Beginner and Intermediate would go to the L pad and practice. That came to a halt by late morning due to winds. It was fortunate that the event got over with fairly soon. As it was, the contestants had their hands full with the wind.
Speaking of hands full, there was a 10 year old contestant named Wesley Smith who flew an electric plane that was almost a big as he is! Under normal circumstances, he has to fly with two hands to hang on to the airplane. In the wind, it got to be even more of a handful.
To mark the center of the circles, there are plywood disks about six feet in diameter that are covered in anti-skid paint. I heard you can almost hear his sneakers skid across the plywood now and again. It was a real handful for Wesley. However, the wind did not deter him from completing the flights. In the end, he placed 5th. For Wesley, it was not just a battle between him and the other contestants ,but also the elements. Literally.
Jim Mynes beat out the field to win the Intermediate competition. He was followed by Greg Myer in 2nd, Christan Chacha in 3rd, Mark Radcliff in 4th, Wesley Smith in 5th, Jason Shulman in 6th and Mark Lumen in 7th.
Unfortunately, Jason Shulman had an accident and wrecked his plane during the competition. He is taking it in stride and plans to use this as a lesson and come back.
Even though the weather got windy and the temps got hot, a good time was had by all. Some of the local talent even came down to help out with the Beginner and Intermediate fliers by giving them pointers on how to improve and have even more fun in the hobby.
