DISTRICT 7California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah
|
Second, the District Championship: Several flyers were tied for first going into this contest. They knew who they were! Others knew also and watched as the rounds unfolded. In Masters, Jerry Budd and Rusty Fried were tied and it's always close when these two great pilots fly against each other. Rusty tried hard, but then the bell sounded after round 5, it was Jerry still standing and winning the District Championship in Masters.. his second year in a row! Perhaps we should get Jerry to start playing golf with Tony? In review of the past D7 Champions, I see Rusty has also won twice in a row - so next year may be the 'winner take all' event for these two pilots. In Advanced, a similar scenario, with Bill Wallace and Chris Fitzsimmons going into the contest tied for the District Championship. Chris outscored Bill in the first round, then Bill came back with two 1000 rounds, then Chris beat Bill in round 4 and Bill beat Chris in round 5 by only 8 points. It was always close. Bill won the contest by 18 points! Can you guess who won FAI? Check the scores if you have any question. Ron Davies won Sportsman and edged out Chris Belden by less than 2 points! Ken Nelson barely outflew Scott MacAfee in Intermediate, winning by just over 5 points.
 L-R: Tony Frackowiak, FAI Jerry Budd, Masters Ron Davies, Sportsman Bill Wallace, Advanced Ken Nelson, Intermediate
|
 District Trophies
|
|
|
Third, the North-South Team Trophy. THANK YOU TO ALL THAT SPONSORED THIS TROPHY - I believe we had 100% participation. I have enough funds to purchase all 15 engraved plaques at one time, lasting us 15 years if we want. We can put the plaque on the trophy at the contest - no sending it out to be engraved. The front main plaque will say, "Radio Control Pattern, North - South, Team Trophy". The North - South boundaries can be seen on this map. Based on participation in contests this year, the North has 27 pilots and the South has 61 pilots (someone please check this and let me know if correct). As those who attended the Fresno contest will recall, we voted on how to score for this Trophy. The vote was 3 points for 1st place, 2 points for 2nd place and 1 point for 3rd place thru 5th place. Based on this scoring, the North ended up with 23 points, the South with 16 points. Scoring points for the North was:
Ron Davies, David MacAfee, Chris Belden, Greg Rose, Ken Nelson, Scott MacAfee, Mike Miller, Gary Fontaine, Chris Fitzsimmons, Tom Messer, Bob Obregon, Frank Capone, Scott Covey, Derek Koopowitz and Adrian Wong. Excellent team work guys! Click to enlarge the Trophy
|
 Team Trophy NORTH WINS 23 - 16 |
|
 If you have not heard, after the Team Trophy was announced, several Sothern pilots, not pleased with the results decided to take matters in their own hands. Ken Jones, a sportsman flyer from Burbank, that should have scored points, took off like a Flash when he saw an angry LA mob looking for him... he did not make it past the first tree. On 10/31, just a day after the contest, Fresno club member Don Frank's engine went dead while making a low pass - he landed safely about 300 yards from the runway; Don explains, "I went to get my plane and saw what looked to be someone buried in the ground. I was a bit worried as we are out in the middle of no-where. I reported it to the police immediately but I did happen to get a picture before I left the scene". In yet another incident, and days after the meet was over, three unidentified flyers were found locked in the 2nd unused out-house. The police, still looking for witnesses, have opened a hot-line for anyone who may have seen anything (805-323-0012). If you can help identify these decaying flyers please call the above number. Not sure what it means, but if anything, I think the South will return with revenge in mind next year!
|
||
| What did we do after the contest on Saturday? Tony brought out several planes for us to fly.. and we had a blast. Near the end of the day we set a small table on the runway and played 'carrier-landing' with a Flutter-By (movie). John Lees landed on the table the first time he tried it! Picture on the right. |
 John Lees made the carrier landing!
|
|
|
Below: Don Atwood, our CD for the contest, presents Jim Brown the 'Golden Gas Can' award in recognition of his contest attendance this year. The plaque states" In Appreciation, Jim Brown, The Traveling Man'. Jim has made more contests than any other flyer and is always a pleasure to talk to.
 Jim Brown on the right received his award!
|
||
