Tri-Cities Fun-In-The-Sun Pattern Contest -- August 7 & 8, 2004
Sponsored By: Tri-Cities R/C Modelers, Richland ORV Park Field
Written by Gordon Anderson, NSRCA District 8 Vice President

Dennis Cone organized another successful pattern contest in the Tri-Cities! We had 13 contestants from Washington, Oregon, and four fliers from Canada. This contest had contestants is all classes but Sportsman. We need to work hard to find new Sportsman fliers! The Tri-Cities field is the home field for a number of the contestants at this contest and we all need to work hard to convince a few of our local guys to give it a try.

We all owe Dennis and his wife, Linda a big THANK YOU! They did an outstanding job organizing this event. Saturday night we had a big BBQ that Linda and Dennis put together. Everyone had a great time, lots of good food and great company. The social aspect of pattern flying is truly the best part of the fun. Friday night we were all sitting around discussing issues and Mark Byrne said it best when he said "this is what it's all about". He is right, it's not the flying and how you placed, it's the fun you have and the people you meet. The best memories we have are not the scores we received or what place we took, it's the conversations we had and the enjoyment of the social activities.

A few of the fliers and their families enjoying the BBQ

The BBQ at the field was a lot of fun. The weather Saturday evening was great! It was in the mid 80s during the day and a little breezy, but absolutely perfect Saturday evening. Linda put together a great BBQ with Dennis in charge of the steaks. A bunch of our local club members brought a dish to the field and joined in the fun. This was a great way to get some local involvement. Everyone had a great time and had plenty to eat!

Saturday's weather was pretty good, light wind and mid 80s, very nice flying conditions. We were able to finish 3 rounds on Saturday at a pretty relaxed pace; we even had time to break for lunch. Sunday the weather was a little more challenging. I think it was hotter but the wind kept us cooled off and made the event a lot more challenging. The wind was dead crosswind, blowing in. I'm not sure of the wind speed but it did add to the challenge. Just about everyone was having a bit of trouble with the conditions. Seems like you never have perfect weather conditions at a contest. All in all the weather was pretty good and the contest was a bunch of fun.

Brett Bowen, Gary McClellan, Bill Carder, and Hartley Hughson discuss the days fun!

We did have one major mishap; Mike Lance lost his new Olympian Medal Friday during a practice flight. The batteries went dead on final just a few feet before touch down and his new bird was pretty much destroyed. Bill Bowen provided Mike with his Olympian to use during this contest so he could compete. This is a good example of the camaraderie in this pattern bunch! What a nice thing for Bill to do! Bill was unable to fly because he is having shoulder surgery next week. This sure did not stop Bill from helping out, he was judging and cooking lunch and helping make this contest happen. Bill worked hard both Saturday and Sunday to make this event a success, THANKS Bill! We all wish you a speedy recovery and a quick return to flying; it's just not the same without you in the competition.

Steve Sterling dominated Intermediate winning 5 rounds. Andrew won round 2 and he is doing a great job as well. This was Andrew's first time to our field and I think he had a pretty good time. It was a pleasant surprise to see Bill Carder as well, we have not had many Intermediate contestants at the D8 events and it was a nice surprise to see this turn out.

Rex, Hartley and I were competing in Advanced. Rex and I have been exchanging contests wins all season. I won this one by less than 27 points. Rex and I are just about matched and we are both talking about moving up at the last contest in Sechelt. I'm not 100 percent sure I'm ready for this, not much time to practice but we will see.

The Masters class had the most pilots with 7 competitors. Brett and Gary McClellan fresh from the NATS took 1st and 2nd. Brett won all but one round due to a flopped center stall turn. Brett is an outstanding pilot! Maybe next season we can even convince some of our top guys to give FAI a try.

Standings are listed below:

One more group of important people I would like to thank; all the helpers, wives, daughters, significant others, etc. You all know what I mean, the people who scribe, run score sheets, run the scoring program, and in general help keep it all going. There folks are the unsung hero's and we all really do appreciate what you do to keep the contests running. It's a huge effort to run a contest and we all owe a lot to the CDs who are willing to make these events a reality.

See you in the pits…

Allison, Meri, and Linda, a few of the D8 pattern ladies

Lyle Laughery's new Olympian Medal, should be ready to fly soon