A few notes from the Gathering.
Early Thursday found the attendees standing around picking their noses, adjusting their shorts, and talking weather, until Mike Garbez taxied his plane from his hanger into the viewing area. All eyes fell on his plane for the rest of the day. Steve Bennett and Marty Roberts, just a few miles away, and Jim Faughn , about a 100 miles, were waiting for a break in the weather which never came until Friday morning when they flew in. We oldsters were surprised to see Steve Alderman fly in in his speedster. ? yup, it?s still yellow. Terry Chisek also made it in from Kansas. So, as of Saturday at about 1:30 P.M., when I had to start driving back home, only 5 KRs were in attendance. Larry Flesner and Mark Langford motored in in Larry?s great little TriPacer which has become the camera ship for a number of past events. Video Bob, Larry, and Mark took to the sky Sat. morning and took some air to air shots of the KRs. Having a couple of the speediest KRs at an event such as this, naturally leads to a ?see who?s fastest? scenario. Listening to the radio, I?m sure I heard Marty say something like ?You got me? to Steve A. Marty and Jim tried their best to provide a little excitement. On one of Marty?s high speed fly-bys and a subsequent approx. 9G pullup, his fiberglass baggage container came loose from its mooring behind the seat and audibly banged down on top of his elevator controls, leaving Marty with only partial up travel. That had to increase his pulse a bit. Everybody held their breath as Marty made a long flat approach with Steve A. flying chase to an uneventful landing. On landing Steve Bennett effectively grounded Marty for the rest of the day by handing him a ?cool one?. Not to be outdone, Jim, during a flyby, had his right aileron balance weight fall off. Again, all eyes were on him as he made a nice uneventful landing. So, the repairs that followed became some ?entertainment? for the rest of the day and early Sat. morning. With the help of Mike Garbez?s well equipped shop, a new aileron bracket and weight were made for Jim; and some T-88 was supplied to re-glue in a wood support for Marty?s rear shelf. Both were back flying late Sat. morning. During all this time, Terry took up the slack by giving a number of rides until Jim and Marty were back in the air. As far as displays, Mark Langford had some cowl pieces to show off, somebody displayed an aluminum wing tank, and John Backer showed a nifty wheel pant and mold of his design. Those were just some of the highlights. I?m sure others will give their accounts, plus pictures at some point in the next few days. Stay tuned. Ed Janssen Ed Janssen mailto:ejans...@chipsnet.com
