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Hi All--
I told all of you that it wouldn't rain on our
parade! We were worried though and so were the promoters of the Rose Parade and
the Rose Bowl. If you saw either of these events on TV you saw our flying
conditions since we are only a few miles east of Pasadena. We saw sun, clouds, a
slight breeze and no rain. Beginning temps were in the low 40's, climbing to the
low 60's and then dropping by mid-afternoon. Yes, some of the guys wore
shorts.
Our day began at about 8:00 with Major and crew
setting up the winch equipment. Meanwhile some of the electric guys tore up the
skies with their Slow Stiks, PT-17s, Edge 540s, Tempests and hotliners.
Once the winch was ready Mike Reagan hooked up his AVA for the first thermal
flight of the year. When Tom Finch showed up with his new Vandal Mike handled
the maiden toss and then maiden winch launch. I'm sure you will hear more about
this molded plane real soon.
Larry Jolly assembled his old Comet, held a class
on how to read the air using visible moisture (clouds) accumulation in the
sky and then headed to the winch to begin his nearly 3 hour adventure. Most of
the time the 16' span was difficult to see due to his altitude, especially when
he flew into a cloud. Spoiler deployment and up elevator eventually resulted in
the plane tumbling back into view. Others, like Merrill Brady, Henry
Arance and Major Anderson, followed Larry's lead and while they had great
flights couldn't keep up with the Comet. Sadly, Henry had to bail out of his
thermal due to visibility issues and his Aquilitos shed a wing panel. The plane
was destroyed but we all marveled as the shed wing went back up and eventually
disappeared in the clouds.
The BBQ was fired up and lunch was served. Larry
was still up there so he and his dog Baron shared a hotdog that was delivered to
the flight line. Eventually Baron got bored and took a nap but woke up in time
to see Larry land just short of 3 hours. That time, however, wasn't enough to
have the longest flight in Ray's contest. It seems Arizona had some pretty good
air too..........
Overall, a great way to start a new year. Good
friends, good weather, good contest, good memories. You can see how some of us
did at http://www.swsapopoff.8k.com/PostalContest010105.htm .
Pictures will be up soon.
Dan
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