OUT OF THE DESERT IAC CHAPTER 36 NEWSLETTER OCTOBER, Michael Church

Transcription

1 1 IAC CHAPTER 36 NEWSLETTER OCTOBER, 2005 OUT OF THE DESERT Michael Church So, you d like to have an aerobatic contest? I know--let s find a clubhouse, set a date and put on a show! OCTOBER, 2004 The whole thing started a year ago when Bill Bancroft and I agreed to be co-directors for the next Akrofest. By December 2004, the contest date was set: the weekend of October 15, Dick Stonehouse agreed to do the paperwork: he applied for IAC sanction and started the ball rolling to obtain a San Diego County permit. After that, it was like the Phony War of the late 1930 s: you knew something was coming, but there was nothing to do about it. THREE MONTHS TO SHOW TIME In July and August, key jobs were identified. The list of things to arrange, purchase and provide was impressive: physical setup/teardown, contest advertising, program design, sponsor solicitation, box maintenance, contestant registration, web support, volunteer coordination, tech inspection, scorer committments, judge committments. porta-potties, breakfasts and lunches, airport arrangements, computers, banquet location, trophies, starter selection, chief judge appointment, T shirts, vehicle drivers... Bill and I got people to volunteer for some of it, did some ourselves, then sat and waited. It was ready to be built--but would they come? The other 2005 California contests suggested we would do well to have 40 pilots, so that became my personal goal (we got 39 and almost made it). ONE MONTH The first major blot on the horizon became visible during September when I started to poll California and Arizona judges to see who planned to participate. The results were disappointing: five responses the first week. Add in Bill and myself and we still had only seven. A judging line needs five judges and a Chief for each category. Even when Primary is combined with another group, a full five category contest still Continued on Page 2

2 2 SAN DIEGO AEROBATIC CLUB NEWSLETTER IAC CHAPTER 36 to predict a monster contest. Plans for at least 75 banquet attendees seemed called for. As you will see, it didn t turn out that way. BOB BRANCH BILL BANCROFT DICK STONEHOUSE BILL HILL MICHAEL CHURCH DENNIS FOSTER RANDY OWENS JIM PEEPLES PRESDIDENT EMERITUS DIRECTORS PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT TREASURER SECRETARY NEWSLETTER & MEMBERSHIP OFFICE: Continued from Page 1 SUNRISE AVIATION CAMPUS DRIVE #7 SANTA ANA, CA EDITOR: MICHAEL CHURCH mc@sunriseaviation.com has a minimum of twenty-four judging slots to fill. At seven, we were just a bit short. The news stayed bad: Maryilnn Holland--a mainstay on the judging line--would not make it from Arizona; she was eventually joined in this resolve by every Arizona judge and competitor. Some arm twisting seemed called for, so out went more s. Jon Nash agreed to take the judge written and join the group, and a couple of others stepped up. We now had thirteen judges. Unfortunately, we had to give one of them away-- Jim Nahom--in order to have a Starter. Stuck at twelve. Good news: Hal Raish agreed to be Chief Judge for the contest. The way things were going, he might be on the line for the entire thing (he was). The web site and increased computer awareness began to kick in, and pre-registration packets started arriving by . By the time the contest started, we had 34 on-line advance registrations-- 87% of the eventual total. This number threw Joanne Bancroft and her registration planning for a hoop: accustomed to a far lower percentage of pre-registrations, she began TWO WEEKS Bill Hill had accepted the job of marking the box. He got no help from other club members, so enlisted his ally and perennial friend of Chapter 36, Randy Lipton; the two of them did the entire job themselves. Norm DeWitt later said it was the best marked box he has seen. ONE WEEK The total number of judges still hadn t budged. Unless last-minute help showed up, it looked like the volunteer coordinator would have a hard time filling slots. Nearly everything else was in place: scoring computer ready to go, unknowns safely received and filed, permit signed. There remained the contest program. Dick Stonehouse had done a magnificent job lining up advertising, and I had almost put the thing to bed. One big problem: we didn t have art work for Performance Aero Engines, the trophy sponsor and biggest contributor. Jim Nahom was waiting CROSS WINDS Steak House Borrego Valley Airport New Everything! Great Menu! Continued on Page 3 Dinner: Tuesday-Sunday Lunch: Friday, Saturday (buffet) Champagne Brunch: Sunday, 10-2 Closed Monday

3 3 Continued from Page 2 to print on Friday, and I didn t have anything to send him. Time dragged on, and we finally got the program ready for printing Monday morning. We would need it back from Jim on Thursday. TWO DAYS Tuesday and Wednesday, the box filled up with pilots participating in a two-day training camp set to precede the contest. The turnout was good: six pilots, three Intermediate and three Sportsman. All told, the attendees eventually went on to gather up three trophies. Wednesday night, early arrivals were treated to 3a great taco feast hosted by Bill and Joanne Bancroft at the Casa del Aeromagnificence. DRESS REHEARSAL Thursday: Registration and practice were uneventful, unless you count engine fires. Fortunately, a blaze in the nose section of a Pitts was extinguished before any real harm was done--we now owe Vicki Cole (Airport Mgr.) a fire extinguisher refill. In the background, Bill Hill and a few helpers labored at the massive task of contest setup: sunshades, tents, signs, tables, chairs, ice chests... Contestants continued to wander in as the day Continued on Page 4 BILL BRISKIE MEMORIAL 2005 CALENDAR PHOENIX, ARIZONA FEBRUARY COPPERSTATE MAR 31-APR 2 PHOENIX, ARIZONA BORREGO MINIFEST APRIL BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA APPLE VALLEY MAY APPLE VALLEY, CALIFORNIA PASO ROBLES JUNE 2-4 PASO ROBLES, CALIFORNIA DELANO SEP 3-5 DELANO, CALIFORNIA NATIONALS TEXAS SEP BORREGO AKROFEST OCT BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA TEQUILA CUP NOV 4-6 TUCSON, ARIZONA AZ STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS DEC 2-4 CASA GRANDE, ARIZONA

4 4 Continued from Page 3 wore on. The surprise addition of a couple more judges began to ease concerns: we finished with seventeen--enough to go on, provide a few were willing to work multiple categories. Hal said he was in for every flight, either as Chief or line judge. Although he was the only judge to work all fifteen flights, many others agreed to work double and triple roles, and miraculously, we were able to put together four full judging lines. The program arrived on schedule with all advertisers intact, but not without more drama: Nahom s car broke down enroute and he had to be rescued by Dick Stonehouse. Workhorse: the Sunrise Decathlon SHOW TIME The contest started with a Borrego tradition: the breakfast briefing. I don t know about you, but short of terrazo box markers and air conditioned judging stations, I can t think of any feature more civilized than a sit-down briefing with eggs, bacon, and hot coffee. Another tradition: we had trouble setting up the boundary judges and got underway a half hour late. Once going, the contest was really excellent, with scores very tightly grouped. As an example, the spread among the top three Intermedate pilots after first flight was.14%. After Sportsman first flight, first and eighth place were only 3.86% apart. And so it went. Jon Nash trailed in fourth place after the Unlimited known, but won the third flight and passed the rest of the field by contest end. His winning margin over Norm DeWitt:.31%. This steady and consistent performance also won Jon the Tom Wade Pursuit of Excellence award. Hiroyasu Endo traveled 5000 miles for the event. He finished in second place, Sportsman, only.63% behind the leader. Gray Brandt posted his first win in Intermediate, squeaking ahead of Bob Blackwood by.09%. His flights were good enough to capture the Pitts Trophy. There were new faces and a few new winners. At the same time, some things stayed the same: Howard Kirker completed his romp through the 2005 California season with his fourth win in Sportsman. Bob Blackwood, second in Intermediate, also made his fourth podium visit. And Dennis Foster won Advanced, with the biggest lead of the contest: 1.2% ahead of Ty Frisby. From my point of view, the best thing about the entire contest was the absence of runaway winners. As the scores indicate, it was impossible to predict the final outcome in any category: it was too close. (Complete scores on the club website) Some of the Sunrise Pit Crew Continued on Page 5

5 5 Continued from Page 4 THE STARTING LINE With all the great flying, you might have missed the near-miracle involved in just finishing the contestant list. There were twenty Sportsman and four Primary pilots. Nine of them were flying the same Decathlon (photos on page 4). If that airplane had broken, we stood to lose nearly a fourth of the entire contest. Fortunately, the machine held together. With no mechanical problems to deal with, success still meant switching out Decathlon pilots and putting the plane back in the air every twopoint-something flights. And after any three of those flights, the plane had to refuel. The pilots chipped in: during every turnaround, their piece of the ramp resembled a Nascar pit stop. Even so, the timing would never have worked had it not been for (who else?) Dick Stonehouse. We ran fuel through a tank in his truck, eliminating the need to push the Decathlon up to the fuel pit for each refill. With that system and Starter Jim Nahom s drive to get done, the Decathlon pilots pulled it off: 27 contest flights in two days. VOLUNTEER COORDINATION Barb Church was VC. She decided from the start our goal should be to provide everybody with a complete contest: three full flights in each category. The responsibility lay primarily with her and the Starter, Jim Nahom. They made things happen as planned, gently pushing, prodding and twisting arms when needed. Line judges and assistants went where they should, corner judges stayed in place, lunches got delivered, and pilots showed up on time. Despite twenty knot breezes, Barb and Jim got 117 flights completed without a hitch. Well, almost: we abandoned Dennis Foster on the southeast corner after the final flight Saturday. CAST PARTY Great contest. One of the best. Safe flying. Terrific time. Good sequences. Excellent box. Surprise results. Nice party. What else could you ask for? And the award goes to... Unlimited Jon Nash Chap 36 Norm DeWitt Chap 38 Vicki Cruse Chap 49 Advanced Dennis Foster Chap 36 Ty Frisby Chap 36 Todd Whitmer Chap 38 Intermediate Gray Brandt Chap 36 Bob Blackwood Chap 26 Malcolm Pond Chap 36 Sportsman Howard Kirker Chap 38 Hiroyasu Endo Chap 36 Jenner Knight Chap 36 Primary Dan Singleton For complete scores, go to iac36.org Chapter Trophy Chapter 36 School Trophy Sunrise Aviation Pursuit of Excellence Jon Nash No Outs-No Zeros Malcolm Pond Grass Roots Howard Kirker Pitts Trophy Gray Brandt Special Thanks Hal Raish, Chief Judge Joanne Bancroft, Registrar Barb Church, Volunteer Coordinator Jim Nahom, Starter Bill Hill, Stage Manager Heather Ogas and Barb Hill, Scorers Sue Peeples, Assistant Registrar Dick Stonehouse, Almost Everything Else Line and Chief Judges (with number of category flights worked) Steve Andelin (1), Bill Bancroft (9), Vicky Benzing (6), Reinaldo Beyer (2), Tim Brill (3), Michael Church (15), Vicki Cruse (3), Steve Cummings (6), Norm DeWitt (3), Dennis Foster (3), Bill Hill (6), Jon Nash (3), Mickey O Brien (6), Jim Peeples (3), Malcolm Pond (6), Hal Raish (15), Dave Watson (3), Todd Whitmer (6) Page 6-9 for More Photos

6 6 Hardly a nosewheel in sight Vicky Benzing and her Extra Howard Kirker and his ride More...

7 7 Doug Jardine, waiting Intermediate pilots, Yuichi and Blackwood Blackwood taxiing out More...

8 8 Norm Mannery, looking good Whirlwind prop (with Jon and Ty) The party More...

9 9 Jon Nash, leaving. The weather turned cold Sunday Very cold... More...

10 10 you must read and abide by Borrego Box rules published on the web at iac36.org hey! Have you paid your dues for 2005? the Borrego box is reserved for current Members... call (949) renew on-line at or print and use the form below IAC Chapter Membership Application/Renewal Name Address City State Zip IAC# EAA# Home Phone ( ) Work Phone ( ) address Aircraft Type Referred By Dues (per calendar year) $30.00 Competition Experience: None Basic Sportsman Intermediate Advanced Unlimited Are you an IAC approved Aerobatic Judge? No Regional National 1.) You may print and mail this application and your dues payment to: Bill Hill Sunrise Aviation Campus Drive, #7 Santa Ana, CA ) Or jump to the Club website to register and pay online. IAC Chapter 36 Newsletter Sunrise Aviation Campus Drive, #7 Santa Ana, CA 92707