July Club Activities

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July Club Contest

	Dan the Man on his last flight before jumping off the edge of the world and going to Honduras to get his new bride. Hope he makes it back without getting into the unrest going on there at the present time.
	My brother-in-law Pete from Dayton up for a few days. He got trapped into timing and other odds and ends for me all day.
	Chris Corven showing utter disgust at Hutche's "Rat Rod"
	Steve Martinez look like he needs a friend, any takers?
	Dave Corven trying to figure out where he left that last gizmo he had in his hand.
	Sergei with a new E-Sailplane with an out-runner on the nose swinging about an 18 inch prop on four cells. Went up in a nice gentle climb and flew very well.
	Chris was the CD for the day and called a contest we have never done and it was fun. Here he is figuring out he scores and counting the money.

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July 12th MSL #3 Contest - WMSS in Grand Rapids

	The business tent with Dave signing in and paying his "fee-for-fun".
	Hutch's new-old ship launches very well.  Hutch did well until the winds came up and the thermals were scattered far and wide. They were also small in diameter and very strong with lots of down between thermals.
	Ken Bates is glad to be back with us in the sailplane challenges. He is still one very competitive pilot. Of course he flies Supra's as well as his own designs.
	Mike Stump (LSF President) with an "Extended" Super AVA. He did very well considering the wind.
	Your club competitors during the lunch break. It is nice to travel and fly with friends you have know for years.
	The gang of three from GDSHS that got wood. We were all proud to have bought our planes home in one piece and not left any in the trees behind the landing tapes. It was really windy in the afternoon and coming in over the trees with the big rotors was a challenge.

GDS&HS AT THE 2009 National Championships

UNLIMITED EVENT

photos by: Roger Van Elslander

HAND LAUNCH EVENT:

 ATTENDED BY; Barney Bauer, Rick Waitulionis and John Ferguson

Photos and reported by; Barney Bauer

Scroll down for photos:

 2009 07 29:

Troops,

Well, we went to the NATS thinking we'd learn a lot and we sure as hell did! (Were choosing to call it "FATE".) Here's a summary of our GDSHS NATS adventure:

John Ferguson, Rick Waitelunes, and I were able to make it to the two day contest Monday and Tuesday. At the last minute Wolfer couldn't make it but generously sent his Blaster-2 as a back-up.

It was our first NATS contest with DLG's. The contest itself was really well organized. 36 contestants showed up and flew 9 rounds of 4 groups (4-heats) Monday, 6 rounds of 4 groups Tuesday. Basically we flew all-day, each-day. At the end of the 15 rounds there was a 4 round fly-off between the top ten guys. Phil Barns took top place (not unexpectedly) but all ten guys were fantastic pilots.

FATE hit us early and hard. The first premonition came during initial setup when we discovered that one of the aileron servo leads in Wolfs' plane (our Blaster-2 backup) was damaged. There was no way to do a field repair that we would have been confident in. One backup was gone.

After the fifth round fate struck a second time! John lost his plane in a spiral crash during which the plane "acted like" there was radio failure. I'm not sure that John is really certain what the cause was. It may have been structural or control surface related but you couldn't tell after the crash. John was deeply disappointed but really a good sport about it.

A few rounds later fate hit us the third time. Rick and John were both using Rick's plane because it was the only Blaster-2 left. John was flying again when the plane tucked-in during launch and it too was totaled! Rick was his typical calm, philosophical self about it but John felt horrible. At this point my two Blaster-1's were still intact and flying well but both guys refused to use them saying they were afraid that they'd jinx me! Rick and John insisted that I finish the contest for the "honor of the GDSHS". So, following orders, I flew the rest of the contest (fortunately without incident), and came in fourth or fifth from the bottom. But, we DID finish!

(By the way, we weren't the only ones who lost primary and backup planes… a couple of the top guns did too!)

Observations / Learning experiences:
- All the people we met were terrifically helpful and open, especially the best guys!
- It seemed like everyone jumped to help someone in trouble!
- Backup planes are a must. You need at least one backup, two's better. Primary and backup must be "armed and ready" from contest start.
- Launch technique is critical. The best pilots don't always look like the most physically fit guys but they all practice constantly to refine their smoothness, consistency and power.
- The best pilots are aggressive at searching for thermals and range out quickly from launch but at the same time they have a practiced feel for their limits. (Sometimes though even the best blow it and don't make it back to the field.)
- One of the winners (never did get his name) summed it up pretty well: "You need three things; a good plane, good technique, and good air, but,... be mellow, you can only control two of those."

I'm sending Jack some photos taken between rounds so he can post the better ones on the site.

Thanks to all who cheered us on and special thanks to Roger who showed up to do it in person!

Barn

	Rick at check in thinking "I am going to kill these guy's".
	Phil Barns, the winner of it all and all around good guy. If you have never seen Phil launch a DHL you have missed a real show.
	Roger, club timer at his first NATS, I am sure he learned a ton about competition sailplanes.
	Denny Maize, CD of hand launch and farther of Polecat Models, maker of some really fine hand launch gliders. He is one of the really good guys in the hobby and is always giving back.
	John timing Rick and waiting for the horn.
	The horn goes off, so do the planes.
	John with the remains of his Blaster II.
	The GDS&HS tent.