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[Courtesy of John Nillson, August 1998] *** These are thumbnails of larger images. Click on any thumbnail to see the full-size image. 25th Annual CRRC Soar-In, August 15th and 16th, 1998 Saturday opened up with fog and occassional light drizzle. More than one contestant must have remembered some of the past Soar In's where tall boots were needed to keep the feet dry. We had very strong attendance, with 33 contestants - 20 Expert and 13 Sportsman.
CD John Nilsson called the pilot's meeting at 9:00 and the first launches (into light mist) were at 9:30. There was concern that the mist would worsen and we would have to stop, but luck was with us and it lighten up. The tasks were: First round 5 min. all other rounds 7 min. The predicted (10 to 20) wind built during the morning and before lunch it began to rain plane parts. Many poly's folded as the pilots put the pedal to the metal. Jim Reith (a kit and wing producer) blew a wing off his plane (a wing not constructed by him).
Chris Schuch provided a sumptuous feast of Bar-B-Q and cold sandwichs, followed by fruit and desert. Yummmmmm and beside that, FREE. The afternoon continued the blustery conditions and destruction of planes. It did seem to separate the Experts from the Sportsmen, see below. We completed eight rounds with results:
Sunday decided to ignore the weather forcasts and gave us tons of sun with light winds. Showing the depth of their hangers, contestants who lost planes on Saturday returned with the backups. We had 29 contestants - 20 Expert and 9 Sportsman. CD Dave Walter called the pilot's meeting at 9:00 and the first launches were at 9:30. The tasks were: First round 5 min, Second round 6 min, all others 7 min. The day gave us perfect soaring with lift, lift and more lift (but for us Yankees the humidity made it feel like a rain forest in Panama). Chris pulled it off again with a super lunch; leaving a lot of sleepy pilots looking for shade.
Jim Reith blew the other wing off his plane - the repaired wing held up! Who built that plane anyway? With long rides home for some and everyone wacked by the sun and humidity, the CD called it after the the seventh round. Those Sportsmen are consistent - the same guys picked up the wood:
All in all, a good time was had by all (despite the many busted planes). A huge Thank You to our volunteers: Scoring/Registration - Dave Marshall & Les Gerhard, Impound/Calling - Glenn & Ben Schrader, Food - Chris Schuch, Drinks - Kenny Antonellis, winches - Mike Cormier, Roo Crummet, and many more. |
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