Thanks for the support guys! Here is an overview of last weekend that I shared on the Yahoo group.
Salem was my first contest of the season and was a lot of fun. One of my goals this years was to develop and fly a free program. Work has been getting in the way of my aerobatic habit this year, so my preparation wasn't what I would have liked, but I had the weekend off and didn't want to miss a contest opportunity. With the help of some friends we devolved a free that better suited my non inverted fuel/oil RV8. I was able to get a few good practice days in the wed and thus before the contest.
Friday started out with a much needed oil change and then a short flight over to Salem for registration and practice. This is where my lack of preparation really showed. The great folks/volunteers from local chapter 61 were very accommodating in helping sort out my paperwork. In my haste to get over to the contest for some much needed practice, I forgot to make a copy of my condition inspection. After getting someone to send me a pic of it, I was able to get 2 practice flights in that evening.
Sat started with a 7am brief. We were flying by 8am. There were 9 competitors in sportsman, 6 of them were on the UND aerobatic flight team using the same Decathlon, 1 Pitts S1C, 1 Pitts S2B and me RV8. Stormy wx started approaching as we started the sportsman class. I flew second and was the last flight before a weather delay was call. Once on the ground we put the planes away and waited out the wx. Around 4pm we started back up and finished the knowns. I was pretty happy with my score 80%, but I really wasn't happy with some of the mistakes I had made.
When the flying was over we had a nice banquet where all the volunteers and competitors were able to get together and share some comradory. This year the Salem contest was renamed the Giles Henderson Memorial Challenge, In memory of Giles Henderson. Giles passed away last Dec in a skydiving accident and will be sorely missed. Giles is an IAC hall of fame pilot and was a huge propionate of the the grass roots pilots competing in the sportsman class. The IAC has named the nationals sportsman trophy in his honor as well. The evening was filled with memories and stories of Giles. His wife was also in attendance helping support the event. It was a very nice evening.
On Sunday the flying continued. The pilots decided to only fly the unknown sequence do to time constraints. In the sportsman class this meant I had a chance to fly my free. I thought I flew it pretty well for only practicing it a few times(84%). I have lots of room for improvement and have my work cut out for me for the rest of the season. My hats off to the guys and gals that came down from North Dakota, They flew very consistent all weekend and are going to be tough to beat.
To sum up the weekend. The great folks at IAC chapter 61 put on a great contest. I always enjoy these events and had a wonderful time. I was able to learn from some very experienced aerobatic pilots and improve my own skills. I can't wait until the next one!
Dave Schmitz