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way to go JERRY

WillyEyeBall

Well Known Member
Two RVs flew in the Kathy Jaffe aerobatic contest this weekend in NJ. Jerry Esquenazi and Oliver Spatscheck made a fine showing, with Jerry coming in 1st place in Sportsman. When the regional standings are updated and posted in the IAC website, Jerry will also be in first place in the southeast with three contests, and Randy King in 2nd place. Our prediction that RVs will start to dominate the Sportsman category is beginning to show.:D
Congratulations fellows,
Bill McLean
RV-4 slider
lower AL
 
Kathy Jaffe Challenge contest PIREP

Thank you guys Bill, Karl, and Ron for your kind words and encouragement!

One of my goals this year was to extend my reach and try a few contests in some other regions. All of the contests I flew in my first full year or so were in the SE region. Four of the five contests I flew from fall 2016 through 2017 were in Florida. The fifth was in Georgia. An additional goal was to fly a couple of more contest throughout the year for some good continuity. So I had decided to fly 3 in the SE region and 3 in the NE region. So far, I have flown in 2 and 2, with this last contest, the Kathy Jaffe Challenge at the South Jersey Regional airport in Lumberton NJ. Every time I got introduced, it was "Jerry Esquenazi, all the way from Atlanta Georgia!"

This one was another great contest and will go down in the record books for me. Each contest has its own flavor and a new set of faces. I got to meet many new people and see some friends from previous contests. Despite some issues with late arriving contestants, weather, and even radio trouble with one of the aircraft, the contest was well run and a ton of fun! Contest Director Ron Mann who flies an Extra 300 did a great job keeping it entertaining! Also, similar to the Wilson NC there was great variety in aircraft represented.

There was another RV-8 flown by Oliver Spatscheck in Sportsman. I'm glad I finally got to meet him and his family. Oliver flew very well and did a nice job.
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A Laser in the foreground. Note the individual on the left looking like he's meditating. He's getting ready to do the aerobatic dance, an exercise done prior to a competition flight to mentally prepare and help visualize the stick movements, aircraft attitude, and geographic references used during the 3-5 minute intense flight.
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A Christen Eagle, a couple of Extras, a Super Decathlon, and a Giles 202.
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A Bücker Jungmann expertly flown by Greg Stringer. I knew he was one to watch. He had won a previous contest and I was in awe watching him practice. He finished in first place after the first flight. He did well on the second flight, but so did everyone else, including me!
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This is Krysta with her One Design. Krysta flies in the Unlimited category and does an amazing job. Watching an unlimited flight makes my head spin! She is hoping to secure a spot on the US Unlimited Aerobatic team for next year, which will be determined at this year's National competition at Oshkosh. Good luck Krysta!
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It takes a lot of people to run a contest. Oliver and I are on the board for judging. When I wasn't flying, I was judging most of the day. It's a busy day, got to squeeze in time for aircraft prep, chair flying, the aerobatic dance, and lunch. After the day is done, airplanes go back in the hangar and then it's time for a social event in the evening.
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A typical scoresheet. Got to take in the good with the bad! Other sheets had some more positive comments about my performance. The key is to compare the sheets from all five judges and look for consistent comments, so you know what to work on. Figure 9, aka the Goldfish, leaves a lot of room to pick up slight errors and deviations. They can add up so the key is to minimize them.

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Here's the lineup, Decathlons, Pitt's, Eagles, Rv-8s, the Bücker, and an Extra. It's always nicer when I can beat an Extra!:)
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Continued on next page...
 
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The results after the first flight, the Known. Greg flying the Bücker and John flying the Extra are in the lead by a wide margin. I have my work cut out for me.
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The results after the second flight, the Free. It's a personal best for me.
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After Saturday's flying, we had a very nice banquet under a covered pavilion at the famed Flying W airport. What a cool place! I remember reading about it in AOPA. http://www.flyingwairport.com. The CD handed out the awards for the flying we had done up to that point. I got a couple of coins for placing third and first on the two individual flights.

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We had hoped to finish the flying that wasn't flown due to weather on Saturday. But Sunday brought low ceilings and light rain. So, the rest of the contest was called off and the CD handed out the awards for the overall winners. I came in first, Greg in the Bücker second, and John in the Extra third.

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Interestingly, Oliver and I were the only ones able to depart on Sunday. Oliver lives close by and there was a break in the weather for a bit. I filed IFR and departed in a 900' ceiling and rain. All of the other aerobatic planes were stuck all day on Sunday.

Another little anecdote... The airport lies under the Philadelphia Class B. There is a waiver in place during the contest that allowed us to fly up to 3500' in the aerobatic box. Airliners were flying overhead at about 5000' on a 17 mile dogleg to final for PHL. In my Free program, I have a pull to vertical, cap off inverted, drive inverted for about 5-7 seconds before performing a half loop down. During my second competition flight, after I capped off inverted, I looked down to check ground references, then looked ahead and saw a SWA 737 fly directly over me! We were belly to belly except I was inverted. I estimate he passed above me with about 1500' vertical separation. What a sight! I wish I had a camera for that one!

Here's a link to Ron's RV specific competition standings:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=163376
 
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IAC contest

Another GREAT write-up. Feel like I was almost there. We're pulling for you on all the contests remaining this year.:D
Bill McLean
RV-4 slider
lower AL
 
Great write up!

Was glad to finally meet the RV Sportsman leader!

Watching you did motivate me to finally start working on my own free. Maybe I will get it together before Mason Dixon.

Hope to see you there.

Oliver
 
Way to go, Jerry...
You're doing our Falcon RV group here PROUD!

Congratulations and keep up the great performances!

 
Thank you very much, AJ, Bill, Oliver, and Waldo!

AJ, bring that RV-8 of yours home ASAP!

Bill, I hope to see you at a contest soon.

Oliver, definitely worthwhile to put a Free together. I'll definitely see you at the Mason-Dixon Clash.

Thank you Waldo! It's great knowing I have the support of the Falcon RV Squadron. Means a lot!
 
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