Thanks to all who attended ACRC's first contest of the year, our annual pattern meet held each June.  This year we were fortunate to have multiple contestants for all classes that made for some exciting competition.  We had a beautiful morning for the event, with a steady breeze from the South/Southwest, followed by passing rain on and off in the afternoon.  This led to us putting in a long day because of a few extended breaks, but we did finish all three rounds and all participants went home happy with plaques in hand.

     This years Sportsman class was a really good learning experience for our newcomers to pattern.  We had a few pilots with prior fun fly experience.  They proved fun-flies to be a great stepping stone for pattern competition.  These guys really showed that starting out in pattern could be a good time, and they seemed to share in this experience with each other, as well as the guys that had been there before.  I think they will be back next year!

     When we got to the field, we discovered that AL had done some mowing… a LOT of mowing.  The field looked great.  Thank Al next time you see him because it was a lot of work that he did for us.

     Even with all the flying that went on, one of the biggest highlights of the day was the lunch.  Darlene Dorff put in quite a few hours before the event preparing a wonderful meal for everyone that consisted of brats, dogs, watermelon, salads, desert, and more.  It was really appreciated.

     The contest was kept running by someone other than myself- Billie Kellar was chief scorekeeper and kept things moving quite nicely.  Also thanks to Andy Noll for pitching in at the field during the contest.

     Again this year we were blessed to have a couple flyers show up to fly the Masters class.  Their flying was really quit e a show, and their precise flying is really something to aspire to.  It

turns out that getting into on of the two-meter pattern planes isn't as expensive as it looks.  And the planes do fly great.  I was amazed at how easy it was to transition to a larger plane, as long as you have the stick time in on something smaller first! 

     Next years contest will be ACRC's 10th annual.  Hopefully we can continue to expand and grow this event.  If you flew this year, make it your job to come back next year along with someone new that you helped show the basics.  Here is a complete list of the participants and how they placed.  See you next year!

     Masters                             Advanced
     1  Tom Gilkey                    1  Brian Dorff
     2  Mark Woytassek            2  Mike Dorff

     Intermediate                     Sportsman
     1  Dave Denze                    1  Jason Dumve
     2  Jake Groetsch                 2  Kevin Carlson
                                                3  Bob Nagle

                                                              Brian Dorff