Fun and Friends at the Northwest Regionals

[Howard Rush]

The Northwest Regionals returned this year to Roseburg, Oregon, a town famous for lumber and blowing up (http://www.cityofroseburg.org/visitors/1959-blast/).  Turnout was good.  It's supposed to be a Northwest contest, but I think most of the prizes went to Alberta, Arizona, and California.  Weather when I went to fly was chilly and breezy, but I found a jacket in the car, and my batteries had enough energy to get through the stunt pattern-- a concern on chilly days.  I spent most of my time socializing with folks I hadn't seen for awhile.  I demanded that the stunt officials fill out the official who-flew-what forms for Stunt News, and then left the contest without them.  I also forgot who placed in most events, so this report will be mostly about me, as usual. Ted Fancher won Classic stunt, beating Jim Aron.  Dave Fitzgerald won Expert stunt.  Former West Coast Junior Varsity member Chris Cox was second.  I had the unusual, rare experience of winning a stunt prize at the Northwest Regionals, possibly for the first time.  This was because: 1) Paul Walker moved up to stunt management and didn't compete, and B) there was a Ill Wind.  I shall try to explain.

My first round was flown in a very smooth, Muncie-like 10 mph wind.  It was some pretty good stunt, except for the takeoff.  I was chicken to take off upwind.  I saw Manong Ted (http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/manong.1101340/) take off downwind and get away with it.  His airplane hopped into the air, as airplanes will when taking off from the downwind point in a stiff breeze, but he held it at 3 inches for awhile, so the takeoff looked good.  I tried to do the same, but mine hopped up 3 feet, and I uttered an exclamation which notified the judges what had happened, had they not noticed.  My first-round score was half a point less than Brett's, putting me in 4th place, which I though was pretty good.  People observed that Chris's airplane was hard to see against the forested hills in the background.  "As long as he can't see it, that's all that matters," I said, but he could, putting him way ahead of me in score.  Wind on my second flight didn't seem as bad, so I took off on the upwind side and got away with it.  The first part of the flight went OK, except I noticed some funny turbulence in the loops.  It was a thermal.  The fill came about the time of the round horizontal eights, and it wasn't whispering Louise, I'll tell you.  I waited for a lap to do the square eights, but the wind stayed up, and they went at combat speed.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that my second round score passed Brett's first round score.

Brett flew last in the second round.  I casually stated that this would be a good time for another thermal to go through.  Unfortunately, witnesses heard me, but fortunately the wind itself heard me.  I think the wind appreciated my showing it respect by putting in an extra lap before my square eights in the first round.  It really, really blew about the time of Brett's vertical eights.  His airplane flew around inside the circle for awhile.  His engine seemed not to care, chugging along as usual.  I was embarrassed.  I yelled, "I was just kidding, Brett," but the damage was done and I got third place. 

[Brett Buck]

Brett flew last in the second round.  I casually stated that this would be a good time for another thermal to go through.  Unfortunately, witnesses heard me, but fortunately the wind itself heard me.  I think the wind appreciated my showing it respect by putting in an extra lap before my square eights in the first round.  It really, really blew about the time of Brett's vertical eights.  His airplane flew around inside the circle for awhile.  His engine seemed not to care, chugging along as usual.  I was embarrassed.  I yelled, "I was just kidding, Brett," but the damage was done and I got third place. 

     This is what is has come to - Howard has finally given up on engineering and hard work, and instead has to resort to spooky and mysterious supernatural entities to wield natural forces against me.

    I really have no idea what happened. It was a pretty nice weekend for wind, nothing particularly funky and not strong. Ted and I had flown flight after flight in steady wind as high as it was during my flight and I had pretty much put it out of my mind for the official flights. I whipped it into the vertical per normal in some wind, it was up to about 75 mph at the intersection, but as soon as I touched down control, boom, nothing. I recovered and completed the maneuver but it did the same thing about the same place on the second pass, just not as bad. I am still looking around for something that is broken or crooked - it has flown in much more demanding conditions in the past with no particular problems and there were a few practice flights on Saturday afternoon that had steady wind about the same as this. David thought there might be some shear but the overheads (which were typically soft) certainly didn't indicate that.

 
    Brett

[Howard Rush]

     This is what is has come to - Howard has finally given up on engineering and hard work, and instead has to resort to spooky and mysterious supernatural entities to wield natural forces against me.

I was a little ashamed of this new Power, but now that I'm getting corrupted by it, you guys who make fun of my ballast, lights, vortex generators, and other superfluous technology better watch it at the Nats.

[Chris Cox]

Howard

Just so you know, I think your ballast, lights, vortex generators and other superfluous technologies are very cool and under appreciated.

Your good friend, Chris

[Brett Buck]

I was a little ashamed of this new Power, but now that I'm getting corrupted by it, you guys who make fun of my ballast, lights, vortex generators, and other superfluous technology better watch it at the Nats.

  You forgot the clown nose. We make fun of that, too.

    Brett

[Randy Cuberly]

Sounds like everyone had fun in spite of the Breezy conditions.  Wish I could have been there to see Howards Hexing Ritual with the wind.

Obviously missed learning something useful!   

Randy Cuberly

[Howard Rush]

You shoulda been here, Randy.  You could have helped Burt tote his trophies. 

[Randy Cuberly]

You shoulda been here, Randy.  You could have helped Burt tote his trophies. 

Burt has so many trophies I don't know why he even bothers to bring them home anymore!   

If he'd stop flying those silly planes with hooks on them and concentrate on stunt he would be a force to recon' with there also!

Randy Cuberly
PS:  I'll come to the next one if you promise to teach me the ritual with the wind. 

[FLOYD CARTER]

I don't think the Roseburg wind was all that bad.  Saturday was mostly just plain cold, with only mild winds.

Sunday's wind did give some concern at times.  But there were periods of very light winds for those lucky enough to get a flying slot at those times.  I guess I was one of the lucky ones.

Floyd

[Brett Buck]

I don't think the Roseburg wind was all that bad.  Saturday was mostly just plain cold, with only mild winds.

Sunday's wind did give some concern at times.  But there were periods of very light winds for those lucky enough to get a flying slot at those times.  I guess I was one of the lucky ones.

   It wasn't overall terribly windy at any point during the weekend. The highest steady winds seemed to be Saturday afternoon when Ted and I were practice flying. On Sunday it was pretty pleasant and easy, aside from the thermals, and that was just a matter of luck, or in this case, Howard plotting against me.

   Brett

[Howard Rush]

Here's the wind data: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/getobext.php?wfo=mfr&sid=KRBG&num=72&raw=0

[Brett Buck]

Here's the wind data: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/getobext.php?wfo=mfr&sid=KRBG&num=72&raw=0

   So, around the time of my fiasco, it was a mere 13 gusting to a respectable but not catastropic 18. I have flown successfully in substantially more than that, and until the gust, it was actually very pleasant at (apparently) 13. Maybe David's NNW shear theory was correct, although I didn't see that in the subsequent overheads.

    Brett

[Ted Fancher]

It bothers me that Howard knows all that stuff (the weather data...that is.  Some clown posted something before I did and I had to add this note to make sense instead of mixing my martini (pretty thoughtless I thought).  Some of you probably thought he downloaded it.  Actually, he typed it up from memory...between seances and hexing practice, no less.

[Randy Cuberly]

The most troubling thing I saw in Howards report was that the temperature was at a high of around 65F.  I, as would most guys from Tucson, be hindered trying to fly in a Parka with a fur hood!  Brrrrrrrrrr....

I would likely need some of Ted's Martinis to stay warm!   

 

Randy Cuberly

[Brett Buck]

The most troubling thing I saw in Howards report was that the temperature was at a high of around 65F.  I, as would most guys from Tucson, be hindered trying to fly in a Parka with a fur hood!  Brrrrrrrrrr....

    It was chilly when it was cloudy, particularly on Saturday, but it was pretty pleasant on Sunday with the sun shining. The last time we were in Roseburg, we all had to leave extra-early because it was predicted to *snow* on the Ashland grade abut 100 miles south.

    The Canadians make fun of us all the time.  It usually rains, and 48 degrees and rain makes it pretty miserable. I wore my ski gloves one year and the next year, those wisecracking Canucks wore Mickey Mouse hands. The tables were turned at the NATs, with one noted Canadian flier who shall remain nameless (lets call him Bruce Perry,  to obscure his identity) sitting in his motel room next to the air conditioner, running out to the field just in time to do his flight, and then running back as soon as it was over. This was when it was in *the upper 80s" which for Muncie in July is a cold snap.

     Brett

[Scott B. Riese]

Howard....AS one that watched you fly and others.............Take off and Landing count on the score sheets. However, the wind was coming down the runway. BUT most seemed to find out the hard way........at 60 foot level the wind was 15 degrees from the take off level. Chris Cox did a great job. Brett had a great flight going until the overheads and clover. Paul and I had a great time in judging. Even though the wind was a bother, most handled the wind.
Thermals cause issues...........then it's your turn. 

Thanks for coming and flying!