Thanks Mikey! I had a blast building this Twister and I learned a lot about building from the fine folks on this forum. It amazes me at the knowledge and level of expertise on here. I also am learning a lot from my friends that I fly with. What a great hobby! Tim
Hi Tim;
We all have been where you are at. No one comes into this world with the ability to build 20 point models and fly 600 point pattern right off the bat! And most of us have been through the wars and learning curves without the benefit of the internet! But the journey was a fun and educational one that I would not change at all. I made the journey from beginner to the expert level over a period of about 17 years. I was still learning the full pattern when I attended my first SIG contest as a beginner. I was out of work at the time, and some friends helped me with the costs of the trip, but still I figured it would be the only time I could attend. Well, that first contest was in 1987, and I never missed a year up until the last one in 2012! Met many great people, made many fast friends, had so much fun I just cant tell you! Mikey Pratt was one of the reasons for that along with his and I hope my good friend, the late Mike Gretz, the designer of the Twister. The SIG family of employees, Hazel and Maxey Hester, and the towns people all made for an insured great time. Mikey used to announce at the pilots meeting on Saturday morning, " Anyone found NOT having a good time will be escorted from the field!" And it would have been impossible to find someone not having a good time. I need to get out the big box of photos and albums from those years and go through them. The stories would fill a large volume! And as Mikey said, a lot of the people responding to your thread were some of the usual suspects that gathered in Montezuma, Iowa on the fourth weekend in June every year! Enjoy the Twister. I have one framed up and covered with the initial coats of dope on it. It is a box stock Twister that will duplicate Mike Gretz's original, which, I understand is still around somewhere. As soon as I get a little more room in the garage, I plan to get it ready for paint and have it airborne this spring.
Good luck and have fun,
Dan McEntee