Slowly, step by step, we are moving forward. There were FOUR ECL planes at the CA State Champs this past weekend. 

It was a pleasure to have other ECL pilots there to talk to and compare notes. With 4 of us answering questions about our ECL planes it gets more info out to more people. Four out of 46 pilots is a start. My guess is that the ECL # next year will be 8 or 10. :-)

Larry is one of the nicest guys you ever want to meet. His quiet enthusiasm for ECL, and his warm personality make him a pleasure to be around. Larry was there with his beautiful "round motor" Sukhoi looking ECL plane. He also flew his wet backup plane but is getting his ECL dialed in with the new AXI 2826-10 motor. He is working on a "purpose built" ECL plane for the 2009 contest season. With Larry's excellent workmanship and smart ideas, I am looking forward to seeing his next successfull project!

I finally got to meet Eric Rogers and see his ECL Score fly. Eric is a very bright young man with a great sense of humor. Like Larry, Eric is an accomplished flyer and makes an excellent ambassador for ECL. Eric takes his Score apart and fits it into a "Sport tube" Snowboard carrier to transport it on the airlines. Eric uses a Plentenberg 3012 on 5 cells, turning an APC-E 15x8 prop. His Score is quiet and powerful. It flys like it is on rails with more than enough power. Eric was kind enough to offer to let me fly his ECL Score, but due to heat stroke issues, I was not up to taking a risk with his nice plane. I look forward to having my Score size Extra 300L ready to fly in 2009. :-)

The 3rd ECL plane was a very nice looking Old Time entry, but I did not get to meet the owner.

I wish I had more time to visit with Larry, Eric and the OT pilot, at the contest but I was a little busy being a pit boss both days and trying to survive in the 95F/low humidity Calif. sunshine! I tried to fly but it was a lost cause. It was difficult to even remember the maneuvers. I put in an extra loop in my 8s and one short in my square 8s on the next flight. I almost crashed twice, it was like my old brain was even slower than it usually is!    One of the judges also suffered from heat stroke when he went to fly after judging for several hours. I watched him plant his beautiful plane as he collapsed on the ground. The other pit boss had to leave in the early afternoon due to heat stroke. I think we all thought because it was late Oct that it could not be as hot and dry as it really was?

I understand that there are some reasons to have the judges always moving around, but there are some big disadvantages for the judges bodies when it is hot and dry without shade. In small contests it is not really a problem, but in large contests (46 entrants) with 14 to 18 pilots for each set of judges (2.5 to 3+hrs) we need to find a way to accommodate the judges and protect their health. At least here in the SW where the sun shines with low humidity giving us our beautiful year round WX.

I'm thinking of putting wheels on my Pop Up sunshade and using it the next time I judge all day. I know that many judges stand and do not use a chair for the entire 3+ hours they are out there in the sun. I have started using a chair and it helps. As a long time CD I tend to think of the workers as much, or more, than the pilots. It is not by accident that we have a hard time recruiting workers in CLPA?  Sorry for the digression. Maybe I should make this a separate topic on the open forum?

Anyway, back on topic, It was great to have other ECL pilots at the contest. I look forward to seeing more ECL planes at the SW contests in 2009! 

Regards, 

Hi Mark,

We missed you, but we know that it is a looooong haul from your hometown to Clovis! Like you said, maybe next year.

It was a great contest. Jerry  Silver and Doug Barton did an excellent job running it and getting the beautiful flying site for us. We had three circles with official flights on them both days, and a practice circle available all the time. I think there were 46 entry's on Sun and about 35 on Sat. We had solid judges and many people pitched in to help. Steve Helmick was one of the pitt bosses and was a big help in getting his circle finished early, then he went over to one of the other circles and replaced the pitt boss that went home due to heat stroke. ..... I wish I had more time to spend with Steve, he is a very nice guy, and I like his great sense of humor. :-)

There was a lot of interest in our ECL planes. I think Eric's big Score impressed many of the pilots that fly large planes. I wish I was not so lazy, I would have liked to have had my 680 sq. in Extra 300L ready for this contest. With 95% of my modeling time and energy "wasted" in the Dark Arts now, it does not leave much time to get my new ECL plane ready. ;-) .... There is always next year! 

I hope to see you next year. 

Warm Regards,