Hi Les,
I was glad to see your post. I know that in order for you to get to the level of success that you acheived that it took many, many hours of hard work and practice. It is easy for guys to see your awards and honors but only you know the effort it took to acheive them, so I think it is both commendable and understandable for you to preserve the "historical proof" of all that work,effort and practice which you have shown in these pictures.
I do seem to remember some gentlemen from more northern and colder lattitudes grumbling that your Miami weather gave you an "unfair" advantage that let you maintain your flying level year round while they lost months of flying to their foul weather. This was normally in the form of a good natured complaint, usually followed by the phrase "If I had the weather he has I would fly a lot better too." I guess it wouldn't be stunt if guys couldn't "razz" each other about something.
The bottom line is that it took a lot of work and effort for you to reach the skill level that you acheived which made your success possible.
Les, Dennis A and Tom R both commented on your flying and I seem to remember you using the phrase
"Being in the Zone" as the mental process you had that delivered your best stunt performance.
The thing is, I don't think I ever heard you elaborate on, how to get in the "zone" or even what being in the zone was like. Based on what you said, it seemed that the "Zone" was more that just "timing" or "muscle memory".
I think this topic might be of some use to current stunt competitors. So Les how about a short a short dissertation on "Being in the Zone".
Over the years I think I saw Les fly 4 different Stilettos: a "35" - a "700" - and perhaps 2 different "660" models but I don't remember seeing the I-beam plane fly. They were all wonderful airplanes to watch perform in addition to being beautiful to look at.
For those of you who didn't get to see Les fly you may wonder what judges saw. Let's start with with the takeoff.
Les had the best and most consistent roll out and truly gradual climbout that I have seen in 30+ years of judging. I have seen other great flyers sometimes do takeoffs that equal Les's takeoffs but many I watched didn't seem to have the same consistency flight after flight. So Les started his pattern with a 37-39 point manuever as his starting place in a flight.
A takeoff seems to be a simple thing but it is rarely done well except by the very best pilots and even more rarely
done perfectly except by a few elite pilots. Les showed me that a takeoff can be an exciting and beautiful thing to watch because it is so rarely done.
(caveat; there are a lot of flights from these great flyers that I have NOT seen so my comment only applies to those flights I have personally seen and in no way intended to to diminish their overall history and accomplishment in stunt competition. There certainly are great flyers who are competing today,some of whom I have not had the priviledge to either watch or judge but that is something for me to look forward to... )
Les thanks for sharing your momentos with us. It stirred up good memories for me.
Best wishes and good luck to you,
Pat Robinson
Topic: Not Taken For Granted (Read 1436 times)
