A great time was had by all at this past weekends Philly contest, the only regret being that for the second year in a row, the second round didn't finish before a cataclysmic thunderstorm put a stop to it. Still, as always, it was well worth the drive up from Virginia for myself and John Rakes.
Until the storms, it was hot and humid with mild turbulence, err, breezes. The field was in top shape as usual, thanks to the efforts of the Philly Fliers, and CD'd by Randy Holcroft with great efficiency. Turnout was a bit lighter than in years past, although this may have been due to many local pilots looking at the weather radar and seeing what was going to hit the contest by 1:30 in the afternoon!
I want to direct your attention to the green and white Kestrel in the pics. This is Steven McBride's plane that got absolutely vaporized in a crash at Brodaks last month. I was blown away when Steven walked onto the field Sunday morning and held up the plane!! In one month he had rebuilt the plane and replaced the control system, got it repainted and had 40 flights on it already! It seemed to weigh the same as before, and flew *vastly* better than it had at Brodaks. Well done by Steven and his Dad to deal with adversity and prevail. Steven went on to place third in Advanced with that plane.
Thanks Philly! We'll see you again next year!