Boys and Girls,
Once again, the RC Club at Eldorado, AR put on a first class meet for their CL Brethren. I'm sure that Norm and the gang will post pictures and results. Stunt heaven, high overcast clouds (no sun), Temps in the 70's and winds 0-5. I drove 450 miles to attend this contest and just one incident was worth the trip.
There was a young man named Daniel who was there on Saturday that had never seen CL airplanes and was completely amazed by their beauty and the tricks they could do. Daniel is a "Special Needs" person and a delight to be around and visit with. Mike Donovan from Vicksburg and Dale Gleason from Dallas did something special. Dale and Mike showed Daniel how the planes were controlled and then asked if he would like to see a flight from the center of the circle. Needless to say Daniel was all for that.
Mike fired up his Twister and Dale launched with Daniel setting about five feet off the center of the circle. Mike talked Daniel through the entire pattern, telling him what he was going to do and "...now, inside, outside, back to level." through every maneuver. Daniel's favorite word was "wow" and he said it a lot.
Daniel was most interested in how the engines were started and the mechanical aspects. Glow plugs, fuel tanks, NVA, etc. I accompanied Daniel to the pit area and showed him what all these pieces were. I also told him the object was for them to start on the "first" flip. The competition was over early and the PA pilots brought out their ships to practice for Sunday. Daniel was watching and still saying "wow" with every turn of ever flight. Most of the Advanced and Expert pilots have their engines down to one flip starts. Every time that happened, Daniel would turn to me and give me a "thumbs up".
Gasoline to AR $50.00, Meals other expense $150.00, Meeting Daniel Priceless. Thanks and hats off to Mike and Dale.
Later, John
Topic: South Arkansas Controline Stunt Championships (Read 743 times)
