Man on Man Results - Grass Mountain, 09/24/2005
It wasn't easy, but we pulled off the 1st Annual at Grass Mountain with sun, wind and 45 completed heat races in one day. Grass has proven itself as an excellent location for Unlimited racing, with spec'ed-out climbs, and sustained on-course speeds. The landings in deep, rock-free grass was also a great feature, and I cannot recall seeing any real damage during all those landings--just a few short of 135.
Thanks to our fine team of helpers on the lights (all afternoon) , at the start area and at signups. Could not have done it without you. Also a big thanks to Steve Situm and Mike Seto for the use of the NorCal matrix program, and to Dan Field who wrestled it into submission just in time.
While we had a peak of 22 fliers signing the famous Blood Oath , medical emergencies, a family funeral, a burst water pipe, and other serious issues brought the list down to 15 fliers on Saturday (and 18 for Sunday). Flying 3-up in virtually every race, we completed 9 full rounds by 4 45PM, and quit for the evening. In the early rounds, most were prudent about using the big sky feature of Grass to maintain separation and it looked as though we would finish with all planes intact. In the last 3 rounds, testosterone and a desire to Beat That Guy overcame prudence and we saw some contact at the far turn.
Sunday looked good for another fine day, but the wind came from the desert, not the ocean and by noon we had reached the mutual conclusion that our luck would not likely change. Based on Saturday's flying , this is the final order:
Unlimited MoM Scores
1 Tom Copp-----$80
2 Ray Kuntz-----$60
3 Bill DelHagen---$40
4 Dave Bates----$20
5 Harry Sandoval
Warren Day
7 Joe Zepeda
8 Ted Kowalke
9 Mike Sheridan
10 Rob Mokry
Dave Klein
12 Rey Harju
13 Mart Falarski
14 Frank Slaughter
15 Brian Branscomb
The raffle for workers-only saw Linda the Lovely win a Dago Red donated by Mike Sheridan, and Dan Field walk off with the EPP Stryker wing donated by F3X.
The main raffle had many fine prizes. Soaring-USA $30 certificates were won by Brian Branscomb, Warren Day, Rob Mokry, and Bill DelHagen. The cash pot of 50% of raffle sales brought $85 to Mike Sheridan. Frank Slaughter (from Wyoming, no less) won the Spyder donated by Soaring USA. Ray Kuntz won the Bag o Goodies supplied by Dan Field's company, and Mart Falarski got the V-2 glass racerplane (F3X). We greatly appreciate the generosity of all those who contributed to the raffle.
Finally, I awarded a special prize to the pilot who had the most artistic and spectacular loss during the event. This was a hotly contested honor, with many excellent contenders, but ,in the end, SoCal's own Ted Kowalke walked off with a 60 in. foam racer for enduring a mid-air with his homebuilt Leadsled. The fact that only some miscellaneous wing parts were recovered helped put him over the top. As is now traditional, the award will henceforth be forever known as "The Kowalke".
We are already planning the 2nd Annual 2-Day Unlimited Slope Race. I think we will have it on the third weekend of August, and likely at Grass Mountain. Dan Field has already tried to sign up, fearing we will have to limit the entries next year. Could be, could be....
We expect to see everyone back at that time, and more fliers who are so sorry they missed this one. Thanks to all who worked behind the scenes to put together a fine event in such a short time.
Viva Unlimited!
Regards,
CD Bill DelHagen