The other plane was a Show Time, a small ARF but still nothing the other pilot wanted to loose. In the clubs I used to belong to if you were flying against the pattern everyone there started yelling. On a dry lake bed with no club there are no rules but we do sort of police ourselves but seeing someone out of the pattern isn't anything new. In this case the other pilot was doing a big slow descending turn from way the heck up there, I was on my way to way the heck up there for some long flat spins. I saw his plane but we have a mountain for a background and it just looked like one of the full scale planes heading east to me. If I would have seen it as an RC plane I could have avoided it. Full scales out there look like RCs a lot of the time and RCs tend to look like full scale sometimes. Just an accident and nothing to get excited about. I have seen a lot of mid airs, I have just never been involved in one myself.
Sometimes someone is at fault but not in this case. I posted here for beginners to understand that stuff happens and if you get too upset when it does then you may be in the wrong hobby. No mater how long or how good you are you are going to loose a plane one way or another.
I'm already looking/thinking of my next build, the term ARF even flashed past, it was a fast pass but it happened. Sure would save some time but I keep thinking of a nice giant scale Ryan or another 80 inch Sukhoi?? Something will come up but I'm tired of pattern planes and Extras for now. I'm looking though. MAN plans has a nice looking Ryan in the giant scale section.