Great form, D . You don't have any problems not having a had on the aileron/elevator stick in bad winds? I agree that in good conditions with a trimmed out plane, right handed is "more natural" feeling for some guys, I just hated the delay getting back to the sticks.

Oh, one thing about left handed lanches (or right handed if your engine is inverted). You kind of have to watch the exhaust blast. It doesn't happen often, but it is possible to wind up with oil in the face or eyes on lanch. It's only happened to me once, and not nearly bad enough to cause me to loose sight or control of my plane, but it didn't taste very good. My wife hates it when I come home from a contest, all that holding the plane with my left hand makes my clothing smell of burt fuel for at least the next two washes, I'm told . I love the smell of caster in the morning. Smells like victory. My wife however, doesn't seem to agree.

Kurt,
Don't worry about being "practiced" before coming to a contest. There are always lots of guys who are just getting started, and always guys willing to help out. Last year was actually my first season, I just jumped right in, and did rather well for myself. Would you beleive that I had never cut a streamer until my first live contest? And I only managed 2 or 3 flights towing one to get the feel of my plane. I was a bit unprepared, but it was a huge amount of fun, and well worth it. And it's not like you spend a lot on entry fees or anything, so you have nothing to loose and a lot of fun to gain by just going out and flying.