Pardon me if I missed it, but did anyone mention Judging- meaning having enough experience to participate as a flyer and a judge?

I started IMAC a couple years ago, went to judging school in Muncie, and had a couple contests under my belt. It is not until your 3r or 4th contest til you get the swing of things and learn enough to be dangerous. You really need to spend alot of time with "good" judges to learn the subtlties, and not fall into the "I think I am a good judge" category.

Why the emphasis on this?

Because the more you learn about proper judging, the more you learn about proper flying and presentation.

Being a good stick sport flying is cool, but contest flying is not as simple as it seems. I wanted to forgo Basic but was advised not to, and the amount I learned flying Basicl for even 3 contests blew me away.

I had to sit out a season and a half with medical problems, but I hope this season to get back into it again.

You will meet some great people, see some great planes, and see some great flying, and have a lot of fun in the process.

Take it slow and have fun, that is what it is all about. Least for me,

chip