Hi,

I will put my two cents worth in even though I have not yet been in competition. I have wanted to compete for a long time. The thought of just showing up at a contest by myself was a scary thing. Still is. I plan on competing a couple of times this summer with the Albatros DV I am building. Dave has been helping me out along the way. He is building one too and you all have probably seen our thread. The thing is, having Dave mentor me along has lowered the anxiety of competition for me. Dave is going to call for me and will be there with advice and support. Without that, it would be a much bigger psychological hurdle to jump in and show your stuff. Another thing that helped me with contest anxiety was calling for Dave at last years nationals. I was not flying in the competition and so the anxiety level was low. I could learn how the contest flows and be involved without having a large stake in the contest. Except for helping Dave win. Having that experience was huge. I had a fantastic time. I met some really cool people and got to see some excellent models. Cant beat that. Now when I go to my first contest I will know what to expect.

So here is my advice to those involved in scale competition and those that are not but want to be. All you scale competitors out there, find someone that is interested in competition to call for you at a contest. Even if they say they are not interested they may be after getting involved. All you would be competitors find a mentor. These scale guys are all pretty cool and will gladly help. All you have to do is show some interest in their airplanes. I am lucky in that I met Dave at the local flying field and asked him about his DIII. After a few conversations Dave asked me if I would like to do a group build on the DV. Who could say no to that. We spent many hours building together and sharing modeling information. I like to think it has been a two way street and Dave has picked up some info from me as well. The hobby is just more fun when you can share it with like minded people. Dave has also given me lots of flying advice that has made me a better pilot. I think this flying season is going to be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to flying at some competitions and some dawn patrols.

There you have it.

Dave S.