We have about 65 members in our club. Often, on weekends, the pattern folks sort of take over, which intimidates everyone that is not flying pattern. We hate to go up and fly when one of them is doing their sequences for fear of interfering with them, knowing that they are practicing for competition. They are a good bunch of guys, and usually don't fly when someone is "sport" flying. But, when they get up to the flight line, well, everyone lands and gets out of the way. Even so, they usually fly up and away, but most of us watch and fly after they land. I practiced pattern for quite some time, but never competed. It does make you a better pilot. But, it just isn't my cup of tea.

Then comes the 3D'ers. When they fly, no one flys because we never really know where they are going to be because they are not in the pattern. We lost one a couple of years ago because someone was hovering and sort of lost it, recovered, but flew into the path of another plane that was in the pattern just up doing orbits.

We are fortunate to have two fields. One is a full-scale grass runway that the Forestry Service lets us use. The other one is smaller area that was a baseball field that the County abandoned. The County lets us use it, and it gets used, primarilly for Helicopters.

So, for the most part, we manage to keep out of each others way, so we rarely have a mid-air.

CGr.