Hello all,

I just wanted to thank Dowayne and the rest of the TORKS members which made this event possible. This was my first contest and I enjoyed it quite a bit, so I am sure that there will be more in the future. It proved to be quite a learning experience and people freely shared their experience with me. It is true that you learn more from attending a contest than from simply practicing the sequence. For those getting started, these are my impressions:

1) The people involved in the event are great. I felt welcomed and included. Expereinced flyers answered my questions and freely gave tips and pointers.
2) I am not the only who struggles with flying a straight line, executing the manuevers consistently and keeping it all within the box. Knowing that others have the same struggles made me realize that all of us have things to learn.
3) You will survive getting a zero for a maneuver. I missed the paved portion of the runway on my first landing. A little embarassing, but worth a laugh! (those darn thermals kept pushing the planes away from the runway...).
4) After a flight, it is a good idea to ask the judges what you could have done better. I got some great tips that way.
5) The box is a lot smaller than I used to think. I will need to figure out how to mark the 60 degree lines at my home field.
6) We flew in weather in which I would have stayed home and done something else. The contest made me realize that less than perfect days are good days in which to practice.
7) I used to think that I would really like to have a 2M plane in order to compete. After flying my 60 in Extra 330 and seeing the 2M planes fly I came to realize that the difference in size and performance was not great as I thought. A nice straight sport plane will fly the Sportsman sequence well and a baby pattern plane (a SpotOn 50/120, SebArt Angel 50 or Wind 110) would be perfect.

All in all, a very good experience.

Teo