I enjoyed meeting you too, Teo. I flew in my first pattern contest less than a year ago and made many of the same discoveries as you did. For some reason (probably from reading the model magazines) I was under the impression that all pattern flyers were some sort of gods who could invisibly correct for a 40 mph crosswind and draw perfect shapes in the sky. It was a relief to find out that there are very, very few pilots at that level and even very good ones struggle like we do, just a little more successfully.

The other big surprise was how friendly and helpful the contestants and officials were and continue to be.

Scott