|
"Hog Heaven" 12 pilots gathered in the beautiful Ozarks for the first ever SPA contest in Arkansas, hosted by the Lake Area Fun Flyers Squadron, or LAFFS. CD Richard Tibbits did a great job at the inaugural event, surprising everyone with a drawing and gifts for every pilot…at the pilots meeting! A great collection of items to be raffled awaited the end of the event, with gift certificates for Byron Fuels, Aeroworks, and the big prize, a Killer Chaos kit from Bluejay (won by Texas Wings’ Tony Stelly). Tony was also presented with a new traveling award, a plaque with the venerable Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes wailing over a crashed airplane and transmitter. This honor was bestowed on Tony for his destruction of his Dirty Birdy, and was received in good humor. Unfortunately, Tony would only hold the award for one day, as the youngest pilot in the field, Brice Crawford, discovered that in the battle of airplanes versus trees, especially tall Ozark Mountain trees, the trees win handily, and destructively. Again, the award was received with great humor, and looks to be a fun addition to the traditions of SPA West. The wind was truly variable, as throughout the day the pilots were greeted with a North wind, and East wind, a South wind, and, finally, a North breeze again. The aforementioned demise of Brice’s plane was the only casualty, although Lindy Quinten’s Curare had the tail cracked in a rough landing. In true SPA spirit fellow competitors allowed Brice and Lindy to fly their planes and continue to compete. Once again the Novice class was highly competitive, with Mark Ehlers breaking through with a much deserved win, but hard fought with Richard Tibbits in second and Tony Stelly in third. Also competing in the Novice class were Brice Crawford, up from Novice B for the first time, AMA District representative Ron Standridge, and Steve Ehlers. Steve provided one of the most enduring moments of the contest when during his flight he accidentally stumbled into a drainage ditch beside the runway. The judges and fellow competitors jumped up to assist while Steve continued focusing on his plane and flying from the ground. With the help of those around Steve was assisted back to the pad and finished his round, having never taken his eyes off his plane. Well done, Steve! Roger George was the lone competitor in Novice B, and was kind enough to share his Tower Kaos with Brice Crawford after his encounter with the trees. Gary Alphin also was the sole representative of the Sportsman Class, and also displayed great sportsmanship in loaning one of his planes to Lindy Quinten to finish the last two rounds. It was a tough day for Lindy, as a number of little mishaps kept him from completing the first two rounds, but it was another great day for Dave Dingman, who continued his spectacular 2012 season with another first place. Blake Arnold piloted his new and beautifully done Compensator to second place, with Ken Knotts flying his Phoenix 7 to third and Lindy in fourth. Special thanks to the LAFFS members for their volunteer help, and to scorekeeper Jeannie Alphin. The first ever Arkansas SPA is “in the books”, and thanks to Richard and his crew of volunteers, it was a success! Lindy Quinten |
 |
Senior Pattern Association |
 |
| Dedicated to the Building, Flying and Competition of Vintage Pattern Model Aircraft | ||