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Viva Arkansas LAFFS (Lake Area Fun Flyer Squadron) field up in the mountains of Shirley, Arkansas hosted the 2nd Annual SPA Arkansas Contests. What a great weekend of fellowship, fun, and great flying! 14 pilots gathered to test their skill and enjoy the experience that is uniquely SPA. All classes were represented, and CD Richard Tibbits had prepared a special weekend for all attendees. Saturday morning saw a table full of prizes from props, to glow plugs, to hats, and various other goodies that all the pilots got to pick from just for attending! All in all the raffle consisted of over $500 worth of prizes, which nearly every pilot won something as the tickets were drawn Saturday Night. The weather was comfortable, although under a foggy haze all day Saturday, even though sun was forecasted. The winds were light as forecasted, but the heavy fog and cloudcover created problems in round 3 as pilots all agreed to drop one to two maneuvers to stay out of the low ceiling. Ken Knotts Dirty Birdy completely disappeared into the ceiling for several seconds. It felt a lot longer to those of us watching and probably felt like an eternity to Ken! The plane eventually reappeared and Ken kept his composure and finished the round. Tom Johnson and Brice Crawford flew in B-Novice, and flew very well with Brice nudging Tom in the final results. These two guys are going to be good! Novice continued the shootout started at Thunderbird field in April. Gary Nelson edged Bernie Olson and Tim Reed for the win, with Steve Ehlers flying his best to date to take fourth. CD Richard Tibbits had a broken wing that couldn’t get repaired and completed two rounds. Sportsman saw Gary Alphin edge FT. Worth winner Mark Ehlers, both guys looking very strong and smooth. It looks to be a hotly contested class this year. The new advanced class saw Ken Knotts and Kenneth Blackwell, who graced the west with his presence and friendliness, go back and forth in a very tight battle, with Ken Knotts finally edging in front the last round to score the win. In the expert class Lindy Quinten flew his brand new Compensator to the win with Blake Arnold taking second and Dave Dingman coming in third. Saturday night all the pilots and spouses were treated to some very special entertainment as Richard brought a Elvis Tribute Artist for all to enjoy. He was fantastic! Sang many of the great Elvis songs and concluded the show with a patriotic trilogy that brought tears to the eyes and a standing ovation as we honored those who have fought and fight now to defend our freedom. What a spectacular weekend for SPA West, and a great start to 2013! Lindy Quinten |
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Senior Pattern Association |
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