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Ben Oliver Memorial
Pattern Contest
The Motley Crew flying at Knoxville From CoCD Phil Spelt: Well, another one is in the books!!! Warren Oliver & Phil Spelt held what is likely the 23rd KCRC SPA Pattern Contest. For the past few years, it has been the Ben Oliver Memorial Pattern Contest -- named after Warren Oliver's late father, Ben, who was an early SPA pilot. Early in the week, "they" were predicting 80% chance of thunderstorms on Saturday, and 60% on Sunday. Well, thankfully, "they" were wrong -- as is frequent! After the pilot's meeting at 9am, with 19 registered pilots, wheels up occurred about 9:35, with Warren having set up the first round for all classes, as well as planning the judge assignments. We flew continuously, round after round, until mid-afternoon, when it began to sprinkle...then drizzle...and finally, actually rain for a total of about 45 minutes. With that interruption, some of our flying time went away. However, at the end of the afternoon, when it was time to start thinking about the great Calhoun's BBQ that evening, we had completed 4 rounds for the "lower" 3 classes, and 5 for the 2 Expert Classes. The only mishap on Saturday was Greg Kieliszek's Dirty Birdy ARF, which got a bit wind-blown and hit the safety fence right in front of Dennis Sams, from the Tri-Cities area, who was flying Senior Expert at the time. Dennis and Mike (Sams, his brother and caller) were not injured -- Dennis was not even sure the wing had bumped him -- but nerves were seriously frazzled after that incident. Dennis re-flew the remainder of the round after he had settled down. There were about 28 at Calhoun's for the evening dinner -- an annual tradition in Knoxville, with their award-winning BBQ, as well as other entrees equally as good. Sunday dawned gray and sodden! (And early, pfs). It rained the entire 45-minute trip to the field. We sat in the pavilion and talked, sold door-prize tickets, and waited out the rain. When the rain let up, we finished the remaining rounds, with all classes getting a full 6 rounds in. Results will be presented elsewhere, along with a more complete report of the event. Bill Dodge, who "never wins anything", won the OS .95 4-stroke engine. This was the only prize we could come up with, as most manufacturers have ceased large donations to R/C events. All in all, everyone seemed pleased with the contest. It is done for another year! Phil Spelt
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