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2025 SPA East Masters Contest
The pilots competing at the
2025 SPA Masters Contest The 2025 SPA East Masters was held on the weekend of October 5-6 near Memphis, TN. The contest was once again put on by CD Terry Boston and the Memphis Prop Busters.
Memphis is a LONG drive for many of us in the SPA east.
Terry Boston routinely attends most of the eastern
contests, it was natural for us to him to support him and the
Memphis Prop Busters. Once there, the
trip was well worth the time and trouble. The whole
weekend was much more fun than any plans I might have
had staying home.
The Prop Busters field is my definition of a
early perfect flying field - long, wide and flat with
short-cut grass. Grass fields have the advantage of
providing their own braking action, and they seem just a
little softer on touchdown. We were blessed with nearly perfect weather for the entire weekend. Friday featured a bright blue cloudless sky with high temperatures in the mid-80s and a moderate crosswind blowing straight in. It was a great flying day once the sun got high enough to be out of sight. Plenty of electrons and much glow fuel gave their all during dozens of practice flights. As the day ended, CD Terry Boston's wife Jane brought a wonderful meal of Sloppy Joe style sandwiches, cole slaw, macaroni salad & chips for all to share. The meal was topped off by a chocolate cherry cake - yum yum! Saturday morning dawned as bright and beautiful as Friday, featuring a light crosswind blowing in most of the day. Registration began about 8:30 a.m. and eleven enthusiastic pilots from six states showed up for the meet - four each from Alabama & Tennessee, two from Mississippi, and one each from Florida, Georgia & Texas. A very light blanket of thin, low clouds rolled in just before the first round began, and you could barely see the outline of a pale sun that otherwise would have caused significant problems. CD Terry Boston called the pilot's meeting shortly after 9 a.m. Field rules were discussed, flight lines and judges were assigned and the first planes were in the air shortly thereafter. No Basic class fliers attended this weekend, so the four Sportsman and Advanced pilots flew from the left flight station while the nine Expert and Masters flew from the right flight station. This helped ease the judging duties. Two rounds were flown before a short lunch break for pizza around noon. The cloud deck moved out during this time, leaving only a few puffy cumulus clouds. Rounds 3 through 5 were completed by 5 p.m. Saturday. Most headed for their accommodations, while a few stayed for more practice. Sunday was again cloudless and the sun was very bright, requiring the use of a "sun dot". With their places secure, both Sportsman and both Advanced pilots opted to sit out the 6th round, along with the 3rd through 5th place pilots in Expert. The wind also picked up making the day a real challenge, although it was more down the runway than the previous days. The sun dot even required a holder to keep from being blown over! The 6th round was finished around 10 a.m. Sunday. While most of the contestants packed for the trip home, Terry and several helpers set up for the annual Memorial Trophy Flyoff. This is a single flight contest featuring the year's two top Masters class points earners prior to the Masters contest. Jerry Black and Greg Hoke held those positions, but since Greg did not attend, Warren Oliver, the third high points earner, flew in his place. They were judged by four fellow competitors, one from each class - Scott Sappington (Sportsman), Gordon Talbot (Advanced), Dave Phillips (Expert) and Jamie Strong (Masters). Jerry Black proved to be the better flyer on this day to take home the Memorial Trophy for the next year. The raffle was held first because there were lots of awards to give out. Numerous items were raffled off and you can see who won what in the photos. Now for the results. SPORTSMAN - Long absent SPA stalwart Scott Sappington joined us for the second contest in a row. His excellent flying captured five rounds for the win with Vic Koenig in hot pursuit. ADVANCED - Just like Scott, Gordon Talbot won five rounds to secure the win, with Jim Johns keeping him honest. EXPERT - This was without a doubt the most closely contested class this weekend, going right down to the final round flights. Jimmy Russell and Jeff Owens each won three rounds, but Jimmy had the highest scoring fourth score to secure the victory by a mere 8 points. Clint Higdon finished 3rd with Dave Phillips and Terry Boston rounding out the field in 4th & 5th places. MASTERS - Jerry Black scored four round wins to take the class by just over 13 points over Jamie Strong who won the other two rounds. Warren Oliver finished 3rd and Ellis Newkirk finished 4th. Ellis, a Tennessee native and long time friend of Jerry Black, drove all the way from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area of Texas to fly with us. This is something he does several times each year. Finally, the trophies for the Annual Points winners were presented to the following pilots.
The results were interesting because for the first time in my memory no pilot competed in every contest this year. The complete final points standings can be found here. Terry was ably assisted
by numerous Prop Buster members before and during the
contest, especially Clint Higdon.
Jim Johns took care of the
scorekeeping duties. Duane Wilson drove from the
northeast corner of Tennessee to the southwest corner
just to support the contest and fellowship with other
SPA members. Duane didn’t fly but was a big help
with judging. He also did a lot of research on his next
radio. There was a lot of quality fellowship and
thoroughly enjoyable discussion making for a great
weekend, and well worth the effort. Final goodbyes for the 2025 season were shared, hands were shaken, hugs given and everyone hit the road home by about 12:30. We hope to see everyone again next year. Jim Johns & Duane Wilson |
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