Finally another contest! One year later, here at Orange again. Competed (once again) in the Sportsman category. This time I placed third out of seventeen. Bringing home the wood, they call it.
The photo shows the Chapter 52 aerobatics club mates after the contest.
The five of us in the center made a victory flight home in formation. Ron, in the back, without hat or sunglasses, won the Intermediate category.
Perhaps even better than the third place was my plane. It won the "Burns" prize for most pampered aircraft. I didn't know about the award and it was a nice surprise. For two weeks before the contest I polished with Meguiar's 45, followed that with Meguiar's 56 wax. It looked beautiful. Flew pretty nicely, too.
The van we were using to put out the box markers got mired in the sand. We had to call Mr. Green to the rescue.
Here are Ron and Tom, two mates, talking about what's happening on practice day.
Ron is an airline captain. He met an ESPN producer on a flight and talked him into doing a story about pilots. The film crew followed Ron around for his various aviation activities, including the contest. The piece ran on ESPN's "Timeless" series on July 16th, 2005 along with the Westminster Dog Show.