Gary, I asked to have this thread moved.

I guess the mods have been taking a day or two off

I'll give it another day or so and ask again.

With all the weather issues and scheduling concerns, TCMAA in Littlerock, WA has changed the date for our next event. Our next monthly event will be held on March 10th (NOT March 17th as earlier mentioned). Pilots mtg at 1100. $5.00 entry includes lunch. See ya there.

Due to overwhelming excitement about the AleS format and the fun we’ve had so far, Change of plans......... TCMAA is happy to announce that we will be putting on two events in March. The first will be on March 10th and the second will be on March 17th. As the days are getting longer and the sun is rising earlier, we will hold the pilots meetings for both events at 1030am and try to get planes in the air before 1100am
>Thom

Originally Posted by olythom

Due to overwhelming excitement about the AleS format and the fun we’ve had so far, Change of plans......... TCMAA is happy to announce that we will be putting on two events in March. The first will be on March 10th and the second will be on March 17th. As the days are getting longer and the sun is rising earlier, we will hold the pilots meetings for both events at 1030am and try to get planes in the air before 1100am
>Thom

I'm in Austin TX the 10th, but so far it looks like I'll be in town on the 17th. The Helium snout is rebuilt with cheeks and a skid chin, glassed, and ready for another contest! -Matt

TCMAA in Littlerock WA is hosting an event this Saturday 3/24/12.

Flying will start at 1100. $5 entry gets you a dog, a drink, and chips - with dessert (ok.ok... it's just a couple of cookies).

See ya there. Long range forecast looks good and a few more guys have finished planes. I'd love to see a really good contest and it will tickle my heart to see ABJ win.
>Thom

We had 16 pilots and blue skies for our contest yesterday. The winds made conditions a little challenging at times but we had a great time and flew 5 rounds.


Top 5

Mark Anderson Bird of time
James henderson Radian
Sherrel Steinhiller AVA
Jim Black Radian
Thom Martin Pegasus

Long Live the Bird of Time!

Awesome! I'm glad you folks had a great time.

We have our first contest of the season next Saturday, Montana weather permitting.

Curtis

Curtis
Are you still getting snow? My son is in Havre and had snow a couple of days ago.
Our top 3 were seperated by 8 points! Very diverse aircraft and experience levels in the top 5. We are having a really good time with this format, and are looking forward to other clubs contests to start up.

Mark

Originally Posted by Mark Anderson

We had 16 pilots and blue skies for our contest yesterday. The winds made conditions a little challenging at times but we had a great time and flew 5 rounds.


Top 5

Mark Anderson Bird of time
James henderson Radian
Sherrel Steinhiller AVA
Jim Black Radian
Thom Martin Pegasus

Thanks for organizing such a great event. Wish I could have stuck around for the awards but life got in the way. Next time I hope to be more competitive. Stupid sink! -Matt

Originally Posted by Mark Anderson

Curtis
Are you still getting snow? My son is in Havre and had snow a couple of days ago.
Our top 3 were seperated by 8 points! Very diverse aircraft and experience levels in the top 5. We are having a really good time with this format, and are looking forward to other clubs contests to start up.

Mark

Havre is a neat town. Have you been through the underground tour? That's pretty neat.

We had 4" of snow last Monday then Thursday was 60 degrees. Friday we had 2" of snow and Saturday and today are foggy and in the 30's. They called for 50's yesterday and mid 60's today but the inversion has us in the deep freeze!

I'm really enjoying the Man on Man format too!

Curtis

Olythom, Some time ago you mentioned that you had a month this year when you could not use your own field for an ALES event? Is there any chance that you could find a club between Okanagan Falls and Oympia where we could have our two clubs meet for an ALES contest in that month?How about Wenatchee, I believe they have a club, but I do not know if they have any soarer nuts? Thinking along these lines, Maybe Curtis from Montana might be interested in joining us.?Ken.

Originally Posted by CloudyIFR

Havre is a neat town. Have you been through the underground tour? That's pretty neat.

We had 4" of snow last Monday then Thursday was 60 degrees. Friday we had 2" of snow and Saturday and today are foggy and in the 30's. They called for 50's yesterday and mid 60's today but the inversion has us in the deep freeze!

I'm really enjoying the Man on Man format too!

Curtis

Curtis, I have just contacted OlyThom out west in Olympia, suggesting a central meeting place(I suggested Wenatchee, where we could meet annually for an Inter Club Contest. That is if we could get the use of a club field. I know this is a BIG idea, but I am sure that many of our 10-15 fliers may be interested. Maybe you can think about it anyway. Ken.

I think this is a great idea, but Wenatchee may not work. Their field is 2.4 miles from an airport. Max legal altitude for us would be 400 feet.

The club is the Red Apple flyers.

http://www.redappleflyers.org/index....&id=7&Itemid=9

Might be worth contacting them to be sure though.

Originally Posted by MrE

I think this is a great idea, but Wenatchee may not work. Their field is 2.4 miles from an airport. Max legal altitude for us would be 400 feet.

The club is the Red Apple flyers.

http://www.redappleflyers.org/index....&id=7&Itemid=9

Might be worth contacting them to be sure though.

I t is just an idea. I have told Curtis about it so that he may come up with something. I f we can't do it this year, maybe we can do it for 2013?
Ken.

Well this is an interesting idea and I do have the answer that selfishly suits me. It's also a fair and even drive for us all.

This is the annual Alpine Soaring Adventure.
Joseph, Oregon.
July, 5th - 8th
http://www.alpinesoaring.com/Alpine_Soaring/Home.html

If you've never been to Joseph or Lake Wallowa this is one awesome place. It's a hidden little secret of the Northwest. You'll think you're in Switzerland. We fly at a golf driving range in town, 4,000 feet above the Snake River canyon at Memaloose and at the top of the mountain on the worlds steepest tram at Mt. Howard.

Most of the Helena folks will be there and have been going for many, many years.

I don't think me or anyone else would be interested in a two day ALES contest but a one day low key contest would be great. I think it'd draw considerable interest too. What I mean by low key is that we teach folks who have not flown ALES or Man-on-Man what it's all about and not be a stickler on launch windows etc. When we call the next group and everyone is ready to go we can do a three second countdown and 10 second launch window. But as far as having three minutes to hussle out to the line and get ready that just won't work at Joseph. This is a vacation for the whole family. Seriously. I've seen folks leave their family behind and regret it. There's that much to do. Parasail, hike, bike or horse ride, feed the deer, swim, fish, shop, eat, drink and be merry!

Google Maps says it's 8hrs 10min from Okanagan Falls, 7hrs 33min from Littlerock, WA and 8hrs 26min from Helena, MT. I win!

Wil Byers from RC Sport Flyer Magazine puts this together each year.
http://rc-sf.com/ and I've contacted him on several occasions but he has not replied to any of my requests for a one day ALES clinic. I believe that Wil isn't interested in having a contest/clinic as this is a vacation. Which is why I'm more than will to do everything involved in a one day ALES. There really isn't anything to do. Oh, prizes would be just the pride of having flown, that's what I mean by low key.

Here's a teaser of Joseph I put together a few years ago from one of my trips there:

Alpine Soaring Adventure 2008 (3 min 44 sec)

If this draws some interest I'll get on the phone and chat with Wil and see where we can take this.

At the beginning of this lengthy post I said selfishly that it would work here is that I don't have any vacation left after this Joseph trip and a wedding in Boston I'm attending.

My other thought was seeing what the folks in Spokane are up to. I know they fly string launch contests so they have the real estate for an ALES. That's a fairly even drive as well.

Okay, enough rambling.
Curtis
Montana