Practice Day 1

10:45 PST;  Why do I always end up writing this blog late at night after a whole day at the field? I guess it's the social part of pylon that adds to the contest experience.  This is really fun for sure so the evening is fun too.

Tonight I'll work backwards:  Just got back to the room after a few beers and good hearted banter with the pylon boys and girls.  The Canadian crew assembled in the foyer of the second floor of the Hampton Inn where a pizza and a box of beer appeared.  We re-hashed the days events at the practice field today and some of us (one guy) moaned about the traffic in LA.  It seems that the traffic in Saskatoon is not quite as challenging as it is here.

Anyway, the Russells dropped by with Uncle Bryan in tow.  ...some more lively stories and some more beer. Prior to this round of beer there were a few consumed after race practice at the Northwood Inn a few miles from the Whittier practice field.  Tom Scott and Craig Grunkemeier joined us for dinner. Always great dinner companions.

Practice went well today at Whittier.  The unfavorable weather that swept through on Tuesday and Wednesday gave way to sunny skies and calm wind. The temperature was about 15C or 70F.  There were about 30 pilots out today working out the bugs and getting in a few laps.  It was nice to see many of the international competitors. The Brazilians, Rob Metkemeijer from the Netherlands, Gilles Dusgruelles from France, Barry Lever of the UK, and Pietro Palumbo of Italy - although I think Pietro is living in the USA.  Of course, it was great to see our friends from the many states across the US.

Everyone seemed to be going fast.  I swear the competition gets better every year. This is my first time flying at the Whittier field.  It's a bit challenging as new surroundings can always be.  However, the gun range, the 10 foot cement wall, the freeway past pylon #1, the "Death Valley" from which no plane will emerge all add a bit of a twist to the excitement that is practice at a new field.

Most of the Canadians were out today minus Henry and Lyle who spent a day with the girls doing some touring.  Our models flew well today as we shook out the bugs  from the winter that we have had so far.  Doug and Al had a few problems with the motors today. It appears these might need some quiet time spent back home working the bugs out. At this point, it's necessary to just install a back up motor and move on.

Roy was running fast and low.  The Super Cat was on rails.  Delbert's new Strega from H&M Racing seemed particularly fast to me while I was calling for Delbert. Kevin M and Kevin U were running their Sweet-V's as was I.  I tested both my models and everything seems fine. 

Of note at the line today was Tom Scott testing the new September Fate design from Jerry Small. This is a very unique model that looks very cool.  Testing seemed to go well with a few bugs to be worked out here and there.  Time will tell how it performs in the race.

September Fate

Everyone waits their turn to go to the line

The trip to the Whittier practice site along several freeways and among general traffic congestion in LA was interesting and different.  I don't know if I've ever been on a six lane freeway before at 80 mph.  Tomorrow's practice will be at the Valley Flyers field (the contest field) just a short distance from the hotel.  More action tomorrow as the tuning continues.  Stay tuned!

Randy