
Mark and Sean Atwood
This report just in from ATX Team member Mark Atwood. And, Congratulations to Mark AND his son Sean!
..From Mark:
A quick contest report from this weekend.
The first contest of the NSRCA District 4 contest season kicked off without a hitch this weekend in Hebron, KY. This is a the same flying site as is used for the D4 championships in the fall. A wet spring had the grass runway visibly growing while you watched, but the local club had it mowed and trimmed ready for the event. Friday provided a sunny calm practice day for everyone, and Saturday followed suit, albeit with winds in the opposite direction.
The balance of Glow vs Electric airplanes continues to shift to the electric side as more and more electric designs are making weight, and less expensive batteries are proving to have the power and durability necessary to compete. I would speculate that in the upper classes better than 50% of the aircraft were Electric with 75% of FAI flying E power.
Also noteworthy is a marked shift in radio brands. A region not long ago DOMINATED by Red-Shirts, saw brand-J bringing up the rear with both Airtronics and brand-F outnumbering them, with a few older brand-H thrown in for good measure.
Of personal pride, my son Sean (13) won the Sportsman class for the first time flying a small 51″ AJ Slick against 2 others flying full blown 2 meter pattern planes. It was a tightly contested entry level class which made the victory all that much more fun for him.
FAI was less eventful as Andrew Jesky’s attendance left the contest a battle for a distant 2nd place. We flew both the P-11 and F-11 sequences and I was able to edge out Ray Morton in the Final’s sequence to take home the #2 spot.
It was a great opening contest for us, though many had very little practice time prior to this given the lousy weather we’ve had in the northern mid-west. We’re all gearing up for the D4-D5 “shootout” to be held at the Muncie site in early June.
Attached is a photo of Sean and I studying another sportsman flight in hopes of gaining a competitive edge for Sean. It’s getting harder and harder to deny that he’s mine…lol
-Mark