Written by Mike Riggs:

The “Treasure Valley Pattern Contest” quietly began with NSRCA District VIII members arriving Friday to coach new pattern fliers in the art of flying the AMA Sportsman pattern sequence. It was great to see so many people using the BARKS facilities on a beautiful Friday afternoon. As day wore into evening other District VIII members arrived from far away northwest places.

Saturday morning contestants where greeted with moderately strong cool winds from the north and a very bright sun in the right – eastern – corner of “The Box”. Everybody mulled around munching “Finney” donuts as the temperature rose and the sun rotated out of “The Box”. Visiting Contest Director (CD) Rex Lesher called a pilots meeting explaining the task at hand. Shortly afterward, the wheels of Mike Riggs Sword left the ground marking the beginning of round one.

Nathan Wingert, Robert Sox, Jerry Kent and Mike Riggs battled the sportsman pattern more than each other for five rounds Saturday. Shaking their heads the entire time about the difficulty of performing seemingly easy maneuvers on a straight line, parallel to the runway, under the watchful eye of D8 judges. Jerry flew his retract equipped Sky Tiger to a speedy fourth place. Robert Sox epitomized the pattern fledgling, flying his Avistar to third place. Mike bounced his electrified Sword around the box to second place. Topping everybody, Nathan sucked up the gear on his Killer Chaos and flew to a lean mean first place finish.

All total five – NSRCA District VIII – contestants participated from out of town:
Gordon Anderson (Shinden) topped Rex Lesher (Twister) flying FAI(P09, I think). Jim Hiller (Option 120) flew Masters. Steve Sterling (Focus) flew Advanced and Craig Christensen (Integral) flew Intermediate.
Linda Sterling not only called for her husband Steve; but, spent a fair amount of the day in the judges chair. Meri Anderson spent the afternoon keeping score, instructing BARKS rookies on logistics and answering questions from an endless stream of spectators. In addition to their hard work, both Linda and Meri insisted on buying their own Lynn Street – World Famous – BARKS lunch.

A great time under great – flying – conditions with great people and without great mishap... Pattern is great!

Written by Rex Lesher:

Upon arriving at the Red Apple flying site, half of the gang was already there.  I usually get away from home early in the morning, but got delayed and didn't arrive till around 3:30 in the afternoon.  I was happy to see the 'New' guys from Boise had arrived and were mingling with the crowd.  Chad Northeast and Nedim Bek had arrived from Calgary, Canada and were getting their planes out to get in a few flights.
Gordon was already taking names and setting up the scoring computer for the next morning.  Jeff the CD and I set up the box lines and made sure everything was ready to go.  After a while, we decided we should all go eat... Steve and Linda Sterling went ahead to scope it out and reported back via cell phone with directions.  About 12 of us had dinner, then made our way to the appropriate motels or RVs to rest up for the big event.

We woke up to 58 degrees and a little breezy.  After a short meeting we got under way.  It didn't take long for the wind to begin to pick up and the temps to drop a little.  The wind was coming from the west and blowing over the snow covered mountains, cooling it down  to the point that you needed a jacket to remain comfy.  With 16 pilots, we flew on one flight line.  Everyone did a good job of being ready to go and we made it through three rounds, fighting the wind all the way.  By the end of round three, most had enough and we decided to end it for the day and go eat.  We decided to eat at the same place because we would have about 25 people and this was a holiday weekend with a huge softball tournament in town.  There weren't any rooms left in the whole town.  After dinner, someone mentioned a place called 'Prospector Pie'.... So, nine of us decided to swing by and check it out!  What a great place... any kind of pie you could want!  Yummy!
Sunday morning, we all showed up to a cool morning, but the sun was out and the outlook for the wind was encouraging.  As it warmed up, the wind began to die.  We flew another two rounds and called it a contest after round five.  A lot of people had a long way to go... we did a quick award ceremony and said our good byes!  It was a great contest with a great host!  The interest in this contest is phenomenal and everyone had a good time!  The numbers of pilots continue to rise, and as word gets out about this fine flying site, I suspect next year we'll have to use two flight lines!

Thanks to the Red Apple crew for all their support!
I'd also like to thank Linda Sterling and Wayne Lovett for all the time they spent in the judges chair, making it work!  Wayne was having trouble with a new engine, keeping him from entering the contest!  Thanks for showing your support and staying with us Wayne!

Written by Rex Lesher:

The weekend of June 12th was the return of the Medford Pattern contest.  We ended up with only 10 entries, but it was good to establish this contest once again from a long absence.  The Rouge Eagles RC Club at the Agate Skyways field hosted this event, and did a wonderful job of taking care of our every need!  I hadn't been to this flying site for a good many years and it has improved A LOT!  It is a very nice site with an abundance of parking and space for RVs.  There is no power at the field, but they have a solar powered 12V charging station that is pretty neat!  The runway is paved, and is going to be extended by at least 300' some time this year.
We had three local flyers enter the contest.  One of which was Bob Knudsen.  Bob flew pattern for years.  I think the last contest he entered was around 1992.  Bob drug out his 30 year old DR. Jekyll and literally flew it to death all weekend.   I personally saw him put up 14 flights over the weekend!  Ya, I counted!   Every time I turned around, he was flying.  Saturday afternoon, a TV reporter showed up with a video camera and shot a spot for the local ABC/NBC channels which aired that night. 

We flew six rounds, four of which was flown Saturday.  Lunch was available both days, courtesy of Paul and Debbie Starks, Rouge Eagle club members. It was great!
It's been decided to keep this contest going and is going to get back to the ol' D8/D7 shootout like it was in years past.  The Rouge Eagles Club is delighted to have us back!  All the participants had a great time and are looking forward to next year!  I've been in contact with the California guys and they are excited to see this contest back!

Next year should be a lot of fun!

Written by Rex Lesher:

Over the weekend of June 26-27, D8 pattern flyers met at the Field of Dreams flying site in Redmond, Oregon for the 4th annual pattern contest.  Most of us showed up mid day on Friday to clear, sunny skies and moderate winds.... well a little more than moderate for those of us who haven't been getting in any practice!  The weather was shaping up for a great weekend, considering the weather of late in the North West!  Going from temperatures in the 50's to mid and high 80's over night is a shock to the system, not to mention our untanned bodies, lol. Fourteen entries this year, as we had a few with plane problems, one moving to a new house, etc., that kept them from participating.... of course, we didn't let that hamper our fun!  We had at least several pilots in all classes, with pretty close competition.  We all had our moments struggling with the wind up high as the higher you flew the more turbulent it got.  We all gathered at our usual watering holes for the night, pizza on Friday and Italian on Saturday...it goes without saying that we all had a great time.  The Redmond club is a great host, serving lunches and providing liquids for our drinking pleasure for both days.  Thanks guys, we all appreciate your hard work to make this a really fun event for us. 
It was good to see participation from a few that live quite a distance away.  Redmond isn't the easiest place to get to for a few folks.  It's a pretty direct route for guys like me or the Molalla guys, but for a lot of people in D8, there's quite a bit of direction changes to make.  We had Pavel Safarik and his son Alexander, plus Tim Stebbins from the Seattle area... It's kind of a round about path to get to Redmond for these guys.  Mike Riggs and family came over from Boise... this being Mike's third pattern contest ever.  He's coming right along too.  It looks like the pattern hook is really set in Mike's jaw!  lol  He and his
family took this occasion to vacation in Central Oregon for a week.
While Mike was flying, the rest of his family was checking out all the sites.  Great planning on your part, Mike!  For those that made it to this contest, I thank you for showing up.  This is always a fun contest at a great flying site!  The guys from Spokane made it... that's quite a drive.  Jim Hiller flew his new 'Option 160' with flying stab in the contest.  Still in the trimming process, R&D for this plane is coming right along.  Jim got to fly it enough to get a feel for what changes need to be made.  It's a lot of fun to see new designs fly and watch the process of design change it goes through.  This is plane number 1 of this series and Jim is already planning a few changes for the next generation.  Keep us informed, Jim!
All in all, it was a really fun weekend... no incidences, break downs, flame outs, or anything.   Let's do it again next season!

Written by Rex Lesher:

It seems like D8 contests always have some sort of surprise just waiting to happen.  The 2010 Molalla contest was no exception.  As I pulled into the parking lot at the flying field, I spied none other than Roy and Dorothy Speights!  That was a shock…they are supposed to be in California!  It was great to see them again and have them around for the weekend! 

The weather was shaping up to be pretty favorable for flying.  Mornings were a little cool, but the sun was coming out and the winds were fairly calm.  We had 16 pilots registered with at least three pilots in each class.  We decided to fly off one line.   Bob Walker didn’t fly and was elected “Pit Boss” to keep everything moving along.  Bob did a great job of making sure everyone was where they needed to be, when they needed to be there!  The rounds just kept going like clock work.

We did our normal evening routine of Mexican food on Friday night at our favorite place.  Saturday night, we once again had dinner at the Golf Resort… only this time, we had a “half-time” entertainment.  Everyone was handed balsa gliders. The object?....  Put them together, decorate them, modify them however we want.  The  trick was to fly the little booger through a hole cut in a large cardboard box!  Actually, it was more like a narrow slot that was about half again the size of the glider!  After about four attempts, Bill Bowen managed to slide his through to win the prize…. A gift certificate from Coyote Hobbies!  Nice flying, Capt. Bowen!!!

Sunday, we finished round six with time to spare, held the awards ceremony and said our goodbyes.  We’ll do it again next year!

Written by Mike Riggs:

With instructions given and score-sheets distributed the BARKS "Fun 'PATTERN' Fly" started with Nathan's "E" Chaos taking to the air. The fourth pilot to fly was a self described “Old Fart”. Don has been a BARKS member longer than almost anybody can remember. Don's main hobby interest has centered around Scale where he has qualified for scale-masters on several occasions. On this day the “Old Fart” showed everybody how its done. Taking notes and flying last, Karl edged Don out to take the first round. Game on! With a improved performance Don edged out Nathan by 10 points followed by Karl to take the second round. After Lynn's excellent BARKS lunch, collected and having fun, Karl won the third and final round over Don by a mere 3 points.
Final contest tabulations gave Don the win, Karl second and Nathan third. Jerry K. won an extra Septemberfest ticket for flying his "Pattern" SPAD. With no trainers entered, Contest Director Mike renamed the trainer ticket "What is a Cobra?" and awarded it to David for missing at least three maneuvers while his caller Jerry K. sought clarification of the Cobra from judges and anybody else who would listen to his plea for a definition.
Special Thanks (and tickets) go out to Lynn and his lovely wife Ronna for a delicious lunch. Additional thanks (and tickets) go to judges Ray S., Lorin F., Rich S. and Dan C. A contest wouldn't be a contest without contestants: Don E.(Impulse) Karl W.(Mojo) Nathan W.(eChaos) David A.(Tower Kaos) Jerry K.(Pattern SPAD) Robert S.(Four Star) and Eric R.(Edge) thank you all for your participation.
Fun was had by contestants and judges alike.

Written by Rex Lesher:
 

After a three year absence, the Can Am Challenge is once again reborn!  This year, CD John Foglesong made it happen at the flying site located just outside Snohomish, Washington.  This is a full scale private airport with a very long grass runway.  It’s very nice, with a lot of room to fly.  The pilot faces mostly North with a little East thrown in to make contest starts of around 10:30 AM the norm.  Of course, you can fly all day and evening, so time is not really a factor.  Gordon acted as Pit Boss, and Meri did all the scoring, with help from Terry Ann doing a lot of leg work by collecting score sheets, as we had 19 pilots flying from two lines.   Thanks for all the hard work folks.  This contest ran very smoothly and went without incident!  We almost lost a plane though… our CD had his engine die on down wind to landing and landed out of sight over by the pond.  We thought it hit the water, but it made it on to the shore’s edge, and without any damage whatsoever!

With the threat of rain on Sunday, we forged ahead and flew 5 rounds on Saturday.  That was a good thing because we woke up Sunday morning to rain.  We gathered at the field Sunday morning and held the awards ceremony and headed home.  John had very nice professional award plaques made for the first three places in all classes.  This is a very nice venue for large contests as there is room for just about any scenario. 

This year, we only had two Canadians.  The Canadian team trials are happening pretty quickly and the usual folks that would come to this event are preparing for that event.   We had a blast from the past yet again!!!  Freddy Hagen showed up to fly in the contest.  He announced that he and the family have moved back to Seattle and we will be seeing him at D8 contests!  It’s great to have the Hagen family back! 

This was a very fun contest and I can’t wait to do it again next year!
 

Written by Rex Lesher:

Over Labor Day weekend, the D8 folks gathered at Walker Field in Creswell, Oregon for the Annual EAC Pattern Contest.  Starting on Thursday, the weather was HOT, but as the weekend developed the weather began to cool and the breeze started to build.  Overall, it was a pleasant weekend with semi cloudy skies and moderate temperatures, except for the mornings that hung around 42 degrees for a bit!  We had 15 entries….which started out as 14 entries.  It seems that someone forgot to pack his wings for the trip from Tri-Cities, Washington.  I won’t mention Steve Sterling’s name as being associated with this travesty… I wouldn’t want to embarrass him! J  It all turned out fine as the “Used Airplane Guy” just happened to have a Focus “For Sale” hanging from his ceiling!  Problem solved, and Steve was Ready to go!  Once again, Roy and Dorothy Speights came up from California to fly with us.  They have been to every EAC contest held!  We flew all six rounds, with completing four rounds on Saturday, to make Sunday a leisurely paced morning.  We completed flying around noon, had lunch, held the awards ceremony and raffle drawing, said our goodbyes and headed home.  Another fine weekend of flying pattern came to a close!

 

Written by Rex Lesher: