The first competition of the 2023 summer season of Aerobatics got underway on October 7/8/9 2022.
Now some of you might be thinking, hang on … what clown has gone and scheduled IMAC on the same weekend as the Bathurst V8 race ? This was not done intentionally, the previous years we’ve had this season opening comp on the first weekend of October. However it’s just as well we moved it on by a week, cause the previous weekend was a total washout.
Suffice to say, the weather in Galatea was superb. Again !!!
A few of the usual suspects arrived on Friday to get some field prep done, and plug in a few cheeky practise flights. Great to see Jon Berger and son Ryan had made the trip from Warkworth, 5 hours drive south, they were the first to get to the field. Ryan was so busy practicing Basic, that on Friday he had almost burned through all his fuel, and we had to make a call to get someone that hadn’t left yet to throw some more in. They don’t have 15% nitro brew fuel for an OS160 at the local shop, all they have is cheese burgers !!
Friday night back at the Lodge, more people arrived as the night evolved. Some went to bed early. Some did not !!
Saturday morning, the fog burned off quickly, although the CD was feeling a little foggy.
We got cracking with the flying in perfect conditions. Two guys in the Basic class, Kim Clarke and newbie young Ryan Berger. A close battle between the pair of them over 8 rounds, with old age and treachery overcoming youth and enthusiasm this time.
Sportsman was a busy class with the juniors Ruben Woods and Kaden Newman having a very close contest for the top spot. 10 rounds later Ruben flying his new Pilot RC 70cc Extra emerged the victor, with Kaden flying a 35cc Pilot very close behind, having won the unknown round by a few points. Jon Berger was a shoe in for 3rd place, but the lure of the 5 hour drive home, followed by 5 more hours watching other cars going round and round was too much, and he bailed early on Sunday morning missing the second days flying. SkyGo ? Derek Whelan was 3rd with Dean Hill, now having moved up from Basic, and also flying a 70cc Extra was 4th. Jon Berger in 5th. Sportsman flew 10 rounds. The question is, where was Baldrick ?
Intermediate was looking like it was set to be a very busy class, but a few last minute exits saw the numbers dwindle down to 3. However things are looking really good for Intermediate with a number of guys moving up from Sportsman now. Youngster Dom Clarke destroyed the field for the win here, flying a range of models over the weekend, and also providing some freestyle entertainment at the end of the day. Dom has now moved up from Sportsman, and by the looks of things, won’t be hanging around in Intermediate for too long !! He just needs to learn that when the timer goes off, hovering time ended 2 mins ago !! A few lucky escapes here, however it seems not long after his luck ran out ? Dad on the repair menu. Andrew Stiver aka “Stinky” was second in Intermediate flying his new model, an ex John Knox 120xx Laser. Andrew was our cheif chef for the weekend and had the Saturday night roast looking better than some of his snaps !! Lyndon Perry was 3rd in Intermediate, another promotion up from Sportsman. There were some moments of brilliance in there, and some … wait till then end of the season and we shall see, moments !!
Advanced …. Aunty Grant has been promoted. That right mister, no more Intermediate for you, time for some big boys pants. Stop complaining and get on with it. What’s more he got a promo point !! Unlimited is calling.
Unlimited …. Bogan was the only guy that showed up. John Knox couldn’t get away from the farm, and Hamish Galloway was at a conference talking about how to sell more petrol to the unsuspecting public at even more ridiculous prices.
Promo points ? These guys all got one. Kim Clarke, Ryan Berger, Ruben Woods, Kaden Newman, Dom Clarke, Grant Finlay. Only the first comp of the season, plenty to go, I’ll get started on the series results table soon.
Saturday night. As mentioned already, a great feed organised by Mr Stiver, and a few beers and wines at the Taniwha Bar. However … CD starting to feel pretty unwell, still, and so he had hardly and beers and went to bed early. I know !!! Next morning woke up feeling even worse. Going to bed early can’t be good for you it seems.
Sunday the weather was mint, again. Plenty more flying, and then into Unknown rounds. We had things all wrapped up by mid afternoon and folks were on their way home.
Juniors !! What an awesome thing to see 4 juniors all flying at Galatea. These guys are all in the same year at school too. Year 10. (4th form for us old school). The funny thing is, they were all sporting a bit of a moustache. Plus we were missing a few other regular juniors too. This bodes well for the season, let’s keep them keen. As I always say, if there is a Junior in your class, they are probably going to kick your butt, so the sooner you come to terms with that the better … however the good news is they quickly move up a class, and become someone else’s problem !!
Scores and photos follow.
Lots of Photos and all taken by Aunty !!!
Check the calendar, tons of comps coming up and the next Galatea IMAC is end of November.
