Wind chill: The Oregon Flying Fun crew from the Eugene fun fly lined up for a picture. You can't see Floyd Carter shivering, but he was -- and he flew anyway, as did most of the others. From left: Omar Nelson, Tom Kopriva, Jim Corbett, Mike Hazel, Bruce Hunt, Floyd Carter, Mike Denlis. Flying Lines photo.
There would have been more "fun" in "fun fly" if there had been less wind. But it could have been worse: Weather forecasts had for a week predicted the Sunday of the Eugene fun fly, second in the Oregon fun fly series as a rainy, cold day. There were some intermittent sprinkles and it was chilly, rising to no more than about 50 degrees, but that would have been OK for a winter flying day. But the wind – unusual for winter at this site – moved steadily from south to north all day long. A disappointing follow-up to two or three almost completely windless weekend flyin sessions at the Eugene site.
Nonetheless, some intrepid flies came out, and not just for the coffee and doughnuts. Yes, there was quite a bit of flying, and not a single crash, despite some scary conditions. Mike Denlis, president of the host club Eugene Prop Spinners, was unflappable, flying his Skyray /Fox .29 combination several times. Bruce Hunt, from Salem, Ore., put in several flights with his Cardinal. Mike Hazel showed that Mr. Stubby is an excellent sport-flying plane for windy conditions. Floyd Carter of Eugene flew his 1962 original design, and John Thompson of Eugene flew the Vector 40 through one scary flight. Also on hand were Tom Kopriva, Omar Nelson, Morrie Gilbert and Jim Corbett, all of Eugene.
Flying continued from about 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Prop Spinners handed out some prizes in the flying raffle, and the whole crew helped re-tarp the Regionals Equipment stored on the site. The Prop Spinners held their monthly meeting on the site early in the day. All in all, it was a successful flying day, even for the unpleasant conditions.
The third in the series of four Oregon fun flies is scheduled for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Bill Riegel Model Airpark at the Salem, Ore., Airport, on March 10. See Where the Action Is for details.
This page was upated April 25, 2011