Attendance at the Western Canadian Stunt Championships seem to be following a similar trend of late here in the Pacific Northwest/Vancouver.  Attendance on Saturday was as close to a write-off, with only two entries in Profile Stunt.  No entries in either Old Time or Classic Stunt.

With only two entries in a Profile, Alan Resinger and I decided to judge each round, but between rounds we would brief the two competitors on what we saw and how they might improve their score.  Didn't quite work out as hoped, as Warren Horbachewski from Calgary, in an attempt to lower his bottoms, tried a little too hard and crashed on his outside loops. Oh well, even the best ideas don't always work exactly as hoped.

The good news is that Joe Yau very graciously offered Warren another airplane to fly in Precision Aerobatics on Sunday, but Warren opted instead to share airplanes with his son Ryan. Following a couple of test flights, it was quickly obvious that the loaner airplane in fact flew better than the one crashed (prior to the crash, not after).  Both Warren and Ryan as a result would enjoy a successful Sunday!

Alan Resinger flies his Divergent..

Sunday brought one beginner, three intermediates, three advanced and three experts.  Ryan Horbachewski is an up-and-coming Stunt flier and shows some real promise.  With only a few tricks in his back pocket, he is determined to return next year with a few more!  Once he has inverted and outside loops mastered, he will improve quickly.

Warren was victorious in Intermediate Precision Aerobatics, beating out Dr. Bob Baldock and Larry Lewin.  Bob really picked up his program from last year, but still fell a little short.  He tells me he will practice even harder for next year's event!  Larry had some ESC issues on Saturday, so changed it out with another Sunday morning before heading to the field.  I asked Larry when he arrived if he had tested the new ESC at home and he admitted he had not, but what could go wrong? Well, it did go wrong and Larry, like an engine with a blown glow plug, was unable to get his motor running.  Another important lesson learned.

Advanced Precision Aerobatics saw a repeat of last year's winner, Arkady Gorosetsky.  Ark was flying his back-up Trivial Pursuit, having lost his number one Trivial a couple of months ago.  Ark flew a very smooth and what I would describe as a "safe" pattern.  His shapes are looking very good and when his new Thunder Gazer is finished, he will be ready to compete in Expert.  Our only American competitor, Steve Helmick, placed cecond but his lack of flying this year was evident. Hube Start would have likely placed cecond had he not flown insufficient laps between a couple of maneuvers.  Loss of pattern points resulted in a third place finish. Hube was flying a four-stroke Top Flight Score.

Joe Yau is flying very well of late and opted to fly against Alan Resinger and me in a Expert.  Loss of appearance points keeps Joe's flight score appear lower than it actually is, but a new Thunder Gazer on the building board should remedy this issue next year.  I made a bit of a technical error in pointing out a few errors I have been watching Alan repeat from one flight to the next.  I should have waited until the contest was over before making these observations as Alan immediately corrected the issues and put some pressure on me to work harder than I really wanted to.  In the end I was able to persevere, but I learned an important lesson. Seems Alan does listen to me after all!

Alan was also the recipient of this year's Concours d'Elegance award for yet another outstanding model.  It should also be noted that this was Alan's first contest this year, following very successful back surgery.  It is great to see Alan able to enjoy his favourite pastime again!

Next Year: Although not absolute yet, we will likely run another WCSC next year, but probably reduce to a one day contest only.  Saturday will be a practice day followed by PA only on Sunday.

Special thanks to Brian Carr who made the drive west from Calgary.  Unfortunately, due to some health issues, Brian chose not to fly this year, but vows to be back in flying form next year.  Thanks as well to Joan Cox for another great BBQ, and her two special helpers, granddaughters Rose and Ava!