Well, summer camp is over for this summer and it was great as always.
The AMA site continues to get better each year as inprovements are made. The changes are becoming minor as time goes on and there are fewer things that need to be fixed. This is really a nice place to fly large RC soaring events.
The contest administration continues to be awesome. An army of LSF volunteers run the contest, with site support from the AMA. From Soaring Event Director Marc Gellart to the shortest cart driver (she needed a couple of 2 by 4's strapped to the gas pedal on the golf cart to reach) this is the best and most effective group of volunteer workers I've ever encountered. We're not worthy.
We go to Muncie to fly. If you take enough planes and spend the entire week you get to fly a bunch. Muncie is notorious for interesting weather. If you stay the week you will generally get to fly in some no brainer air, and some air that will humble the best pilots among us. This year was no exception. We saw weather that was hotter than humans enjoy, and a couple of days of perfect cool clear air. Every day saw periods of great lift and periods that slammed everybody. That's what makes man on man soaring challenging and rewarding. The pilot that makes the right decisions immediately gets rewarded. Everybody else loses.
For the first time in my memory the winning planes were all built by their pilots, and at least partially designed by the pilot as well. The ESL guys swept the top places. The ESL has been a wellspring of design and fabrication innovations for several years, and now their finishes are showing that the piloting skills are excellent as well. So what planes did the best? Just like always, it was the plane that was put into the right air and landed well. It's still the pilot that wins.
For some of us the most important part of the week at soaring summer camp is the social part. The folks you meet at Muncie are a lot of fun and keep coming back. There is an ever growing bunch of folks who wouldn't miss this week for anything. I always make a couple new friends at Muncie, and get to see a bunch of old friends. We all get to fly together and hoist a tankard of ale at the end of the day. It just don't get no better than that in this Bubba's opinion.
happy trails (and hilsen to Jo)- Rob Glover
