DAY
Two & Three of 1997 ChampsDAY
Two & Three of 1997 Champs
there
were breaks in the wind and the seasoned competitors in R/C Assist were
sending up flights. The few who flew early, before the wind came
up, were rewarded with better times. By afternoon, the conditions were
mostly good and occasionally great. The Champs were well and truly on and
events were being closed out. By Day Three, weather again became part of
the equation--flying
conditions
were excellent, but the advance of Hurricane Nora up the coast of Baja
packing 85-mile-an-hour winds but mostly bringing heavy amounts of rain
with it. A beautiful day turned into a great afternoon but everyone looked
at the ominous clouds gathering in the south. (For
a satellite view of the southern Nevada area Click here) Wednesday
evening newscasts called for thunderstorms and rainfall up to 3-4 inches
on Thursday or more. The desert was very green when we arrived here and
standing water was present in portions of the dry lakebed that served as
the site for flying. It turns out that August was a very wet
month here near Boulder City. One day in August, THREE inches of
rain fell in a single hour. Flash flooding caused $3 million damage during
this period. Meanwhile, everyone savored the flying on Wednesday.
Don Bekins put up a 67-minute Texaco flight to win the event for the second
year in a row. The large perpetual trophy that Don had carefully brought
with him, was carefully packed away to be taken home. Below are two of 
the
reasons the R/C contest ran so smoothly, at left is Janet Roselle, wife
of R/C CD Steve Roselle, and at right is Miriam Schmidt, wife of SAM 30
stalwart Loren Schmidt. Ken Kullman from Colorado Springs, holds up his
Spirit of SAM entry, a special event promoted by Eut Tileston of SAM 51--Rubber
designs powered by electric motors, 4.1 ounces of Battery pack and a lot
of fun. Won by Eut in a fly-off.
Unofficial
"International Headquarters" tents were flags and flagpoles purchased by
Ed Hamler, SAM Western States VP, and attached to three of SAM 27's member's
shade covers.
The
eventual winner of the Glow R/C Sweepstakes trophy, John McRae of SAM 51,
poses with family members who came out to watch him fly in the desert.
Return
to SAM Home Page 
Click
Here For R/C CD's Report on Champs '97
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