Combat over Cicero, NY - 7/31/04
Our Fourth Annual Combat event
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This year we were wondering how many would brave the awful weather forecast to actually fly in the rain. To our suprise, we had 3 out of town guests, Bob Loescher from Ohio, Earl Nester from Elkridge, Maryland, and Jerry Roscoe from Endicott, NY. The gauntlet was set, so we went ahead with action!
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Here's a shot of the pits after the drizzle set in. Note Earl Nester uses a tarp to project his gear from the wetness. He's a true veteran, and comes prepared for anything.
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The blue forestry flagging tape makes great streamers in the rain. At first I thought black would be a better color, but against a gray sky, they show up well. Although you'll probably get fewer cuts, the ones you do get will be obvious to all, and you can actually fly in pouring rain with them! You'll need sticky stuff on your wings to grab them though.
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Here's a link to the waterproof streamer tape:
100% Wood Fiber Enviro-Flagging page
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Contest Summary:
Well, this was the first time we flew 4 out of 5 rounds entirely in the rain!
We flew 5 rounds of Open B. Because of poor conditions, we decided not to fly SSC. Results below will be sent in for NPS standings:
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Open B Standings
| Place | Pilot | Cuts | Points |
| 1 | Joe Chovan | 6 | 840 |
| 2 | Bob Loescher | 3 | 804 |
| 3 | Jerry Roscoe | 2 | 708 |
| 4 | Earl Nester | 3 | 584 |
| 5 | Mark Mozo | 1 | 548 |
| 6 | Jim Weigner | 0 | 480 |
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Thanks to everyone who helped to make our event fun. The real heroes of the day were Fran Worth, President of the STARs club of Phoenix, NY, who came out prepared to sit or stand in the rain. He ran the timer for several rounds.
Jim Weigner offered to retrieve two of Bob Loescher's planes that went down "behind enemy lines" in the tall brush. One was lost the day before in practice, and the other was lost and later found by Jim after the contest. Jim's a real good-natured guy, and we thank him for his can-do spirit and stalwart determination. Jim got his feet wet (literally) in combat with his Predator, and plans to add a Panther to his fleet. We look forward to flying with him again soon.
Thanks to all who came, and hope next time brings better conditions, and more fun for all.
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Our Field is easy to find in Central New York. It's 5 minutes north of Syracuse less than 1 minute from the Rt 81 -> Rt 31 exit
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