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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Here's another beginners story -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I soloed in the fall of 99, after 10 years of
looking at the Goldberg Eagle II I built with my wife in 1989. I farted
around, boaring holes in the sky, building a couple kits and a few arfs, and did
some instructing at the field. A friend by the name of Dick Beldon
flys masters in our district, and was always out practicing in his Typhoon 2 +
2. Fascinated by how he flew, I looked into pattern and even IMAC basic and
sportsman sequences to see how difficult they were. They looked pretty
easy! <NOT> I settled on Pattern because of Dicks involvement,
and it just seemed more precise.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>After much frustration with trying to perfect straight
flight out with my World Models T-34, I realized flying with a purpose is more
difficult than it looks. Here-in lies the clincher - I was challenged and
fascinated from that point on! Don't laugh, but I thought I was "really"
getting into it by buying Hangar 9 Aresti! Anyway, I got it together
and flying 4 days before the Bud Garric Classic in Sacramento, CA this
summer. I practiced the Sportsmans sequence 3 nights after work trying to
"perfect" it. Haa haa! I had a friends son Matthew Ylst, calling for
me. I had soloed him just this spring.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The time came for the event. Dick Gave me some words
of wisdom before I went up and Matt got my plane ready for starting. I
flew a absolutely HORRIBLE sequence, but was hooked! I placed
fourth in that event out of 5 in our class.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Well Matt was pretty fascinated by the whole weekend too,
so he went out and got a Tiger 2, and I helped him get it together. We
flew together in the recent competition in Napa, CA, and are having a
ball. He placed fourth out of 5, and I took second place. We are
kind of co-coaching each other, and look forward to next season. Dick has
been a tremendous help and source of encouragement as well.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Matt and I will both be flying our clunkers this next
season in Sportsman, but at the same time are gearing up for the 2004
season. He is working on getting a Zen 90, and I will be building a
Typhoon 2 + 2, with some help and advice from Dick.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Moral of the story?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>- I got the bug from watching a guy
practice at the field, and he took the time to answer a LOT of questions give
advice.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>- At each event, contrary to common
rumor, even the most advanced flyers were extremely friendly and genuinely
wanted to help.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>- By bringing a friend, he
inadvertently got hooked. Maybe we should start a "Bring a Friend To
Pattern" Campaign? Kinda like the AMA's Sign a Friend?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>- I have just joined the NSRCA, and feel
now what you guys must feel, like I am an ambassador to the sport.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Hope this all made sense, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Chris Larson</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Plymouth, CA</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>NSRCA 3484</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>