There were three events flown, two of which are events to be contested at this summer's national championships, NARAM 58*

In NAR competition, greater points are earned 1st thru 4th place. Below 4th, a contestant with a qualified flight receives flight points. Here's how the chips fell.

With just 8 contestants, the range was run informally, so-called 'misfire alley,' with each contestant coordinating their own launch system with the other fliers.

Photo: Zachary prepares his Open Spot Landing model for his first flight of the day

Open Spot Landing- (Only one flight allowed and must be first flight of the day. The measurement in meters is from a designated landing "spot" to the tip of the models nose

 cone. Wind played a BIG factor, except for John. Places are recognized only for models that landed <=50m from the landing spot. Rick and Ed were out in the weeds.)

Photo: John, Terrill, and Jim measure the distance from the marker to John's Open Spot Landing flight--just inside of 5 meters!  

Predicted Altitude-Altimeter- (The contestant predicts how high his/her model will go in meters and at our event, the altitude was determined by a NAR approved altimeter which the contestant's model had carry on board. Altimeters used at SLM-1 were Jolly Logic Altimeters 2 and 3, and PerfectFlite P'Nut. These are not the only approved altimeters. Competitors are allowed one flight.  The difference between the prediction and the recorded altitude is expressed as a percentage deviation.)

 

Photo: Jeffrey prepares his Predicted Altitude flight on our nearest historical landmark--Steve's 'vintage' launch pad!  Is that 'patina' I see on the launch pad, Steve?

C Parachute Duration- (In most NAR duration events, the competitor's scores reflect the SUM of two flight of which one must be returned. So long flights are most often lost as what happened to poor Zachary who pummeled the adults [FB]. Time is expressed in seconds for each flight and the total is the sum of the two flights in seconds.)

Photo Right: Terrill prepares his C Parachute Duration model for flight.  Leave it to the electric company employee to land his model on the only power lines for miles around! Good luck living that one down, Terrill!

Photo Left: Zachary's winning C Parachute model takes flight from a launch tower. This is one of those high performance models made of little more than air and a leaf.  But as Steve and John showed in the overall standings, sport models can be competitive as well!

I hope all of you had as much fun as I did. Keep the trash talk appropriate but coming. And watch out for Zachary...wolf in kids clothing!