Flying Eagles site

AMA Club #2417

Full listing of Eagles Cup Events

Prior Eagle's Cup Final Standings

2008 Event Roster

Current 2008 Eagles Cup Standings

January 27, 2008 - Frozen Finger Fun Fly
by Dave Beach

The forecast called for a chance of flurries but the actual weather had other plans. Truth be told the snow that started early Sunday morning and continued throughout the day only made the event more memorable. We got snow, sometimes light, sometimes moderate, but never enough to keep us from flying. Turnout was excellent in spite of the conditions with 14 pilots willing to put their planes in the air.

The competition started with a new event – “Helium Combat”. Begin with a 16’ long pole, then add 25 feet of narrow crepe paper and finish with a helium balloon. Award 25 points for a ‘rub’, 50 points for a ‘cut’, and 100 points for a ‘kill’. Give each pilot 3 minutes to rack up points then sit back and enjoy the show. It was a real crowd pleaser. Although there were a few close calls, no planes hit the pole or got swallowed up by trees. Dave Weidner took first place with his electric Skeeter. He got two rubs before getting hooked up hard on the crepe paper. There was a struggle as his plane strained to break the streamer. It finally gave way in two parts before the balloon escaped. Second place went to Matt Bole who also got two rubs before his cut. Despite some valiant efforts at chasing balloons with various length streamers downwind, no one managed to pop one for a kill.

Due to overwhelming demand, we drew the raffle prize winner after the first event. This year’s winner was a stunned Casey Rettke. It was Casey’s first visit to the field. He came hoping to find a club to help him learn to fly his new trainer.

Dicey Roops was the second event which added an element of luck to the standings. First up was Bob Perreault who rolled any unlucky 12. He completed his Roops in good time, but got tired of rolling the dice after landing and just gave up. On the somewhat lucky, somewhat skilled side of the equation – congratulations go to Ryan Metivier for his first place finish. Four well executed Roops, landing, and rolling another four on the dice in a blazing 37 seconds. Honorable mention also goes to second place finisher, Bob Terry. He also finished his required 6 Roops in under a minute.

The final event was rear view slalom. Congratulations go to Bob Barger, Jr. for his first place finish. Either he got some time to practice for the event, or he spends a lot of time admiring himself in the mirror. Regardless, he managed to steer his plane around the pylons with only the mirror and minor verbal assistance from Dad in a mind boggling 38 seconds. Not far behind him was Larry Claveau with a quick 47 second run, good enough for second place.

The overall scores are posted, but in my mind the biggest winner is the club itself. It’s great to see a club with so many active members willing to participate in an outdoor winter competition. Thanks go not only to the pilots, but to everyone who came out to watch, and especially those who came out to lend a hand in making the event run smoothly. Volunteers came out any time assistance was requested. Too many, in fact, for me to keep track of everyone but I would like to name a few. Please join me in offering special thanks to Bob Terry for providing snowmobiles for grooming. Thanks also to Brandon Waite for registration, setup, and score keeping. And lets not forget Chef Dave Surwell for providing the shopping and cooking for lunch.

February 3, 2008 - Eagles Cup "Can 'U' Land"

March 5, 2008 - Eagle Cup "Joe's Air Race"