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Old May 13th 20, 10:25 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Default How About Story Time

Like most "old timers" on this newsgroup, I got my Silver Distance in a 1-26. I needed it to fly in the 1-26 Championships (then called the North Americans) at our airport in Richmond, IN in 1969. I'd flown in three contests with a handful of XC flights but none met the requirements of 50 km straight out.

So the day before the contest opened, I took off headed north and came to earth 49 miles away in Portland, IN. I was worried that I wouldn't have time to send in the documentation.

About half way through the contest, I finally mentioned it to an official. "Oh," they laughed, "You've flown a contest before. That's good enough."

FWIW, In that 7-day contest, I had 9 flights over 4 flying days--including 3 on one day when I relit; relaunched and landed out, then rushed back on the trailer for a relight; and launched again.

I had never completed a task when we launched on the last day. When the contest was over, I still hadn't, having slid to a halt about a mile short of the finish. Only 2 days were scorable. It was a no contest but they went ahead and scored all 4 days anyway so they could hand out some trophies.

In a way, that early contest captured so much of what has been frustrating about soaring over the years: wx that turns bad just as the contest begins; frequent landouts; lots of effort and expense for very few contest days; and coming frustratingly short of a goal. It's amazing to me that I'm still involved 50+ years later since not much has changed.

Chip Bearden
JB