By Andrea McGilvray IAC 440477
The Hammers over Hondo IAC Aerobatic Contest was a great success, with a strong turnout and the exciting debut of a new young competitor. Cadence Bomgarder, from Fort Worth, 19, participated in her first contest and will be advancing to the Sportsman category at the next event. Since she didn't have her own plane, I lent her my Decathlon, serving as her safety pilot (or backseat driver). We went up for a practice flight, and I gave her some tips along the way. It must have paid off—she took 1st place in the Primary category!
As for me, I didn’t have much help getting ready, partly due to the lack of aerobatic pilots interested in this incredible sport. However, a few of our chapter members stepped up to help with the contest. Steve Powel and Dan Ramsay volunteered on the judges’ line on Friday, getting a front-row seat to the action.
In my first flight, I was leading the pack at Hondo, but Bo Kalabus, flying his Christian Eagle, has been a long-time rival. We’ve been going head-to-head for years, and although I bested him in two flights last year, he still took 1st place overall in Edna—and he did it again this time. Bo is a phenomenal pilot, and I’m only 0.56% behind him, finishing in a solid 2nd place. I’ll have to come up with a strategy to outfly him at our next contest in October—maybe getting him really drunk the night before!
Other local competitors included Todd Nelson and Doug Jenkins in the Intermediate category, and Michael Steven from Boerne with his high-performance Extra NG. Unfortunately, his “hot rod” lost to a little Pitts S-1C. But with a bit of coaching, I know he’ll climb the ranks quickly.
We had amazing sponsors again:
• Hondo Airport deducted $0.25/gallon of fuel
• ICOM - Top of the line Radio www.icomamerica.com
• Hooker Harness - one full set www/hookerharness.com
• Softie Emergency Parachutes $400 towards our expenses http://softieparachutes.com
• Aigizmos www.airgizmos.com
• Aircraft Spruce gave us $50 gift cards.
AND one of our chapter members has a company that builds headsets. I personally use it and love it under my helmet. His company is CMW Machine Works http://cqheadset.com
More information (about IAC chapter 107 and aerobatics) can be found on our Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/IAC107 and if you want to get involved??? Let me know!
Setting up the box and seeing it from above.
