Oct - Rcsoaring.com

of the juniors from Seattle so I did notcompete.At the Cup my flight times were in the9:54 - 9:55 range and I was making my100 point landings. I was feeling prettygood until after the second round when Ichecked the posted scores.I was flying 98.99 percent of perfectand was in 55th place! You have got tobe kidding! Someone patted me on theshoulder and said, “Welcome to the bigleagues.”I was calling for Bob McGowan duringthe Spor Yapi Cup and he educatedme on what it takes to win. He reallywanted a 1000 point round. As we arestanding on the flight line waiting for thewindow to open, we both spotted somehand-launch sign on the deck and itdid not appear that anyone else saw it.Bob pulled up elevator as soon as theplane left the thrower’s hand and wasoff tow in less than a second. He loopedinverted and rolled out, bee-lining for thehand-launch sign. Bob hooked, madehis time and landed with a 9:58:55 and a100 landing. He got the 1000 points thatround.The Cup also gives you the chance toget used to the local conditions. Everymorning, the air was still with very littlethermal activity. As the day went on,the wind would build to a steady 15 to22 knots. Most of us are used to gustywinds, but the steadiness of the windmade it deceptive. It just did not feel thatwindy.The wind was going to be a problem. Welost planes downwind and we blew upplanes on launch.We also had some throwers that werevery impressive. Cody Remington andBob McGowan could load up the linewith the best.But what we had that no one else hadwas monsters for towmen. These guyscould pull. Phil Barnes and FrankieBurnoski towed for the Seniors and DaveKalamen (Brendon’s stepfather) and KellyJohnson towed for the Juniors. Towmen,especially towmen of this caliber, are theunsung heroes of any F3J team. Withoutthese guys nothing happens. When yourOctober 2008 11