Funston Air Races

[BJ Strand]

The SHGA was well represented for the single-surface class at this year's Funston air races; both Alex and I competed in a field of 3 (the other was a 'local' flying a northwing Freedom 170).

Now that I finally got my H3, I was cool to fly there without a sign-off; I had never been there before. I showed up early and ran into Barton. Boy, was I glad to see a familar face! He kindly gave me a site-intro, and we decided I should wait and see if the winds would calm down before setting up. They have a fantastic observation deck, so I watched and waited. Around 2 hours later, after not seeing any other falcons, I was just going to leave, when out of the blue Alex Wright walks by. Well, he thought the conditions looked good, so I set up with him.

I have to say, I was more than a little nervous walking up to launch, this being my first flight here and all. I had Laura on my left wing, and some other random girl I drafted into holding onto my right, waiting in line for launch behind a Swift, with Alex on his falcon behind me. Out of nowhere, like a ninja, Barton appeared at my nose wires! I never saw him walk up. It was instant stress relief; someone I trusted on my wires in those windy conditions. I had to ask him 3 times to remind me of the ridge right of way rules. Doggone nervousness. He was very patient and having him there made me feel very comfortable with taking off.

Well, I launched, and had a really fun flight! The race was from launch, South down the coast, and then back to launch. I wasn't even a quarter down the ridge when the Swift screamed past me on his return flight. I thought I was doing pretty well, but every time I looked over my shoulder, Alex's glider got bigger and bigger. By the time I tagged the turning point, Alex was on top of me and proceeded to pass me. The return flight was a breeze and very enjoyable. My final time was 15 minutes, Alex did it in 11. The first thing he said to me (in good humor) when we landed was, "Damn BJ, I kicked your ass!" Yes, I have to acknowledge, he thoroughly smoked it.

Anyway, it was a really fun event, and a cool place to fly. Very special thanks to Barton for his calming influence and shared wisdom of the area, and to Alex for convincing me to fly.

[jcflies]

AWESOME NEWS, BJ! Congrats!

[Steve90266]

Awesome accomplishment, BJ! Glad Alex and Barton were there to give you moral support. Perhaps we should try it again during the Big Sur weekend?

[srskypuppy]

I want to thank Ben, Barton, and all the SoCal folks for making the run up north and helping us have a great time!

Please come back anytime, and for sure for next years Air Races!