Hi Everyone,
I started flying indoor in 1985. The site was Bedford Boy's Ranch in Texas. I didn't possess much natural talent, just a burning desire to do it. Those pictures of EZBs in the magazines mesmerized me. Eventually, with the help of mentors like Jim Clem, Bud Tenny, Jesse Shepherd, and Stan Chilton, I became pretty good at it. By 1987 I started to set some Senior records and win a few Nats trophies. All this time I was only a part-time indoor flyer as I primarily flew outdoor FF.
Some of my best memories flying indoor involved the late great Jim Clem. He was a saint of man--he always had time to help me or offer advice. I'll never forget one record trials at Bedford (great Cat 1 site) Jim and I were pushing the LPP record up in Senior and Open. Jim broke the Open record with a 9:55 then I broke the Senior record with 9:56. Pretty cool for a 17-year-old kid to be 1 second ahead of the Open record. I never could have done it without Jim's advice though. As I recall Jim's 9:55 didn't stand for long. I think he bested it within a year or two then eventually with the arrival of Tan II the record went into the stratosphere--something like 16:55.
Another memory: watching Jim Richmond and the US team totally dominate at the 1990 F1D WC at ETSU. They finished 1-2-3-4. At the meet Jim gave me some '77 Pirelli which I used to set a couple more records. I still have some of that rubber!
College trook precendence from 1991 to 1996. Somehow I left with a degree from Texas A&M and started a career in marketing. Today I am self-employed as a Marcom strategist/copywriter.
I moved to Colorado Springs in 1998 and returned to active flying with the Magnificent Mountain Men in 2000, flying mostly outdoor. In 2001 I attained access to a good Cat II site in Colorado Springs and started holding indoor meets twice a year. Now with the arrival of Bill Leppard and Rob Romash to Colorado Springs, we are trying 3 contests a year. I still fly mostly outdoor but I did return to USIC in 2005 and managed a 2nd place in LPP, flying the same model I built as a kid.
My one complaint is our altitude here (6100') makes record attempts next to impossible. I sure did get a charge out of those record trials at Bedford!
--Don DeLoach
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Received on Sat Dec 17 2005 - 11:24:34 CET
This archive was generated by Yannick on Sat Dec 14 2019 - 19:13:44 CET