Brett Baldi finishes in 4th place overall at the 2 day ECHLC event in Baltimore MD. This event was the first major event to feature the tip launch or discus launch method of competition. There were many concerns about safety but with 13 rounds of competition and 40 pilots in 4 flight groups on Sat and 3 flight groups on Sun, there was no mishaps to report. All went well except for a few overstressed airframes (and nerves!).
The top finishers were Phil Barnes (1st), Paul Seigel (2nd), Oleg Golodilov (3rd), Brett Baldi (4th) and Adam Weston (5th).
Ohio made a good showing with 3 pilots in the top ten, Paul S.(2nd), Brett B.(4th) and Jim Carlton (8th).
Many different styles of HL planes were used with much interest shown in Brett's "homebrew" design. His planes with a mulitple break polyhedral and molded carbon fuse gave tremendous launch height and showed we can be competitive with the "big boys". I can't wait for the NATS to see how we stack up on the national level. With Brett's 4th place showing at last years NATS we hope to have some "wood" come home to Ohio from Muncie this year.
Weather was another attendance killer for the second time this past season. Four loyal, hardy pilots arrived to overcast skies and cold and drizzle. After a few long minutes of "should we or shouldn't we", we broke out the aircraft and did some testing of conditions. Surprisingly good lift was around, as well as the complimentry sink, and it was decided to run as many rounds as we could. The weather began to cooperate with the sun breaking thru and clouds giving way. We had some great flights and some excellent man on man competition. "All up, first down gets a strike and three strikes, you're out" has proven to be a fun event when lacking in attendance (and timers). Brett Baldi again proved his prowess and managed to get the better of Dana, Ryan and myself. Too bad the cold front that moved in the night before really put a damper on the event..but, never say die, we will try again in 2001!
BTW, thanks for all the donations from Parma Hobby and Thermal Gromit Works. The prizes will be held for use in our next event in August 2001. We want to GIVE these away as an incentive to attend the event, so plan on coming out this summer and do some HL!
Jim