Our move from Tooele to Riverton has not been without its traumas and dramas. Establishing entirely new friendships is part of that. I’m affable enough, but I really miss my old friends and find it a little harder to make new friends than when I moved into my old house ten years ago. But at least in my case I have one easy way to make friends: my interest in model aircraft. We are passionate, close-knit community, and have a wonderful organization to unify via the Academy of Model Aeronautics.
So the closest club field is a huge field behind a schoolyard, used by the Intermountain Silent Flyers. They are a sister club to my main club, the Ute R/C Association. I went to a competition with them today, and despite only four fellows competing, I had a blast. And there were donuts.
Sailplane competitions are an entirely different animal from the usual “fun fly” competitions I’m used to with the Utes. With the Utes, it’s a different format every time: an egg-drop this time, a climb-and-glide dead-stick competition the next, and perhaps a balloon-pop or limbo after that. With the IMSF, it’s all about flying for a certain amount of time — using only the wind and thermals to keep you aloft, as there are no motorized competitions in this club — then sticking the landing within a certain radius of a marker.
These IMSF folks track their points throughout a flying season, and give kudos (and modest rewards) to the winners. They are serious about their goal, and although it sounded boring to me at first, it’s really not dull at all. The winds are ever-changing, and each flight is unique. You have to think on your feet, manage your energy, and above all be observant of changing conditions to react accordingly. The difference between sailplane thermal-duration contests and just flying a powered airplane is… it’s like the difference between shooting hoops with a buddy where each of you has a basketball and you’re just putting up shots to show off and goof around, versus playing 1-on-1 with money on the line or perhaps a full-court game.
It’s challenging, sporting, and a heck of a lot of fun. Even though I feel as if it’s slow-motion compared to the speed demons I’m used to racing around the flying field, it’s still a great time and the guys at the field couldn’t have been more friendly.
Well, maybe if they’d told me where the donuts were.