Up early.

Up early this morning at 6 a.m. for a 7:30 departure. Got the gear ready, made wakeup calls and headed down to meet up with Mark for breakfast. Kelly came down and joined us as well.

Prior to heading out to Galvez, Xavier and Dez had checked out of their hotel and moved over to our location at the Holiday Inn. We stored some stuff in our rooms until they could check in later in the day.

We arrived at Galvez Aeroclub and Chad quickly got in a round as it started to spit rain. By the time I had half my round in it was coming down very hard. I cut short the flight and we covered the planes up. It rained and blew for about an hour when Dez and Xavier arrived. The Japanese team was also waiting by the clubhouse for weather conditions to improve. Harry and Rosemary Ells also arrived to support the team during todays practice round.

After another 30 minutes or so that rain stopped and we started to fly. The Japanese team of Tetsuo Onda, Koji Suzuki and Yoichiro Akiba alternated with us and Portugal’s Antonio Costa until lunch time. Japan always fields a strong team and they have absolutely spotless, flawless aircraft.

Chad and I check out the Japanese Narlar. Clip on wings make the thing a "span" to put together. Very nice equipment.

The proprietor of the field had asked if we wanted to have a lunch at the clubhouse and not ones to turn down any meal, we gladly accepted. This was a good thing as we were all treated to a great BBQ of the various meats of Argentina along with the sweetest tomatoes I have ever had. A real treat for us and totally unexpected… definitely one of the highlights of our gastronomic experience here.

Chad and I help prepare lunch.... well sort of:-)

Team Suriname also arrived and we met up with Freddy Haggens and his gang. Here is a shot of them with thiere planes

This was day one of the “Official” practices for half of the teams entered. It is a 45 minute flying session that is available to each team for acclimation to the site. If it’s pouring rain then your out of luck on the flying part. Following these flights, all team aircraft are then processed (measured, weighed, etc) and certified legal for competition in the event.

Our times are set for 8:45 am on Saturday followed by aircraft processing. The team managers meeting also took place this evening with the times for team members flight published. Out of a group of 21 we fly…..
Sunday Morning (7 a.m.) Chad flies 5th, Dez 13th and Dave goes 20th.
Monday Afternoon (noon) Dez 8th, Dave 15th and Chad goes 21st.
Tuesday Morning (7 a.m.) Dez 3rd, Dave 10th and Chad goes 16th.
Wednesday Afternoon (noon) Dave 5th, Chad 11th and Dez goes 19th.
We stuck close to the hotel for dinner this evening as we will be up & gone with a 7:15 departure from the hotel. This gives us plenty of time for the 20 minute drive to the flying site, preparation (and watch the French team fly…. should be good!)