One day to go!

Up at 6.am. for the start of our day. We headed for breakfast all decked out in our Team Uniforms. We looked very sharp if I don’t say so myself : -)

We departed for the main flying site at 7:15 to get our practice flights in during our allotted 45 minutes. We watched the French team fly then Chad, Dez and I each flew a round.








Chad put in one more flight following a “Stop Fly” order due to an arriving full size airplane. We had a very strong blow in which made the crosswind T/O’s & landings a challenge as the airport taxiway we used as our runway was quite narrow.

Chad had a solid flight with just minor deviations and Dez followed right after. I had some strong winds to deal with following a long sound check… 94 DB (the limit). The experience was both humbling and exciting at the same time… very hard to describe really.


After we finished our practice flights we moved the planes over to a local hanger were the processing was taking place. After getting the paperwork sorted out we had the planes measured, weighed (My primary was 4970 grams and backup was 4890gr.) and the receivers checked out (?) and TX’s checked for correct frequency.








We all passed inspection and then headed out to have some pictures taken with both the planes and our supporters.



There was a lot of interest in my construction techniques... I think.


We had to have a special “high security” pass obtained for all team pilots and managers. Not sure why but it was a pretty straight forward process for us as we just had to stop at the Terminal on the way out.

We then headed back to Galvez to put in some practice flights. The Italians and Brazilians were already there but they made room for us for a couple flights. The gals headed into Galvez and then back to the flying site for the opening ceremonies.

We joined the throng of teams on the terminal ramp and marched via escort into the main area under the music of a live band. A large crowd had gathered an all were treated to some nice short speeches and then some very entertaining kit aerobatics, aircraft fly by’s and a parachute demonstration. It was very well done and a nice break from the usual practice regime.









I managed to get a picture for my son Kris who is in the Maldives flying… hope this works : -)









Early dinner and off to bed.. round one tomorrow!

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!)

Galvez Practice

The boys are working hard at “tweaking” their sequences. Chad is starting to show his game day routine as he put in a couple of almost flawless P07 flights this morning before we got rained out.

Dave’s flying is getting stronger and he is picking up some finer points from his fellow Team Canada pilots. The practice time he has put in over the past couple of months is coming together at the right time. Dave has chosen his old trusty original Twister as his prime airframe as he is most familiar with it’s set up. Today he flew his backup airframe, which will probably not fly again unless a mechanical issue crops up on the prime ship.

The exposure to the other international teams will also help Dave with his performance by getting used to flying in front of other “world class” pilots before the competition begins.

Day #2 Practice.

We had planned to depart at 8 am the next morning but elevator problems made loading a major pain. We are on the 11th floor and need good coordination to get everything down. I wanted to fly my backup today so both planes would make the trip. We finally left about 8:30
give or take.

Plane's loaded. The boxes, although not pretty, worked very well.







We headed to the Galvez Aeroclub field which is about half the distance south that we travelled the day before. Much quicker drive this a.m.!





We had just set up and started flying when the Italian team, along with the Portugal contingent arrived. They wanted a different flight line setup than what we had so we packed up and made a quick move to accomodate. Sebastiano Silvestri, Andrea Graselli and Luca Friggeri all managed several flights It was interesting watching the Italians launch their planes... verticaly... just like the foamies! I'll stick with the conventional departure until after the contest :-) I'll try and get some photos/video of it.


We all took turns getting in rounds when the weather started to turn on us. Rain showers came through and then it started raining continiously. We decided to pack it in and head home to Santa Fe. I did manage one flight with the backup plane but my glasses were so distorted with the rain that flying was less than desirable.
Charged batteries and managed a short sleep after getting some lunch. Harry & Rosemary were busy getting passport photos copied for the competitors.... appearantly the airport security folks needed it. Harry is also trying to help track down a package I had sent down. Dinner was Italian tonight... not because we saw the Italians but that was the restuarant we walked by ;-)

Our first day of flying!

It was a slow start for our first practice day but considering all the travel & just getting used to everything this was OK. We all met at the Hotel's buffet breakfast and decided on which field to head towards. We wanted one that is not crowded as this can make the breaks between flights quite long making the day even longer. We decided to head south to a field near San Lorenzo. As this is 120km from Santa Fe and only a short distance from Rosario the girls decided they would follow along and take a tour of while the guys flew.


Heading south.





The girls follow us down the highway towards Rosario.



We headed out in a three car convoy and after a bit of searching for the correct exit, we found the field occupied by only fellow team members Dezso Vaghy and Xavier Moureux.

We unloaded and prepped the planes for the practice session. We had only brought our primary planes so we started putting in rounds one after the other. We are on our team frequency of Channel 30 which means nothing to anyone here.. it's 72.390.





We met Joe (the owner of the "campo" field) and his family and managed, through his wife's broken English, to explain who we were and what we were doing. They were very happy to have us visit and wondered if other teams would be arriving? That we did not know. We had the place to ourselves so we managed 7 rounds each.


The girls hooked up with Rosemary Ells and, along with Brian Northeast they headed into Rosario to check out the sights while we flew.

The winds were blowing out so we worked hard to maintain distance throughout the day. It was nice to finally fly and get some practice as this is probably what we will expect at the "Official" site. I let Mark take the sticks on my last flight.. hey he came all this way to helps so i thought it appropriate for him to get the chance. He had fun.

We headed back to Santa Fe and went for a late dinner. The lifestyle here leads to this as everyone goes out after 9 at night. The restaurants start to fill and it gets busy. Tonight it was the legendary beef that we wanted and after getting some tips from the Canadian interpreter Nick, we found a very good place down near the main part of town.


Mark finally got his steak!



The food was great and everyone was pretty tired as we headed back to the hotel. It was a late night and not really what I had expected.... hey I need some sleep! We made the next days departure arrangements and headed for bed.

Update later today.

Sorry folks, really busy this Wednesday. I'll update and bring everyone up to speed later on Tuesday. Connectivity is an issue on our floor so I have to head to the lobby to blog... bit of a pain. :-)

We made it!

Sorry for the delay in updates but we have had sporadic connection issues with our wireless system..... and we have been very busy! Lets bring you up to date shall we......

We arrived at the hotel just before midnight after a 6 hour, 450 km drive from Buenos Aires. Although it was rush hour (and after a short 10 minute detour when we got off track slightly) we managed to hit Hwy 9 north to Rosario and on to Hwy 11 to Santa Fe. The drive up was uneventful other than a stop for fuel and the numerous toll booths along the way. The topography is much like Alberta in summer, flat with lots of green fields and the highway is populated with many hundreds of heavy transport trucks... like the I-5 in Washington State only more trucks. Tourists are easily recognized as they are the only one's using turn signals for lane changes :-)

We awoke about 9 a.m. local and after showering etc, we headed down for breakfast in the hotel and a short walk around the area. A general plan was made to have the guys start assembling planes and the gals to get some pesos and.. well go shopping! The place closes down between noon and 4 p.m. for siesta so this helps save me some money:-) I was pretty bagged from the travel so I opted to not fly today.. just get prepped and ready for practice Wednesday.

Mark and I got the planes put together and then we followed Chad's lead and headed to the store and then on to Parana (to the east) to check out the practice field. After stopping for supplies (chairs, cooler, water etc.) at the local Walmart. We continued the drive out and easily found the practice site. We met up with D-7 's Adrian Wong and the rest of the Hong Kong contingent. The Chilean team was also there practicing.

Adrian mentioned several teams having both shipment and transportation issues. USA had planes stuck in customs for two days.. others with packages still in customs!.. and I am told it apparently took the South African team 12 hours to get from Buenos Aires to Santa Fe... ouch!

We stayed for a half hour or so to watch some flying then headed back to the hotel to prepare the van for transporting the planes. Once assembled the planes take up almost all the van's interior.... this one's anyway! Much work was needed.

Driving here is not, shall we say as "controlled" as in North America... it's more like a race to the finish line. Some are determined to win and other are just happy to finish the race! Every style of vehicle is here... new BMW's to 1950's relic's sporting original paint on their crushed fenders. Pedestrians have no rights and the four way stops..well any stops for that matter, have yet to find there way into the mindset of the locals. There are Stop signs but those appear to be "for display only" :-) As much as the driving seams like semi-organized chaos to us, we have not observed any accidents to speak off.

We had grabbed some cardboard boxes and tape at Walmart and Mark and I started to dream up some stands for the two planes to fit into. After about an hour & a half we had the van prepped and ready. Mark had a local reporter stop and take some pictures and a short interview. We hope to see his mug on the front page tomorrow morning!

We "accidentally" crashed the organized meal for the competitors after being told this is where dinner was served (?). We were all so hungry we put up little resistance and settled with the organizers after we finished the nice buffet... so no "free" meal :-).

After dinner we met up with Harry & Rosemary Ells and Brian & Chad Northeast in another dinning area. We had a short visit and got caught up on our adventures to date. We'll met for breakfast in the a.m. to organize our practice day.

In bed early as we try and catch up on lost sleep we suffered in the past few days. Mark has some additional pictures he will post once he gets up. Please ignore his comments on my tumble into the fountain... it never happened! Ok.. well maybe my hand might have gotten a little wet.... no 2-1/2 gainer though :-)