IAC Chapter 12 and the U.S. Air Force Academy joined forces to hold the 2013 Ben Lowell Aerial Confrontation at Academy Field on April 20-21. Although it snowed in the days leading up to the contest and snowed again right after, conditions were pretty favorable from Thursday through Sunday. (OK, it got kinda chilly on Saturday afternoon, but Sunday was glorious!) And the cadets got a special treat on Friday when Matt Tanner performed an aerial demonstration over the campus itself (see photo below.)
Competitors flew in from as far away as Pennsylvania (via the airlines), St. Louis, and Santa Fe.
Volunteers * Power Results * Glider Results * Photos
As always, this event wouldn't have been possible without the help of numerous volunteers and Air Force staff and cadets including:
- Contest Director: Jeff Riddlebarger
- Volunteer Coordinator: Michelle McMillen
- Scoring Director: Aaron Dripps, assisted by Janessa Mehalko
- Chief Judge: Mark Matticola, assisted by James Gregory, Joshua McCrary, Kandi Spangler, Matt Tanner, and Chris Villenueva
- Judges: Dick Bevington, Bob Buckley, Aaron Dripps, Klein Gilhouse, Margaret Grafe, Peter Groves, DJ Molny, and Jamie Treat
- Assistant Judges: Steve Bergevin, Gary DeBaun, Rick Dillman, Pat Fogarty, Dagmar Kress, Tom Larkin, Chris Leach, Kandi Spangler, Tom Thomason, and Varun Verma
- Tech Inspection: Jamie Treat
- Starters: Matt Amig and Jason Deas
- Treasurer: Brian Cabebe
- Food and Lodging: Nick Dona and Craig Nowadly
- Airfield and Airspace: Courtney Davis and Dan Rund
Unfortunately I'm sure I left somebody out -- many thanks to all who lent a hand!!
Competitors are listed in the order of finish, starting with 1st place. Click here for the scores on each flight.
Primary: Dan Peters (in his first-ever contest), Kris Kendall (first contest since buying his Pitts S-1), Henry Leeuwenberg, Matt Villanueva, Jason Deas. The latter three competed in DG-1000 gliders!
Sportsman: Varun Verma (in his first time flying Sportsman), Joseph Overman (who flew with his son in their S-2A all the way from St. Louis -- seven hours en route), Casey Meeks (first contest in his newly acquired Laser), Tom Thomason, David Mehalko, Dennis Raphael, Chris Leach (also his first contest since buying his S-1), Tom Shpakow, and Blair Mohn.
Intermediate: Bob Buckley, Steve Bergevin (his first contest since the prior Academy event in 2009)
Advanced: Matt Tanner, DJ Molny, Dick Bevington
Competitors are listed in the order of finish, starting with 1st place. Click here for the scores on each flight.
We were fortunate to have several really good photographers on hand, including Paul Gordon and Steve Nelson. Many thanks for allowing us to use your images!
