The 4th Annual Nickless Fun Fly is in the record books and what a great event it was!!   The fun fly was held at the club's new flying site at Erickson Park in Delta Township, Michigan on September 15, 2007.   The crisp Michigan Fall day featured a cloud dotted blue sky with mild winds and zero rain.   Perfect control line flying weather.

The turnout was nothing short of GREAT!   Although no one got an actual head count, it is estimated that we had 40 folks (25 of which were pilots) from all parts of the State come and enjoy the day.   The number of aircraft had to top 50.

The field was groomed perfectly with freshly painted markings for the TWO grass flying circles.   A wonderful feature of Erickson Park is the clean restroom facilities provided by Delta Township.   This contributed greatly to everyone's comfort and enjoyment.

The contest events were changed somewhat from last year and consisted of Fun Stunt, ½ A Rat Race, 35 Rat Race, Fox 35 Combat, Precision Landing, and the always populars Balloon Bust.   The selection of events is intended to provide an opportunity for everyone to participate regardless of skill level.   The Stunt and Combat events provided a challenge for the experienced pilots while the Precision landing is geared toward beginners.  The success of this event seems to indicate that this formula works.   Trophies were again donated by Bob Edelstein and were awarded to the first three places in each event.   The award winners are shown below.   The Most Memorable Moment award, a plaque depicting an airliner with a flaming engine, went to Dan Miles for his spectacular mid air with Tim Nickless during the Combat event.

No event can be a success without the help of many people.   At the risk of missing someone, several THANK YOUs are definitely in order.   Kim Kramar did a great job mowing two circles and three pit areas to putting green perfection.   Bob Labadie spent considerable time professionally marking the field.   Canopies and tables were provided by Chris Davis, Ken Strobel, Gary Mohre, and Kim Kramar.   Food was donated by Terry Bentley and Rich Kacmarsky while Gloria Labadie handled the cooking chores for the 4th year.   She was capably assisted by Pauline Davis.   Arlene Nickless once again kept the Balloon Bust event supplied with helium balloons while Contest Director Tim Nickless kept things running smoothly.   And last but certainly not least, the ever present family support made the whole thing possible.

Finally, Frank Carlisle has suggested that this fun fly be expanded to a three event series for 2008 with events held in Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint with an overall champion crowned at the end of the season.   We will be discussing this in the AMA District seven web site C/L forum over the winter to allow everyone to provide input. The forum address is:

Craftsmanship

CRAFTSMANSHIP WINNERS

1) Jim Morway - Flint, MI; (Inset Left)  2) Bob Labadie - Lansing, MI; (Inset Right)  3) Rich Kacmarsky - Lansing, MI;  

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Fun Stunt

FUN STUNT WINNERS

1) Frank Carlisle - Flint, MI;   2) Greg Bossio - Flint, MI; (Inset)  3) Clark Kintigh - Lansing, MI  

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35 Rat Race

35 RAT RACE WINNERS

1) Grace Paris - Flint, MI;   2) Ken Strobel - Lansing, MI;   3) Rich Kacmarsky - Lansing, MI;  

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1/2 A Rat Race

1/2A RAT RACE WINNERS

1) Rich Kacmarsky - Lansing, MI;   2) Grace Paris - Flint, MI;  

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Precision Landing

PRECISION LANSING WINNERS (with Pit Crew)

1) Frank Carlisle - Flint, MI;   2) Leroy Heikes - Kalamazoo, MI   3) Kim Kramar - Charlotte, MI  

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Fox 35 Combat

FOX 35 COMBAT WINNERS

1) John Paris - Flint, MI;   2) Tim Nickless - Holt, MI;   3) Dan Miles - Flint, MI (Inset) 

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Balloon Bust

BALOON BUST WINNERS

1) Tim Nickless - Holt, MI;   2) Frank Carlisle - Flint, MI;   3) John Paris - Flint, MI;  

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Most Memorable Moment

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT WINNER

Dan Miles - Flint, MI (Inset - Accepted by John Paris) 

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Picture Gallery

Thank you to all who took the time to send their pictures of this event.   A special thanks to Frank Carlisle and Grace Paris who made the rounds and put faces on the names you see recorded here!
Anthony Davis	Bob Strobel
Branden Coates	Bob Labadie
Captain	Janet Bentley
Clark Kintigh	Dan Miles
The Davis Family	Dick Kirk
Don Britton	Fletch
Frank Carlisle	Gary Mohre
Gloria Labadie	Grace Paris
Greg Bossio	Jim Morway
John Paris	Keith Trimner
Ken Strobel	Kim Kramar
Leon Herriman	Leroy Heikes
The Nickless Family	Rich Kacmarsky
Sandy Dipka	Terry Bentley

Erickson Park was a perfect location


Lots of beautiful birds


Everybody loves biplanes


Half A racers


Great turn out of well crafted planes


And still more!


Enjoying a great day of control line flying!


Not much else you can do but grin and bear it!


Dan Miles on his way to the Most Memorable Moment award


Dan's plane received a proper burial


Lansing Area Flying Aces VP Rich Kacmarsky, CD Tim Nickless, and the trophy table


John Paris coming in for a balloon kill


John and Clark enjoy some combat action


The gang joins Tim Nickless in the circle for some communal flying


Frank Carlisle's hovering Bi-Slob


Chow time


Young craftsmen at work!


Rich Kacmarsky records the scores while Don Britton keeps him honest


Frank Carlisle's winning electric


Frank kills a balloon with John's help


Mike Paris at the controls


Craftsmanship entries


Pauline Davis, Sook-Hi Paris, and Sandy Dipka judge the Craftsmanship competetion


Jim Morway is one happy flyer!


On the prowl for a victim


"So there I was . . . "


Not sure what they see . . . either it's very good or very bad!


Rat Racing Fun


"Now where did I leave that plane?"


The Gang

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