Beautiful Borrego Springs was the venue for California’s first contest of the year (April 19-20, 2024) The Hammerhead Round up was hosted by IAC chapter 36. There were 30 pilots in five power categories and US National Glider Sportsman Champion Robin Simmons took his MDM Fox-1P out for a spin.
Azure blue skies greeted the competitors as the pilots battled for the top three spots. In Primary Christian Del Ray, flying a Pitts S-2B finished first in his first and third flights ultimately edging out Aaron Benedetti, flying a Great Lakes 2T-1A-2. Christian's overall score was 78.30% to Aaron's overall score of 75.31%.
In the Sportsman category Brian Pham, flying a Pitts S-1-SS, held onto his considerable lead in the Known and Free, even though he finished 5th in the Unknown, with a overall score of 82.33.%. Nipping at his heels was Carter Evans, flying a Super Decathlon, with an overall score of 80.49%.
The tightest display of mastery of aerobatics was in the Intermediate category. Phillip Gragg, flying a Pitts S-2B, and Alex Tally, also flying a Pitts S2-B, swapped back and forth between first and second place in the Known, Free and Unknown flights. In the end, Phillip ended up in first place with a squeaker of a score: 79.57% overall to Alex’s 79.56%!
The Advanced category saw Brooks Mershon, flying his Sukhoi SU-26M to a first place finish with an overall score of 78.17%. Bret Davenport, flying a Spitts S-1S, came in second overall with 76.07% followed by third place finisher Eric more in his Laser 230 with an overall score of 75.42%.
In the Unlimited category Dave Watson, flying his MX2, only swapped out of first place once in the Known flight with Ekaterina Volkova, and winning the Free and Unknown and ending up overall winner with 76.15%. After her success in the Known Ekaterina flew into second place in the Free and Unknown ending with an overall second place score of 74.88%.
This contest in Borrego is known for its beautiful surroundings and an aerobatic box with markers larger than CIVA standards. With a nice long 5,000 foot runway and a judges line within spitting distance, the contest did not disappoint. The awards banquet was held at the lovely Borrego Springs Resort.
See all the final scores: https://iaccdb.iac.org/contests/889
Visit IAC Chapter 36 on their website: https://iac36.org/
BJH Photography
