Frozen Finger Fun Fly 2003

Dateline January 1^st Drumquin Park

 What did you do on the first day of  2003?

 One group of 75 or so (and 1 dog) gathered together at a frozen field in Drumquin park to witness a little bit of insanity we call the OMFC Frozen Finger Fun Fly, or as I like to call it “Eichenberg’s Onslaught” named after the event’s coordinator or perhaps instigator in this case.

 The mercury read minus 2 which is normally not that cold, but add a very damp 25kph south easterly wind and you have numbing cold. Now we see a line of about 8 model aircraft waiting impatiently behind a nylon rope stretched out as a starting line. With each model was it’s intrepid crew, a pilot (the one with the almost frozen fingers clutching a very cold radio control) and his pit crew (the one who gets to wear mittens).

 Behind the safety fence stood a crowd who had just moved away from the bonfire in a barrel to witness the spectacle of eight aircraft trying to be the first one after the starting gun to start their engine, take off , fly at least one circuit and land without crashing.

 At precisely 12:00 there was a resounding click of a hammer hitting a frozen firing pin. Instantly the pit crews sprung into action and one by one in rapid succession we heard engines come to life. First into the air was Bruce Dixon, followed closely by Maqsood Ahmad, and then John Wheeler’s entry left the ground. At that point there was a loud boom instead of a loud click as the starting gun was discharged

 All but one of the aircraft was able to take off and land, quite a feat on a cold day. Within a few minutes the spectacle was over with a brief moment of post climatic excitement when Bruce Dixon’s engine quit and he proclaimed loudly that he was “deadstick”. He was able to land safely and retain his 1^st place status. 

With the main event concluded, everyone returned to the warmth of the bonfire in a barrel again to enjoy some refreshments.

 Thank you Jim, for a great event.

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	First Place; Bruce Dixon with Pit Crew Kelly Dixon
	Second Place; Maqsood Ahmad with Pit Crew Richard Els (holding the model)
	Third Place; John Wheeler (left) with Pit Crew John Malley (holding the model)