Tony Fandino Competes and wins
Triple Tree IMAC Classic
Woodruff, SC

Thursday dawns to the low mist that covers the Triple Tree Aerodrome. I pull up over the hill to find a bunch of pilots getting set up for the practice day before the contest. There was Baron and Fred Johnson, Joel Marley, Stan Stockman, Roy Barrow, Phil Vance. As the day progressed more and more pilots flowed in steadily. We ended our practice day with about 35 of the 45 contestants there and set up ready for battle and a battle it would be.

Friday we start with our pilots meeting with Stan giving us the lowdown. There will be 3 flight stations two on the south side by the lake and one on the north side of the runway. Basic, Sportsman, and Intermediate fly on the south side and Advanced, and Unlimited fly on the north side. Flying gets started by 9:00am and the action starts. In unlimited Baron Johnson , Brian Hanna, Wayne Mathews, Ty Lyman, Mark McClellan, Brad Neal, and Kelly Gerber are all locked in mortal combat. After the first round Baron has pulled out in front winning the first round of knowns with Brian in a close second and Wayne Mathews staying on there tails. In advanced David Smith, Jimmy Ritch, Joel Marly, Roy Barrow, Joe Cutright, and Ron Storer were all locked in a heated battle, after the first round Joe Cutright was in first with Jimmy Ritch and David Smith a close second and third. In Intermediate there were 11 competitors and it would be a very tight Battle, Jerry Black, Guy Alon, Adam Ranck, Phil Vance, Mike Hill, Chris Tomberlin, Carlos Paez, Mike McDaniel, Buddy Curtis, Dale Klein, and Kyle Swewart. First round would end with Kyle Stewart and Jerry Black each getting sequence wins with Jerry in first Mike Hill in second and Kyle in third, with Adam, Buddy, Carlos, and Mike McDaniel within striking distance.

Sportsman would be the big class with 14 contestants, Chris Scoggins, Nick Scott, Charles Youngblood, Chris Campos, Braddley Petty, Terry Hickey, Tony Fandino, Don Martin, Kent Porter, Craig Baker, Tom Hanna, Bob Mackie, Keven Dixon, and Tony Gorgone. First round started with Tony Fandino turning up the heat, coming off a win at the nat's he started strong winning the first round, Chris Scoggens in second Nick Scott in third and Craig, Chris Campos and Badley Petty within striking distance. Basic would have 9 contestants, Jerry Bullaboy, Kyle McNitt, Travis LaFontaine, David Stewart, Kurtis Waits, Gene Sedgwick, Jim Malek, Jim Langford, and Neil Sutherland. First round would start with Jerry blowing out the gates with a strong lead winning both known sequences, David Stewart in second and Kurtis Waites in third.

Rounds 2 and 3 went smooth with very little change in position in Basic Jerry was flying strong with David and Kurtis both getting round victories. In sportsman it looks like Tony Fandino is the one to beat winning all three rounds that day with Nick Scott and Craig Baker gaining ground on Chris Scoggins . In intermediate Jerry was flying strong keeping the pressure on the youngsters winning rounds two and three with Adam gaining ground on Kyle and Mike Hill. In Advanced Joe Cutright was on a mission to win and it showed with winning rounds two and three handily. David Smith and Jimmy Ritch Battling for second and third. It was good to see Phil Vance doing some flying again he does so much to help IMAC he has no time to fly. Well In unlimited Baron was determined to stay in front with Brian a close second and Wayne keeping up the pressure in third and Kelly determined to stay in the hunt.

Day 2 Started with a light mist over Triple Tree . After the pilots meeting flying quickly got under way with the first of three unknowns for this contest. Boy could you hear people complain they were not easy. Unlimited started with Brian taking the first unknown and Baron right behind and Kelly getting hungry in third in the unknown. Advanced Started with Ron Storer taking the unknown an David a close second and Joe taking third. Intermediate would start again with Jerry Black taking the unknown with Buddy Curtis second and Kyle third. In Sportsman unknowns Craig Baker would be the man winning with Bradley Petty in second and Nick Scott in third.

With the unknowns out of the way the competition shifted back two flying two more known rounds. Basic started with Jerry Bullaboy keeping up the pressure staying in the lead with David and Kurtis a close second and third. In Sportsman Tony Fandino started to slip after a bad unknown Nick Scott took the 4th and 5th rounds with Tony Fandino in second and Craig Baker taking the third spot for the rounds. Tony Fandino Managed to stay in the lead after the end of the day. In Intermediate Carlos Paez started to turn on the heat with a win in the 4th round but Jerry stepped it up and took second in the 5th round Buddy Curtis taking the 5th round win and Adam and Mike Hill keeping it close, the day ended with Jerry in first, Adam in second and Mike Hill in third. Advance the battle continued with Joe winning rounds 4 and 5 Jimmy and David would be wrestling for second and third. The end of the day cut advanced short to complete round 5 due to some light showers and lightning. Unlimited Baron keeps rolling along winning rounds 4 and 5 with Brian in second and Kelly and Wayne battling for third.

After flying ends we are all treated to a great barbecue and some kareoke thanks to the Confederate Air Farce and Kent Porter. At the Dinner Stan hands out the next days unknowns, we will be flying two more tomorrow. Sunday Dawns and can you say hot and humid . Well the day starts by finishing the advanced guys that did not get a chance to finish their round from yesterday after the pilots meeting . Second round of unknowns gets underway with unlimited getting started first and Kelly Gerber set on making up some ground Kelly takes second and third rounds of unknowns with Baron and Brian staying very close. Advanced Started with Jimmy Ritch winning the second unknown and Joel Marley right behind him and Joe in third . Third unknown would be a different story With David Smith winning this unknown And Jimmy in second and Joel in third. Intermediate was still a battle with Mike Hill taking the second unknown with Adam a close second and Jerry in third. In the third unknown Dale Klien would step up to the plate to win with Adam second and Mike Hill third. Sportsman Chris Campos was going to make his mark winning the second unknown with Tony Fandino a close second and Tony Gorgone third. Third unknown Craig Baker would be triumphant with Chris Scoggens taking second and Bob Mackie taking the third spot for the round. Now for the long wait while all the scores are tabulated tension was in the air so thick you can cut it with a knife. Before they hand out the awards we are treated to a great freestyle by a handful of pilots. Sorry I don't have the results. After the freestyle concluded Is was time to announce the winners.