Wow!! After an email in August I had gone from no plans to fly this fall to flying three events in a six-week span, winning at the Tucson Aerobatic Shootout, and qualifying for the IMAC World Championships. Needless to say, this has made a big change to next year's plans. :yikes:
Last weekend was the 2018 Cactus Classic. It's a contest with decades of history. Last year's class winners are awarded their Cactus Classic jacket at the contest. I was the winner for the Advanced class last year and received my CC jacket. The Advanced class seems like a lifetime ago.
This was a VERY special contest for me. My wife, Nicola, has agreed to be my caller for the World Championships in September. The final day of competition is her birthday. I know she could think of many other vacation spots for her birthday, but she is going to be in Muncie, Indiana, calling for me. :biggrin:
This was her first contest to give it a shot. She knew nothing about Aresti and had never even scribed at a contest. She was jumping right into the deep ending attempting to call for an Unlimited sequence. We did a crash course on Aresti and she made "a few" notes on the Known Aresti.

Notice her legend in the lower right corner.
It was a Known so I called it during the first flight so she could watch and hear the timing compared to the plane's spot in the sequence. She took over on the second flight. She did great. :thumbsup:
She was ready for the Unknown. On Saturday evening she walked me through it telling me what the maneuvers and elements were and asking me what to call. She made "a few" notes and we ran through it twice on Saturday evening.
I arrived early on Sunday morning to put the plane together. I had to get a clean Aresti for the Unknown so I could run through it before she arrived. I couldn't actually see the Aresti on her call sheet. We flew the Unknown and she was incredible. So calm, so relaxed, and a smooth delivery. It was the coolest flight ever for me.
There's a saying that it's all the caller. I've been competing hard for 2nd to last place this year. Ignoring the 11th place pilot since he didn't fly Sunday, I finished in 3rd to last place out of 10 pilots.
My best finish this year. I let her know it was all because of her awesome calling!! :thumbsup: