For those of you that did not make it to the Youth Masters this past weekend at the Beautiful Triple Tree Aerodrome you missed out on some spectacular flying by some very talented young men and one young woman (that kicked butt). These pilots were broken down into two "classes" ,beginners and advanced . The venue started with a ground schooling Saturday morning that lasted for a couple of hours ,no one dozed off during this class,with all of the pilots paying attention and asking questions. After "school was finished it was up to the pilots to determine if the planes were airworthy , these pilots went over all of the planes with a fine tooth comb , after which the planes were rolled out to the runway for every one to get in a test flight on these planes.After test flights it was lunch time , perfect timing at that . Round one , all these pilots were handling these planes with a little fear, all were a little nervous , and the wind was starting to pick up.Round Two, these pilots were flying in 25-30 mph winds and doing it in such a manner that would impress the seasoned IMAC pilot. After round two it was decided that we would call it a day and now it was time for the REAL competitions ,the fishing competition and the foamy freestyle after the sun went down .Foamy Freestyle was done under the lights,to music and judged under the lights by all of the pilots. These pilots were able to some how fly into the dead of darkness and come popping into the light in an inverted flatspin only inches off the ground , what the pilots don't know is that I was sitting along with Mr Bob Sadler and Mr Mark Hale and we too were judging the pilots on their skills , and we agreed with the pilots decision's on the freestyle. Sunday morning came to faster than some of us would have liked, with the winds already blowing at 15-20 mph at 7:30 am it was obvious what the day was going to bring , these pilots were ready to put some air under these planes.Just so that you can get an idea of how the wind was , this was the type of wind that at you're local field ,the "pro pilots" as they call them self's , would not even be getting their planes out of the truck and or trailer because "it's to windy" , not once did I hear a young competitor say these words. Wow , what a difference , all of the pilots were now all of a sudden Not nervous/scared and every one is talking about how we can do better ,we were able to get in two more rounds on Sunday before lunch , after lunch it is now time to get these planes ready for storage , this also means that the pilots scanned the grounds for any trash and or debris that was not on the ground when they arrived at Triple Tree on Friday. During this "competition" ,if you want to call it that , these pilots found that not only came you always learn something new , but they all became FRIENDS , something that is overlooked sometimes more that anything. To all of the pilots that were able to come to the Youth Masters you should be proud of what you did this past weekend , and you should be thankfull to you're parents for the support that they give you on a daily basis and just for the time that the are willing to spend with you ,it may not mean a whole lot now but it will when you get older.Always remember ,everyone was a winner as soon as you drove through the gate ,everyone . There is one person that should also be thanked ,and that is Mr Pat Hartness for providing us with the best flying field and hospitality , Mrs Carrol,Mr Kirby,Mark Hale,Bob Sadler,Mr Kent ,Mark McLendon, Jimmy ,Adam ,Rj ,Kevin G, "Big Pappa" Mike Chandley,and everyone else that I can not remember , I say THANK YOU . here are some pix that were taken.
we FFAA will also be holding a Youth Masters here in Florida on October 18,19 for anyone (16 and under) that would like to .

more pix

and more

Great coverage Donnie. I am very very proud of our young pilots! Also I commend the DADS that take the time to bring the young'uns to YM, much less spend the time with them and share with them, this great hobby!

Great Job pilots, and more so, Hatts off to Triple Tree and the organizers for this event!

Was that Jimmy Who? judging????

Yes Jimmy Who ...... It was not just the Dads, there was a MOM that drove her son all the way down from New Jersey to fly , way to go MOM .

Here's a pic of Jimmy Who

Youth Masters was a blast! Can't wait until next year.

Pics are up on Nall's website: http://www.joenall.com/joenall2/2008ympilots.html

I sure had a great time!!! congrats to everyone.

here's a few more pix

GREAT JOB EVERYONE.

this is too cool. congrads to all who took part in this event. a very great event. if i can help in any way in the florida one give me a shout...