Jamie Shelden <<email>> writes:

As many pilots are aware, we having been working on holding the Flytec Championships again in 2009. We tried every way possible to hold a meet at or near Quest and in the end just couldn’t get the permissions we needed from landowners. However, because of the popularity of the Flytec Race of Champions we held in 2007, we again wanted to try a new format. The folks at Quest and Flytec USA have tossed around the idea of a rally style competition for quite some time and we finally decided to give it a go.

So, we’re very excited to announce we’ll be opening registration in about two weeks for the Flytec Race and Rally at the Flytec web site (http://flytec.com). The rally will follow the Rob Kells Memorial competition at the Florida Ridge and will start from the Ridge and end at Lookout Mountain Flight Park in Tennessee. For those who aren’t familiar with the area, the total distance from The Ridge to Lookout Mountain is approximately 700 miles! So, expect very aggressive tasks over the 7 day competition. Early May typically brings gorgeous conditions and light or moderate south winds that should make the 700 mile trek totally doable – this is the same time of year that Jonny and Dustin flew their record-breaking flight of 283 miles to the north two years ago. We will have Cat 2 sanctioning, will be using GAP scoring as usual, and there will be prize money!!

We have arranged to land and tow out of beautiful small airports along the course line where pilots can camp (right under their gliders if they wish) or stay at the variety of low cost motels in the nearby towns. Bobby Bailey, Rhett Radford and Quest tug pilots will fly Dragonflies and the competition crew will drive all towing supplies to each location and we will be able to provide some retrieve for a limited number of pilots (for an extra charge). Of course, once it’s finished, tugs, crew and equipment will all head back down to Florida, so we should be able to help most people with transport back from Lookout Mountain.

This new format should be exciting and it will be great fun for pilots to fly some new parts of the southeast. So, come join the Quest and Flytec gang May 3 – 9.

I'll link to the registration page as soon as it is available.