As you can see by this batch of photos the comp atmosphere at the ECC is real stressful, in the first the Spears are hard at work working out their strategy for the day's flying and retrieval, you can see the stress written all over their faces.

The next is some kind of Egret or Heron we saw at the beach.

And the third is a picture of the camera mount that Mr. bill built for his glider. PVC and standard hardware that is fully adjustable and solid as hell. I have more pics of it if anyone is interested and I am building one now. I will let you know how it comes out.

It is one example of what you can learn from the very talented group assembled at a comp. I had just to ask and Mark, Linda, Kevin Carter, Jonny Durand or any one of a bunch of great pilots would gladly help set up my GPS or Vario, discuss the conditions and thoughts about the day, or just give a great neck and shoulder massage to a stressed out pilot(thanks Dana you're the greatest). If you have ever thought about doing a comp I would repeat Mr. Frutiger's advice and say the ECC and Maryland is a great place to learn XC. Fields bigger than anything we have to land in anywhere in the Finger lakes, as far as the eye can see, friendly landowners, and a family of pilots that are out to have a great time combines with a first class facility to create an atmosphere that can't be beat. Now if Sonny can control the weather we will be set.

See you there next year.