Fall 2015 Rallye - 14Nov2015

On Saturday, November 14, 2015 the Majors Flying Club hosted its Fall Rallye. The event was planned and coordinated by the President, Mr. Dennis Mathis with the help of several volunteers. The event was well attended by about twenty people which included the pilots and crew members from the four aircraft entered in the contest.

The day started around 0730 with a hangar breakfast that included Grand's Southern style biscuits, sausage gravy, Jimmy Dean's sausage patties, Cracker Barrel hash brown casserole, donuts, and orange juice. While the pilots, navigators, and other interested parties enjoyed breakfast, the President and his staff of volunteers were scrambling around in the background to overcome some last minute changes to the Rallye.

The briefing was presented by Mr. Mathis and started at 0900. The briefing included the tasks to be performed departing KGVT (soft field takeoff over a 50' obstacle), the initial destination (Mineola-Wisner - 3F9), the check-in points, approach (360 degree simulated engine out approach and landing), and the touchdown point for 3F9. Additionally an extensive list of rule infractions and penalty points was presented. There was a bit of discussion between the pilots and the briefer until all were satisfied. Instruction for the subsequent destinations would be received at Mineola-Wisner. The first aircraft departed KGVT at 093130 followed by the other three aircraft in a well spaced and tightly controlled sequence. The instructions at Mineola-Wisner made Terrell (KTRL) the second destination with a short field landing and the touchdown point at the numbers. The leg out of KTRL was short field takeoff and a trip back to KGVT with a touchdown point for a runway 17 landing at the intersection of the closed NW-SE runway. A total of about 100 nm was flown for the three legs and took just over 2 hours to complete all three legs.

It is always good to make it back to home base but it was an especially good sight on Saturday to taxi up and see the grill being fired up by Joe Rector with the promise of hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats. Along with a full tray of trimmings, there was potato salad, chips, brownies and cookies. Who knew a Rallye would work up such an appetite!

The points were totaled and the winners were announced. Mr. Buddy Crump, the Aviation General Manager for the airport, was on hand to represent the city and pass out some very nice prizes. The prizes included 20 gallons of 100LL, a Carbon Monoxide detector, and several gifts cards to places such as Sporty's, Chili's, and Walmart.

1st Place
Pilot Don Reeder in his newly refurbished Super Cub (N7565K) with an assist from Navigator Denis Rottler

2nd Place
Pilot Dale Crumption in his Centurion (N6557B) with an assist from all three of his grandsons. They may have had the most fun as they switched out the co-pilot spot on each leg.

3rd Place
Pilot Don Van Kleek in the club's Archer (N8367T) and his intrepid navigator and club Safety Officer, Mark Armstrong.

4th Place
Pilot Dennis Harwell in the trusty club Cessna (N19481) introducing Craig Wheeler to the joys of flying.

The good news is everybody finished in the Top 5.

It was a very fun event in terms of flying, navigating, and some friendly competition but as Don Reeder said, it was really the Fellowship before, during and after the event that made the day.

Many thanks to the City of Greenville and Mr. Buddy Crump for providing some very nice prizes and helping promote the event.

Many thanks to Mr. Mathis who coordinated and organized the event and to the judges (Jon Bottorff, Ian Horbaczewski, Dennis Mathis, and Tom Trower) who gave up a good portion of their day to help with the judging. Thanks also to Lupita and her crew at Mineola_Wisner for setting up the touchdown point markers, judging the landings, and passing on the instruction for the subsequent leg.

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