Junk Yard Wars Revenge

The best day I have had in a long time (that was only about me) was the day I spent at the Santa Cruz R/C flying field. I’ve been asking myself why I need to go to Bolivia to have a good time. I mean, we DO have flying fields here. I even have my own. So why am I never at them? Chuck, my oldest friend (at least in terms of number of years we’ve known each other), has been very good at continually inviting me to the field, but I seem to be “busy” all the time. But here’s the thing: I’M NOT WORKING ANY MORE!

There is really no reason I can’t spend an entire day flying right here in my own backyard. I did go flying last Saturday and had a blast, but I am not there yet; I only managed two-and-a-half hours and couldn’t go for coffee after the races. But I did get to the field, at least. I managed seven consecutive hours of flying in Bolivia and never once thought about having to rush away afterwards, but this two-and-a-half hour block is a start. I didn’t have enough time to test fly my Micron (electric racer), so I had to fall back on my 3-year-old twin built during “Junk Yard Wars: the Brunswick Farm Edition”—a plane that Murray T., Bev B., my daughter and I built in three hours. The plane was never meant to last more than a day, but it is still one of the sweetest little electrics I have. I am so comfortable with the plane; I flew the last lap of the race inverted, just for fun.

I got thinking about the “Junk Yard Wars” we hosted here on the farm for a number of years and why we stopped. To host “JYW” is a family effort: set-up, clean-up, site prep, food, food, food (I like to eat), trophies and advertising. I think we just decided that we were too busy. But here’s the thing: I’M NOT WORKING ANY MORE! I love “JYW”! It is everything I am attracted to: competition, problem solving, camaraderie, cheap and…Did I mention food?

One of the best moments of “JYW” was watching the Brown family compete—all three generations—an enthusiastic grandson leading a patient and supportive father and a beaming grandfather. I don’t remember how they placed, but they won more than a trophy. Since then we have had many three-generation teams, and we always had a good time.

So, on that note, we will be hosting the “2009 Ken Brown Memorial E-junkyard Wars” in the last part of September. Dates and rules to follow in the next few weeks; so stay tuned. In honor of my newfound Bolivian flying friends, we will have a Bolivia/Canada theme, so start to do a little research and planning on how you may incorporate Bolivian colors or flags or something. This year we will do more flying and less building, but I promise, just as much eating! We are not here for a long time so we better have a good time! Everyone is welcome, so get ready to mark your calendar.