On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 4:04:16 PM UTC-6, wrote:
On Tuesday, December 11, 2012 11:28:52 AM UTC-8, Tony wrote: Haven't heard much from the ol' Gapa Geezer lately but I see on his club website that he is the distinguished, honored winner of "The Tape Measure XC". Congrats Geezer!!! Only the hardiest of XC pilots could pull of such an achievement, earned "for the shortest flight resulting in an out landing". Hope you're spending the winter getting that Gapa tuned up for spring. I know I'll be ready to chase some cold fronts come March & April. -Cherokee Kid Well thanks fur noticin' kid. I gotta say your flights this past season was downright insprin'. I wish I could say this here award was planned, or the result of me a swoopin' down and landin' the GAPA after noticin' some wrong to right, or some iniquity to take care of, what with reluctantly a bein' tagged a super-hero an' such. But that warn't the case, it was the result of some problems a towin' with that GAPA whereby my sidekick Bart is thinkin' it gots a problem with ailereon reversal and sometimes it just don't want to roll on tow - lessin' you stomp in a bunch a 'rudder. It got so scary that time that I done cut loose about 400 feet high, and danged if couldn't make it back ta the aerodrome, resultin' in the off field landin'. It turns out the second shortest landout was by my side-kick Bart in the GAPA who done had the same problem on 'nother flight and ended up landin' just a ways longer than I did for 2nd place in the standins. This here's a copy of some talk a while back about the flight on our club mailin' list: "I have some of the same feelings as you about some of the new technology, although I did find myself wishing I had a SPOT couple of months ago. I landed the GAPA in that field just outside the airport fence on the other side of Loyal's house and nobody back at the clubhouse or the runway seemed to notice. I was awavin' my arms out there an a yellin' but nothin' was a' happenin' so's I 'ventually started walkin' beck to the clubhouse. Luckally, ole John Harbick came to my resQ with that golfin' cart, but we had 'ta take down part 'a that barbed wire fence ta get the GAPA out. I be 'a guessin' everybody else back at the clubhouse was a watchin' they're Ipods or somthin'. Maybe if I'da had me one 'a them SPOTs, I coulda' ben located sooner, 'cause they mighta noticed my SPOT on their IPODs, even though they didn't see me wavin' just on the other side 'a the fence, but probly nobody woulda' cared much anyways, 'ceptin my wife when she noticed no more paychecks was bein' deposited, then she mighta' activated search 'am resQ. I hate 'ta think 'bout what would been left 'a me by then, what with walkin' out in that field, probly woulda' been purty much mummified by then." Signed, X GAPA Geezer

I've landed out close but never that close! Personal best was about 3 miles out. This season my shortest was as whopping 7 miles. Looks like I still have something to learn from the ol Gapa Geezer.