2008 Florida International Jet
Rally
October
30th - November 2nd, 2008
Hit the back
button on your browser to return to the previous page
|
The 15th
Annual Florida International Jet Rally produced top R/C Jet
Pilots from the US as well as many international participants all having another
great year in Lake Wales at
"The Pilots Jet Rally". We
finally hit the "jack pot" with the weather this year as nearly perfect
weather made each and every day simply superb. Even when rain
threatened, we missed it, and only stopped flying one time. The wind
was down the runway, and mostly sunny skies made for a great fifteenth
anniversary!!! The new location of the airport worked out great again this year making for a great site along with a long wide runway. Thanks again to all the folks in Lake Wales at the airport, and city hall which support this event each and every year. There were no crashes, only a few flame outs (out of fuel), but with the large number of flights over four days, most everything came off without a hitch. No one hit the tree this year. Seems like more and more pilots are having so much fun they are running out of fuel. A lot more ARF's and electrics showed up again this year, and the quality for the most part has become really excellent. The ARF craze continues to grow, and the performance of the electrics is simply amazing. The whole electric technology arena is simply great, and revolutionizing everything we are doing. True craftsmanship never will go out of style, so we all hope that everyone won't quit building!! Once again all of the major engine manufactures were on site to show their wares, answer questions and offer service. The 2.4 craze has fully filtered into the jet world as the technology continues to improve. This is easily recognized in the transmitter impound where there were only a half dozen transmitters were impounded. This of course has a wonderful side effect of making our impound guys Arnold Schmidt and Kurt Kruth pretty happy. And, a big thanks again to them for doing another great job well done. They may be out of a job soon!!!!!!!! The City of Lake Wales, Florida Skydiving Center, The Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce and Polk County Sports marketing make a tremendous effort to support the FIJR each year. Many local businesses help out as they recognize the tremendous benefits the FIJR brings to the Lake Wales area. The FIJR has created a get wonderful relationship with the Vanguard School in Lake Wales over the past two years. The school allows some of their students to assist at the event each year, and in return the FIJR is able to make a donation to the school. We all greatly appreciate their efforts, and are we are very happy to be associated with such a wonderful institution. To learn more about the Vanguard School and their special mission please visit their website: http://www.vanguardschool.org/ BVM, FTE- ZAP, Futaba and JR have been our major model industry sponsors for many years. In 2006 AMT (now US MicroJet) became part of the team. Without their participation the FIJR would not be the same. They really make a difference. A big THANK YOU to each of them. This year our Supporting Sponsors (listed below) helped to make many things we all take for grated happen again. Their contributions helped off set the continuing increases in cost associated with this great event. Their support helped to pay for the overnight storage tent and security this year. There were many manufactures, and onsite vendors who contributed product, and needless to say, these donations are always appreciated. We have advertised uninterrupted flying for all fifteen years, and this year was another example of why this is "The Pilots Jet Rally". No BS, No Politics, No Soapbox - just FLY!!!! The whole week was great. Our vendors had plenty of visitors, business seemed to be brisk and everyone enjoyed themselves once again. |
Look for us again November 5th - 8th, 2009
|
The following Major Industry Sponsors help make Bob Violet Models
The following Local Sponsors contribute to the Bernie Little
Distributors and Budweiser Beer
"Supporting Sponsors". Area 5X |
| 2008 Awards |
|
Manufacturer Special Recognition: Eric Clapp Jet Central |
|
Best Sport Jet Luke Martinez Twin Velox Sponsored by: Skymaster, USA |
|
Best Electric Jet Jose Malendez BVM Mig-15 w/Tam EDF Sponsored by: BVM |
|
Best Military Jet Lewis Patton Century E/F-18 Sponsored by: FTE & ZAP |
|
Best Sport Performance Adrian Valencia Excellent Flying all Week Sponsored by: Jet Central |
|
Best Electric
Performance Rob Lynch BVM Electra Sponsored by: BVM |
|
Best Military Performance Jason Somes Skymaster F-4 Sponsored by: FTE & ZAP |
|
Best Craftsmanship Ralph Esposito L-39 & F-4 Sponsored by: FTE & ZAP |
|
Best Graphics Francis Pischner BVM Super Bandit Sponsored by: FTE & ZAP |
|
Top Gun Best Overall Flight Performance Rob Lynch Sponsored by: Skymaster, USA |
|
Above and Beyond Award In memory of Tom Dodgen - Presented to Bob Violett |
|
Critics Choice Bob Violett BVM F-86 Green NATO Scheme Sponsored by: FTE & ZAP |
|
Critics Choice Runner Up Pablo Fernandez FeiBao F-4 and F-16 Sponsored by: FTE & ZAP |
|
Special Presentation Vern Kramer For flying something other than a BVM Airplane Sponsored by: FTE & ZAP |
|
Best
Scale Jet and Engineering Achievement Bob Violett BVM Twin EDF F-4 Sponsored by: Jet Central |