RACE 2 : SAN DIEGO  The second race of the series was held in San Diego this year on May 9-10. The weather in San Diego Bay was incredible, bright blue skies made for a spectacular background for the 55,000 fans who attended. For only the second time in his 5-year career, Nicolas Ivanoff snatches the victory. His other win was in Perth 2007.
The fastest time in Q1 was posted by British pilot Paul Bonhomme, who has won the race in San Diego the last two years in a row. In Q2 Bonhomme shaved off another second and was feeling quite confident about his position, but defending Champion Hannes Arch had his own ideas. After finishing 4th in Q1, Arch bent the throttle in Q2 and finished an impressive 2.2 seconds ahead of Bonhomme to claim the single Championship point.
After qualifying and the Wild Card heat, the "Super 8" were, Ivanoff, Bonhomme, Arch, Besenyei, Hall, Lamb, Mangold, and Rakhmanin. Rookie sensation Matt Hall, just missed making it to the "Final 4", but was fast enough to score another 5th place finish, for 7 more Championship points and further proof that he is the real deal. No rookie has ever been so successful and it's only the second race.
The "Final 4" of Ivanoff, Bonhomme, Arch, and Besenyei took to the track and squared off against the clock. Besenyei incurred a 2 second penalty and left him in 4th position. Hannes Arch, the winner in Abu Dhabi, struck a Pelican halfway through his race and although it tore a softball sized hole in his horizontal stabilizer, his finished his run and took 3rd place on the podium. Bonhomme, flying with an injured back from Qualifying, laid down a personal best of 1:18.32, but was not enough to beat Ivanoff. Flying his new Edge 540, Nicolas Ivanoff put together a penalty free flight and record breaking round to score the victory and the 12 Championship points.
The victory moves Ivanoff into second place in the Championship with 21 points, just 2 points behind leader Hannes Arch. Bonhomme sits in 3rd with 20 pts, and Nigel Lamb is 4th with 14.
Next Race : Windsor, Canada -- June 13-14.
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Today in Aviation History :
July 30, 1935... Lieutenant Frank Akers of the U.S. Navy becomes the first person to make a "blind" landing at sea. His biplane has a hooded cockpit allowing him to see only his controls and instruments. He lands on the USS Langley.
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Free paper planes for the kids
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Aviation Weather Links
www.nws.noaa.gov/
www.noaa.gov/wx.html
http://maps.avnwx.com/
www.usairnet.com/weather/
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