I`m home from Muncie, Indiana and IRCHA 2024 is officially in the books. First off, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to the new IRCHA board, for the hard work and sacrifice they put in to make this year`s IRCHA Jamboree the biggest one since about 2015. They have really gotten things back on track, and I expect that IRCHA 2025 is going to be even better than this year. Keep up the good work guys!!!
Sooooo...... I have been traveling to many events over the past few years with my sister Grace. We love our road trips together, and we loving refer to them as our "heli adventures". We always travel in separate cars, just in case we have car troubles. That has never happened........until last week.
Grace and I were planning to leave my house on Monday August 5, 2024, but hurricane Debbi, was closing in on Florida. So we decided to leave Sunday evening, to stay ahead of it, in hopes to be in Macon Georgia before it made landfall in northern Florida
This is where driving separate cars paid off....BIG TIME!!! We got to Brooksville, Florida.....roughly two hours from my house, and my car completely died....right in the middle of the road. Thank God we were close to a gas station, and we were able to use my jump box to start the car and move it to the gas station parking lot.
It turned out that the alternator had went out, and in return, wrecked the car`s battery. With the consent of the station manager, we left my car there and set out to find a new battery and alternator. Being Sunday evening at around 8PM, with a hurricane coming......we were unable to get one that night.
We knew we were stuck for the night, and accepted our fate. So Grace googled nearby hotels, and she found a really nice one about 8 miles away. In the meanwhile, I was attempting some "redneck engineering" to try to get us to the hotel. So that we could deal with my little issue the next morning.
Well.....that didn`t work, and we soon found ourselves on the side of the road, trying to find a tow truck company that would come save us. Grace called at least six companies, who all refused to come out because of a storm that was still more than 150 miles from Florida. Lake County Sheriff`s office even refused to help us......Lake County Sheriff`s office you suck!!!
We eventually called Lake County Towing, and the sent us and angel from God. His name is Israel, and he agreed to come save us....even though he did not have to do. Thank you very much Israel. You were truly a Godsend, and we will never forget you.
In about 40 minutes after calling Lake County Towing, Israel was there to scoop us up and take us to the hotel parking lot. After he dropped my car and drove off, we got our room and went to sleep. We woke up early the next morning and went to the advance auto store which was only a few miles away, and got the parts I needed. The hotel manager was a sweetheart too, and he said it would be ok for me to change the battery and alternator in the parking lot of the hotel.
But wait.....there`s more!! while I was broken down, and chasing down car parts.... Guess who caught up to us? YEP!!!! Good ole hurricane Debbi. when we started working on the car, the sky was clear but overcast. But by the time I got the belt off, and the fist bolt loosened, it started raining....HARD, and the wind picked up to around 30-40 mph. I was already committed to the job, so I kept working. Grace was right there by my side the entire time, holding an umbrella over me to try to keep me dry. She is absolutely the best sister in the world.
While we were waiting for Debbi to get out the way, we walked around the hallways of the hotel to get exercise. Which was a lot of fun. Afterward, we were standing outside our room....watching the rain. We keep our door pulled closed but not completely closed, and apparently the lady in the room next to us did the same thing. Because when Grace said she was going to go watch the news, I turned to follow her into our room....and walked right into the lady`s room next to us. I hit the brakes so hard, that my feet slid about six inches. I was so embarrassed, but she said "it`s ok, no harm done". Hahahahaha.
Grace said later that it only took me a half hour to fix my car, but it seemed like a year to me...Hahahaha. After this ordeal, we went into our room, and got cleaned up. By this time, Miss Debbi was nearing the northern west coast of Florida. So we decided it would be safer for us to spend one more night in the hotel, rather than to risk be caught on the highway in the middle of a cat 1 hurricane.
On Tuesday, we were back on the road, and we has an amazing trip after that. Even thought we lost a day and a half of travel time, we still made good time, and arrived in Muncie on the first day of IRCHA. So we didn`t miss anything.
Our first non emergency stop was in Kentucky. The hotel itself was really nice. The room was more like an apartment than a hotel room, and we both really liked it. The only thing I didn`t care for was that we had to park around back, where we could not see our cars. So after that, we decided that we would look for hotels that had parking right outside the rooms. Other than that, there were no complaints.
I always wake up before the chickens, so I got up the next morning and helped myself to a couple of cups of coffee in the breakfast lounge while Grace continued to sleep. She woke up at around 08:00-08:30, and we checked out and got on the road. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast, and then finished the drive to Muncie.
The drive into Muncie on Indiana 1 was atrocious. That road is long, boring and has way too many 35 mph zones. But it`s still that fasted rout for us.
When we got to IRCHA, we were greeted by all of our wonderful friends, and we immediately started socializing. We walked around for an hour or so, and then we went to set up our campsite. We got that set up, and then went back to socializing and catching up with the folks who we have not seen since last year.
On the first day, it looked like the full swing of Saturday from last year`s IRCHA. The entire flight line was full of tents and booths, and every flight station had someone flying. By the time Saturday rolled around, it was reminding me of the days of 1000+ registered pilots.. IRCHA is coming back, and I`m very happy and grateful for that.
We went to dinner with the HeliDirect team on Wednesday night, which was a super great time. We filled the entire party room at the restaurant. Thank you Sam Le for the amazing dinner party.
Grace and I went our to Texas Longhorn steakhouse with a few friends on Friday too. That steak was sooooooo good.
JC Zankl did the traditional flying of the US Flag, which is one of the best parts of the event for me. Thank you JC, Mr Zankl, and everyone else who comes together to make that happen. I didn`t get any photos or videos of the flying of the flag, because I was standing attention while the National Anthem was being played. But I may set up a camera on a tripod next year. ;)
They had a bottle drop contest, auto rotation contest, and an obstacle course contest for micro size helicopters on the second day, I think. Friday were Noon demos and open flying. Saturday gave us more demos and even more open flying.
Team Miniature Aircraft was also there, representing. Judith and Josef couldn`t make it this year because they were at the European Championships. But we brought it together for them.
Another one of the highlights of IRCHA this year, was being able to meet Tracy Self, from Texas. Tracy, Grace, and myself refer to ourselves as "The Flying Sisters". That was Grace`s idea. She deserves the credit for that . ;) We are all around the same age, we all like the same things, and purple is the favorite colour of all three of us.
Here is Tracy, flying her helicopter while Grace gives her a spot. Tracy is a very good pilot, who has only been flying helicopters for a short time. We`re proud of you, girl. Keep up the good work.
Saturday was a busy day, and there was a lot going on. Noon time demos for the platinum sponsors, the pilot raffles, and dinner. Which was fantastic. Battle of the brands which I did not compete in this year. Plus the king of the midnight sun contest.
After it was all said and done......the icing on the cake was a 10-15 minute fireworks show. Yes......IRCHA is on it`s way back. If you did not attend this year, you need to put it on your calendar for next year. Because I have a feeling that it`s going to be epic!
For those who did attend, it was wonderful seeing you all again, and I hope everyone has a safe and happy trip back home.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!!! :) :) :) :)
I
