Actually, time just flies
By Mark Rudner
Combat log: 14 February 2015. Location: Bjæverskov, Denmark. It's cold, damp, and windy outside. The sun is slowly returning to the frozen north. The dogs are tired, but there is no choice other than to press on with training. The first contest of the season is only two-and-a-half months away.
Some say that time flies when you're having fun. Actually, time just flies. In November, the winter ahead may look long and filled with chances to catch up on projects around the house, to relax a bit, or maybe to catch up on some light reading with Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Then, pretty soon, it's February, and there's a vague sense that the Combat season is around the corner (in the US this means the March Madness F2D Combat Challenge Phoenix).
In the blink of an eye, the first contest of the year is less than a week away and airplanes need to be prepared, tools packed, and you have to have your A game ready. When the center marshal yells "Combat!" to start your first match, will you be prepared?
The winter is a strange beast. On the one hand, when it comes to preparation, time can run out quickly. On the other hand, when it comes to the decline of one's own flying level, the winter is plenty long to bring about serious setbacks. The only way to stay ahead of the curve and to keep advancing is to push through the winter and keep flying as much as possible.
Growing up in Southern California, I never appreciated the concept of winter. We flew year-round, and had the luxury of taking a week off here or there if it was rainy or windy, or if perhaps a couple too many clouds filled the sky.
After I moved north and east, I learned that A) winter can be brutal; and B) not flying for a few months can easily undo a season's worth of progress and learning. The situation is actually much worse than that. After only two weeks of not flying, if I pay close attention, I can notice a significant decline.
To avoid such a precipitous decline, the only solution is to keep flying. A little snow on the ground is no excuse. Temperatures in the low 30s? Put on an extra jacket. Winds from 10 to 15 mph? Go fly. No pain, no gain, right?
If you decide to follow such a nothing-should-stop-my-training plan next winter, you might be the only one in your club crazy enough to go through with it. Even that should not present any type of barrier—just make yourself a launcher.
As shown in the accompanying photo, even a post stuck in the brush on the outside of your local flying circle can be made into a launcher (this one was set up by Ole Bjaerager, at the Amagerfælled flying site outside of downtown Copenhagen).
There's a valid-sounding argument that one could make against subjecting oneself to the harsh conditions of winter flying. If flying skills can decline in only two weeks, then what's the big difference with taking off two or three months?
It's true that if you are an experienced pilot, there's a certain...
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
