IN THE MARCH column I wrote about having an efficient pit box that is laid out carefully so that all the necessary items are in immediate reach. This month I have included a photograph of the other extreme: a pit setup that has everything including a Combat pilot’s version of a La-Z-Boy recliner.
Three generations of Mears family members have been flying Combat throughout the country and the world. James is the patriarch, son Andy is on the 2008 World Championships team as a pilot, and Bobby, James’s other son, is also on the World Championships team, as a mechanic. Nick, James’s grandson, was a US team member in 2002.
Their experience in competition has taken them in the direction of going to the flying field with everything they need for a match—and items they might need—in a self-contained rolling pit system.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
