Howard Doering's "Last" CD Job

The F2C team trials the weekend of 22/23 September, 2001, was Howard Doering's last job as a CD. Unless Howard does a Michael Jordan on us, this was the one he'll have to tack it up with.

Significantly improved compared to the 1997 team trials held at this venue, the contest management was the highlight of this meet.

The local SCAR club provided most of the support and the Montebello area provided afternoon temperatures in the high 80's, uncharacteristic morning fog, and the contestants drove from local California counties to as far away as Florida.

The jury was run by a "Fearless John" McCollum who called fouls, scolded pilots during the race and encouraged them. If his straw hat were a little taller with his whiskers he would look vaguely like one of the cast of 'Deliverance' so no one argued with him.

The loud speaker from the jury could be heard clearly over the whole area. Timer crews were briefed separately and the biggest dispute with the contest management I could see was whether to call the orange jersey 'gold' or 'orange'.

He even went so far as to demonstrate what was legal for pit men to do in attempts to retrieve a model from inside the line. Although for an ex-pilot this could be "against union rules", as T. Fluker remarked, even the pit men did not complain.