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From: Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Re: What is going on with 2024 the SCCBC season?
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2024 14:19:45 -0400
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On 6/28/2024 8:04 PM, -hh wrote:
> On 6/28/24 11:10 AM, Tom Elam wrote:
>> On 6/27/2024 3:55 PM, Alan wrote:
>>> On 2024-06-25 10:34, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>> Dear Alan,
>>>>
>>>> Last year, 2023, April-June, there 3 weekends, 9 races at SBBC. 
>>>> Total unique CW driver entries were 97, OW 37. These are typical for 
>>>> an entire season for 2021-2023. In April-June 2024 unique driver 
>>>> entries are 14 OW and 49 CW, about half prior years.
>>>>
>>>> These stats are from the SBBC season championship records.
>>>>
>>>> Wow, quite the drop. What's going on, Alan?
>>>>
>>>> And, BTW, you entered 11 out of a 71 2021-2024 races. None last year 
>>>> of course, but also none this year and 11 out of 34 in 2021-22. Have 
>>>> you retired? I thought you were looking forward to getting back this 
>>>> year. Not so much?
>>>
>>> So great to see you taking such an interest in my life, Liarboy!
>>>
>>> I wonder if I might take a little interest in yours.
>>>
>>> Done much flying lately?
>>
>> Well, yes. Two very different flavors. Full scale last 6 months, 36 
>> hours logged including 2 family visit trips to Georgia, some CAP 
>> hours, and just passed a VFR checkride. The Christmas return flight 
>> from Georgia was IFR all the way home and an instrument approach into 
>> Indy Metro. 
> 
> Christmas of 2023, of course.
> 
>> Now good for 2 another years on my BFR, taking me almost to my 80th 
>> birthday. At this time I am also IFR current and capable, but those 
>> are perishable skills. I'll be taking an IFR skills test checkride 
>> before the end of September.
>>
>> RC model flying has been active since the weather improved in April. 
>> Some of that is documented on my YouTube channel available at:
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcvZXi-36GQkeHr0FdB4cTg
>>
>> My latest YT video is rendering as I write this. That one is on 
>> programming my 3 meter Fox sailplane for solo hand launch. It will be 
>> up on the channel by end of today.
>>
>> Tomorrow I am scheduled to go to the AMA annual Fun Fly in Muncie and 
>> do some instructing with beginning RC pilots. I also just passed my 
>> Part 107 Remote Pilot/commercial drone license FAA refresher, and good 
>> for another 2 on that front years too.
>>
>> So yes, done a lot of flying. Some airline flying in the near future too!
> 
> Because even 36 hours droning along at a Cessna's 125mph cruising speed 
> is just 4500 miles: enough to cross the pond once...but not back.
> 
>> We will be flying to Vancouver next month to catch a train to Calgary 
>> then flying home from there. August takes us to France, Luxembourg and 
>> a Viking river cruise to Basel. Flying home from Zurich. Ten day trip 
>> in all. So still traveling too.
> 
> Oh, so now its a ten day trip for what previously was a twelve day 
> Paris-Rhine cruise claimed back in February?  /s
> 
>> How about you, doing any racing lately? I know the answer to that, at 
>> least for SBBC events. Null, zero, nada since 2022. Going anywhere 
>> outside Canada this year?
> 
> Life invariably takes different turns.  My last travel comment here was 
> in early 2023, that we were looking (in 2023) to be making up for our 
> CoVid travel lull, but that doesn't mean that it all went as had been 
> hoped for: indeed, it could have changed.  Cancelled outright, or even 
> perhaps upgraded to be in First Class instead of Coach on all of that 
> year's international flights! /s
> 
> Same applies for 2024 as well, for life invariably throws curve balls; 
> this is why the advice was to 'do the hard stuff' while one's body (& 
> finances) are healthy enough to be still able to do what one wishes. 
> Otherwise, one can be pushing 80 and renting a car is no longer trivial, 
> so one can get increasingly constrained to guided tours on cruise ships.
> 
> In any event, a week on the Rocky Mountaineer and the aforementioned 
> Rhine cruise sounds to be in the rough ballpark of ($7500+air)/pp, so it 
> does seem like Tommy is perhaps finally breaking out of his prior fiscal 
> constraint, as I'd long advised.  Yay, you!.
> 
> 
> -hh
> 
> 
> 
Ten was a wrong number for Europe. It IS 12 days plus 2 for to-from 
travel that I did not include in a prior post.

The Canada trip is a package tour via a local company. It includes 
several side trips, most meals, air, and several nights in the Fairmont 
Banff Springs and others of similar quality prior to Banff Springs. 
Check the rates on that hotel. $11,990 for 2. Sadly, one of the people, 
a good friend at that, was scheduled to go but died very suddenly. The 
wife has to cancel. It may still be an open reservation for two. 
Interested? Starts July 20.

The Europe trip including air is a bit over $10,000 plus 3 nights on our 
own in a Paris hotel at $300/night, plus meals, local transportation and 
sundries. Likely to also come to about $12,000.

Your $7,500 pp is spot-on but includes airfare.

We also just this week scheduled a trip to Luddington MI to spend a week 
with some good friends at their cabin. I'll be flying us up there, only 
about $600 R/T for air plus taking them out to a VERY nice restaurant or 
two.

We also have the annual ski trip of course. 2024 is a bit of a splurge 
but not that different from many prior years.