A Long Day in the Saddle
Yesterday the long-range forecast showed a possibility of some great flying for today. In the morning, Sky Sight showed a large area in the task area that had good lift to 7,500ft. In our early planning we thought the Open Class winner would do 80+mph, the 15/18 Meter Class would be 70+mph and the Sports Class would do 60mph raw. I got most of that right, but the skill and tenacity of the pilots were the reason for such high speeds. Right before the pilots meeting, Scott (weatherman) came in to let us know the weather was a lot weaker than what some of our tools showed. Back to the planning board. After the meeting, we met with the task advisors and went over what speed the class winner could do, what the remainder of the class could handle and the number of miles (time) we planned to use. Once everyone agrees with the basic plan, we go to work redoing the four tasks we must make up. Right in the middle of the production phase of the process, the printer died. Nothing would print. Not WinScore files, word files…. just nothing. The grid was also on runway 24 which is about a mile from the scoring office.
More about the crazy task saga in a minute. I would like to tell you about the Margarita Social that was held last night. Lynn Forbes set up the event that included food, drinks of course and a corn hole tournament. Georgia is in the south and this form of entertainment is required at all family events. The glider community is most certainly a family, so it fits right in. Martin (Chief Tow Pilot) is famous for his margaritas. They are not only tasty, but they are also pretty. Everyone had a great time, and when I left, Lynn was engaged in a pitched battle with Greg Shugg. Never found out who won, but it was a sight to behold. Unfortunately, I had to leave and get some dinner. When I returned to the airport to drop off my Team 98 members, I ran into two golf carts filled with ladies that were having a really good time. If there was an empty seat, I would have joined them. Janet said by the time I saw them; they were out of wine. However, I think I saw a few bottles on the floor of the carts. Of course, they were not driving outside of the RV parking area.
Back to the flying segment of our article. Finally, the tasks were ready to be printed and distributed to the field. When the printer was asked to make noise and spit out the tasks, it did nothing!!!!! Of course, we were approaching takeoff time and the tasks were not on the grid. We did send out tasks via Signal, so the pilots did have something but not all pilots were on Signal. Mitch worked his IT magic and got our finicky printer back to life and soon the tasks were being printed. We sent Janet to the grid to distribute the first two classes on the runway while I waited for the next two tasks to print. After a couple of minutes, I was on my way to the grid with the remainder of the tasks. We delayed the launch 15 minutes to give the pilots a little more time to check their nav systems and because the sky looked a little soft. Concordia was the number one ship on the grid, and I did not want to use her as a sniffer. When we started the launch, all the classes had the ability to accomplish their Task A. For the Open and 15 Meter Class, that was a
4-hour jaunt around central Georgia. The 18 Meter Class went on a
3.5-hour flight with Sports Class taking on a 3.25-hour task.
The launch proceeded without an issue and soon all the classes were on their way. Returning to the scoring trailer, I decided that the team needed a treat. Off to Dairy Queen I went for Blizzards and Hot Fudge Sundays. Lots of smiles greeted me at the trailer door. But, my wingman Janet, was not at the office when I took orders. Of course, she came in just when I was passing out the treats. Well, I guess I’ll just have to make it up to her tomorrow.
The 15/18 Meter Classes had tasks that were similar to the other classes, so I’ll use them in the discussion of the flights. After a line start for the 15 Meter ship overhead the airport and a cylinder start for the 18 Meter ships, the first turnpoint was southwest to Blakely, east to Camila and Rochelle then northwest to Leesburg, Smithville and Finish. Every leg had its own challenges. Most had clouds that worked well but there were still large areas that were in the blue. Blakely was slow going while the second leg to Camila was better. After Rochelle everyone seemed to get going a little better. If you stayed in the upper end of the height band, you were rewarded with a stress-free passage. Leesburg and Smithville were again areas of slow going but most pilots had banked enough miles to just nick these turnpoints. In the end, the best pilots navigated all the pitfalls and returned grateful to not have a landout or engine start. In the Open Class, Henry Retting finished in third with Jim Lee in second place. Dick Butler again held a training camp and beat the second-place pilot by just under 10mph. He did the 339 miles at an incredible 82mph. Nicely done DB!! In the 15 Meter Class, Sean Murphy finished in third with Sarah Arnold placed second after flying an hour in her Pawnee towing all her competitors. That’s awesome! In first place was Mike Sorenson scorching the 266 miles at nearly 75mph. Not to be out done by his son, in 18 Meter Class, Dad was placing first, flying the 271 miles at 73mph. In second place was Jim Franz and third was taken by John Murray. In Sports Class, Fabrizio Di Stefano finished in third with Kevin Anderson in second. In first place was none other than Greg Shugg. He did the 192 raw miles at 58mph raw. Great flight everyone on a very challenging day. We had one landout that was safely accomplished, and the crew returned to the field not too late.
Tomorrow I’ll try and do a matinee version of the report and let you know about life in the RV park when the pilots are flying. No, it’s not a tell all book, just crews enjoying the camaraderie of the contest environment. The book club has meetings, and at some contests, the ladies go knitting and quilting. I do have one story from a few years ago when some of the ladies were visiting a quilting shop, and as they were leaving, one of the wives said, Ceil, isn’t that your husband’s ship? Apparently, Bif Huss landed out within a few yards from the shop. It would have been an easy retrieve but Ceil didn’t drive to the shop. Well, it’s time to call it a day. Take care and fly smarter.
Goodnight,
Rich