Another Blazing Day in Nephi
Yes, it was a very warm day in town but what occurred on task really set high temperatures on the race course. The pilot’s meeting was pretty funny. I was accused of complementing the staff just to ensure the meetings would be shorter. Well, today was not a short meeting so I guess I cannot comment on that. What I can say is the responsiveness of John Godfrey and Sandra Danoff in producing grid sheets on a moments notice was outstanding. They double team our scoring duties and have provided superior service and unwavering dedication to the competitive glider pilot community. Thank you very much from all of us. Please give Peanut a treat from me (ok guys, that’s Sandra’s new puppy!).
The weather today was a mix of good news and overdevelopment. Sounds like a Florida forecast but we don’t get climbs to 17,000ft! Sports Class launched first today to see if getting the lighter ships up early could get the launch times down. Taking off from a high-density airport means tows are longer, and with lower powered aircraft, sometimes exciting. All of our tow pilots are first rate. I’ve had the lowest horse powered aircraft twice and he did a great job with my max gross weight glider. Today I had to do a relight because of bad luck. The ground crew was on the ball and got my tow out gear, a truck with a rope, and the CD allowed us to tow down the runway to save time. Waiting for me was the highest horse power tow plane, an L-19 that is in pristine shape. I would give anything to fly this ship one time. I was towed up in no time and off again into the wild blue yonder.
Speaking of the wild blue yonder, let’s take a short break from our flight discussion. We went out to dinner in town tonight and I had an opportunity to speak with the Air Force Academy Cadets that were in the booth next to us. Nothing makes you prouder of this country then these young adults that give up lucrative careers to serve in our military. They are no dummies! It takes outstanding grades, hard work, and a dedication to something bigger than themselves. I did an Air Force Thunderbird trivia quiz that they passed with ease. As we approach the Fourth of July, stop by and meet these fine pilots and staff. It is well worth your time!
The CD sent us out for another 400k plus task. The beginning was the NW Start which had good CU and the high ground looked really good from a distance. While everyone was starting, I was walking down the runway hoping to get up before dinner time. After the start we were off to Delano Peak, Lamerdorf Peak and back to finish on a 3-hour TAT. The leaders all had questions on what the best route for the first leg looked like. Many pilots chose different routes but found themselves back together on the second leg. Some chose a banana shaped cloud field that looked great but was too far off course to do well. The second leg was actually over the large sandy area that looks like something out of an Aladdin movie. There are few roads and fewer signs of people. I do not know how you would get a retrieve if you landed there. Of course, there are few climbs in this area. On the last leg home, we great climbs and fast speeds. One pilot suffered an airspace penalty due to busting 17,500ft. The key to final glide was to leave a little under the altitude required and bump home. When you are in a gaggle working to obtain final glide, sometimes the pilot that leads out wins the leg. No matter how it worked out, the speeds were again over 100mph. The CD has an interesting job of challenging the pilots to keep up this lofty goal. An entire National where the average speed of the winners was over 100mph!
When the scores were posted, Bif Huss finished in third, Sean Fidler in second and Rick Indrebo won the day flying 509km at 162.79kph (101.32mph). A couple of pilots also had noteworthy flights. Bruno Vassel lost his entire navigation system but still elected to fly the task by using dead reckoning. He flew the course at over 83mph. Try that at your home gliderport. Pete Alexander is flying a brand new AS-33 but has had issues with the water ballast system. He is flying the ship without water and today he lost the ClearNav. No water and no navigation capability he still flew the task at better than 87mph! However, Rex Mayes the ClearNav dealer, is flying two new display units to Pete tomorrow morning. Now that is product support!
I hope you are enjoying these reports as much as I am enjoying flying in Nephi. In the next couple of days, I hope to let you know what I have learned about mountain flying. There are a lot of flat landers that hesitate to travel to a mountain site. I agree, it is daunting at first sight, but with the proper coaching it is safe and very much a fantastic experience.
Cheers,
Rich Owen
ZO