Did We Set a New Speed Record
The weather forecast was very hopeful for another wild day on the mountains. But the launch yielded many struggling sniffers searching for lift. In an unusual move, the CD allowed tows to 2,500ft due to the need to get on the west side of the ridge by the airport. A 2,000ft tow would not leave you any margin to return to the field if you could not climb.
After several groups of 5 ships were launched, we continued with the rest of the group. We were soon climbing well but it was 2:30pm and the task was 568km. In Florida, we would never start that late in a day but we also do not break 100mph speeds either. The CD sent us from the SW Start line to Brown’s Peak, Bryce Woodlands, Burnt Peak, and home. This was an Assigned Task that was supposed to separate the wheat from the chaff. The usual start gate roulette was just starting when I decided to avoid the mayhem. The first leg was relatively fast with starts averaging around 17,000ft. There was a small cloud field just north of the rum line and it allowed you to stay high the entire way. The next leg we did have a cloud street but nothing like the one we had yesterday. However, it was fast and you could stay high. Around Bryce Woodlands, high clouds and blue conditions gave you several options to get the point. Some pilots got low here and had to spend some time to get back in the height band. Heading to Brunt Peak we had fewer clouds but climbs were still good. The final glide was one of the factors that influenced the scoresheet today. Several pilots were low again in this area and had to climb due to the rising terrain around the turnpoint. Everyone made it home today………well that is actually not true. Evan Ludeman’s crew decided to fly a Grob today to give a ride. Well, he landed out while Evan was flying. When he got to the end of the runway and looked around, there was no one to help him. Dave Springford and I had the exact same thing happen to us in Hobbs in 2019. It is always embarrassing since the last thing you want to do you after a 5-hour flight is retrieve your crew.
The scoresheet took a big change today. In third place for the day was Andy Blackburn with Peter Deane in second. John Seaborn flew a near perfect flight today covering the 568km task at a blistering 190.67kph (118mph). The top 5 leaders had several changes. In fifth place with 6359 points is Rick Indrebo, Peter Deane is in fourth with 6359 points. Jim Lee continues with his consistent good flying is in third with 6400 points. John Seaborn after this great flight moved to second with 6429 points. Sean Fidler, in first, has a better than 100-point lead at 6568 points.
On course today, Sean looked like he was dragging half the field with him around the course. So tomorrow, could you leave the leaders alone and let them fight out this race between them without interference. Use this day to form your own strategy and execute your own flight. It would be awful if interference from other competitors influenced the final outcome of this race.
Tomorrow is the last day for this contest and we cannot leave without giving all the volunteers a very well-deserved pat on the back. Bruno will give me all the names tomorrow so I don’t leave anyone out. So, at the pilot’s meeting, bring your wallet with plenty of Grants to put in the kitty. See you all tomorrow.
Cheers,
Rich Owen
ZO