Saturday - Contest day 3
Daily Report Saturday, September 25, 2021
The final day of the contest is here and after the morning meeting that included a round of thanks to CD Marshall McClung, scorer Guy Byars and weatherman Richard Kellerman we closed with the standard “grid at noon”. We should also recognize all the volunteers and friends of Blue Ridge Soaring Society that made this contest possible. New Castle is one of the few contests that has on field breakfast and lunch, along with appetizers and dinners every evening at the Pavilion. Each night is a new party, and the social scene is always hoppin’.
The forecast weather was good but not great. A cold front to the west would limit its impact to a high cirrus cloud cover by mid-afternoon along with a dry airmass providing blue conditions. The saving grace could be winds becoming a little more NW and increasing to 10 – 12 kts.
The task/radius called was Alt start A/5, Mountain Lake/15, Covington/10, Maggie/10, Eagle Rock/15, finishCylin/1. The minimum time was 2 hrs with a nominal distance of 151 miles, minimum distance of 53 miles and a maximum distance of 250 miles.
Well, the forecast could not have been more different than actual. This is of course no reflection on Richards Kellermans expert weather analysis because he can only report what he sees in the data. As it turned out there was little high cirrus, there was plenty of cu, and the winds were NW at 15+ mph.
The smoker award for the day goes to Evan Ludeman (T8). He flew an actual 95.09 mph for 176.47 miles (handicapped 83.49 mph and 154.94 miles) while the next fastest speed was 78.31 mph by John Good. Interestingly, both speeds were in the 15-meter FAI handicapped class. His speech at the closing ceremony told the tale. Evan didn’t spend time circling but instead headed to the front ridge (Peters Mountain) to fly the task , only turning to change direction for the next turnpoint. That’s the way you do it! Along with Evan, the other daily winner in 18-meter was Tim Welles (W3) with a speed of 73.25 mph and 152.06 miles.
The contest winners were Hank Nixon (UH) in 18-meter with 2593 points and Evan Ludeman (T8) with 2610 points. Hank shows everyone what consistency can do for you with daily fourth, fourth and third place finishes. Nicely done Hank. Evan on the other hand, after a first day - third place finish, put the hammer down with consecutive first place finishes on the next two days.
One contestant of note would be Tom Orsini (DW) who was not only flying his first contest, but this was his first time at New Castle. He came in third place in the FAI handicapped class. He should be in the running for rookie of the year!
It was a great contest, and a good time was had by all. Even the rainy weather could not dampen the spirit at New Castle. Put us on your calendar for next year!