Volunteers Make the Show
First, we have to make another correction to my last report. Through the perseverance of the P7, 89 and AG pilots and crews, the mission to visit Milton Brewery was accomplished. It seems they actually open at 4pm during the week. Pictures of the folks are posted on the contest site. Looks like they had a great time.
The pilot’s meeting certainly gave us enough for several nightly reports. For winner’s speeches, Dick Butler has won 3 out of six days in Open Class. With all the hats he is collecting (winners get a hat for a daily prize), I’m sure he will open a hat shop at Auburn University. During the introductions of the competitors, the Sorenson clan’s turn came. Now, when you are known as the Sorenson Society of America, you do not have to go far to find a logo. Since you are at the home of the SSA, life is good. No one can tell Ken and Michelle they have not done their part to grow the sport with 3 flying siblings. The only thing they have not perfected is that the kids should not beat Dad.
Since we are talking about Michelle, she went above and beyond to recognize two fantastic ladies who stepped up when the Operations head backed out of the contest. Melissa Indrebo and Jeanette Baugh are running the launch crew and taking extremely good care of the kids. Today, after the launch, they took the entire crew for a pizza party. The kids love these ladies and I’m sure they love them right back. Tomorrow, we will introduce you to the line crew. If you are a pilot, please bring your wallet to the pilot’s meeting. If you only have a CG hook, make sure you pay twice as much as the rest of the pilots. That ramp is really hot when you are wearing shorts. Michelle presented Melissa and Jeanette a gift card to Texas Roadhouse. Thanks Michelle, for taking care of your volunteers!
There would not be a contest if we did not have a great tow plane crew. At this contest we have a super group of professional tow pilots lead by Scott Smith flying the Red Baron Pawnee. Scott is from the Texas Soaring Association in Dallas. Manolo Guzman is flying “Yellow Bird”, a Cessna AG Wagon out of the Greater Houston Soaring Association. Sam Snow is flying a Cessna-182 from Las Cruces NM. And finally, the local of the group, is Otis Johnson flying another Cessna-182 from Seminole NM. Otis flies in every morning to make sure we have enough tow planes for the launch. Thank you so much for your time and help getting us safely into the air.
Rick Sheppe gave a really good safety talk about a computer program that reviews the relative positions between competitors during a contest flight. The FAI has been concerned for some time on the number of midair collisions that have occurred during World Glider Championship (WGC) events. Rick showed us the data of how the two pilots involved in a midair were actually the most aggressive of the competition. The top three pilots were right in the middle of the rest of the group. Meaning, you stand a better chance to win a WGC event if you do not turn inside of everyone! Thanks Rick.
Ok, now to the flying. I asked Erik Nelson to write a little brief on his flight today since 15 meter was flying a different task than Open class. For their class, Marshall sent them on an Assigned Task leaving from Start A, Portales, Littlefield, Crossroads and Finish. Here is what Erik said:
I hardly cracked the code on today's task--one of those lucky days, really.
Not sure what you guys found before the start, but for me the clouds were all show/no go and it took a while to bubble up into a reasonable position. Once there I found JW, P7, and 89 and tried to imbibe their patience as the gate opened and we bided our time. 89 and P7 snuck away at some point, and JW and I started without other company that I noticed. He had a good pace going, though, and the clouds firmed up almost immediately after Lovington. Although still not very high compared to the first few days of the contest, we were able to hold out for some good climbs. It was fairly brisk to the first turn at Portales, then several potential options getting established on the leg to Littlefield--I'd guess the percent deviation crept higher. Eventually his line worked a lot better than mine (it's okay, I'm used to it) and he got well ahead in height and distance. It stayed good around the second turn at Littlefield, but for the third leg the wind was sort of a quartering headwind which led to some zig-zagging trying to stay in the good air. I think JW went left at this point and I went right. I wasted a lot of time trying to find a good core but eventually gave up and just bumped along low keeping the glider pointed at the puffy white things and before you knew it, we were around the last turn at Crossroads. (For the record, this same strategy worked poorly on Day 5.) The final glide was more into the wind and easier to line up the energy, no drama. Just over three hours on course and a crosswind-free landing.
Thanks, Erik for the great report.
Open class also went on an Assigned Task from Start B, Portales, Hereford and Finish. After launch it was a little difficult to get up to starting altitude. The clouds looked great but the lift was subpar. When the gate opened, we were still trying to find that good thermal to get going. Finally, the lift started getting better and most of the Open class left within 30 minutes of each other. The first leg to Portales was not bad at all. Clouds were ok but not great. Many choices had to be made along the way. Even though we took different routes on the first leg, several of us got together for the run home. Of course, DB and the Concordia was wafting at high altitude ahead of us all. That ship is so beautiful to see fly! Many times, we found ourselves a little low but we were always able to find a good climb to get back to the higher lift bands. On the final leg, Team 98 joined up with the JS-1 Air Force (AG, 3M and 1C) and flew a nice leg home together. We could not keep up with their pull ups and high cruising speeds, but we did manage to reel them in down track. In the end they did beat us but not by much. Pete and I were ecstatic when we found out we were within 10 points of DB’s score today. You have to take the little wins when you can. The quality of pilots flying in these Nationals are truly amazing. I am happy to by surrounded by this great field of men and women. We just want to beat them a few more times.
In Open Class, Dan Mockler won the day with a speed of 146kph (91mph) over a 526km (326mi) task. Jim Lee in second was only 1.66kph (1.03mph) less than first place. Third place was claimed by Dick Butler. In 15 Meter Class, Erik Nelson won the day flying 422km (262mi) at a speed of 138kph (86mph). Rick Indrebo and Tim Taylor rounded out the top 3. In the overall race for the championship, the top 6 in each class has a chance at the podium. The 15 Meter Class is really close, but in Open Class the top three have a spot on the podium, we just do not know which spot. For the rest of us in Open Class, we will need some help from the top three.
Well, it is getting late and we have to fly tomorrow. So, I will sign off with a phrase we heard from the line crew today, “May the thermals be with you”. Good night, all.
Cheers,
Rich Owen
Team 98 Backseater
PS – I almost forgot, when the after flying gathering occurred around the Team 89 & 98 ships, Gary Carter was still on task. We put up a radio so we could hear Gary call in his finish. He completed the task just after 7pm and we all lined the ramp to welcome him home. As we did a stadium “WAVE”, he saw us and inadvertently got airborne again after touchdown. He commented he saw us too much and got a little extra flight time. Welcome back Gary!!