K Day 8 Report
Day 8 dawned with a lot of excitement about the forecast. Indications were mostly blue in the valley but good clouds over the Sangre de Christo Mountains so our task was to head back over the high terrain.
We had an enroute turn area around Zorro Ranch and then a big circle at Angel Fire. A smaller circle around Chilili would give us the ability to tune the Minimum Time of 3:30.
Sniffers got going good enough about noon and we started the launch at 12:20. I was second in line so enjoyed a nice climb off tow and a leisurely wait for the gate to open. I found a really good climb right as the gate opened and I ducked under the tag up altitude, then rocketed back up. A few clouds had started to form in the valley and climbs were around 16,000 at start time. We ran a street from Moriarty to the mountains.
Most went west on leg 1, I went east mostly due to the extremely unpleasant experience I had on the last mountain task getting downwind of the eastern slope. I had a nice run alone and went past Angel Fire to Wheeler Peak before turning for home. Many pilots went all the way to the back of the circle.
The run home had a little more spread out and shadow but I took the western slope past Taos and Santa Fe and found good climbs and streets. Back out off the mountains I found two good climbs to over 17,000 to get me on a long final glide.
Many pilots finished under time. Estimating your return speed is tough in these conditions. Every pilot I talked to had a big smile on their face. It was a happy day in Moriarty!
This morning we're greeted by high cirrus with a fair forecast. It's the last day and Bif, Mitch and their team are doing what they can to make sure we decided the final standings in the air. Time to Grid,