The VSA Rally in Wichita is coming up at the end of the month and of course there are a few things I'd like to get done on 3Y before the date. I ordered a quart of Daytona White from Stewarts to do some touchup painting. There are several spots on the glider where I made small patches and only have the gray Ekofill showing and I'd like to try to get the glider all one color for the rally. So hopefully late this week I'll be setting things up for shooting paint.
I'll also probably have the NG-1 out there too and it can use some TLC in a few places after a season of trips in and out of the trailer.
Third, Leah and I will be giving a talk about flying in the contest with YYY, so I need to get prepared for that.
On the subject of 53T I have actually managed to get some work done on it lately. Nothing too monumental but I've spent a few evening replacing the control cable pulleys. Right now the only thing left in the fuselage is the aileron cables and the airbrake. In the wings I need to get the bellcranks for the ailerons cleaned up and reinstalled and replace the airbrake pulleys. So hopefully sometime in the near future I truly will be ready to replace the cables!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Ulysses Report
Leah and I once again spent the Labor Day weekend in Ulysses with 3Y. We had a good time even though the soaring was a bit sub-par.
Saturday was looking the most promising but still challenging. The challenge lie in the fact that a cold front moved through at about 8 AM. Soaring to the south of the front was forecast to be very good but behind the front not so great. Winds were 20 mph on average when I launched for the downwind dash. My idea was to fight it out in any scrap of lift I could find and keep drifting downwind, eventually get to the good stuff further south and then go like the dickens. I was even brave enough to declare Plains, TX as my goal, 314 miles. Leah had the truck all ready to go. I took a high tow to take advantage of the 1000 meter allowed altitude loss for the flight and to increase my chances of finding workable lift in the windy conditions. I ended up covering a whopping 26 miles in only 36 minutes from takeoff to landing in a dust field northwest of Hugoton, KS. I should say, a blowing dust field. Leah wrapped a bandana around her face cowboy-style to avoid eating dirt while we were derigging. Three dove hunters stopped by after seeing my fly over and then seeing the trailer and were very helpful derigging. Apparently the dove weren't flying in the wind either.
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=845531386
Sunday I was less than inspired by the forecast as the lift was forecast to about 3000 AGL but still with 15-20 mph winds. I wasn't looking forward to a repeat of Saturday and with the wind it would be a real struggle to fly locally. So I helped Steve get ready for his first flight in the FJ-1, a mostly 301 Libelle modified to landing flaps only. It was fun getting him launched and after watching him soar away and then Bruce do the same in the Grob we decided we might as well rig. By the time the glider was together we decided that Leah was going to fly so she took off for her first flight in 3Y in a few months. It was better than the last flight, her only complaint was a bit of a rough landing. The conditions were not exactly in her court though with a decent wind, about a 10 knot crosswind component, and plenty of thermal activity to keep her busy on tow.
Monday Leah did two more flights in 3Y around noon and reported some zero sink. Her landings were much better with more moderate wind conditions to deal with. I got my parachute and launched about 1:30 and was able to climb up to 4500 AGL. I circled with Steve (FJ-1), Jeff (Apis), and Ed (PIK-20) which was fun. The Cherokee seemed to climb right with the FJ-1. I was curious as I had once circled with a 201 Libelle that also climbed right with me. Of course as expected Steve walked away from me in cruise. I did follow him south for about 7 miles but that was as far as I dared. I wanted to make it back! The rest of the flight was nice and relaxing staying by the airport and just having fun playing in the thermals. I landed about 3:30 in order to get derigged and on the road home. Bruce and us hit the road about 5 PM and we were home right around 10.
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=1019923512
All in all a good fun weekend was had by all. ONce we get pictures from Leah's camera i'll try to get them posted.
Saturday was looking the most promising but still challenging. The challenge lie in the fact that a cold front moved through at about 8 AM. Soaring to the south of the front was forecast to be very good but behind the front not so great. Winds were 20 mph on average when I launched for the downwind dash. My idea was to fight it out in any scrap of lift I could find and keep drifting downwind, eventually get to the good stuff further south and then go like the dickens. I was even brave enough to declare Plains, TX as my goal, 314 miles. Leah had the truck all ready to go. I took a high tow to take advantage of the 1000 meter allowed altitude loss for the flight and to increase my chances of finding workable lift in the windy conditions. I ended up covering a whopping 26 miles in only 36 minutes from takeoff to landing in a dust field northwest of Hugoton, KS. I should say, a blowing dust field. Leah wrapped a bandana around her face cowboy-style to avoid eating dirt while we were derigging. Three dove hunters stopped by after seeing my fly over and then seeing the trailer and were very helpful derigging. Apparently the dove weren't flying in the wind either.
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=845531386
Sunday I was less than inspired by the forecast as the lift was forecast to about 3000 AGL but still with 15-20 mph winds. I wasn't looking forward to a repeat of Saturday and with the wind it would be a real struggle to fly locally. So I helped Steve get ready for his first flight in the FJ-1, a mostly 301 Libelle modified to landing flaps only. It was fun getting him launched and after watching him soar away and then Bruce do the same in the Grob we decided we might as well rig. By the time the glider was together we decided that Leah was going to fly so she took off for her first flight in 3Y in a few months. It was better than the last flight, her only complaint was a bit of a rough landing. The conditions were not exactly in her court though with a decent wind, about a 10 knot crosswind component, and plenty of thermal activity to keep her busy on tow.
Monday Leah did two more flights in 3Y around noon and reported some zero sink. Her landings were much better with more moderate wind conditions to deal with. I got my parachute and launched about 1:30 and was able to climb up to 4500 AGL. I circled with Steve (FJ-1), Jeff (Apis), and Ed (PIK-20) which was fun. The Cherokee seemed to climb right with the FJ-1. I was curious as I had once circled with a 201 Libelle that also climbed right with me. Of course as expected Steve walked away from me in cruise. I did follow him south for about 7 miles but that was as far as I dared. I wanted to make it back! The rest of the flight was nice and relaxing staying by the airport and just having fun playing in the thermals. I landed about 3:30 in order to get derigged and on the road home. Bruce and us hit the road about 5 PM and we were home right around 10.
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=1019923512
All in all a good fun weekend was had by all. ONce we get pictures from Leah's camera i'll try to get them posted.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Day 5, Region 10
Today's task was a "Banquet Task". 2:30 from Llano up to San Saba (15 miles), FLF Gliderport (25 miles), and Mason (20 miles). Minimum distance was a mere 76 miles so even I would have to actually go inside the circles.
Yesterday Frank (TA) and I had a discussion about why I always start right away. I perfectly understand the strategy of waiting to start late as the day develops to its best but I also know that if I run into trouble in the Cherokee I'm going to need time to dig out. Once again today I was the first one out the gate, perhaps 500 feet below max start height for the downwind run to San Saba. That leg was pretty easy with high groundspeeds and only one or two thermals. Clouds were already forming on course and I was waiting to see a coherent group of clouds connecting to the east side of Lake Buchanan before I turned. I wanted to avoid any possible weak area to the downwind of the lake.
Once I decided to turn east I managed to connect with a great group of short cloudstreets running straight into the wind. My strategy, per the last few days, was to do no circling unless I was below 6000 feet. I managed to run straight into the wind for nearly 25 miles on streets all while staying high! SeeYou says the average L/D for this portion was in the 140's! Thanks to this monumental run my groundspeed was still in the 45 or 46 range. Now I just had to decide when to turn back west towards Llano. I did some mental calculations and figured that when I had about 50 minutes left I would turn. Running west I tried to cheat a little south to minimize the headwind on the final leg back to Llano. Visions of my Day 2 landout were still haunting me so I wanted to do everything I could to avoid that again.
The run west was awesome. I found a 5 knot thermal right over the middle of the lake and then just southwest of Llano caught an 8 knot thermal to my best of the day, about 9500 feet. Now that I was seriously local to Llano I decided to keep it that way. I ran out to the Mason circle and continued until I was 15 miles out with 15 miles remaining. I was about 10:1 to make it back to Llano but I knew that my speed would be fantastic even if I came in a bit under time. So I turned back.
The final glide back to Llano was mostly at about 80 mph indicated just to get down and I still finished at something like 3000 AGL. Oh well. The Oudie showed my average task speed at 50 mph although my scored speed was a bit slower due to being about 4 minutes under time. I didn't care, this was certainly a career best flight. Fantastic speed, never got low, and everything just worked awesome.
YYY and I ended up winning the day and moved up to 3rd overall. I was amazed and very pleased to make the podium. All the other pilots made it back today, all with smiles on their face. It was definitely a fantastic day of soaring for everyone. The awards banquet was a great time. Bob Holiday and I were proud to present the James LeSueur Memorial Trophy on behalf of the Kansas Soaring Association to the Region 10 Champ, Frank Paynter (TA). Great job Frank!
My flight from today: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-355613644
Yesterday Frank (TA) and I had a discussion about why I always start right away. I perfectly understand the strategy of waiting to start late as the day develops to its best but I also know that if I run into trouble in the Cherokee I'm going to need time to dig out. Once again today I was the first one out the gate, perhaps 500 feet below max start height for the downwind run to San Saba. That leg was pretty easy with high groundspeeds and only one or two thermals. Clouds were already forming on course and I was waiting to see a coherent group of clouds connecting to the east side of Lake Buchanan before I turned. I wanted to avoid any possible weak area to the downwind of the lake.
Once I decided to turn east I managed to connect with a great group of short cloudstreets running straight into the wind. My strategy, per the last few days, was to do no circling unless I was below 6000 feet. I managed to run straight into the wind for nearly 25 miles on streets all while staying high! SeeYou says the average L/D for this portion was in the 140's! Thanks to this monumental run my groundspeed was still in the 45 or 46 range. Now I just had to decide when to turn back west towards Llano. I did some mental calculations and figured that when I had about 50 minutes left I would turn. Running west I tried to cheat a little south to minimize the headwind on the final leg back to Llano. Visions of my Day 2 landout were still haunting me so I wanted to do everything I could to avoid that again.
The run west was awesome. I found a 5 knot thermal right over the middle of the lake and then just southwest of Llano caught an 8 knot thermal to my best of the day, about 9500 feet. Now that I was seriously local to Llano I decided to keep it that way. I ran out to the Mason circle and continued until I was 15 miles out with 15 miles remaining. I was about 10:1 to make it back to Llano but I knew that my speed would be fantastic even if I came in a bit under time. So I turned back.
The final glide back to Llano was mostly at about 80 mph indicated just to get down and I still finished at something like 3000 AGL. Oh well. The Oudie showed my average task speed at 50 mph although my scored speed was a bit slower due to being about 4 minutes under time. I didn't care, this was certainly a career best flight. Fantastic speed, never got low, and everything just worked awesome.
YYY and I ended up winning the day and moved up to 3rd overall. I was amazed and very pleased to make the podium. All the other pilots made it back today, all with smiles on their face. It was definitely a fantastic day of soaring for everyone. The awards banquet was a great time. Bob Holiday and I were proud to present the James LeSueur Memorial Trophy on behalf of the Kansas Soaring Association to the Region 10 Champ, Frank Paynter (TA). Great job Frank!
My flight from today: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-355613644
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Day 4, Region 10
The task for Day 4 was a 3:30 MAT. Mandatory turnpoints were Eagle Rock Ranch for the first and the West Start point for a steering turn at the end. It was up to us to fill in the gaps. Frank Paynter (TA) gave a quick how-to talk after the pilots meeting to help the rest of us rookies understand what to do. His main suggestion was to get at least half your miles early then find a small triangle to finish up your time.
I set up a plan to go back southeast to Sunrise Beach and then do a triangle from Sunrise to Spicewood to Moursund and back to Sunrise. At that point, depending on how much time was left i could go back to Spicewood again for more distance or head back downwind-ish to Llano for the finish.
The run to Eagle Rock was very easy. I had a lot of fun gaggling with Frank in his Ventus and Dave Coggins in his Nimbus near the north edge of the start cylinder. We were wrapped up tight and climbing well together. We got to nearly 8000, the maximum start height, when the gate opened, so I left. With the tailwind component heading out there I was able to make 26:1 average and only took one thermal on the way. I found a great thermal over the airport there and it was nice to tank back up on altitude before running back towards Llano.
I had to keep a sharp eye out as I was now head to head with the rest of the field who started after me. There was a good sized gaggle about 1/3 of the way to Llano that I took a few turns in before continuing on. I didn't get low-ish again until I was to Llano town and caught a thermal off a construction site, the same place where I had released from tow and climbed out. At one point we heard Keith Miller (AJ) call that he was landing out near the Flying D Ranch which was a bummer. He made it into the field alright but getting his trailer out of the field was, and still is, another story. I was able to make pretty good progress flying straight and dolphining. My general plan was to fly straight until below 6000 then take 4 knots unless I was below 5. I wanted to make sure to stay up high today and overall it worked well. I averaged 23:1 and 28% circling on the leg to Sunrise Beach, quite good considering it was into a quartering headwind.
After making Sunrise I diverted south a bit to stay upwind of the lake. Spicewood is along more or less the same course line that I had been on. I found a good thermal near the powerplant and was able to get back up high and back into cruising mode. For the short leg I was 26:1 and 29% circling and gained 1000 feet. During this leg I spotted a brush fire starting near the Herbert airport, and reported it, and heard that Mike Brooks (XL5) was getting ready to land out at Moursund Ranch. Well I didn't hear from Mike for a few minutes so I called him back and it turned out he had caught a thermal and was digging out. I turned Spicewood and headed for Moursund.
Another short leg into a quartering headwind but no big problems. Mike and I circled together for a few turns near the mid-point in a pretty good thermal, 5 knots average, and continued on our way. I got to Moursund slightly low but found a Vulture assisted thermal near the airport and started climbing as I drifted back towards Sunrise Beach. The leg from Spicewood to Moursund was once again 26:1 but only 14% circling. Of course I lost 2000 feet in the process too.
The run downwind to Sunrise again was very easy with the tailwind helping. I started tanking up on altitude. The run around the triangle had been in the clouds but it was blue back to Llano. I was nearly 50% circling for the 14 mile leg but still had good speed and a 29:1 glide thanks to the tailwind. Once over Sunrise it was decision time. Total Blue towards Llano and I had 50 minutes left.
Visions of my Day 2 landout were starting to replay again. On that day i had extended further downwind to avoid coming in undertime and ended up landing out. Today I decided that coming in under time was not the end of the world and I knew my speed would still be a competitive 40-ish mph if I finished early. Additionally, running back to Spicewood to pick up another turnpoint would add more time than I wanted. I was pretty worried about the day shutting down early. I had not been able to get above 7000 under the clouds and didn't expect to do any better in the blue. So I decided to just head for Llano and if I came in under time oh well.
I picked up the Llano airport as a final turnpoint and crossed over it at about 4000 feet. I had assumed correctly that the lift was soft in the blue. I took two thermals on the way to Llano and only averaged 2.8 knots. Now the only thing left was a 4 mile run out to the last turnpoint and straight back to the landing. I managed to find some weak lift on the way out there and maintained a respectable altitude, was still about 10:1 to make it back when I turned and the last few miles I had enough reserve altitude to push the speed up to 70 and (finally!) finish at 1000 feet.
I did finish about 15 minutes under time but I was happy with the flight. Initially I, like many others, were pretty worried about the MAT since it adds another element of decision making on course. Thanks to Frank's discussion before hand though I felt like I did a pretty good job.
Today is the final day of the contest and I've had a great time so far. I'm looking forward to a good final flight and the banquet tonight!
The flight: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-459916812
I set up a plan to go back southeast to Sunrise Beach and then do a triangle from Sunrise to Spicewood to Moursund and back to Sunrise. At that point, depending on how much time was left i could go back to Spicewood again for more distance or head back downwind-ish to Llano for the finish.
The run to Eagle Rock was very easy. I had a lot of fun gaggling with Frank in his Ventus and Dave Coggins in his Nimbus near the north edge of the start cylinder. We were wrapped up tight and climbing well together. We got to nearly 8000, the maximum start height, when the gate opened, so I left. With the tailwind component heading out there I was able to make 26:1 average and only took one thermal on the way. I found a great thermal over the airport there and it was nice to tank back up on altitude before running back towards Llano.
I had to keep a sharp eye out as I was now head to head with the rest of the field who started after me. There was a good sized gaggle about 1/3 of the way to Llano that I took a few turns in before continuing on. I didn't get low-ish again until I was to Llano town and caught a thermal off a construction site, the same place where I had released from tow and climbed out. At one point we heard Keith Miller (AJ) call that he was landing out near the Flying D Ranch which was a bummer. He made it into the field alright but getting his trailer out of the field was, and still is, another story. I was able to make pretty good progress flying straight and dolphining. My general plan was to fly straight until below 6000 then take 4 knots unless I was below 5. I wanted to make sure to stay up high today and overall it worked well. I averaged 23:1 and 28% circling on the leg to Sunrise Beach, quite good considering it was into a quartering headwind.
After making Sunrise I diverted south a bit to stay upwind of the lake. Spicewood is along more or less the same course line that I had been on. I found a good thermal near the powerplant and was able to get back up high and back into cruising mode. For the short leg I was 26:1 and 29% circling and gained 1000 feet. During this leg I spotted a brush fire starting near the Herbert airport, and reported it, and heard that Mike Brooks (XL5) was getting ready to land out at Moursund Ranch. Well I didn't hear from Mike for a few minutes so I called him back and it turned out he had caught a thermal and was digging out. I turned Spicewood and headed for Moursund.
Another short leg into a quartering headwind but no big problems. Mike and I circled together for a few turns near the mid-point in a pretty good thermal, 5 knots average, and continued on our way. I got to Moursund slightly low but found a Vulture assisted thermal near the airport and started climbing as I drifted back towards Sunrise Beach. The leg from Spicewood to Moursund was once again 26:1 but only 14% circling. Of course I lost 2000 feet in the process too.
The run downwind to Sunrise again was very easy with the tailwind helping. I started tanking up on altitude. The run around the triangle had been in the clouds but it was blue back to Llano. I was nearly 50% circling for the 14 mile leg but still had good speed and a 29:1 glide thanks to the tailwind. Once over Sunrise it was decision time. Total Blue towards Llano and I had 50 minutes left.
Visions of my Day 2 landout were starting to replay again. On that day i had extended further downwind to avoid coming in undertime and ended up landing out. Today I decided that coming in under time was not the end of the world and I knew my speed would still be a competitive 40-ish mph if I finished early. Additionally, running back to Spicewood to pick up another turnpoint would add more time than I wanted. I was pretty worried about the day shutting down early. I had not been able to get above 7000 under the clouds and didn't expect to do any better in the blue. So I decided to just head for Llano and if I came in under time oh well.
I picked up the Llano airport as a final turnpoint and crossed over it at about 4000 feet. I had assumed correctly that the lift was soft in the blue. I took two thermals on the way to Llano and only averaged 2.8 knots. Now the only thing left was a 4 mile run out to the last turnpoint and straight back to the landing. I managed to find some weak lift on the way out there and maintained a respectable altitude, was still about 10:1 to make it back when I turned and the last few miles I had enough reserve altitude to push the speed up to 70 and (finally!) finish at 1000 feet.
I did finish about 15 minutes under time but I was happy with the flight. Initially I, like many others, were pretty worried about the MAT since it adds another element of decision making on course. Thanks to Frank's discussion before hand though I felt like I did a pretty good job.
Today is the final day of the contest and I've had a great time so far. I'm looking forward to a good final flight and the banquet tonight!
The flight: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-459916812
Friday, August 19, 2011
Region 10 Pictures
Can't sleep, too excited about todays flight. Here are some pictures from the week so far.
Telling Glen about the Day 3 win:
Leah and Glen spent Day 3 visiting Enchanted Rock, a 500 ft tall piece of solid Granite:
Glen points out the only cloud in the sky, Day 3:
Turning Final:
Staying cool on the grid:
Finished!
On Tow:
Dollar Store umbrellas are no match for powerful Texas thermal gusts:
Dean and I in the pasture on Day 2:
Telling Glen about the Day 3 win:
Leah and Glen spent Day 3 visiting Enchanted Rock, a 500 ft tall piece of solid Granite:
Glen points out the only cloud in the sky, Day 3:
Attracting a crowd, Pre-Practice Day:
Turning Final:
Staying cool on the grid:
Finished!
On Tow:
Dollar Store umbrellas are no match for powerful Texas thermal gusts:
Dean and I in the pasture on Day 2:
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Day 3, Region 10
Todays task was another 3:30 TAT. Turnpoints were Brady (25 miles), Lampasas (25 miles), Harris Ranch (25 miles) and Mason (15 miles). We got our turn at the back of the grid today which was nice. More time to relax before launch and less time churning around in the start cylinder before the gate opened. Gary Carter (HK) stopped by to visit the contest on his way home from Uvalde and we had a nice chat with him before it was time to load up.
I ended up climbing out the top of the start cylinder near the north edge just after 2 PM and headed downwind towards the Brady circle in totally blue skies. In fact the entire task area was blue except for the back of the first circle. No way I was going that far anyway. However I was able to find good lift in the blue and one big thermal and few smaller ones later I was over the Deep Creek airport and turning east.
My plan was to fly due east to the Lampasas circle and then due South to the Harris Ranch circle. Thought being that the wind was supposedly south east so I would quarter the headwind on both legs that way. Well it turns out that the wind was more southerly. The flight to the Lampasas circle was pretty straight forward with one low point near San Saba. It was actually the same area where I got low yesterday and once again I was able to climb out in a strong thermal and continue on. Once I entered the circle I turned southeast and headed for the edge of the cu field setting up east of Buchanan Lake.
Strategy was to get to the third circle near Marble Falls to maximize the slighty northwest and downwind run to the last circle. However I wanted to avoid a repeat of yesterday where I was undertime and forced to go deep into the last circle and have to fight back into the wind to get home. I figured if I had an hour or less left when I got to Marble Falls that would be about right.
Working south I got to the low point for the day northeast of Buchanan Lake, down to 3000 feet but was saved by a flock of Vultures who led me to a series of good climbs that ended up getting me to nearly 8000. From there I managed the holy grail of saves by running a street for about 15 miles between 7 and 8000, never turning. Not a bad run for the Cherokee. Once off the end of the street it was only a few more miles to Marble Falls just as the timer went down through an hour. I turned downwind towards Mason which would take me right past Llano. My last low point was down around 3000 again over the Kingsland airport where I found a 5 knot average (8 for a while) climb to 9600, my high point for the day. The glide that started with the street and ended at Kingsland was 27.4 miles at and L/D of 37. About half of those miles were directly into the wind.
Now quite high I went into conservation mode. I had been here before and did not want to get low because I knew I had to make that 15 miles back to Llano. I aimed for the clouds ahead near the Llano airport and let the tailwind help my glide, keeping the speed below 65 mph mostly. Just south of Llano I found a good thermal and circled with Stefan Murry (U1) for a bit to boost me back up to 9000. Stefan had gotten low on the way to the Harris Ranch circle, bailed towards Llano in case he needed to land, and was digging back out to make it around the course.
I aimed for the extreme east edge of the Mason circle. Time was working out that I was not worried about being under. And even if it hadn't, I was absolutely not going more than a tenth of a mile into the last circle, time be damned. I had one more climb as I tried my best to keep Llano within a 10:1 glide. I was pretending I was in a 2-33. Landing out was not an option. I nicked the circle and turned back. 15 miles out at 7500 I needed 13:1 to make it. Not bad but I had seen worse yesterday. The first 5 miles were like Deja Vu with some massive sink. But I started to notice that the indicated airspeed and groundspeed were not much different, the headwind wasn't as bad as I had feared, and I didn't need to be flying so fast. About that time I hit a patch of lift in which I made a few turns just to be on the safe side. Now I was 10:1 to make Llano and feeling pretty good about it. I could see my pasture from yesterday way down there. I pushed up to 70 and, of course, was flying in lift and couldn't come down. Ok, up to 80. Now I was at least descending. The speed stayed above 70 and usually near 80 for the rest of the 10 mile run. I could barely make the glider descend and hit the finish at 90 mph and 2000 AGL. So much for getting the finish lower but at least I finished! From the finish 1 mile out i continued at about 80 with the airbrakes out and arrived over the field at 1500 ft. I kept burning off the speed into the pattern and made a nice landing. What a flight!
Scores worked out that not only did I finish, but won the day! Holy cow! YYY and I managed to beat contest junkie Frank Paynter (TA) by 14 points. I offered a glider trade to Frank after he mentioned that all I need to do to win the day is finish, but he declined. Two more days to go in the contest. Hopefully two more finishes for YYY and I can move up the score sheet a bit. So far the weather has been great, even when it has been blue. With 5 days of flying including the practice we have had 1 landout (me) and 1 relight (today). Not too bad.
My flight from today: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-547474619
I ended up climbing out the top of the start cylinder near the north edge just after 2 PM and headed downwind towards the Brady circle in totally blue skies. In fact the entire task area was blue except for the back of the first circle. No way I was going that far anyway. However I was able to find good lift in the blue and one big thermal and few smaller ones later I was over the Deep Creek airport and turning east.
My plan was to fly due east to the Lampasas circle and then due South to the Harris Ranch circle. Thought being that the wind was supposedly south east so I would quarter the headwind on both legs that way. Well it turns out that the wind was more southerly. The flight to the Lampasas circle was pretty straight forward with one low point near San Saba. It was actually the same area where I got low yesterday and once again I was able to climb out in a strong thermal and continue on. Once I entered the circle I turned southeast and headed for the edge of the cu field setting up east of Buchanan Lake.
Strategy was to get to the third circle near Marble Falls to maximize the slighty northwest and downwind run to the last circle. However I wanted to avoid a repeat of yesterday where I was undertime and forced to go deep into the last circle and have to fight back into the wind to get home. I figured if I had an hour or less left when I got to Marble Falls that would be about right.
Working south I got to the low point for the day northeast of Buchanan Lake, down to 3000 feet but was saved by a flock of Vultures who led me to a series of good climbs that ended up getting me to nearly 8000. From there I managed the holy grail of saves by running a street for about 15 miles between 7 and 8000, never turning. Not a bad run for the Cherokee. Once off the end of the street it was only a few more miles to Marble Falls just as the timer went down through an hour. I turned downwind towards Mason which would take me right past Llano. My last low point was down around 3000 again over the Kingsland airport where I found a 5 knot average (8 for a while) climb to 9600, my high point for the day. The glide that started with the street and ended at Kingsland was 27.4 miles at and L/D of 37. About half of those miles were directly into the wind.
Now quite high I went into conservation mode. I had been here before and did not want to get low because I knew I had to make that 15 miles back to Llano. I aimed for the clouds ahead near the Llano airport and let the tailwind help my glide, keeping the speed below 65 mph mostly. Just south of Llano I found a good thermal and circled with Stefan Murry (U1) for a bit to boost me back up to 9000. Stefan had gotten low on the way to the Harris Ranch circle, bailed towards Llano in case he needed to land, and was digging back out to make it around the course.
I aimed for the extreme east edge of the Mason circle. Time was working out that I was not worried about being under. And even if it hadn't, I was absolutely not going more than a tenth of a mile into the last circle, time be damned. I had one more climb as I tried my best to keep Llano within a 10:1 glide. I was pretending I was in a 2-33. Landing out was not an option. I nicked the circle and turned back. 15 miles out at 7500 I needed 13:1 to make it. Not bad but I had seen worse yesterday. The first 5 miles were like Deja Vu with some massive sink. But I started to notice that the indicated airspeed and groundspeed were not much different, the headwind wasn't as bad as I had feared, and I didn't need to be flying so fast. About that time I hit a patch of lift in which I made a few turns just to be on the safe side. Now I was 10:1 to make Llano and feeling pretty good about it. I could see my pasture from yesterday way down there. I pushed up to 70 and, of course, was flying in lift and couldn't come down. Ok, up to 80. Now I was at least descending. The speed stayed above 70 and usually near 80 for the rest of the 10 mile run. I could barely make the glider descend and hit the finish at 90 mph and 2000 AGL. So much for getting the finish lower but at least I finished! From the finish 1 mile out i continued at about 80 with the airbrakes out and arrived over the field at 1500 ft. I kept burning off the speed into the pattern and made a nice landing. What a flight!
Scores worked out that not only did I finish, but won the day! Holy cow! YYY and I managed to beat contest junkie Frank Paynter (TA) by 14 points. I offered a glider trade to Frank after he mentioned that all I need to do to win the day is finish, but he declined. Two more days to go in the contest. Hopefully two more finishes for YYY and I can move up the score sheet a bit. So far the weather has been great, even when it has been blue. With 5 days of flying including the practice we have had 1 landout (me) and 1 relight (today). Not too bad.
My flight from today: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-547474619
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