Flytec Race and Rally 2011 - Day 5

Today we decided to change direction. A cold front was closing off our options to the west and north, along with our plan to rally to Lookout Flight Park in Chattanooga, TN. The conditions to the east were looking really good so a 194km task from Americus to Vidalia, GA was called. There would be a turn point at Dublin Airport to keep us clear of airspace. That would be a total of 120 miles, over twice as far as my longest XC flight ever. I tried not to think about it and just take the task 10km at a time. Americus Airport couldn't have done more to accommodate us. They provided a barbecue lunch free of charge for all of the pilots. I've been eating a big breakfast and a light lunch to keep my stomach happy and in flying shape. A few years ago I ate a foot long Subway sandwich before flying on a bumpy day and it came up after a few thermals - not a pleasant experience for me or the unsuspecting soul it might have landed on! My preflight meal for this comp has been a bagel with peanut butter and a Coke Zero.

Lunch

We staged on the opposite end of the airport and towed off one of the runways. I was late to cue up because I had to repair my nose cone from my recent landing rut. It didn't matter, the lift was so good I was able to catch a gaggle filled with serious talent. We all climbed up close to cloud base just outside of the start circle and ran back to tag it at start time. I was able to hang on with the group for about four climbs. It was intense flying with super fast glides and close proximity in strong thermals. Last year I learned to maximize my thermal entry by entering at full speed and pay out the energy in the glider to multiply my climb rate for the first few turns. Everyone is so good that the slightest mistake has huge consequences. A missed core, waiting one turn too long to go on glide, flying a little too fast or slow; they all add up and it turns into a race of attrition. The less mistakes I make, the longer I can hang on to the fast group. In the climbs everyone is working together, but also jockeying for cores and constantly adjusting the radius and speed to maximize the climb. The collective energy is intoxicating. I was stoked to hang as long as I could.

Nick Off my Right Wing

On Glide with the Start Group

Once I was alone I focused on just making it to goal. The fast group had gone off the course line to the south to follow a cloudstreet, but I didn't have the altitude to try to follow them. I pressed alone across a blue hole and found myself getting low over a town on the other side. At 2000' I caught a glimpse of some vultures and flew straight to them. They lead me to a nice thermal and climbed with me until about 4000'. Cloudbase was over 7000' where it was noticeablly colder than yesterday. I got low one more time 20km before the turn point, but managed to hang on in 150fpm lift until it turned into 500fpm. That climb got me high enough to tag the turn point, then I headed southeast towards goal. It was slow going at first, but a few other stragglers showed up and we put together some descent climbs. I decided to leave inconsistent 200fpm for a promising cloud and bridged the gap to two gliders closer to goal. It was a good decision as the guys I was with ended up lower and behind for the rest of the task.

Working It Alone

Dublin Airport - The Turn Point

At Cloudbase

Rich Before We Spread Out

For the last stretch I played it conservative and took my climbs a little higher than the new guys I was with. I took the last climb to cloudbase waiting until I had an 8 to1 glide to goal. Nick, who was climbing with me went at 10 to 1 and made it with altitude to spare. Making goal is a new thing for me, so a few learning experiences are to be expected. When I had 8 to 1I headed out, starting at best glide speed, which was unessesarily slow. It would be a 18.5km glide and I was at 6600'. I didn't think it mattered until about halfway when I saw the guys I was flying with earlier coming in faster and lower. I stuffed the bar and flew at full speed the rest of the way to goal. The T2C is a rocket ship, but holding the bar stuffed for the remainder of the glide wasn't the least bit fatiguing. I centerpunched the finish at 2500' partially because the air was lifty below 4000' partially because I didn't go sooner. I'm not sure what start the guys below me took, but I beat them to goal!

9 to 1 Glide Ratio to Goal

Downtown Vidalia, GA

Goal

Everyone on the ground was stoked from an epic day of flying. I was stoked to make goal again and set a new personal distance record of 120 miles! Granted the last two task days have been in incredible conditions, but I feel like I'm slowly climbing the learning curve of this game. Nick and I celebrated the day with a dip in the hotel pool.

The Reward of Not Breaking Down My Glider

Nick Taking a Dip

Humid Sunset

Flytec Race and Rally 2011 - Day 4

Today a 91km task was called to the west into Alabama. The day promised to be nearly as good as yesterday. The heat was just as oppressive, but the gnats weren't as bad. Not having to rig my glider gave me time to tweak my tips to tune out a nagging right turn. We staged in the grass along the main runway at Jimmy Carter Regional Airport. Making goal yesterday didn't help my scoring that much (because almost everyone made goal), so I was near the back of the line. I was just hooking in to my glider when I heard a thud and saw a Dragonfly go by without a glider in tow. I looked and saw a glider laying flat on the ground with the control frame collapsed. Julia was the pilot underneath the sail. She had come out of the cart early and skidded into the ground. She was banged up pretty bad, but sustained no major injuries. She was helicoptered to the trauma center as a precautionary measure.

It was getting late in the day and after much discussion it was decided to cancel the task, but allow people to free fly if they wanted to. Aerotowing is a perfectly safe and established way to get in the air, but it is a relatively new technique for me. I was a little spooked by the whole situation and decided I needed to fly so it wasn't a distraction tomorrow. I mounted the Go Pro and towed up late in the afternoon. I pinned off in a beautiful juicy thermal and took 500-600fpm almost all the way to cloud base, which was around 6800 feet. From there I flew around and check my glider for turns at different speeds. The turn was gone and the cool air was refreshing. I'm not acclimated to the heat so any break is bliss. After pressing out about 10km to the west I turned back and boated down in the smooth evening air. The flight was perfect except for I'm in a bit of a landing rut lately.

Deciding What to Do

Enjoying the Cool Air at 6000'

Downtown Americus

Raw Helmet Cam Footage of a Climb to 6000'

On the ground Nick, Ricker and I checked out a crop-duster airplane graveyard at the airport. The planes all had German registries and cockpit instruments labeled in German. It was pretty cool to see the big radial engine powered planes up close. With raw mechanical components hanging out in the wind like honeycomb oil coolers, huge oil tanks, and air driven turbines that power the spray pumps. Sitting in the cockpit was stark difference to the glass screens I sit in front of at work.

The Crop-Duster Airplane Graveyard

Nick and I met up with John, Sonny, Paul, and Lauren and finished the day with a dip in the pool and a steak dinner. I read tonight that Julia was released from the hospital and will spend the night with Davis and Belinda.

Flytec Race and Rally 2011 - Day 3

We continued north today with a 119km task from Moultrie to Americus, GA. The goal was Jimmy Carter Regional Airport, which was also home base to Charles Lindbergh briefly. The heat was oppressive today with a high in the mid-nineties, but the gnat's were worse. If I had a choice between the two, I'd take the heat. I rigged and got the fuck off the ground as soon as possible. The world at 2500' was a way more comfortable.

This Picture Belies the Oppressive Heat and Gnats

I had an hour until the first start clock so I explored the start circle while gradually working my way to the north corner. Everyone else was doing the same to stage for the start. We all reached cloud base several times and had to dive out to avoid getting sucked in. I ended up in perfect position to take the 2:00pm start and went with the first group. The rush of stuffing the bar and racing out of the start circle with another 20 gliders will never get old. It's so much better than mountain bike racing. Flying with the best comp pilots is invaluable experience too. I try to be sponge and soak up everything I can.

Looking Down at the Start - Moultrie Airport

Jon Simon's Gargoyle Glider

Looking Out at the Course Line to the North

I hung with the lead group for a few thermals, but after about 25km I fell of the back. The day was good with 300-800fpm lift and cloud bases over 6000'. Once I was alone I decided to stay high and focus on just making goal. I worked between 4000-6500' for the next 30km or so and rewarded myself with an apple at the halfway mark. At about 45km from goal I found myself low under blue sky. I was down to about 2500' groveling in 100fpm feeling alone in the world. After an eternity it finally organized into a consistent 300fpm and Rich in his bright green glider showed up. I was ecstatic to have a friend climb with me out of the pit of despair. The lift turned on as he arrived and we climbed to cloud base together. We fanned out on different lines and I was able to stay higher at first under a nice street to the west. About 10km later he stopped and since I was ahead I pressed on for a promising cloud. I should have turned back to climb with him, but my cloud was all show. I guess you could say it was "all face and no trousers!" That put Rich one climb ahead of me and we stayed that way to goal.

Token Stig Helmet Shot

The closer to goal I got the more paranoid grew. This is my third real comp and I've never made goal. I've fallen short by less than 2km a few times, but never tasted the finish. Rather than race the other stragglers I played it safe stopping to climb a few times. I didn't leave on final glide until I had a 5 to 1 glide ratio! That put me over goal at over 2000', which just gave me more time to enjoy it!

Beautiful Goal - Jimmy Carter Regional Airport

Stoked to Have Made It!

Looking Down at the Rest of the Rally

(who were already there!)

It seems like things are starting to coming together for me, hopefully my slow learning curve will continue tomorrow! Airtime 5:00, Distance 119km.

Flytec Race and Rally 2011 - Day 2

Today a 114km task was called from Live Oak, FL to Moultrie, GA. I was determined not to repeat yesterdays mistakes so I triple checked my tracklog and borrowed Mariah's GPS as a back up. The one thing I didn't check was the batteries, which died about halfway through my flight. Argh! The day was looking a lot better with plenty of clouds and stronger climbs. I was in the first half of pilots towed up and climbed in a massive gaggle to the edge of a the start circle. I'm getting more comfortable flying in massive gaggles, but it's far from routine. I took the first clock and went on course with a bunch of people. Nick, my roommate was off my wing for a while. The group thinned after a few climbs and after getting uncomfortably low at one point I dropped back. I decided to stay high and fly the cloud streets. I'm not sure if this was the right decision, as I lost the group I was in. I seemed to cross paths with random pilots for the next few hours, so I was never entirely alone either.

Staging Cue

Climbing Over Moultrie Airport

Everyone Getting Ready for the Start

On Glide with Nick

It was slow going working my way north. I would estimate the headwind was at least 10mph and every bit of progress was half undone by drifting backwards while climbing. Florida swamps gave way to Georgia forests and one forest seemed to take forever to cross. I seemed to have a little more trouble today tracking thermal core too. The cloud streets were great though and I managed a few stretches of straight line flying with minimal altitude loss. Patrick Cruise and I broke off from a small gaggle at one point and crossed to the next cloud street. He left on glide before me and flew straight to the ground. I was high enough to catch the ladder and ride the street to it's end, but the sight was disconcerting. Sure enough at the end of the street I found myself scratching over the town of Quitman, GA. I groveled a little in light lift, but couldn't put anything together. I ended up landing at the local airport.

At Cloudbase

Crossing the Suwannee River Towards Georgia

Avoiding the Blue Sky

Landed at Quitman-Brooks County Airport

Cool Radial Twin Where I Broke Down

Airtime 4:28, Distance 77km.

Flytec Race and Rally 2011 - Day 1

A 148km task from Quest to Keystone Airport was called. The launch cue formed quick and I wasn't terribly motivated to hook in and roast in my glider. As such I launched late, but pinned off into a great thermal. I joined a gaggle at the end of the start circle and took the last start clock. I had teamed up with John Simon and Sonny for retrieve and linked up with John at the start. We climbed a few thermals together and one glide he got flushed. I picked a line a little to west and was able to stretch my glide a little more. We were only one thermal away from the main gaggle, but it was one thermal too far. Our gaggle splintered. I pressed ahead while John clawed his way up from the deck. It was good work on his part.

My Glider Not in the Launch Line

Looking Up at the Start Circle

I clawed to the north, working hard against the headwind for every foot of progress. After a few thermals more thermals I was Greg and Mitch. We worked broken lift on the east side of a huge subdivision for a while. I decided it wasn't going to get any better and pressed out on my own. It was a day when you needed friends to stay up. I was only one mistake away from being on the deck and leaving them was it. I glided about 10km and decked in the middle of the subdivision. It was the only open field and turned out to be a turtle refuge. Scratching low over the houses caused a few people to get concerned and the cops and ambulances were there within minutes. They just wanted to check that I was alright, there was no drama about landing in the turtle refuge. I had to laugh when I thought about what would happen if I did that in Boulder!

On Course

The Fenced in Turtle Refuge

And It's Residents

My Reception

It was a hard day, my flying was good, but my decision making was poor. To rub salt in the wound I forgot to make sure my track log was on (which it wasn't) and didn't get scored! Airtime 3:28, Distance 48KM.

Flytec Race and Rally 2011 - Practice Day

Yesterday the gate agent took pity on me and gave me the last seat in first class! Then I caught a ride to Quest in a murdered out Lincoln Town Car. The driver who was in a suit wasn't sure what to make of dropping me off in the middle of a dark field. Today I managed to catch an evening tow and get an hour in before sunset. It was my second flight of the year and I was a little rusty, but the smooth Florida air was a treat!

Here's a HeroCam Vid. I threw this together last minute so it's not stellar work!

The Phoenix Resting in the Flock