June Aerotowing

It has been a stormy, wet spring and late summer in Colorado, but even with the weather I was able to get out towing a few times, plus nab a flight off Lookout. Aerotowing is a new skill, so I've tried to change only one thing at time. My progress since getting my rating has been, towing at altitude in Colorado on Tim's Sport 2, towing the Fusion in smooth air, towing the Fusion in Mid-day conditions. Next I'll ditch the keel-mounted release and should be able to tow with the best of them. Here's a short Hero Cam clip of my tows. My computer is slowly dying and won't run Adobe Premier Pro so I had to use Windows Movive Maker (ugh).



The first towing session this month was my first time towing the Fusion. Jim, JT, Tim, Sparky, Rick, BJ and a few others met at Farm Flight on a foggy Sunday morning. It was still overcast when I set up, but the sun was burning off the clouds quickly. When the holes were big enough to get on top Tim fired up the tug and took a test flight. JT was first to tow up, I cued up next. The fusion was a hand full on the first tow, but it was because I didn't have enough VG. I pulled on just over a 3rd VG on the second tow and it settled down considerably. The morning air was bliss and smooth as glass. The plains were lush with green grass from all the rain, while the Rockies to the west were still capped with snow. On the third tow I dropped the Hero Cam on a dangle mount JT lent me. One string broke immediately sending it spinning. I re-tied it and dropped it again for a set of wing overs. It oscillated quite a bit, but worked. I'm envisioning an airfoil shape with vertical stabilizers for the next mount to smooth things out.

Overcast Skies in the Morning



Tim Test Flying the Dragonfly



JT's Tandem





My First Tow on the Fusion









Sparky Towing









Rick Towing





BJ Towing









Tim Landing



Sparky Landing





Me Landing
(right wing got popped in the flare, but I saved it)







The second towing session was last week. I worked in the morning and didn't make it there until mid afternoon. The crew was mostly the same as before, along with Fred and Craig who visiting from Arizona. I took my time setting up, waiting for the lift to turn on. There was line of over development to the south, but nothing but blue skies above Farm Flight. Fred towed up first in his ATOS, followed by JY and BJ in their rigid wings. Dan in his U2 and I were the only flex wings to tow up that afternoon. The fusion was a hand full in the slightly turbulent air. I had a 3rd VG on, but it wasn't enough. Down low the air was filled with constant ups and downs, but when I pinned off I there wasn't much lift to be found. I found a disorganized thermal just downwind of some dark, muddy cow corrals. I worked to maximize any core I could find and soon climbed into nice organized lift. JY was thermaling with a hawk above me and we were soon joined by Tim in the Tug and BJ from below. I leveled off just below 8000 feet to stay out of DIA's class B airspace and got out my camera. I took some pics of BJ and he climbed up through me and we went off on glide.

Waiting for it to Turn On



BJ Ready to Go Far



Fred Towing



JY Towing



BJ Towing



Thermaling with Tim in the Dragonfly







Thermaling with BJ
(his pics show me)













The wrinkly and battered fusion lost hundreds of feet on glide compared to BJ's clean ATOS. After about a mile he hit a bump and turned above me, but it didn't look very good so I pressed on (and down) towards another big corral to the north. It was north of the class B so I could climb high if I found lift. Above and downwind of the corral there was nothing but broken bumps. I could see hawks turning below, but nothing was strong enough to punch through a weak inversion at about 7000 feet. I hung out slowly loosing altitude until I was down to about 6500 feet and needed to head back towards the field. It was one of those light days where the thermals were few and far between. I explored a potential thermal triggers on the way, but found nothing. I reached the field with enough altitude for a perfect base entry, then milked my final enough to clear a few fence poles and touch down right on the runway.

Farm Flight from the Air



BJ and JY joined up and flew all the way to Lions and Boulder respectively. I was kicking myself for not hanging with BJ, but don't think I would have been able to stay with him on his rigid. Most likely I would have sunk out a few miles from the field and had to endure a hot, boring walk back on desolate dirt roads. I was happy with the flight and my thermal skills got a good polishing, hopefully next time the conditions will be better and I'll make it up and out of Farm Flight.

Spring Driving School

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of BMW CCA Spring Driving School was the last Sunday in May. After having a blast at the fall school I was determined to go, even though a hectic week and The Burn mountain bike race on Saturday had me running a severe sleep deficit. When I woke up at 4:30am Sunday morning for the 2.5 hour drive to Pueblo I was beyond tired. I had packed the car 5 hours earlier so all I had to do was turn the key and keep it pointed between the white lines in the pre-dawn hours. I've done plenty of 24 hour mountain bike races over the years and have a good idea of how I operate in stressful situations on reduced sleep. My plan was to pay close attention to my fatigue level throughout the day, be conservative, and drive a notch or two slower than normal. Plus, I would take no shame in sitting out a session or two if I needed to.

I had just mounted a fresh set of Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 tires, a favorite for track and autocross. The drive down to Pueblo would be a good opportunity to get a feel for them. The Sunday morning roads were deserted and I was well south of Denver as the sun broke over the horizon. Just south of Castle Rock I met up with a red E30 M3, who I stayed with for the rest of the drive. We made it to Pueblo with plenty of time for me to medicate with a large Starbucks before the check in.

Fresh Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Tires



After checking in at Pueblo Motorsports Park I set up my pit. Driving school is a busy day so the more you can do ahead of time the less hectic it is. After my pit was dialed I met up with some familiar faces from last fall including Jim with his black Mitsubishi Evo MR, Dan the club president and one of my previous instructors, and some new friends like Jeff who was pitting next to me in an E90 335xi and Kristina and Jeff who have a brand new M3.

My Pit



Morning at the Track



Kristina's M3 and Jim's Evo



Before cueing up for our first class and track sessions Andrew gave us a witty introduction followed by Bruce’s safety briefing. In the background the front straight was already busy with instructor cars warming up the track. Mark, who I met briefly at Starbucks, was my first instructor. He drives an S54 powered M3. I let him drive the first couple laps to show me the line. It came back quick, but I didn't push it once I got in the driver’s seat. Instead, I tried to focus on being smooth and driving the line.

Andrew Welcoming Us to the School



The Safety Briefing



Instructor Cars Warming Up











Track Session 2
(Caution: I was going to edit all of my footage into a nice short video, but my 8 year old computer won't run my editing software so you'll have to deal with unedited Hero Cam clips and poor sound - MUTE VOLUME)



Before the second session Dan introduced me to Brad who would be my instructor for the rest of the day. Brad has a track prepped E36 M3 that he drives with enviable precision. We spent the second track session working on smoothness, steering, and shifting. For the most part my line was good, but driving slower was affecting my smoothness. As odd as it sounds sometimes I think it's easier to go fast because there is less time to think about your decisions, you just do it. This was most notable in my braking. I was still “street braking”, braking too early and too light. My steering also needed attention. I was all over the wheel and gripping it way too tight. In normal driving, flying, and even mountain biking I tend to keep a light grip on the wheel to allow more finesse and feedback. Maybe I was nervous, maybe it was too much Starbucks, but the tight grip had to go! Brad set me straight and showed me a good hand position. I learned something else too. The M steering wheel has two extensions on the inside of the wheel just above 3 and 9 O'clock. I always thought these were palm grips, but they are for your thumbs. Later during an instructor drive Brad showed me how through a good hand position you can feel how much the front tires are hooking up. Compared to my worn out Michelin Pilot Sport’s the fresh Dunlop’s had gobs of hook up and were super predictable.

Brad Driving During the Instructor Drive
Notice his hand position and how well he drives the line.
(Poor sound - mute volume.)



As the day progressed I became limited by my inability to heel-toe shift. Heel-
toe downshifting is a technique where you use your right foot to brake and blip the throttle at the same time. It allows you to smoothly rev match while braking. I had tried heel-toeing in the past, but could never get my leg at the right angle under the steering wheel in the close quarters of the M Coupe. Instead, I would cheat by letting out the clutch at the right moment to catch the revs. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. When it didn't it would upset the balance of the car, which is the last thing you want to do hurling into turn 1 at triple digit speeds under max braking. Brad is taller than I am and by pivoting his ankle instead of his knee (like I was doing) could easily heel-toe in the M Coupe; I was just doing it wrong. He showed me the right way and I spent the rest of the day improving steering and heel-toeing.

Track Session 3
(Poor sound - mute volume)



After lunch I went for a ride in Brad’s E36 M3 and John’s beautiful E30 M3. John’s car was striking, with a fresh steel gray paint job, maroon interior, and subtle M pin stripes running bumper to bumper on both sides. Brad is an incredible driver, when I rode with him I tried to be a sponge and soak up as much as possible.

John's E30 M3
(HDR)









As the afternoon progressed dark clouds from distant cells over the mountains to the west grew into thunderstorms. VIRGA and rain dropped to the north and south, but missed the track. The dark textured clouds overhead offered the opportunity for some pretty sick HDR shots.

HDR Shots















Brad and I spent the last two sessions working on steering, shifting, and consistency. Overall I felt like my driving was solid and got better with each session, with the exception of turn 8. Earlier in the day I was nailing turn 8, but I during the last two sessions I couldn’t get it right. This happened to me during the fall school on turn 3. Sometimes when you clean up and go faster in one area of the track it brings out problems in other areas. The problem on turn 8 was that I wasn't looking through the turn, causing me to enter too late and have to throw the car into the turn. I was able to clean it up a little, but fatigue was making me sloppy.

Track Session 4









There was one more instructor drive after the last session, but the track was empty except for an E90 M3 and a Lotus Elise. I hung out just behind the guard rail of turn 10 to get a few shots. Being so close to the cars on such a fast turn was impressive. The V8 powered M3 was downright scary with a combination of wind, intake, and exhaust noise building to a deafening crescendo as it speed by just on the other side of the guard rail.

New M3 in Action







Lotus Elise









Next was the awards ceremony and refreshments. We all gathered at the back of the club van while Bruce announced the awards. The awards, most improved driver and car of the day, are decided by the corner workers. Corner workers are the foundation of the driving school; they volunteer their entire day in the sweltering sun to make it happen. As a result they are also in the best position to judge people's improvement. They chose the M Coupe for car of the day. I was elated, but also getting delirious. I can't for the life of me remember if I thanked everyone. If I didn't, consider this a heartfelt thank you for your volunteering and M Coupe love!

Awards

After a few proud pics of the M Coupe and its trophy I topped off with gas and caffeine and started the long rainy drive back home. It was an epic day, thanks to Mark and Brad for their instruction, Bruce and Andrew for the running the school, all the volunteers and instructors, and everyone who showed up for an epic day! That night I slept 15 hours.