While on the cart getting ready for my tow, I looked over at the temperature guage on my vario...111 degrees. I needed to get in the air where it was 20 degrees cooler...
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Day 6 results here...
Overall results here...
Day 6 brought the expected NE winds, light. A 92km triangle was called taking us from the Francisco Grande start area to Estrella, on to the I8 / Hwy 84 intersection, then back to the hotel. I was one of the last few to be towed as the start line grew quickly before I was ready...no worries, although I would have benefitted from an earlier start...more about that later.
First, it was sad to see Brian Foster's mishap off tow yesterday. His weaklink broke right off the cart and he got caught in the tug's prop wash resulting in a hard landing...broken downtube, torn sail, two broken battens, and covered in dust. Brian was OK, but needed to gather his wits alone for a while. I felt bad for him, but he's OK now and may have his glider pieced together for today, the last day of the meet. This is why we wear jeans and boots here, although many wear shorts and light duty shoes for some reason. Brian would have had some serious abrasions without proper gear...a glider can always be repaired and replaced...the same is not true for a good flying buddy.
Back to my flight...my tow went really well...smooth air through out, which is not good. I had a feeling things were beginning to mellow out a bit over the start area and I was right. I pinned off in lift, though, before being waved off by the tug pilot...this was a good call as I was able to stay in the thermal to get up. I soon caught up with another gaggle of pilots to the north of the start area. On glide I came in low under the gaggle...really low. I could see Alex was in the same boat. The lift was intermittent, but I managed to eek out a bubble here and there for the boomer that would take me up to 6800', still not as high as others, but high enough for me to decide to go on glide to what I hoped to be the first waypoint...not so.
My goal was to reach a cluster of dust devils in a field a few kilometers away, get high, and move on from there. I made the field with plenty of altitude, but by then, the dusties were dissipating, and I was groveling for whatever I could...300-500 feet AGL is where I groveled for well over a 1/2 hour working all I could. I could tell things were really starting to break up and settle down. Finally, I had to decide to land as I was too low to safely turn in the minimal lift that was available. I managed to find what appeared to be a former sod farm to land and enjoyed the smooth surface for my slightly cross-downwind landing...I managed to keep my feet below me, but really had to run it out with a skidding stop at the end.
I honestly thought I had the first waypoint on this flight. My decision-making was going well...I was flying well, but again, I could only get so far along the day...numerous others made it to goal and some came in just short of goal including Ben, Wayne, Alex, Bruce, and James. They flew well, though. As a side note, I have lost my hold on last place and am now 2nd to last, an improvement!
When I take all my flights out of the context of this meet, and forget about the scores associated with these flights, they are all personal best experiences. I love flying XC and the decision-making that goes with that, then finding a safe landing area toward the end of the flight. Meets like this will continue to provide opportunity for flights I normally would not have with recreational flying. Speaking with Brian last evening, we both agreed this type of aerotow comp is far less stressful, both for drivers and pilots. The air is less rowdy, one can concentrate more on flying rather than surviving, and the ability to readily relaunch in the event of a sinkout is golden.
Today, similar winds as yesterday...light and from the NNE, and hot, with temps in the low 100's. Max lift will be from noon to about 2pm or 3pm, then dying down again toward 4pm. I'll need to get in the air early if I plan on flying far today...
That Funston cool air will feel nice when we get home...
Flight time: 2 hours