Region 9 2003…..

Practice Day

Fingers of heavy cirrus are all around in the morning. The cumulus clouds start around 12:00. Thunderstorms are in the forecast. I grid about 2/3 of the way back. Bounced it once on takeoff, got off tow in a descent thermal.

Climb up and work my way to the edge of the cylinder, then I head out kind of in the middle of a bunch. The clouds south look good, north toward Lovington they look pretty soft. Still, I get to Lovington OK and run back south into the wind. A good solid climb of 1000fpm+ convinces me it will be a booming day. I veer west to get good clouds, but they peter out leaving me over the oilfields and getting low.

The Cambridge vario starts to get weak, showing MUCH lower values than the Winter. Getting to within gliding distance of Eunice was is a nail biter. I stop and work a very weak thermal rather than get down too low out of gliding distance of any airports. To add insult to injury the GPS light quits flashing too. Just a practice day but there would be no score for me today. The early climb convinces me some very strong conditions are around, still, I just can't seem to get over 9000 msl.

From Eunice I don't have enough altitude to run back home, the clouds toward Jal looked MUCH better. I press south with 'Goto' on the GPS still set for Eunice and keep it there until I get a good climb and have Jal made. From Jal I run straight back north, keeping Eunice in the bag but wanting to go to Hamilton. There is a massive wall of storms visible to the northeast but they still appear to be many miles away from doing anything to us. I get a really good climb to a little over 10,000msl. From just east of Eunice I am finally high enough I am confident I can make it so I veer east toward Hamilton. On the way to Hamilton I get a couple more turns for insurance and dive back to Hobbs.

With a couple of thermals that day that pegged the vario for a couple of minutes, I was sure the winners would be very fast. My average speed would barely break 50mph, the best in 15 meter are over 80. I make an appallingly poor landing going probably 2000' past my trailer. My lack of HP practice shows through.

3 hour flight.

127 Miles, 2.5 hours on course.

Contest Day 1

The Forecast is for storms starting mid afternoon. The task call is a turn area, Seagraves (15 mile), Andrews (20 mile). Storms are visible on eastern horizon. The task is changed on the grid, the second turn is now Crossroads, 25 miles. This will take us over much more friendly terrain.

I am on spot 58 on the grid so only a few other gliders launch after me. Getting up to the top of the cylinder is a struggle. Cloud base is only a little over 5000 feet, the clouds toward the NW side are very busy. A big gaggle goes out but I am still 500 feet low and let them go. I am beginning to sweat going so late with the storms in the forecast. Finally I get up, I hear Dick Johnson call his start as I am heading for the edge.

On the first leg there are lots of other gliders. We all veer off course a bit north to follow the good cu's. Seagraves is on the other side of a big blue hole. It looks like by going past it to the north you could get fairly close without leaving the clouds, but by this time the clouds toward crossroads look MUCH better.

The first leg is mostly down hill with a low point of 6200 msl (2700 agl) which causes me LOTS of puckering. I spend several minutes going perpendicular to the course line to stay with the clouds. I finally run into the blue for the edge of the cylinder for the 1^st turn. Whisps form at the edge and I get one moderate climb in the blue. 14 miles from Seagraves & 3300 agl I head in the direction of Crossroads. I work a thermal or two with K8 then we part company. I make a gamble leaving weak lift and head off for some good clouds directly west knowing I will get to them lower than I'd like and also wishing they were a little more on course. As I close on the clouds the northern route looks like it might have been better, but I am committed. I get to the edge of the ragged clouds at 2200 agl and get a reasonable climb back up.

From there to Crossroads it is awesome, my gamble pays off. I work my way above start altitude, then get to almost 10,000msl. There is a tremendous street and I press on north not circling mile after mile. From Tatum to 20 miles north of Crossroads I run without circling. Finally the street breaks up and I have to downshift again. I watch the time and guess the best possible speed home under the fabulous clouds. Finally I see a couple others going back the other way, I am 22 miles NNW of Crossroads, I turn for home. The cloud streets are not working nearly as well on the way south. It is all down hill from Crossroads to Tatum. There is some scattered over-development, but it doesn't look like anything will be a big problem. At Tatum, I can see the final glide is not going to be easy. There is a big blue hole to cross to get back to Hobbs and my calculations show I don't have enough altitude. I consider going around but press on through, cruising at about 65 knots, erie quite, very smooth. Mile after my I recalculate, I am not going to make it without another climb, but it is not at all clear there will be another climb. A whisp forms and I head toward it. Several circles waste a bunch of time and gain little. I press on toward another forming whisp. I keep recalculating the final glide, it keeps getting a little closer but still not enough to be safe. Finally about 15 miles out I hit a thermal that takes me up just high enough to make it. I dive back for the field. Some clouds in the last 5 miles put give me enough margin to be comfortable.

The finish is very busy. I watch 3 15 meter guys fly through as I am coming in. I have to fit in with a bunch of traffic. 3 of us form a train, each about 100 yards behind the other and directly in trail. I land and roll to a stop breathless, soaked in sweat, heart still pounding.

Flight Time: 3:20

Distance: 165.29

Speed: 60.31

My flight starts me out 3^rd overall. My enthusiasm and excitement run extremely high. Looking at my flight trace I have a good 10 minutes of obvious mistakes. A fabulous way to start the contest. With so little recent cross country flying, I hope that tomorrow I will be more relaxed and fly better and have high hopes of moving up.

Contest Day 2

Today's forecast is better soaring, a couple thousand feet higher, no storms. Our task is a three hour 'MAT' with the assigned turns, Plains, Tatum, and Lovington. It is just not a day where things go smoothly. I awake at 3:30 am. The water I take to the field has a horrible taste of soap in it. On the launch line, just prior to takeoff a wire brakes off the power connection for my data logger. The 2^nd battery is already too low to run the logger. I have to pull out of the line just as my tow plane arrives. This puts me at the back of the launch line. A quick soldering session and the GPS is powered and working again. I turn off the electric vario that runs off the 2^nd battery to save all it has to run the GPS I use for NAV. When I do launch I find out very quickly that I left the TE probe out, the vario isn't working. Flaps down and back on the ground, stick the probe in and go again ($45 for extra tow).

Having taken the last two tows for the day, I have no other gliders for thermal markers, most guys are already high and away. Joe Shaw in her 1-26 marks a thermal and saves me from the indignity of a 3^rd launch. It is a great looking sky, but I can't seem to connect. One by one the other sports guys go out on course. Round and round in a weak thermal I finally drift to the edge of the start cylinder at the appropriate height. It would be easy to conclude that things just weren't going to go my way, I tell myself to block out the problems so far, none of them need slow me down, it is time to focus on the immediate problems that need to be worked to fly fast.

Immediately out of the gate my fortunes change. I hit a tremendous thermal that shows around 800 fpm on the log. The sky ahead is fantastic looking, I strike out on course. Plains to Tatum to Lovington the flight is uneventful. In spite of the great first climb it looks like 5 knots is about as picky as I can be. The day is consistent enough that I don't get particularly low in the first half. At 1.5 hours I have gone around the assigned turns and back to Hobbs at 9000 feet.

From there I press south for Eunice following a Duo Discus. He is much braver than I am. 3300 agl and about 10 miles out of Eunice he presses on ahead out of sight. I join up with CP and we each spend a few turns exploring weak lift together. This is some BAD terrain to be low over. Finally I go for it, dive in for my turn and head north again. At the end of a cloud street I climb at about 5 knots back up to 10,000'. Now I have some difficult choices to make. The clouds are clearly weakening and I have over an hour left to fly. I head north past Hobbs splitting the difference between Abandoned and Lovington watching the clouds. Just north of Hobbs I make up my mind to go west. The clouds out west still look much more well defined.

I make a turn at Lovington and get back up high, then glide out toward Maljamar. Man it is scary to look down out there. There is NO PLACE to land and not ding your ship. Near Maljamar I get down to 4000 agl, too low to get to an airport. The clouds are starting to weaken out west as well. I settle for a steady 3 knot climb, run the last little bit into Maljamar then head for home. I am below a comfortable glide slope and the altitude ticks away fast. I can see Hobbs but don't think I can make it without another climb. I go under some dying clouds and spend a few minutes getting some insurance that I can make it home. The last few miles I run in lift. I cross the line at about 115 knots. No traffic in the pattern, I stop exactly opposite my trailer. Sandi observes that the ship is nice and cool. I am soaked with sweat, exhausted, my feet and knees ache from pushing on the rudder pedals.

Though I felt like I had not done a very good job of making the best of the day, I get 3^rd daily and hold 3rd overall just 1 point behind 2^nd place.

Flight Time: 4:40

Distance: 205.71

Speed: 60.30

There is some controversy over my score. Initially I get a 25 point penalty for exiting the top of the cylinder within 2 minutes of the start. One of the competitors is on the rules committee. Though I didn't ask him, he investigates my situation and gets the penalty reversed in favor of using the time I knick the top of the cylinder as my start.

Contest Day 3

The day starts out with more trouble. A tire on the dolly sheds a bunch of pieces causing the dolly to grab as I try to roll the fuselage out. The fuselage shoots out of the dolly and crunched on the floor, almost rolling over to crack the canopy. I dive back and grab the tail to keep it upright. About 10 minutes later I get a hand and get the fuselage back in the dolly. The forecast is dryer, possibly stronger & taller thermals but possibly only a few Cumulous clouds.

I am 8^th on the grid. Clouds are forming to the south when I launch and I consider waiting until well past 2:00 to start to give them a chance to form on course. It becomes painfully obvious that the clouds are not going to form, in fact they are going to dissipate. I get a good climb out the top of the cylinder. There are gliders circling from my position to the edge of the cylinder, it looks like about as good a set of circumstances as I could get from an energy perspective but not good in terms of having markers.

I set out expecting some of the others to catch me on the way. The run to Plains is relatively uneventful. The other gliders give me confidence to set out into the blue. Duo & 63 ran with me much of the way to Plains. There are thermals in the blue and there are some clouds forming farther east. After plains, 63 went west/northwest, DUO and I went South East. Duo left me in no time and I was alone in the blue. The clouds quit well short of Seagraves but it looked like they were working at Brownfield so I changed course and headed west/northwest. From there to Brownfield is a big blue hole. Mile after mile ticked by at 65 knots with no lift. If I hold out for the clouds, I would get to them at only 2000 agl.

Just west of Brownfield, my resolve to push on for strong lift crumbles entirely. I am convinced that the lift is just not there and that 200 fpm or better is good enough I should circle in it. It takes me some time to get into Brownfield, get back out and get high again. The PW5 and a couple of other gliders pass me by at the turn.

I glided another 10 miles back west without a bump. I take another weak climb for a few minutes then press on to Denver City. There I get down to about 3000 agl before finding a thermal over the refinery. It is good enough to get me to 10,000 feet.

I glide from there to Abandoned then back to Hobbs. I hit a reasonable thermal near Abandoned and probably should have taken it and gone on to Lovington. I passed it up, my speed was lousy, at that point I wanted to make sure that I made it back! I was probably 3 minutes under time.

In retrospect I made two really big mistakes. When 63 struck out, I should have followed him. A 'buddy' does great things for your confidence in the blue. DUO is so much faster, following him was wasted effort. I also needed to believe there would be 500fpm lift in the blue. The PW5 found good lift and blasted past me at Brownfield for crying out loud, I could have too. My lackluster flight was good for 8th daily and dropped me to 4th overall.

Flight Time: 4:15

Distance: 136.9

Speed: 45.65

It becomes painfully obvious at this point that my chances of winning are very slim. The PW5 pilot is very good and he extends his lead each day. I find this day particularly frustrating as I just don't feel like I flew anywhere near as well as I am capable. How quickly one's attitude can change.

Contest Day 4

Today Sandi takes the kids to see Carlsbad Caverns. It is very important to NOT land out! The forecast is a repeat of the day before. Little to no cumulous. The day's task is Turn Area, with turn points at Crossroads (20 mile radius) and 'Intersection' (25 mile radius).

Today there are no disasters getting ready. Launch is uneventful. There are a very few Cu to the south and east. As I climb in the start cylinder I look for '63'. I'd like to try flying with him today if I can. Shortly after the gate opens, I spot him and tuck in behind. We get a thermal together and climb out the top of the gate starting at about 2:10.

On course I am surprised at how fast he cruises. I push the speed up to try to move along side him so we can both get some advantage from each other. This works fabulously for the entire first leg. We take turns striking out, thermal together and make very good progress. We see the PW5 and a bunch of other gliders on the first leg. I get past Crossroads and head for a cloud but call it good and head back for Plains. 63 follows my lead and we work a couple more thermals together. Finally we part company about 10 miles out of Plains. By this time I have lost all my other possible thermal markers and immediately end up in trouble. Low over the town of plains I settle for a moderate climb. There is an airport there that would work well if I give up. There are even a couple of whisps of cloud over the town. The thermal there is weak, I waste a lot of time without gaining much altitude. I strike out due south to Denver City with just enough altitude that I could comfortably make the runway.

North of Denver City I am again under 3000 agl. I fly over the refinery and chase a thermal that has lots of strong pulses but I can never seem to center it. Again a big waste of time then I head on farther to the Southeast. Soon I push into the turn area for 'Intersection'. A run home will no longer put me under time so now it is just a matter of getting one last good climb. Northwest of Seminole I get to some cloud whisps. One turns out to have a nice strong thermal. I shoot up to over 10,000 feet.

From here it is an easy final glide home. I cruise at 80 knots + IAS. The miles tick by and I have no trouble staying right on glide slope. I finish a little high with over 110 knots IAS.

My flight is slow. The two long slow climbs on the 2^nd leg cost me. I am 7^th for the day and 4^th overall.

Flight Time 4:10

Distance 148.9

Speed 46

Though my performance is not great, the flight was very rewarding. The first leg flying with 63 was a blast. The final glide went exactly as I'd planned it, high and fast from a great distance out.

Day 5….

In the morning pilot's meeting, the day's forecast was for no cumulus at all. When we came out of the meeting there were beautiful Cu's closely spaced to the horizon in just about every direction! I have the last grid spot. The task is a 2.5 hour TAT. The turn points are Morton, Seminole, and Lovington.

Getting up for the start is no sweat. The cu's are thinning a little but still there are lots. Cloud base is about 10,000 msl. I take my start at 2:02 and head out. There are a very few cu along the course line but it looks like it will not be a run in the blue. I dive out at nearly 80 knots. I run through a couple of thermals others are working and pass them up. All alone in the blue I hit a thermal that starts out at 10 knots and gradually drops down to about 5. This climb helps me catch up with several other gliders. I have LOTS of company on the first leg. Just about every thermal is shared with at least one other. The Libelle RU stays with me much more that I'd like. About Plains I pull ahead of him and get LY in my sights. LY marks the next couple of climbs for me. The first leg goes by remarkably fast.

I turn south expecting more of the same. I backtrack along essentially the same course and meet several of the others I had passed on the way. I push on lower and lower to Plains but cannot connect with a good climb. I mess around in some weak stuff but am determined not to kill my speed by chickening out and taking a protracted weak climb. There are lots of us together between Plains & Denver city. I go to lots of other thermals marked by other gliders but most are just not very good. Finally I get about 5 knots back up high and press on for Seminole.

As I push on for Seminole I pass under lots of cumulus, they are all dead. Finally I get to a spot just north of the peanut processing plant. There is TREMENDOUS sink and I hit a low point of about 2000' agl before getting a 3 knot climb back to 4000 agl, I press on hoping to go back to cloud base in something stronger. I finally settle for 3 knots up to 9000 feet and set the GPS for Lovington.

From there all the way to the ground the trace shows one single sample of 2 knot lift. I should have taken it but pressed on. I ended up abandoning the task and landing at Hobbs on a straight in approach without getting the last turn point. I landed under the mistaken impression that the last turn was optional for speed points. Had I known I wouldn't have passed up the 2 knot lift. This oversight made what should have been a descent score into a route. Had the last turn truly been optional, I would have gotten 2^nd for the day. Instead I got distance points only.

Flight Time: 3 hours

Distance: 156.5

Speed: 57mph, but no speed points L Day Five Scores

Day 6….

The last day of a contest where I am not doing well is never nearly as exciting as the first. At the beginning I believe I am competing for the win. On the last day I only have a realistic shot at 6^th or 7^th place. It is much harder to get psyched up for the flight fighting for an also ran position. On the launch line the feeling is melancholy reflection on the mistakes that took me out of the running. Still, each flight is a contest of its own with the potential for challenge and adventure. I believe that if I am ever going to win I need to attack each minute of each flight.

As I press out on course I shut out consideration of the larger context of the contest and focus on the situation immediately in front of me. Today I decided to start as early as I can. Every day of the contest to date has died early. I accept a start a little below the top of the gate to get out early. I try to hold out for better than 5 knots. I hit several thermals that give a huge pulse on the vario but just won't pan out to much over 3 knots. Just after turning Plains I finally get a 5 knot plus climb to about 9600 agl. There have been widely scattered and very small clouds to this point. I spot 63 close to Plains, we share the good climb and strike out together.

I push on to within a few miles of Seminole and down to only about 2200 agl before getting another good thermal. Around Seminole I am finally into a sky with lots of large substantial Cumulous. The clouds look very good on South. About at this point my Garmin GPS (not the logger) shuts off, the battery is dead. I swap the batteries as quick as I can. I am way under time, clearly I need to pick up at least another turn point or two before heading home. Andrews is down a really nice looking street so I punch it into the GPS and press on. Running under very nice clouds I press on to within a few miles of Andrews without circling. Cloud base comes steadily down to about 8500 msl. I circle with ZL and 63 in a modest thermal, then I get a good climb to cloud base and look around at the sky. The clouds to the north are very thin and sparse. To the west and south they still look good. I head west for Eunice. A very long glide without a runway over rough terrain with cloud base less than 5000 msl is a little intimidating but the clouds look so good I go for it. Half way to Eunice it is clear that I will be under time if I go to Eunice and in. The clouds toward Eunice and north of it are looking weak. Toward Jal they look great. I veer off to the south for Jal.

On the run to Jal I don't have any trouble finding strong lift. The miles tick by quickly. I see a couple of other gliders around Jal, I make the turn and head for home now 43 miles away. The clouds thin out to the north and I am sweating a little making it back. I try to set up final glide 30 miles out but with 15 to go I am too low to be comfortable. I take a 4 knot climb for insurance and dive for home. The final glide works exactly as I want, I cross the finish line about 1200 agl and 120 knots.

The flight was great fun, the first part was hard and slow, the second part a great speed run under fabulous clouds. I went to the banquet with a big smile.

Flight Time: 4:00

Speed: 52.03

Distance: 179

I got 5^th daily and 6^th overall.

Total Flight Time 26:15

Total XC Dist 1100 Miles!