Lore From The Log of 4J

Region 9 Sports Class Championships

Saturday June 12

Sandi, Cleo, the HP-16 and I headed Southwest for the Regional Contest at Moriarty New Mexico. I had never flown in that part of the world before and was somewhat apprehensive. The trip down did nothing to ease my misgivings. From west of Dalhart Texas all the way to Moriarty, the terrain is high dessert with lots of small cactus plants, little cultivation, few people and very few safe places to land.

I had entered my HP in the Sports Class. In this class, the task each day is a speed only post. Each pilot selects a course starting and ending at the contest site and using up to 10 turn points (the contest site may also be used as a turn point) from a list of some 30 turn points within 90 miles of the contest site. The objective is to be gone at least the minimum time as specified each day by the competition director, and to achieve as high an average speed as possible. Achieved speed is adjusted by a handicap factor based on glider performance. Daily scores are based on speed with the fastest handicapped speed receiving 1000 points. The handling of the start time interval and starts is an important issue in sailplane racing. The start time interval is the longest time elapsed between consecutive starts or between launch and the first start. In sports class, the nearest turn point used may not be closer in miles than the number of minutes in the start time interval divided by 1.5. Though starts may be taken to set the start time interval at any time, you are not allowed to proceed on course until all of the competitors in the class have launched. To get a good start, the glider must pass the start line at an altitude of less than 5000 feet agl. The contest was scheduled to have one practice day and six days of competition. To prepare my ship I had added an oxygen system and spent a considerable amount of time sanding the wings.

Sunday June 13

Some 44 contestants push out to launch for the practice day. By 11:00, the wind is changing directions every few minutes from the dust devils sweeping across the field. The dust devils are strong enough and frequent enough that it is definitely a good idea to have the canopy shut and latched. The tow I receive makes me appreciate Frank Lilly like never before. At contests, the tow planes all fly a particular pattern to a release point, they make no attempt to put you in lift at all. With tall and widely spaced thermals this presents a problem. I scoot back to the pattern in sink all the way, but managed to save from about 800 feet agl. The lift and sink are both very strong. I climbed out to over 16,000 feet on several occasions that day. The sky is blue from just east of Moriarty on west. To the east are Cu's, but I am sufficiently intimidated by the sink and terrain to not venture off eastward and downwind to them. Another consideration when going east from Moriarty is that the nearest airport is about 60 miles out. I spend the afternoon practicing starts and stayed within gliding distance (20 miles) of the field. After landing, I find out the soaring under the Cu's to the east had been incredible. The best flight on the practice day was over 200 miles at an average speed of 104mph! I flew about 4 hours during which I reached a maximum altitude of 16,700 feet msl.

Monday June 14

When I get in the HP to launch, the oxygen line blows off of the bottle! There is a tremendous hissing and the hose thrashes madly until I can get the regulator shut off. Having no intention of flying over the terrain there low enough to not need oxygen, I pull out of the launch line. A few minutes later with the help of my Dad, I have it fixed and am ready to push back on the runway. About this time, the wind changes around, and the decision is made to push everyone to the other end of the airport before continuing launch! Before I push on the runway, I am greeted with another loud pop and hiss from the glider. This time the oxygen line from the regulator to the mask burst in the middle! I push down to the other end (about a mile), fix the line again and finally get launched. Unfortunately, a storm has kicked off southeast of the airport. The tow pilot takes me out into an area of very strong sink associated with the storm. Most of the tow our climb rate is under 300 fpm, and at times not at all. Off of tow I sink like a stone, and barely make it back to the field.

So many of us fall out that just after I landed, the tow pilots decide to fly a different pattern and try to find lift. Fat lot of good that does me now. I have to wait until last to launch again. The thunderstorms are building quickly, so I decided to call it quits for the day. Soon, there are 30 mph plus winds out of the south. With the runway at Moriarty running east/west, this makes for some interesting landings. My Dad and brother Dave are able to stop and roll off the downwind side of the runway as if there was nothing at all difficult about a 30mph cross wind. Others weather-vain off the runway in a cloud of dust. One pilot is caught by a gust, bounced hard and stalls in from about 5 feet. Both wingtips hit the ground at the same time and his landing gear collapses. Seven of seventeen sports class competitors score points today, but I don't regret not being among them.

Tuesday June 15

We are all lined up on the runway by 11:00. By 11:30, there are large storms west and south of the field about two miles out. Nobody flys gliders that day. I spend some of the afternoon visiting with the local pilots about the setup there. The soaring club at Moriarty is one of the biggest in the country. The main runway is paved, 7000 feet long and about 100 feet wide. There are probably two dozen trailers stationed on the field other than those who are there for the contest. The club has two tow planes, two 2-33s, two Romanian 2 Place Larks, a 1-26 and a Libelle. George Appelby runs his glider repair and refinishing business on the field. Several of the club members had moved to Albuquerque after retiring just for the soaring weather. Numerous flights of over diamond distance had been made out of Moriarty this year before the contest. Mark Bare and Wendy Walstead from my home club flew in that evening to watch the fun the next day.

Wednesday June 16

Once again, there are storms visible by 11:30. This time, they are a good 10 miles away, so we launch. I resolve to watch where the other gliders go before me this time so I can use them as thermal markers and not fall out like on the 1st contest day. I am towed by a Cessna 182. It might make a fantastic tow plane at Hutchinson, but the combination of the density altitude and the pilot's instance on flying 90 mph makes for a perilously slow climb. At the end of the 7000 foot runway, we are perhaps 100 feet high. From 300 feet high on we are out of gliding distance of the runway. By the time we reach release altitude we are a good 2 miles from where the other gliders were getting off tow. I am fortunate enough to blunder into lift anyway, and get through the start gate about 30 minutes after takeoff.

By that time, the storms have formed in a 270 degree arc around the field. The only direction storms can not be seen is southeast, there are no airports in that direction either. I get a little above 13,000 feet msl under good Cu's just east of the field, and head east to the best Cu's. At Cline's corners I head southeast toward Vaughn, the nearest turn point which would not violate my start time interval. The first 20 miles are easy going under good Cu's. About 10 miles from Vaughn the Cu's ended. Vaughn is on the other side of a big blue hole and under another rapidly developing line of storms. With only 6000 feet agl and mostly unlandable terrain around Vaughn, I decid not to try to cross the gap. The next turn point which looks like it isn't under storms is a highway intersection about 10 miles west of Santa Rosa. The storms are steadily closing in on Moriarty behind me. From there on to the turn point, I work between 3000 and 6000 agl.

Unfortunately, the storms have grown considerably farther to the east. The first line of storms was a good 30 miles east of Moriarty. I consider going on east to the airport at Santa Rosa, but decid to try to make it home through the storms. I guess I just couldn't stand being at the bottom of the score sheet two days in a row. The first line of storms I reach at about 4000 feet agl. This is a very uncomfortable position as there was not anything in sight that I am comfortable about landing in. I catch a thermal in the rain and climb up to about 6000 agl, then head for the next line of storms. From here on west there is very little sunshine and no more Cu's in gliding distance. Under the next line of storms I find rain and no lift. I soon found myself down to about 2500 agl and a good 5 miles from the nearest road or building. Seeing no indications of lift ahead, I turn back toward the nearest habitation.

The previous day at the pilot's meeting a local had talked about where to land. He seemed to think the terrain was fairly friendly, and anywhere there were not lots of dark green patches would work. Heeding his advice I pick out a pasture which looks relatively flat and free of large green objects. It is next to a highway and about 2 miles from Cline's Corners. I fly over it at about 800 feet for one last look, then I line up to land along a pair of tire tracks which lead to a gate. On short final it is clear that I will be landing slightly down hill. From the alarmingly high ground speed it appears I have a bit of a tail wind as well. As the glider hurtles down the hill, the green patches resolve into cactus and bushes up to 4 feet tall, the small white spots grow into bolders several feet high. On the wet grass the wheel brake does nothing to slow the glider. Trees flash by. Expecting a horrible crunch at, I pass over a boulder just to the right of the fuselage that turns out to be about 2" lower than the bottom of the flap. A large group of boulders lay ahead and it was clear that if I wanted to fly again I would have to stop short of them. I pushed the stick full forward and drove the nose hard into the ground as a brake substitute. The HP slid to a halt with its nose in the grass, paused a second and the tail came down with a bang. It was a truly frightening place to land. It had been my good fortune that the trees were all at least 52' apart. My heart was pounding like mad but I had gotten away without a scratch.

A man in a New Mexico Highway Department truck gives me a ride into Cline's Corners. The adrenaline was still pumping and my hands shaking when I call in and gave directions to contest headquarters on how to find me. I suggest that Sandi bring help since the gate at the edge of the field is locked. I walk back to the glider to wait. Soon Sandi, Mark, Wendy, my Dad and Brother Dave all come out to get me. We are set to lift the first wing over the gate when the rancher who owns it shows up and opens it for us! That day I flew 3 hours and 20 minutes, reached a maximum altitude of 13,600 feet and covered 95.7 miles. Landing out doesn't make many points. I was 14th place for the day and 14th overall.

Thursday June 17

Once again by 11:00 am we were blessed with thunderstorms. A few minutes before takeoff, I observe lightning perhaps five miles west of the field, on tow I am taken through rain. I climb out as quickly as I can and headed for the start gate. By this time the storm is right over the field, and I take my first start to update the start time interval in heavy rain. I dive out of the rain and climb again. The last sports class glider is finally launched and the task opens a few minutes later. Again I go through the start gate in heavy rain. Flying in the rain in the HP is VERY loud. Sitting in the cockpit of the long metal fuselage is like being at the output end of a megaphone. The rain leaks in through the canopy into my lap. At least today I kept my start time interval down low enough to use a close in turn point.

I pick my way east and then south to get clear of the storms as quickly as possible. A few miles south of the field are good Cu's clear of the storms. I push south about 15 miles to Estancia Airport and take a turnpoint picture. I try to continue Southwest, but am soon back at Estancia and low. The Cu's finally get better, so I climb out and go southwest again. An ASW-20 comes in underneath me in one thermal, and a few minutes later goes by me at my altitude and pulls ahead and above. It is ZL, my brother Dave, taunting me with his higher performance glider. I go to Mountainair airport and take another turn point picture. South of Mountainair is a blue hole about 10 miles wide with storms on the other side, but back toward Moriarity, the storms have moved on to the northeast.

I go back to Moriarty under good Cu's and take another turnpoint picture there. The clouds look really good back to Estancia and Mountainair, so I make another trip south taking turn point pictures again at each airport. Storms form again over the mountains about 10 miles west of course. I get low at Mountainair and have to work a weak thermal to get back up. The storms have grown back across my path home and the Cu's around me are dying fast. With one more thermal and a strong tailwind, I manage to run around the east end of the storms and get back to Moriarty. I have flown a total of 4 hours and 10 minutes, make a distance of 134.6 miles, and an average speed of 37.58 mph. This gets me 11th for the day and puts me 13th overall.

Friday June 18

Finally, a day with no storms over the field at launch time! A dry line has moved in overnight pushing the storms about 10 miles east of the field. The line is dramatically visible. Cu's one side of the line are probably 4000 feet lower than on the other. West of the mountains there are very few Cu's. Over the field it looks fantastic. Takeoff is really exciting. Initially, the wind is straight down the runway. As I brake ground, I notice that the wind sock about 1000 feet on down the runway is standing straight out 90 degrees to the runway! The gust rocks the HP and the tow plane and challenges our flying skills but we get through it intact. My first two runs through the start gate I can't get low enough to get a good start and establish my start time interval. On my third try, I go through the gate 2 seconds after the task is officially opened. I have a large start time interval, but there are no storms, high clouds and good soaring. Today, using one of the farther out turn points should not be a problem.

I head south into a 20-30 mph wind under good Cu's. In the first thermal I work, a Libelle, AN comes in about 1000 feet above me. AN was at that time in first place in Sports Class. We head south together for about 5 miles, then I go to the next cloud street to the east. In the next 40 miles I work 3 thermals, mostly I climb straight ahead under cloud streets. Cloud base is about 16000 feet. I go south to Transwestern #7 Airport, about 50 miles south of Moriarity and take a turn point picture there. Five miles out of Transwestern #7, I spot AN a good 1000 feet below me! I make a brief attempt to go west across the mountains, but the Cu's don't look very good that way and the terrain was unlandable for a good 15 miles. I elect to go back to the north. I get low near Mountainair and take a weak thermal to get back to a comfortable altitude. From here I go north and take a turnpoint picture at Moriarty and climb out over the field to 16000 msl. I glide straight out from Moriarity to Estancia 15 miles south and take another turn point picture, then glide back to Moriarty. The flight lasts 3 hours and 10 minutes. I have one climb which averages over 700 feet per minute for 3 minutes. I cover 128 miles at an average speed of 50.32 miles per hour. This gets me 8th place for the day but leaves me still in 13th overall.

Saturday June 19

In the morning, the sky is overcast, but the forecast is for good soaring. The competition director called a 320 mile task for the 15 meter and standard classes. By 11:00 the sky was full of Cu's. We line up for a west takeoff and the winds switch around. Everybody pushes to the other end of the airport and we finally launch. My task for the day is a 3 hour minimum. The winds are about 15-20 out of the south, and the Cu's at about 5000 agl. Lift is weak and broken up. Before launch, the standard and 15 meter tasks are reduced substantially. It is like flying at Grain Valley, low clouds, very weak lift, only with no place to land! I take my start and go south to Estancia for a 1st turn point picture. All of the 15 meter and standard class ships have to go south, so I use them as thermal markers for awhile. I get low near Estancia and spend about 30 minutes just trying to get back up. Finally I get up and back to the Moriarty. From there I go northwest to Sandia East (about 10 miles) and take another turnpoint picture. I circle with a 1-26 there and come back to Moriarty again. I try to go to Estancia again, but just can't find any lift. I turn back to Moriarity and scratch around under 2000 feet for about half an hour. Finally, unable to stay up, much less go cross country, I give up and landed. This glorious day of soaring lasted 3 hours and 50 minutes. I cover 54 miles for an average speed of about 18 miles per hour. I end up 12th place overall.

It would have been nice to have scored better, but I really enjoyed spending a week flying in New Mexico. I recommend it highly.