All,
Jim Messina and I are organizing a small race to goal comp on the Delmarva Peninsula. We have the site and tugs lined up and Adam Elchin from Highland will be towing for us. We have a 2-3 open spots, let me know if you're interested. Given the small number of people there is only an Open class and anyone interested needs to be proficient in aero towing / XC etc. If you're interested let me know.
Dates:
Practice Day: Friday June, 4 (weekend after Memorial Day)
Comp Flying Starts: Saturday, June 5
Comp Flying Ends: Saturday, June 12 (8 comp days)
Location: Bens (or other airport on Delmarva Peninsula)
Max Pilots: 8
Charles
Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Charlie,
Please sign me up. I'll have to figure out how to fly my damn T2, but I'm in.
Pete
Please sign me up. I'll have to figure out how to fly my damn T2, but I'm in.
Pete
Pete Lehmann
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Charlie,
Please sign me up. I'll have to figure out how to fly my damn T2, but I'm in.
Pete
Please sign me up. I'll have to figure out how to fly my damn T2, but I'm in.
Pete
Pete Lehmann
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Awesome. Will email you more details.
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
In Florida now, flying in both HG competitions and two weeks. Burning up a lot of 2021 leave now.
Don’t think I can make it for 8 days, Eastern shore, if available, but would love to come over for 2-3 days, if possible.
Might be a chance for 8 days, though can’t commit anything now.
Can you imagine: “Darling, really nice to be here in Florida for two weeks. Any chance I can sign up for one more week, Hanggliding in June?”
Ha, ha!!!
Knut
Don’t think I can make it for 8 days, Eastern shore, if available, but would love to come over for 2-3 days, if possible.
Might be a chance for 8 days, though can’t commit anything now.
Can you imagine: “Darling, really nice to be here in Florida for two weeks. Any chance I can sign up for one more week, Hanggliding in June?”
Ha, ha!!!
Knut
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Knut - Makes sense, wasn't able to FL comps this year so have bandwidth. I'll send you an email about coming out for a few days.
Best,
Charles
Best,
Charles
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Awesome!
Thanks Charlie and Jim for arranging this meet.
I am definitely in and can’t wait flying again on the Eastern Shore.
Knut
Thanks Charlie and Jim for arranging this meet.
I am definitely in and can’t wait flying again on the Eastern Shore.
Knut
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Made a video from HC 2021. Note! Still 3 days more and hope they get to fly more.
Fantastic week and some really great days.
Video is a compost video of 5 days.
If interested, check https://youtu.be/Jv3tN5ag110
Knut
Fantastic week and some really great days.
Video is a compost video of 5 days.
If interested, check https://youtu.be/Jv3tN5ag110
Knut
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Love the vid, thanks Knut!
One more flying day, tomorrow/Saturday?
One more flying day, tomorrow/Saturday?
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Inquiring because I would like to help with retrieves tomorrow, if needed. 
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
I am sure they’ll be flying today. Unfortunately I have to work today and Saturday’s for now… .
Off Sundays and Mondays. Though, off most weekends in July.
Knut
Off Sundays and Mondays. Though, off most weekends in July.
Knut
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
As there has been nothing posted about how Charlie Allen's (and very much Jim Messina's, too) Mini-Comp turned out, I will give a brief account here.
The Mini-Comp was a remarkably fun event. While it was disappointing that we had fewer than the hoped-for ten participants, the fact that we were such a small group made for a wonderful sense of comraderie. All pilots camped out at the field, socialized before and after every flight, and we dined together virtually every night, either at the field, or in pretty nearby Chestertown. More importantly, we flew on seven of the possible eight flying days, and while the conditions were often remarkably weak, it was always soarable and there was always at least a chance of making goal. In fact, only on two days did no one make goal. An unintended benefit of the generally poor conditions was that our tasks were short. In high class competitions the tasks are all too often grueling and require long retrieves at the end of the day. Our short tasks meant that we were never far from home, and could actually eat dinner and relax after flying. Most significant, the difficult flying was genuinely fun and rewarding, and I enjoyed gaining a better understanding of the tricky convergence flying of the Delmarva Peninsula.
Regarding the flying, we were towing from Ben's grass strip near Chestertown at the northern end of Maryland's Eastern Shore. The tasks were short (generally 20-25ish miles), and the most successful ones took us eastward to a turn point, and then north into Delaware. Other less successful tasks (due to weather) went to the east or southeast. The reason for the first easterly legs was that Ben's is located very close to the Chesapeake and its malign marine influence that suppresses thermal development. It is often critically important to escape into the center of the peninsula where conditions improve, and where on most days one can encounter the remarkably consistent convergences that set up there.
While conditions were generally light, we did have two solidly good days on which we went into Delaware, getting to over 4,500 and 6,000 feet respectively in often good thermals. On the best of those days four pilots arrived at goal to find a 4-500fpm thermal over goal, so we decided in the air to turn around and fly 13 miles back upwind to land at Masse airfield, with all of us making it for a total of 45 miles. However, those days were the exceptions, and we were generally getting to only three thousand feet in weak climbs. We all needed to pull off repeated low saves, something made possible by the abundance of enormous, flat lzs.
We were also extremely fortunate that President Biden was not spending his weekends in Delaware, otherwise our already weather-constrained task calls would have been made extremely difficult by presidential TFRs prohibiting our flying in that area.
Oh, yes, and the winner was: Jim Messina, crushing the riffraff, followed by Ric Caylor who flew consistently well, and myself. We three were the only pilots who flew the entire event, with others coming and going for various reasons along the way.
I want to thank the many people who drove for us during the week, making for painless retrieves. We often had nearly as many drivers as we had pilots: John Dullahan, Bacil Dickert, Ed Messina, Doug Rogers, Michal, Jackie Williamson, and Jim Carroll. Adam Elchin was the main tug pilot, with Ric Niehaus helping out on a several days, and Zack doing so as well.
It was a great event. Thanks, Charlie and Jim
The Mini-Comp was a remarkably fun event. While it was disappointing that we had fewer than the hoped-for ten participants, the fact that we were such a small group made for a wonderful sense of comraderie. All pilots camped out at the field, socialized before and after every flight, and we dined together virtually every night, either at the field, or in pretty nearby Chestertown. More importantly, we flew on seven of the possible eight flying days, and while the conditions were often remarkably weak, it was always soarable and there was always at least a chance of making goal. In fact, only on two days did no one make goal. An unintended benefit of the generally poor conditions was that our tasks were short. In high class competitions the tasks are all too often grueling and require long retrieves at the end of the day. Our short tasks meant that we were never far from home, and could actually eat dinner and relax after flying. Most significant, the difficult flying was genuinely fun and rewarding, and I enjoyed gaining a better understanding of the tricky convergence flying of the Delmarva Peninsula.
Regarding the flying, we were towing from Ben's grass strip near Chestertown at the northern end of Maryland's Eastern Shore. The tasks were short (generally 20-25ish miles), and the most successful ones took us eastward to a turn point, and then north into Delaware. Other less successful tasks (due to weather) went to the east or southeast. The reason for the first easterly legs was that Ben's is located very close to the Chesapeake and its malign marine influence that suppresses thermal development. It is often critically important to escape into the center of the peninsula where conditions improve, and where on most days one can encounter the remarkably consistent convergences that set up there.
While conditions were generally light, we did have two solidly good days on which we went into Delaware, getting to over 4,500 and 6,000 feet respectively in often good thermals. On the best of those days four pilots arrived at goal to find a 4-500fpm thermal over goal, so we decided in the air to turn around and fly 13 miles back upwind to land at Masse airfield, with all of us making it for a total of 45 miles. However, those days were the exceptions, and we were generally getting to only three thousand feet in weak climbs. We all needed to pull off repeated low saves, something made possible by the abundance of enormous, flat lzs.
We were also extremely fortunate that President Biden was not spending his weekends in Delaware, otherwise our already weather-constrained task calls would have been made extremely difficult by presidential TFRs prohibiting our flying in that area.
Oh, yes, and the winner was: Jim Messina, crushing the riffraff, followed by Ric Caylor who flew consistently well, and myself. We three were the only pilots who flew the entire event, with others coming and going for various reasons along the way.
I want to thank the many people who drove for us during the week, making for painless retrieves. We often had nearly as many drivers as we had pilots: John Dullahan, Bacil Dickert, Ed Messina, Doug Rogers, Michal, Jackie Williamson, and Jim Carroll. Adam Elchin was the main tug pilot, with Ric Niehaus helping out on a several days, and Zack doing so as well.
It was a great event. Thanks, Charlie and Jim
Pete Lehmann
Re: Mini 8 day R2G Comp on Eastern Shore
Michal's awesome video https://youtu.be/jhAGKRayJa4