Woo Hoo!!!! After having no flyable days at our competition in December and being rained out ( I don't just mean a few showers, I mean monsoonal type stuff) or blown out for the first three days of this one, we finally had a flyable day here in Florida. Not only was it flyable, it was damn nice and very soarable as long as you chose your times carefully (or just got lucky as I did).
Winds were light out of the south with temps in the low 70's and the sky was cloudless. The soaring forecast looked pretty marginal and we had to complete two tasks on one day to make it a legal Cat. II comp so we chose a first task of just over minimum distance ending back at Quest, followed immediately by another slightly longer task also ending at Quest.
I towed up fairly early, just behind John Simon, to get things going and was rewarded with punchy but workable lift after a short glide to the first turnpoint. I headed cross wind to the next point and continued stumbling into some conveniently spaced thermals and was shortly back at Quest with the first task under my belt. During this time, no one else was having much luck and we all sunk out. I was trying to stay up and start the second task without re-launching. After landing, I went right back to launch to try the second task and was quickly rewarded with a sled ride back to the ground. Seemed to be a major flush cycle going on and I was afraid all the results were going to be pretty pathetic as soaring conditions went down hill. I decided to take a break and see if things might improve. There was a pretty constant flow of pilots trying and failing to stay up. Lauren was so disheartened after just making the first turnpoint on the first task and then failing to even get started on the second that she had pulled her tow release off of her glider in preparation to break it down.
But then our luck changed. Around 3:00, gliders started staying up. I launched again and found the going once again quite easy and even punched through the inversion to 4,235 on the second leg of my flight. Lauren also had much better luck launching some time after me and continued to enjoy the lift well after she had completed the second task.
Everyone had a great time and Jim Prahl commented that we should have a comp like this every weekend (Not if I have to organize it!) The only problem was that due to the weak conditions earlier, several pilots gave up and we only had seven pilots out of 15 entries that attempted to fly the second task.
I don't have all results (Jamie Sheldon, our scorer, sent them to my email box but for some reason they didn't show up) but I was first with Bob lane in second and Lauren in third. Jamie, who was also trying to get qualified for the Worlds, tied for fourth with a few others. John Simon got screwed by the GPS that I had loaned him (I swear I thought it worked fine). He had a nice instrument to navigate with but no way to download the track log so I had loaned him my old Garmin Map 12 to use. Apparently it shut itself off during his flight and didn't record.
So with the rather large exception of John Dullahan's broken arm and having to scramble around on Monday doing two tasks, a good time was had by all and Lauren, Jamie and I should be qualified for the worlds now.
One last thing I tought I should mention. We've heard rumors that some people thought we were holding this competition to get extra points or somehow cheat our way into the Worlds. The truth is that Lauren and I won our spots on the World Team, or in my case a chance to compete individually, during all the National comps last year and this was just a hoop we had to jump through to satisfy the FAI's demand that we had competed successfully in an FAI sanctioned competition.
We're looking forward to improving weather and seeing many of you down here this spring.
Paul T.
Quest Qualifier
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
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Lauren Tjaden
- Posts: 371
- Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:27 pm
Well, roller coasters go up and down rapidly, but the best of them have nothing on how I have been feeling this week. Like Paul said, the first day of our Level 2 FAI comp, Friday, it poured. 10 to 12 inches of rain fell in Tampa. I bitched that during our first attempted comp, no one could even set up their gliders. But that was better than this time, when you couldn't even venture outside without risking electrocution from lightning.
Saturday, it only rained about 2 inches, though the winds became tornado-like in the afternoon. Obviously, the gliders all remained safely in their bags.
Sunday, many weather stations predicted strong winds, but the soundings told us that surface winds would back down to around to 7 to 10 midday -- very doable. However, the direction would be from the west, which as a rule is the worst for turbulence both taking off and landing at Quest, conditions were post-frontal, which also meant they would be nasty, and the air was dry, which would make everything a little more challenging still.
Bo, who is exceptionally talented and who was flying a lower performance glider, launched and promptly landed out. I was late getting to launch as my glider had a problem becoming tensioned (minor, but it took over an hour to work out), as well as other issues which are too long of a story to get into here. But I was hoping the wind would back off anyhow (it was 10 or 12 mph), and that I might have a chance to eat an apple before it was my turn to launch.
As I hiked over to launch, a huge gust hit my glider. I threw myself into the cart and held onto the cart straps. To my horror, I saw a glider launching at exactly that time, while I lay pinned to the earth. It was John Dullahan in a Laminar.
The tow didn't last long. His glider threw itself sideways, separating itself from the plane, and performed a U turn, with its wing maybe 15 feet off the ground. I started saying oh no, oh no, oh no, because I knew he would never get around the turn. Somehow he did, but then he was screaming downwind, I don't know how fast, maybe 40 or 50 miles an hour, just off the ground. I didn't want to watch but I did.
He pushed out and the glider climbed, and then he turned back upwind. He never quite made it, impacting a wing and spiraling in, but what he got accomplished was absolutely amazing. What huge pilot skill. He broke his arm but I was so happy, so happy because that will heal.
My level of guilt was huge. Pilots were launching to help us hold our competition. Maybe every pilot is responsible for his or her own actions, but we all have to hold the burden of our own roles in what happens. No one would have been out there flying if it wasn't for us needing them to fly for us, for our competition.
John is the nicest man in the world. He kept saying that he was fine, just terrific, as he lay there. That is, before he was driven to the hospital.
When Bo was picked up and came home, he said it would be very easy to cartwheel landing. He is about as timid as a pit bull, BTW. The wind kept ramping up and we called the day. I would prefer to NOT fly in the worlds and have all my friends alive, thank you.
Monday, conditions were weak and difficult, but at least safe. We had to run two tasks to make the meet valid. I tried the first task on my first tow, but only got to the first turnpoint and then home to Quest. I could not risk landing out, because I would not have the time to fly the second task.
I flew again, but couldn't get out of the start circle for the second task. It was already after three PM, and I knew I had lost my chance. Maybe I would beat enough people anyhow, to make it into the top two thirds of the competitors (as required to make FAI requirements for the worlds).
I started to break down my glider, but then I noticed a couple of people were staying up, and perhaps even gaining altitude! I threw my glider back together and launched again.
This time, everything was magic. I actually hit lift. Lots of it. The first turn point was gravy. After it, I had to fight the crosswind to the second one. When I hit some burbles of lift, Paris's voice came into my head, telling me to turn into the invisible street of lift, to fly upwind until I hit something good. I lost almost no altitude, and then, wham! I caught a great thermal and skyed out. It was easy to snag the turn point then. I was in fabulous position to fly North, and heard JD and Mike Barber reminding me to watch my glide very carefully and turn slightly to find better gliding lines.
Over Groveland I heard Pete's voice, telling me to concentrate, that I should just fly over every trigger thermal I could think of, and not assume I was going to land.
Only problem is, I should have headed home earlier. I was still very high when I arrived at Quest, completing the task, and flew to the first turnpoint again and home for fun. Only 3 of us completed the second task. I had my third perfect landing of the day. Zach raced out to pick me up with a cart. I was so happy I was whooping and hollaring and even briefly burst into tears. This, for a silly little course and comp.
I am going to have to take friggin' Valium when I make goal at the Worlds.
I ended up third, Paul won. Pretty great. A million thanks to our friends. Our incredible friends.
Lauren
Saturday, it only rained about 2 inches, though the winds became tornado-like in the afternoon. Obviously, the gliders all remained safely in their bags.
Sunday, many weather stations predicted strong winds, but the soundings told us that surface winds would back down to around to 7 to 10 midday -- very doable. However, the direction would be from the west, which as a rule is the worst for turbulence both taking off and landing at Quest, conditions were post-frontal, which also meant they would be nasty, and the air was dry, which would make everything a little more challenging still.
Bo, who is exceptionally talented and who was flying a lower performance glider, launched and promptly landed out. I was late getting to launch as my glider had a problem becoming tensioned (minor, but it took over an hour to work out), as well as other issues which are too long of a story to get into here. But I was hoping the wind would back off anyhow (it was 10 or 12 mph), and that I might have a chance to eat an apple before it was my turn to launch.
As I hiked over to launch, a huge gust hit my glider. I threw myself into the cart and held onto the cart straps. To my horror, I saw a glider launching at exactly that time, while I lay pinned to the earth. It was John Dullahan in a Laminar.
The tow didn't last long. His glider threw itself sideways, separating itself from the plane, and performed a U turn, with its wing maybe 15 feet off the ground. I started saying oh no, oh no, oh no, because I knew he would never get around the turn. Somehow he did, but then he was screaming downwind, I don't know how fast, maybe 40 or 50 miles an hour, just off the ground. I didn't want to watch but I did.
He pushed out and the glider climbed, and then he turned back upwind. He never quite made it, impacting a wing and spiraling in, but what he got accomplished was absolutely amazing. What huge pilot skill. He broke his arm but I was so happy, so happy because that will heal.
My level of guilt was huge. Pilots were launching to help us hold our competition. Maybe every pilot is responsible for his or her own actions, but we all have to hold the burden of our own roles in what happens. No one would have been out there flying if it wasn't for us needing them to fly for us, for our competition.
John is the nicest man in the world. He kept saying that he was fine, just terrific, as he lay there. That is, before he was driven to the hospital.
When Bo was picked up and came home, he said it would be very easy to cartwheel landing. He is about as timid as a pit bull, BTW. The wind kept ramping up and we called the day. I would prefer to NOT fly in the worlds and have all my friends alive, thank you.
Monday, conditions were weak and difficult, but at least safe. We had to run two tasks to make the meet valid. I tried the first task on my first tow, but only got to the first turnpoint and then home to Quest. I could not risk landing out, because I would not have the time to fly the second task.
I flew again, but couldn't get out of the start circle for the second task. It was already after three PM, and I knew I had lost my chance. Maybe I would beat enough people anyhow, to make it into the top two thirds of the competitors (as required to make FAI requirements for the worlds).
I started to break down my glider, but then I noticed a couple of people were staying up, and perhaps even gaining altitude! I threw my glider back together and launched again.
This time, everything was magic. I actually hit lift. Lots of it. The first turn point was gravy. After it, I had to fight the crosswind to the second one. When I hit some burbles of lift, Paris's voice came into my head, telling me to turn into the invisible street of lift, to fly upwind until I hit something good. I lost almost no altitude, and then, wham! I caught a great thermal and skyed out. It was easy to snag the turn point then. I was in fabulous position to fly North, and heard JD and Mike Barber reminding me to watch my glide very carefully and turn slightly to find better gliding lines.
Over Groveland I heard Pete's voice, telling me to concentrate, that I should just fly over every trigger thermal I could think of, and not assume I was going to land.
Only problem is, I should have headed home earlier. I was still very high when I arrived at Quest, completing the task, and flew to the first turnpoint again and home for fun. Only 3 of us completed the second task. I had my third perfect landing of the day. Zach raced out to pick me up with a cart. I was so happy I was whooping and hollaring and even briefly burst into tears. This, for a silly little course and comp.
I am going to have to take friggin' Valium when I make goal at the Worlds.
I ended up third, Paul won. Pretty great. A million thanks to our friends. Our incredible friends.
Lauren
Quest Qualifier
Congratulations, you guys! Your commitment and attitude are
inspirational. - Hugh
inspirational. - Hugh
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Paul Tjaden
- Posts: 398
- Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:28 pm
Quest Qualifier
Thanks Linda! So I assume you love your new glider? It would be interesting to see what you think about it compared to your old Litespeed. I love mine, of course, but I had nothing to compare it with, really.
Thanks for coming down, and sorry the weather did not cooperate until the last day. It got really good here at the end of the day on Monday. Was it the same at Wallaby?
Lauren
Thanks for coming down, and sorry the weather did not cooperate until the last day. It got really good here at the end of the day on Monday. Was it the same at Wallaby?
Lauren
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Paul Tjaden
- Posts: 398
- Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:28 pm
Quest Qualifier
sorry, I didn't know that came from or was going back to the list.
Lauren
Lauren