Big Spring 2005 (from Paul)

[markc]

{Paul had problems posting this recap of the Big Spring meet,
so I figured I'd do it for him. --mark c.}

OK, Lauren and I have been back in Maryland for nearly 24 hours now and I thought I should post a short note about our adventure in Texas. I?ll not go into great detail about all my flights but rather try to give more general impressions about our trip. (I can already hear the sighs of relief).

First of all, it?s a long damn drive and we were really glad to get there but almost immediately, things went sour with mechanical problems with our truck. Not to worry, the Big Spring natives, absolutely the nicest and friendliest people I?ve ever met, came to the rescue and we were back in business by noon the next day. We finally arrived at the airport and set up our gliders in the shade of the rapidly filling hanger. Lauren opted to take a couple of flights to sample the air and see what the LZ situation looked like from altitude but I decide to save my energy for opening day. I had Tim Meany down load the competition way points to my 5030 and just hung out, renewed old friendships and helped a few people launch.

When the comp finally started I felt right at home with the flying conditions. Much wetter and more humid weather than normal had made soaring conditions very similar to what we get in the Delmarva. The strong lift, high altitudes and generally big air I had heard about were not to be found. All week long we were told it would get better but it never really changed. The maximum altitude above ground that I saw was about 5,000 to 5,500 feet but I spent a great deal of time scratching along just a couple of thousand feet up. I got one nice climb of 850 plus on the averager but most lift was more like 250 to 450 fpm. I did have one nice run downwind under a fabulous cloud street for about 25 or 30 miles at a ground speed around 75 mph but then decked it 70 miles out when I out ran the lift. This was a bit of a let down for me as I was really looking forward to the big air I had heard about. Guess I?ll have to go back and try it again next year.

I felt that I was somewhat inconsistent during the comp. Although I won a day and would have won a second but for some huge sink nearly putting me on the ground six miles from goal, I also failed to make goal many days and ended up in 7th place out of 11 pilots. I did learn a bunch and feel that my climbing skills really improved the last couple of days so hopefully I?ll do better next time. I also did well enough to insure a place for myself as an individual pilot at the World Championships to be held at Quest next spring. As you may have heard, Lauren secured a place for herself on the Women?s Team also. This was more difficult than you might think. I guess you could say we are both ?big fish in VERY small ponds?but all the other pilots have been gathering points since early 2004. Lauren and I only started to compete this summer and had a lot of catching up to do so it?s really a thrill that we both have made it. We?d love to have some of you guys come down and support us next year. I think we?ll need it.

The Big Spring Championships were great fun and it was a wonderful venue for a big competition( It better be, they are expecting huge numbers of pilots for the Pre- Worlds to be held there next year). I?m sorry that our friends from here were unable to make it this year. Tom, PK, Dave, Steve, John... I?ll expect all of you back next year and hopefully others from here that are getting excited about competing.

One final note, the locals really do treat us like royalty and open there business? and homes to us. It?s almost kinda weird....like you want to jump up and say ? Hey, wait a minute! We?re just a bunch of wild ass, crazy hang glider pilots. You really shouldn?t open up your town to us this way.? But somehow they?ve gotten the impression that we?re fine upstanding citizens and should be welcomed there. Go Figure?

Hope to see some of you in Florida this winter.

Paul