Oz Report

Chelan – same old, same old

Belinda Boulter|Chelan|Eric Troili|Ghostbuster|sailplane|weather|Worlds

Belinda Boulter|Chelan|Eric Troili|Ghostbuster|John "Ole" Olson|sailplane|weather|Worlds

(?-i)John "Ole" Olson|Belinda Boulter|Chelan|Eric Troili|Ghostbuster|sailplane|weather|Worlds

Belinda Boulter|Chelan|Eric Troili|Ghostbuster|John "Ole" Olson|sailplane|weather|Worlds

Ok, take the headline here as a bit of a joke.  Apparently the locals here in Washington State can't take a joke (or a straight story about their precious sites), so I need to point things out to them (see below).

After the northeast winds that flushed all the pilots that tried yesterday, the winds lightened up to no winds at all today at Chelan Butte.  Belinda and I took Scot Berry, an Arizona pilot, up to the top.  Scot was the flex wing pilot who took over after Rick Edris (ATOS) yesterday and got flushed bad behind the rotor off the Butte's east running ridge.

I mention this issue of the northeast winds because it was easy to spot if I had just paid attention to the windcast.  I have very limited Internet access here in Chelan, so I don't have the mental space to go over the forecasts thoroughly enough.  The windcast displayed the problem, while every other forecast blew it.

Today, with no winds at the Butte, we found ourselves with some cu's building in the Cascade Mountains to the west and far to the north in lower ridges.  Soon (around 12:30 PM) there would be small cu's forming over the rim on the east side.  (BTW, Eric Troili wrote me to say that he had a good flight from the Butte on Sunday going at least 60 miles to the south to I90 by Ephrata.)

I was the only local pilot up on the Butte, although I'm sure the locals don't consider me a local anymore.  I had to set the tone by taking off first in the gentle zephyrs coming up the east-facing Ants-in-the-Pants launch.  There was even light puffs coming up the lakeside, so you know there were no winds.

Just to be clear here, I've been flying Chelan Butte since I was a hang I in 1985. I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to flying cross-country here (and in western Washington), and I have a bit broader perspective then those who are attached to this area.

The Women's Worlds will be coming to Chelan (pre-Worlds next year) as well as the Class II Worlds (at the same time). In the Oz Report, I have provided a lot of opinion from various pilots about the Spanish site for the Worlds (the pre-Worlds should be going on there now). I'm sure that those officials who favored that site were not happy to hear what these pilots had to say.

I'm not going to shy away from giving an objective report about Chelan Butte, just because I happen to have learned how to fly cross country here (actually I struggled with XC here at first, and then really took off when I went to a good site like Pine Mountain near Bend, Oregon). I won the Chelan Cross Country Classic here last year, and I hope to be able to defend my title this year.

Chelan got a great international reputation a few years back when Dan and Larry put on a very successful (weather-wise) women's worlds.  They had a meet that had the first 100-mile task in a women's worlds.

This was a bit of a fluke.  The weather could easily have sucked for the whole week.  It could have been as bad as it was for a later US National meet.  It could have been as bad as it has been (at least for the flex wings) for the last few years during the Chelan Cross Country Classic.  I find it hard to believe that flex wing pilots keep coming back to this meet, after what has happened to them over the last few years.

Relative to the top sites in the world for cross-country Chelan sucks.  Relative to all the sites in the world where people fly cross-country because they live there, it is OK or as they say in Lake Wobegone, it is above average.

From what I've heard from Carol's reports about Greece, Chelan is in the ball park.  It probably is better than the site of the current Worlds in Spain.  The sad part is that these sites are chosen for reasons other than providing the pilots with their best cross country or racing experience.

Chelan has huge disadvantages – it is a blue hole (ask any local sailplane pilot), it is surrounded by water, you are required to go fly over a 2,500' gorge for 3 to 5 miles.  The lift at the Butte can be quite a bit more turbulent than that found on the flats.  If you get low at the Butte, you are really hurting to find a place to get back up. With west winds, you are often as not screwed by the southwest flow up the river.  I could go on and on about its problems (or are these challenges).

Anyway, there was lift right off launch.  It was nice lift, which I was happy about, but then I found a devil a bit to the north by the towers.  Geez, when am I going to get use to this Chelan turbulence?  I remember in the olden days that I thought that this was just great.  I wonder how I've been warped.

I decide that I don't like this particular version of hell, so I leave at 5,200' and head for the point between McNeel and Farnham Canyons due to the east.  I figure both I will get up from low or land, and given how uninviting the start was, either is fine.  Of course, lots of other pilots would have stayed in the strong lift at the Butte and topped it out at 7,000' or so before heading across.

I start playing a little game with myself.  I'm super confident in the ATOS in terms of my/its ability to find some lift and stay up in anything.  Given this confidence, I don't worry about heading up into McNeel Canyon at 3,200' MSL, maybe 200' over the top of the canyon lip.  The game is low and fast.

I find just a bit of lift, the kind of stuff that I would have had a hard time staying up in in a flex wing glider.  I start milking it and climb out to 4,500', just enough to head further east up the south rim of McNeel, searching for whatever lift is creating that fine looking cumulus cloud ahead of me.

Again I have to work up from just above the rim in light ratty stuff, but this is just what I want.  The game is to see how low I can get and still get out.  I'm able to drift over toward Jensen's farm and climb to 7,000'.

Unlike on Saturday, the thermals are relatively smooth.  It is now the air in between the thermals that provides for those sickening uncertainties as I get tossed up and down and left and right.  I wish I could quit thinking about the recent troubles with Ghostbuster disintegrations and ATOS spins.

Even with the thermals providing the relief, I stick to my plan.  Low and fast to Mansfield, Withrow and back to the junkyard.  A small triangle, but just enough air time to help me get use to the site again.  This first climb to 7,000' is a bit high, but well below the 9 to 10,000' cloud base.

With no winds, I'm still making 45 mph over the ground.  I hope to get low, but I keep hitting lift.  I don't turn in it, as that would be unfair.  It really is the ATOS that is making me think this way.  It seems so unfair compared to my many years of experience flying flex wings here.  I just have to come up with a task that is at least a little bit challenging.  What is the point of getting high and just flying the triangle?

I finally do get down below 4,000' MSL (1,500' AGL), so that I can feel more of that ground connection as I round the corner at Mansfield.  I need to finally stop and shop 5 miles to the southwest at 600'. It is cool just searching around.

This can be a bad strategy as I showed the other day when I only flew 101 miles.  There are large areas of quite strong sink (over 800 fpm on the averager), before one finally hits a little patch of ratty lift.  Still I figure, what's the worse that can happen.  Oh, I land.  The tragedy is just too much.

I climb out to 5,200' MSL five miles from Withrow and head for the dark cloud at the corner of the town.  I decide that I will take the lift that I expect there to only just enough to make it back to the junk yard (12 miles from there). I circle to 7,000', but by the time I leave the lift I'm at 7,500'.

I stuff the bar and scoot through plentiful lift to the rim at 3,200' MSL.  Plenty of height to make it back to the junkyard lz on the north side of the Butte.

I must say that I there was still plenty of unpleasant turbulence between thermals on this flight.  I sure that I can up my bump tolerance by the end of the week (there are supposed to be some storms this weekend). The thermals were a blessing: strong, fully packed, and much smoother than my previous flight.

I have written this in an exaggerated cocky style to emphasize the fact that I was indeed looking for a way to up the difficulty factor of this little task.  Things have really changed, and it is so easy to get great flights with an ATOS, that all my previous experience on a flex wing at Chelan (and I'm talking years of experience here) has been complete superceded.  I just have to have a different perspective now.

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Kari Castle wins the 2000 Women's Worlds

Christine Guignard|Claire Pagen|Corinna Schwiegershausen|Francoise Mocellin|Kari Castle|Natalia Khamlova|Neva Bull|Niki Hamilton|Patricia Cameron|Regina Glas|Rosi Brams|Sonoe Suyama|Stella Merillon|Sybille Baeumer-Fischer|Valerie Folmer|Women's Worlds 2000

The US Women's team is third.  Wills Wing Fusion – first and second.

You'll find the full results of the Women's Worlds at: www.hang-gliding.gr/wwch/kith/results.htm

1 CASTLE, Kari (Wills Wing Fusion) USA 324 899 423 760 941 3347
2 MOCELLIN, Francoise (Wills Wing Fusion) FRA 198 956 389 783 879 3205
3 BULL, Neva (Icaro Laminar) AUS 141 817 755 480 819 3012
4 BRAMS, Rosi (Bullett Cut RCS) DEU 274 525 698 327 890 2714
5 SCHWIEGERSHAUSEN, Corinna (Moyes Litespeed) DEU 131 793 389 697 704 2714
6 KHAMLOVA, Natalia (Aeros Stealth) RUS 141 862 372 301 781 2457
7 MERILLON, Stella (Icaro Laminar) FRA 147 620 366 623 581 2337
8 BAEUMER-FISCHER, Sybille (Aeros Stealth) DEU 236 765 109 369 806 2285
9 GLAS, Regina (Seedwings V14) DEU 166 807 285 302 700 2260
10 CAMERON, Patricia (Aeros Stealth) USA 149 525 620 290 625 2209
11 FOLMER, Valerie (Bautek Twister) FRA 168 557 359 396 660 2140
12 HAMILTON, Niki (Wills Wing Fusion) GBR 309 574 395 210 606 2094
13 PAGEN, Claire (Wills Wing Fusion) USA 176 156 364 381 710 1787
14 SUYAMA, Sonoe (Icaro Laminar) JPN 108 523 559 358 202 1750
15 GUIGNARD, Christine (Icaro Laminar) FRA 141 547 397 140 444 1669

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Sandia Open

Dave Sharp|George Stebbins|Heiner Biesel|John Hesch|John Woiwode|Lisa Verzella|Thomas Mullin

Dave Sharp, «Flysharp1», writes:

I gave a clinic and was in a scramble to get off since the clouds were already forming and the wind picked up 10-20. I launched 12:45, grabbed on 30 seconds later, and 3 minutes after that I was over the back.  Sandia is like jumping on a trampoline with broken glass (it's good to get away on the first bounce).

Over the back I got to Clines Corners in one hour with 600 fpm climbs and cloud base 15k. However unlike my first day I was getting big sink and big climbs.

I was expecting south winds near the eastern part of the state, so I was gearing up to fly northeast and instructed my driver to get ahead of me to get the surface scoop.  Hard south never happened, it just kept blowing down I-40.

I flew into Vega Airport (along I-40) my Driver said a tornado warning was in effect in Amarillo, 30 minutes later, a light gust front hit and switched the winds due east 5 then 10 and much later up to 30.

Heiner Biesel got the push and flew over my head at 13,500 but was cut short on his 40 mile glide potential by the gust front and flew approx 15 miles further.  I set my personal best again 3^rd time this last two weeks 245mi.

Today east winds.  We are making some awesome flight here at this little fly-in.

Final results:

Tim O Brien, <span style="color:black">earthtouch@earthlink.net>, writes:

We now have the web site up and running for the competition.Maps of the pilot flights are at http://www.etsmaps.com/ssa/25milerings.html.

It takes a little bit for the map to display, but its something I think your readers will find interesting.  It's interactive and down loads a Java app to your browser the first time you hit the site.  You can zoom in and out.  Click on any pilot using the "I" identify button and see the results of data for that pilot on the side.  Next year the interface will be cleaner, faster and more user friendly.  It still is better than anything else I've seen for showing results to the rest of the world over the net

The current spread sheet for landings and distance flown using ArcView GIS software is now online too.  It still has the calculated error in it, but the error is equal and about 1-3 miles off.  If it does not fire off right away hit the refresh button once and it should work.

http://www.etsmaps.com/ssa/sandiaopen.htm

Again sorry for the confusion and the miss information.

(editor's note: Paris didn't fly 250 miles, but 202, as reported earlier)

I feel real bad about sending it out to you that way.  Please feel free to verify numbers and results with Dave before you publish the numbers again.  I promise to verify things three times next time I send you info.  I'm very embarrassed about the mistake.

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ATOS and Ghostbuster still flying

Dave Sharp|Ghostbuster

Dave Sharp wrote to point out that he has been putting his ATOS through quite a bit of big and bad air in Sandia, and it remains in one piece.  I notice that Heiner Bissel's ATOS is also still flying as is Pat Sheedy's (formerly Mark P.'s) Ghostbuster.  It's really big and bad out there, so it is great to hear from these guys.

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Canadian Towing Nationals

Ian McArthur|record

P. Ian McArthur, «ianmc», writes:

We will be kicking of the premier Canadian event next Saturday with a pancake breakfast hosted by the Eastend organizing committee at the local recreation centre.  July 01 - 08 will be a very busy time in Eastend Saskatchewan.

The entry fee is still a ridiculous $50.00 Canadian (plus a $50.00 Cdn Gift Certificate from a certified Canadian HG /PG School) making it one of the most reasonable events on the continent.

GPS Turnpoint verification will be the preferred verification system.  We will also be using the GAP scoring system.  FAI section 7 rules will be observed.  Lots of camping at the Eastend Community Campsite at $10.00 a night.  Complete with hot showers and camp fires.  An indoor pool is just five minutes away!

We don't plan to set any records at this event, but we do plan to call some of the longest tasks in Canadian Competition history.  Personal bests will be the daily goal.

We will be using Check-In GPS Turnpoint Verification Software in part because of the small but favorable review in the Oz Report.

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Redbull speed run

Christian Ciech|John Smith|Manfred Ruhmer|Robert Reisinger|Sasha Walleczek

Sasha Walleczek, «sasha», writes:

Winner and Red Bull Speed Master 2000:

Christian Ciech, ITA
2^nd Robert Reisinger, AUT
3^rd John Smith, NZ
4^th Seppi Salvenmoser, AUT
5^th Manfred Ruhmer, AUT

Best time in the Streif Downhill: 2 min 47.3 sec.  by John Smith, NZ

For more details, check out www.redbullspeedrun.com

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San Diego flying

Bill Helliwell|Glen Volk|sailplane|Scott Weiner

Glen Volk, «Volkg», writes:

Laguna has seen some cherry days.  A few weeks ago we had a very strong easterly influence.  Some of us had easy flights to the west and landed at one of our inland valley sites, Blossom Valley.

Then the next day I took a break because I needed to work on my harness and it was even better with altitudes to over 16,000 MSL (Jersey attained this altitude at least once and stayed above 13,000 for over two hours). Rich Lanes almost flew to the coast landing at the east end of Del Mar in an area called Carmel Valley (about 5 miles short of the coast). I am convinced that someone could have made Torrey Pines on this day and I was surprised that no one did it (I was also relieved as that someone will hopefully be me).

Last Saturday we did a 75 mile task with Ranchita as a turn point and Jacumba as a goal.  Jacumba is located just 2 or 3 miles north of the border and lies at the east end of the escarpment just before it drops into the Imperial Valley.  Ranchita is located at the escarpment just short of Borrego Springs.

We launched at Horse Canyon, our west facing site (1,200 foot vertical) which lies to the west of the Laguna Mountains.  Laguna was blowing down this day.  Jersey, Scott Weiner, Bill Helliwell, Kurt Johnson, John Burke and I called the task at launch.  We could see that cloud base behind launch was over 10,000 and felt that this task would be difficult but doable.  The problem was going to be on the return as the convergence generally blows out into the desert starting about 20 miles north of Jacumba.

Jersey launched first getting away slowly.  Conditions were light on launch and I hesitated a good 20 minutes hoping for a decent cycle.  Sometimes Horse can put you on the deck pretty fast.  After launch I slowly climbed.  After about 30 minutes I had worked my way downwind towards the convergence and 9,400 MSL.  Jersey was 3 or 4 miles ahead in the 11's under the cloud street which looked great.  Once I got to the clouds it was beam city to base.  The rest of the boys were bringing up the rear.

The cloud street was pretty solid and my next stop was Granite Mountain.  Jersey had beamed there with an average thermal in excess of 1,100 fpm.  When I arrived at 7,500 I hooked a light one at 400 fpm and took it to 10,000.

Jersey had veered to the east following a promising looking cloud line.  I took a more direct track to the west through the blue to the next good cloud over the middle of Ranchita.  I got a great glide and back down in the high 7's hooked 800 fpm to over 11,000 msl.

At this point Jersey was on his way back and I was just two miles out from the TP. I boated to it and back almost to Jersey without losing any altitude.  Then we took a long glide straight back to Granite through the blue rather than following the cloud line, which took a big hook to the east.

Our risk was that we would get drilled in the westerlys but our gain was time.  Just short of Granite is a valley called Earthquake Valley.  Jersey hit some light stuff and got conservative.  I kept onward to Granite and came in about 2/3's up its side.  From the NE side you feel pretty deep.

I got to one of the main fingers which separates the east from the west side.  Typically the south side pumps.  It was obvious that the westerlys were just starting to hit the other side so I just got over the ridge with a marginal glide to the LZ at the south base of Granite.

It did not take long to know that I'd made the right decision.  I got light lift right away, which soon turned into 800 plus.  At this point I had a significant lead on the crew.

After getting near base I pushed on towards the Laguna Mountains where the convergence had pushed east just a mile or two from when we had gone through earlier.  I dolphin flew until getting to the radar towers and climbed in light lift always staying above 9,000.

At this point I was approaching the area that would prove to be most difficult.  The Laguna Mountains serve to block the westerly sea breezes.  But about 20 miles short of Jacumba they drop away leaving a sort of high plains area that consists mostly of low scattered hills, sage brush, rocks, pastures and ranches.  And lots of wind.

At this point I climbed as high as I could.  At 11,500 I started what I hoped would be my final from 21 miles out.  I could see that the convergence from here jogged to the east about 5 to 8 miles then went south into Mexico where it looked like to came a little back to the west on the Laguna Salada range.

Although the clouds were much more sparse now I could see enough to guess that the convergence probably ran 10 to 12 miles east of Jacumba.  So should I fly straight to goal or should I jog to the east 90 degrees of course line and try to get a good climb for an upwind run into goal.

From my current position I expected to hit light SW winds which would increase as I descended.  My Tangent said I had it but barely so off I went.  At about the 17-mile mark I knew with certainty that I would not make it. I know that there would be no usable lift on this glide.

I had been monitoring the cloud activity east of me and noted that there was a very high cloud that had formed about 7 or 8 miles ESE of my current position.  I was at about 7,500 and would have to cross the Chorizo Gorge to get to it. Highway S-2 was just on the other side and I knew that I could make that area.  Unless I hit big sink I'd get there with several thousand feet.  So off I went.

As I expected I got there with 4,000 MSL.  I immediately hit decent lift (400) and started the climb to 11,000. At this point I was only 12 miles out with goal to the SSW of me. I started my final again and was pleasantly surprised to find that the head winds I had feared were relatively minor.  Usually about 3 to 6 mph.

Although I did get a good scare about 8 miles out at 7,000 when I hit 15 mph but that only lasted a few minutes and then I was through that layer and cross to the wind for the rest of the final.  I got my Litespeed going about 75 on my dive in and got there with a comfortable 500 feet.  The airstrip was deserted (this is a sailplane port) but the windsock was standing straight out in about a 15 mph breeze.  A perfect landing and retrieval right there.  Nice day.

I can tell you that few gliders have given me the confidence that I get flying the Litespeed.  The handling is excellent and it can really glide.

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More on recent ATOS accidents

PG|Urs Bleichenbacher

Urs Bleichenbacher, «Urs.Bleichenbacher», writes:

I am flying an Atos now for 4 month (I am a hang gliding for 12 years and paragliding for 9 years) and had beautiful moments.  Still there are some very sad moments.  The first accident in Switzerland (top landing in turbulent conditions) you were describing happened to one of my close hang gliding friends, Sepp.  The facts you were describing (you received these news from Migg) are 100% right.

I do not know the second accident happening from a spin yet.  It is just as you described the worst thing for all of us rigid wing pilots to be happening.  Just two weeks ago we had a pilot on his first flight on the Atos with an unintentional spin.  He told me about loosing 200m of height before recovering.  The pilot is Erwin Bosch from Switzerland (he does not have an email address).

So the investigations for these types of accidents is in my opinion very important to help us flying safely.  As we discovered this spring the delivered Atos's were trimmed too slow.  Most of the pilots I know adjusted the glider to be faster.  As far as I am informed AIR knows about this fact and is supplying now with these adjustments when delivering the gliders to the customers.

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Stirring up the locals

David Glover|Florida|Tag Cummings

Tag Cummings, «TagCummings», writes:

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks Chelan is a blast to fly and has good cross-country potential, but I don't think so. It clearly has a different type of XC potential than Florida, but come on! If you don't enjoy Chelan, don't fly it.

Don't rip apart one of the best sites we have in the Northwest because it doesn't fit your idea of what cross-country should be. Maybe your scale of what cross-country is has been jaded by large amounts of time spent in Florida.

My longest flight from the Butte is just to Sims Corner, but that sure as heck was serious cross-country for me. It took me a long time and compared to other flights the same day I did well.  Compared to other flights that day in Florida I'm sure it sucked, but I wasn't in Florida and neither are you now.

Chelan obviously has limitations, as does every other flying site I know of. A great flight from Chelan is to Idaho, which Larry basically did last weekend.  A great flight from Tiger is to Enumclaw.  A great flight from Blanchard is to Bellingham.  Every site is different and should be treated as such.

So I don't understand why Chelan has non-existent cross-country potential just because it doesn't have butter-smooth thermals and 200 mile average flights.  It may not let you log as many miles as other sites (although I'm not sure what other sites qualify as having good XC potential), but it sure as hell is a place that many of us enjoy.

As for Western Washington being "an abysmal flying area", I don't remember it that way when I was at cloudbase Saturday night at 6:30pm over Tiger.  Check out Eric's website at http://www.cmsstudios.com/fly2k to see some more examples of crappy Western-Washington flying.

I guess I'm wondering why I need to defend Chelan or Tiger to you or anyone.  What is your point by making statements like those below?  Your last article was a great display of rigid-bigotry, and now this report seeks to offend every pilot who is your friend in the Northwest.  We have a great community here and you are part of it, so back off and act like it instead of putting us down for not flying the right (rigid) type of gliders at the right sites.

Staff photographer: David Glover

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