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2 topics in this article: competition, Midwest Championships 2017

2017 Midwest, day 7 »

June 10, 2017, 4:05:59 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, day 7

It blows

Facebook|Midwest Championships 2017

The forecast was correct (we knew three days in advance):

NWS forecast: Sunny, with a high near 89. Windy, with a southwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph.

Hourly shows southwest surface winds at 21 mph at noon gusting to 31 mph, rising to 24 mph gusting to 38 mph at 3 PM then slowly decreasing. Forecast for 8 AM – 10 mph.

NAM 3 forecast:

1 PM:

Lift: 500 fpm
TOL: 4,300’
Cloudbase: No cu’s
Surface winds: southwest 24 mph
TOL wind: southwest 40 mph

4 PM:

Lift: 500 fpm
TOL: 4,300’
Cloudbase: No cu’s
Surface winds: southwest 24 mph
TOL wind: southwest 42 mph

The day was cancelled because of the high winds.

2 topics in this article: Facebook, Midwest Championships 2017

2017 Midwest, day 6, task 5 »

June 9, 2017, 10:57:55 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, day 6, task 5

The luck can be good or bad

Zac Majors called a task to the east given the west winds.

Here is the forecast for the day:

NWS forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Hourly shows north northwest surface winds at 9 mph.

NAM 3 forecast:

1 PM:

Lift: 500 fpm
TOL: 3,600’ (RAP 13 – 5,000’)
Cloudbase: No cu’s
Surface winds: northwest 8 mph
TOL wind: northwest 16 mph

4 PM:

Lift: 600 fpm TOL: 5,000’
Cloudbase: No cu’s or cu’s at 5,600’
Surface winds: northwest 5 mph
TOL wind: west northwest 12 mph

Op40:

TOL: 5,000’
55 degrees
North northwest wind 6 – 10 mph
Reasonable chance of cu’s
Winds move to more westerly later in the day

The cu's were forming as we got pulled up into the air at 1:20 PM. The lift was weak under the cu's but we just held on and climbed slowly getting up to cloud base which was low at 5,000' as forecasted.

Up and down in the weak lift as we tried to stay near cloudbase. I lost track of the time for a few minutes and then realized I was out of place as the start window approached. Found 300 fpm and climbed back to over 5,000' but I was three kilometers from the edge of the start cylinder when the window opened.

Niki was right under me and I told her that I was going to take the first start clock despite being way behind. She decided to wait for the next start window.

I figured that I could use the pilots ahead to mark the thermals and if they slowed down I could catch them.

There was a cu-filled sky to the southeast but quite a ways off the course line to the north. I followed behind the lead gaggle until I lost most of them by the third thermal. The lift was still weak for me and I'd gain 1,000' before running off to the next one as I got near cloud base.

After climbing to 4,900' in the third thermal it was clear that I would have to venture out into the blue to the south to get near the course line and because basically there were no more cu's any where near the direction to the first turnpoint. Raul Guerra had joined me and we spread out looking for little forming wispies.

We found one but it provided only 129 fpm to 4,800'. We headed due south to the next forming wispies and down to 1,400' AGL and after searching around we connected. This thermal was almost 300 fpm and we hung on until 6,400'. The wind was perfect and we drifted right to the turnpoint as we climbed.

Greg Dinauer had come in under us. We heard later that he had lost his flight instrument and was relying on us to tell him where the lift was. He was circling right with us and climbing right with us even though we would have been very hard for him to see.

It was a short glide to the next turnpoint at Burlington airport and while there were little bits of lift we didn't stay but for a few turns before heading to the Bong turnpoint to the southeast. We probably should have worked the available lift a bit more and gained some altitude, but the cu's ahead looked good as did the dry fields below them.

Soon I was on search mode big time. I had lost track of Raul and needed any lift to keep me in the air. Heading over a series of drier fields I felt a little bump. I pushed back upwind into the 7 mph northwest wind and the lift improved. It was weak and broken at first but I was going up from 800' AGL.

I gained about 1,000' and then James Stinnett came in under me at 350' AGL. He was very happy to see me going up. We climbed to 5,100' at almost 300 fpm on average and again drifted toward the turnpoint to the east.

I noticed that a number of pilots who were ahead of us had landed out. As James and I topped out I saw Raul about a 1,000' below us heading for the goal. My 6030 said we had goal by over 1,000' so James and I went on glide.

It's 20 kilometers to the goal but there is a 2km goal cylinder to keep us away from the airfield as it is a drop zone.

There were no clouds a little past the turnpoint at Bong so I was a little cautious at first. Then sped up as I saw that my glide ratio greatly exceeded the required glide ratio and I was not hitting any big sink. It was a breeze making it into goal.

As I worked my way down from 1,000' AGL I noticed that the pilot before me landed going east. The wind had been out of the west or northwest the whole flight. I wondered what's going on.

I had not looked out to the east to see Lake Michigan. There was a sea breeze and that is why all the guys in the first gaggle other than John Simon and Bruce Barmakian are on the ground (or so it appears). James and I got high at the turnpoint, higher than most pilots so we had no problem dealing with the sea breeze.

Zac talks about his flight here: https://www.facebook.com/zacmajors/videos/vb.584324602/10155349211799603/?type=2&theater

11 topics in this article: Bruce Barmakian, Facebook, Flytec 6030, Greg Dinauer, James Stinnett, John Simon, Midwest Championships 2017, Niki Longshore, Raul Guerra, video, Zac Majors

2017 Midwest, day 6, task 5 »

June 9, 2017, 8:09:29 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, day 6, task 5

Looks like five competition days

With Saturday predicted to be too windy it looks like Friday is the last competition day.

Niki on launch:
Niki launching
Photo by Mike Degtoff.

Task 5:

#	Name	Glider	Time	Total
1	John Simon	Aeros Combat C 12.7	01:16:23	954
2	Bruce Barmakian	Icaro Laminar 13.2	01:21:44	881
3	Kevin Carter	Wills Wing T2C	01:22:16	874
4	Phill Bloom	Moyes RX 3.5	01:15:55	853
5	Reinaldo Niella	WillsWing T2C144	01:25:46	837
5	Bill Soderquist	Moyes RX3.5	01:25:27	837
7	Robert Dallas	Wills Wing T2C 154	01:27:00	815
8	Patrick Pannese	Wills Wing T2C 154	01:28:45	807
9	James Stinnett	Wills Wing T2C	01:19:38	797
10	Luke Waters	Wills Wing T2 154	01:35:34	749
11	Fabiano Nahoum	Icaro Laminar 14.1	01:36:05	740
12	Niki Longshore	Moyes LSRX 3.5 PRO	01:26:40	736
13	Bart Weghorst	Wills Wing 154 T2C	01:35:47	726
14	Roger Irby	Wills Wing T2C 154	01:38:41	720
15	Konrad Heilmann	Moyes Litespeed RX3.5 Technora	01:30:18	712
16	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C	01:40:26	698
17	Alfredo Cabezas	Moyes RX	01:41:28	687
18	Rich Cizauskas	Aeros Combat	01:54:34	642
19	Pete Lehmann	Wills Wing T2-154	01:44:53	630
20	JD Guillemette	Moyes Litespeed RX3.5	01:55:09	599
21	Bill Comstock	Wills Wing T2	02:05:54	544

18 topics in this article: Bart Weghorst, Bill Soderquist, Bruce Barmakian, competition, Davis Straub, Fabiano Nahoum, James Stinnett, John Simon, Kevin Carter, Konrad Heilmann, Lawrence "Pete" Lehmann, Midwest Championships 2017, Mike Degtoff, Moyes Litespeed RX, Niki Longshore, Pete Lehmann, Phill Bloom, Roger Irby

2017 Midwest, day 5, task 4 »

June 8, 2017, 7:56:05 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, day 5, task 4

Many Brazilian pilots here

Photo by Mike Degtoff.

The forecast for the day:

NWS forecast: Increasing clouds, with a high near 79. Light west wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

Hourly forecast is for a 9 mph west southwest wind

There is a front to our west.

NAM 3 forecast:

1 PM:

Lift: 600 fpm
TOL: 6,000’
Cloudbase: No cu’s
Surface wind: southwest 10 mph
TOL wind: southwest 12 mph

4 PM:

Lift: 300 fpm
TOL: 5,000’
Cloudbase: No cu’s
Surface wind: southwest 11 mph
TOL wind: southwest 15 mph

With the approaching front, cirrus clouds could shut down the lift early.

OP40:

1 PM:

TOL: 5,000’
53 degrees
Southwest wind 7 - 8 mph
No cu’s

Four models show no lift at 5 PM, 2 (RAP 3 and HRRR 3) show good lift then.

The major feature is an approaching front. I have the task committee move the task up an hour so that we can have a better chance of flying before the front gets here. That proves to be an important change.

The cloud from the front are already encroaching upon us as we start launching at 12:20. I get towed up into no lift and only find a little before landing. A few pilots find the lift and a few more land for reflights.

Despite the nearby mid level clouds associated with the front pilots find lift and get up over 6,000'. Niki and I launch again and climb up to 3,000' AGL. Our thermal stops there and I go west to find more lift. Just as I leave the pilots upo wind of us circling low find lift and Niki heads for them Her radio doesn't work so she can't tell me what's up. I land soon. She gets up and goes on to take the second clock.

With the weak lift the pilots who take the second clock are able to quickly catch the pilots who took the first clock twenty minutes before them. Pilots are just working hard to stay up and drift to the northeast toward the turnpoint 39 kilometers away.

Only David Brito Filho is able to make goal at the East Troy airfield.

Task 4:

#	Name	Glider	Time	Distance	Total
1	David Brito Filho	Willswing T2Cx 144	02:12:20	76.15	991
2	Ollie Chitty	Moyes Rx5 PRO		72.73	873
3	Robin Hamilton	Moyes RX3.5		68.42	832
4	Alvaro Figueiredo Sandoli	WW T2C144c		65.99	813
5	Fabiano Nahoum	Icaro Laminar 14.1		65.00	803
6	Niki Longshore	Moyes LSRX 3.5 PRO		63.60	784
7	Glen Volk	Moyes RX 3.5		60.53	753
8	Krzysztof Grzyb	Moyes Litespeed RX 3.5		56.45	725
9	Pete Lehmann	Wills Wing T2-154		56.45	708
10	Bruce Barmakian	Icaro Laminar 13.2		53.64	691

Cumulative:

#	Name	Glider	Total
1	Ollie Chitty	Moyes Rx5 PRO	3072
2	Alvaro Figueiredo Sandoli	WW T2C144c	2970
3	Zac Majors	Wills Wing T2C 154	2933
4	Glen Volk	Moyes RX 3.5	2888
5	Robin Hamilton	Moyes RX3.5	2884
6	Bruce Barmakian	Icaro Laminar 13.2	2786
7	John Simon	Aeros Combat C 12.7	2721
8	Jonny Durand	Moyes LSRX 3.5 PRO	2670
8	Steve Rewolinski	Icaro Z9	2670
10	Krzysztof Grzyb	Moyes Litespeed RX 3.5	2638

Task 4:

#	Name	Glider	Time	Total
1	Sara Weaver	Wills Wing Sport 2 135	00:51:17	971
2	Knut Ryerson	Aeros Discus C	00:51:33	954
3	Rick Maddy	Wills Wing U2 160	01:02:03	772
4	Richard Milla	Wills Wing U2 145	01:03:48	751
5	Matt Pruett	WW U2 145	01:03:52	750
6	Dan Lukaszewicz	Wills Wing U2	01:06:06	724
7	Douglas Hale	Moyes Gecko	01:12:26	659
8	Mark Dowsett	Moyes Techno-Gecko	01:20:33	583
9	Greg Sessa	Wills Wing U2 160	01:21:14	577
10	Ty Taylor	Wills Wing U2 160	01:26:48	530
11	Kelly Myrkle	Moyes Gecko	01:47:55	377

The pilots at the Sport Class goal:

Your editor coming out of the cart:

Photo by Mike Degtoff

Derrick Turner coming out of the cart:

Photo by Mike Degtoff.

2017 Midwest, day 4, task 3 »

June 7, 2017, 11:18:56 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, day 4, task 3

Light winds

John Simon|Midwest Championships 2017

The task is a triangle with a 14 km start cylinder centered around Palmyra:

I was the first pilot to get towed up. Jim Prahl took me to the north and just barely inside the 14 km cylinder whose edge is just upwind of the launch. The wind was out of the east at about 10 mph, but I was able to stay near the start cylinder as I drifted west in each weak thermal.

I was alone and getting high slowly as other pilots struggled below me. Bart joined me and we climbed to 5,000'. Finally I found a good thermal and climbed to over 7,000'.

The launch was going well and other pilots were now in the air and climbing. I'd been been circling for half an hour and now the cold was getting to me at 7,000'. I had the feeling that my hands (covered by thin gloves) were getting frostbit. I had half an hour to go.

Finally the window opened and half the field was ready to go from on high and at the edge. Ollie and Zac were a bit higher and out in front the rest of us were chasing.

Majors, Chitty, Bunner, Straub, Simon, Weghorst, Guerra, Volk and Dinauer were in the lead as we go on an 11 km glide into the blue. There had been a few wispies near the launch and the edge of the start cylinder which provided us the visual clues to the thermal that got us high at the start. Now there were no cu's ahead.

We were heading for a good sized lake which would kill the lift if we were on the downwind side of it. We were heading for a turnpoint at the south end of the lake. Half way there we found a thermal in the blue. It averaged over 400 fpm and that got us back over 6,500' before we raced ahead to the west.

No lift on the way to the turnpoint. We turned around at 2,900' AGL and headed into the wind with Majors, Simon, Chitty and Bunner out in front. They weren't hitting anything. It did not look good. Zac was just flying straight.

We were heading for three small lakes, not some nice open brown baking fields. Zac went right over the northern most lake and kept on going. Chitty, a few hundred meters behind Zac turned over a brown field and Zac immediately turned around to come back.

Raul and I found lift a little further back as we were down to 1,100'. Bunner was turning a little further south down to about 600' AGL. We all came together except Larry who had to stay in what he had. Chitty, Majors, Guerra, Volk, Simon, and Straub all climbed up together and then headed out at 5,000' with Chitty in the lead.

It's only 6 km when we find 400+ fpm to 6,500'. All six of us plus Bart get up, then Chitty headed out in front.

I followed Majors to the northeast while every else followed Chitty to the east. Unfortunately I missed the thermal that he found and had to go searching on my own which slowed me down a bit.

It got slow for every one as we approached the turnpoint at Lakeland. I hooked up with John Simon. Majors and Chitty jumped ahead and got around the turnpoint first with Chitty in the lead.

Once we made the turnpoint it was an easy flight back to the flight park.

2 topics in this article: John Simon, Midwest Championships 2017

2017 Midwest, day 3, task 2 »

June 6, 2017, 10:32:59 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, day 3, task 2

The results

https://airtribune.com/play/2518/2d

Task 2:

#	Name	Glider	Time	Total
1	Zac Majors	Wills Wing T2C 154	02:04:27	916
2	John Simon	Aeros Combat C 12.7	02:17:56	857
3	Alvaro Figueiredo Sandoli	Wills Wing T2C144	02:20:39	851
4	James Stinnett	Wills Wing T2C	02:20:35	850
5	Robin Hamilton	Moyes RX3.5	02:13:44	839
6	Larry Bunner	Wills Wing T2C 144	02:20:49	827
7	Kevin Carter	Wills Wing T2C	02:14:16	822
8	Ollie Chitty	Moyes RX 5	02:23:38	803
9	JD Guillemette	Moyes Litespeed RX3.5	02:18:19	783
10	Andre Wolf	Moyes Litespeed RX 3,5 PRO	02:24:00	779

Cumulative:

#	Name	Glider	Total
1	John Simon	Aeros Combat C 12.7	1460
2	Alvaro Figueiredo Sandoli	WW T2C144c	1449
3	Steve Rewolinski	Icaro Z9	1448
4	Andre Wolf	Moyes litespeed RX 3,5 PRO	1442
5	James Stinnett	Wills Wing T2C	1407
6	Robin Hamilton	Moyes RX3.5	1362
7	Zac Majors	Wills Wing T2C 154	1353
8	Jonny Durand	Moyes LSRX 3.5 PRO	1324
9	Ollie Chitty	Moyes Rx5	1304
10	Krzysztof Grzyb	Moyes Litespeed RX 3.5	1206

Task 2:

#	Name	Glider	Time	Total
1	Greg Sessa	Wills Wing U2 160	01:39:42	1000
2	Erik Grabowski	Wills Wing U2 145	01:40:17	978
3	Ty Taylor	Wills Wing U2 160	01:43:18	927
4	Rick Maddy	Wills Wing U2 160	01:43:39	922
5	Ricardo Vassmer	Bautek Fizz	01:51:05	842
6	Mark Dowsett	Moyes Techno-Gecko	01:55:31	803
7	Knut Ryerson	Aeros Discus C	01:56:17	797
8	Charles Cozean	Wills Wing Sport 2	02:01:48	754
9	Richard Milla	Wills Wing Sport2 155	02:07:58	710

Cumulative:

#	Name	Glider	Total
1	Greg Sessa	Wills Wing U2 160	1405
2	Mark Dowsett	Moyes Techno-Gecko	1141
3	Erik Grabowski	Wills Wing U2 145	1102
4	Charles Cozean	Wills Wing Sport 2	1074
5	Rick Maddy	Wills Wing U2 160	1064
6	Ty Taylor	Wills Wing U2 160	1045
7	Ricardo Vassmer	Bautek Fizz	960
8	Richard Milla	Wills Wing Sport2 155	937
9	Knut Ryerson	Aeros Discus C	915
10	Sara Weaver	Wills Wing Sport 2 135	524

16 topics in this article: André Wolfe, competition, James Stinnett, John Simon, Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr, Kevin Carter, Krzysztof "Krys/Kris" Grzyb, Larry Bunner, Mark Dowsett, Midwest Championships 2017, Moyes Litespeed RX, Robin Hamilton, Rohan Taylor, Sara Weaver, Steve Rewolinski, Zac Majors

2017 Midwest, day 3, task 2 »

June 6, 2017, 10:00:27 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, day 3, task 2

A sky full of cu's

The forecast for the day:

NWS forecast: Sunny, with a high near 74. Northeast wind 5 to 15 mph.

North northeast surface wind, 13 – 15 mph noon through 3 PM, 11 mph after that.

NAM3 forecast:

1 PM:

Lift: 597 fpm (other models similar)
TOL: 5,632’ (other models similar)
Cloudbase: No cu’s (All other models show no cu’s except NAM 12, which shows TOL 1,000’ higher)
Surface wind: north northeast 11 mph (other models show 9 – 15 mph)
TOL wind: north northeast 19 mph (other models vary between 15 and 23 mph)

4 PM:

Lift: 577 fpm (other models vary between 398 and 736 fpm)
TOL: 5,964’ (other models vary between 5,301’ and 7,289’)
Cloudbase: No cu’s or 6,000’
Surface wind: north northeast 12 mph (other models vary between 9 and 12 mph)
TOL wind: north northeast 14 mph (other models vary between 14 and 19 mph)

SkySight (between 1 PM and 4 PM):

Lift: 400 – 450 fpm
TOL: 4,000’ – 6,000’ (6,000’ – 7,000’ to the south later)
Cloudbase: No cu’s
Surface wind: north northeast 8 – 12 mph
TOL wind: north northeast early at 20 – 22 mph calming to 14 – 16 mph later

OP40:

1 PM:

TOL: 6,700’
42 degrees
North northeast wind 11 mph at surface level and 18 mph at TOL
Thin cu’s possible

4 PM:

TOL: 7,700’
39 degrees
North northeast wind 11 mph at surface level to 14 mph at TOL
Thin cu’s possible

Actually the cu's formed early and they were maybe 1,000' thick and very plentiful.

Niki Longshore, Larry Bunner, Raul Guerra, Greg Dinauer, Kip Stone and I along with a few others took off in early bird. The lift was weak but we managed to climb to 4,700'. We had to go searching after that and hung in zero or less for a good while until Larry showed us the lift to our west, downwind. We all got under him and all climbed to 6,700'.

The wind was blowing 11 to 13 mph out of the northeast so that we were drifting rather quickly to the edge of the 15 km start cylinder so we headed back upwind to the inviting cu's. I found 180+ fpm under an expansive cu and slowly climbed up from 4,700' to 6,900' as I drifted at about the right speed downwind toward the edge of the start cylinder in time for the second clock. Larry took the first one.

Hitting the edge of the start cylinder high ten seconds after it opened was reassuring. Greg and Niki were just behind me. About twelve gliders were below. Jeff Chipman pushed out in front about 1,000' lower and I was just behind him.

The next two thermals came in quick succession at 350+ fpm to 7,000' so I was flying at first at 80 km/h downwind then 85 km/h speed over the ground with an 11 to 18 mph tail wind. We were all pushing it just leaving good lift just before cloud base.

Four kilometers before the first turnpoint we turned in 280+ fpm and I left at 6,500'. Perhaps I should have stayed longer. There were good looking cu's ahead.

On the glide from that last thermal around the turnpoint and off toward the west southwest I lost 4,000' in 16 km, down to 2,500' (1,700' AGL). Niki was nearby also low and Krzys was just above us. Robin Hamilton had gone out in front and stayed higher. He was to our north over Beloit.

Niki and I spent the next fourteen minutes working lift that at best averaged 60 fpm to 3,000', but slowly died out as we searched and searched in the 11 mph wind. Krzys got even lower just a kilometer away down to 1,000' AGL. Robin worked weak lift over the town of Beloit from 2,500' AGL. Everyone else was behind us working whatever they found from higher altitudes.

Back down to 2,500' MSL Niki and I went searching but didn't find anything. Bart Weghorst landed with us.

The whole area was very weak and pilots worked and worked to get any lift. Krzys was able to finally get up as was Robin and the rest of the pilots around us.

Looking over the flight in detail I see that I should have stayed in the lift four kilometers from the turnpoint for another 500 feet at least. I would have had thermal markers out in front if I had done so. Also there was just a bit of bad luck finding weak lift to stay in that didn't pan out.

Many pilots made goal. Some very quick. The replay is great.

8 topics in this article: Greg Dinauer, Jeff Chipman, Krzysztof "Krys/Kris" Grzyb, Larry Bunner, Midwest Championships 2017, Niki Longshore, Raul Guerra, Robin Hamilton

2017 Midwest, day 2 »

June 5, 2017, 8:17:24 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, day 2

A bit too windy

Midwest Championships 2017|weather

NWS forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

The 25 mph gust is forecasted only for 11 AM. Launch wind speed forecasted to be 16 mph northeast.

NAM3 forecast:

1 PM:

Lift: 477 fpm (other models vary between 0 and 517 fpm. But most basically agree with NAM3)
TOL: 3,313’ (other models vary between 2,651’ and 4,307’)
Cloudbase: No cu’s (All models show no cu’s)
Surface wind: northeast 13 mph (other models basically agree)
TOL wind: northeast 18 mph (other models vary between 17 and 24 mph northeast)

4 PM:

Lift: 477 fpm (other models vary between 0 and 537 fpm)
TOL: 3,644’ (other models vary between 3,313’ and 4,638’)
Cloudbase: No cu’s
Surface wind: northeast 14 mph (other models vary between 12 and 16 mph northeast)
TOL wind: northeast 25 mph (other models vary between 18 and 25 mph northeast)

SkySight (between 1 PM and 4 PM):

Lift: 350 – 400 fpm
TOL: 3,000’ – 4,000’ (2000’ – 3000’ at 1 PM)
Cloudbase: 3,000’ – 4,000’ (2000’ – 3000’ at 1 PM)
Surface wind: northeast 10 – 12 mph
TOL wind: east northeast 16– 20 mph

The models more closely match each other than yesterday giving greater confidence in the forecast. For sure strong northeast winds at TOL. Low TOL at under 5,000’ likely between 3,000’ and 4,000’. Strong inversion between 3,000’ and 4,000’ rising during the day. There is a chance for thin cu’s.

I’d say a more difficult day than Sunday and also a later day like Sunday with lower TOL, low climb rates, and stronger winds aloft.

Temperature at TOL: 53°. Five degrees warmer than yesterday at a much lower altitude.

Better conditions on Tuesday.

The meet officials determined that overall conditions were not conducive to safe tasks. Local readings were 18 mph gusting to 24 mph, http://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KJVL.html, and the winds didn't quite down until 7 PM.

We organized a big group to go ride single track at Cam-Rock Park https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/577682 and we loved the park.

2 topics in this article: Midwest Championships 2017, weather

2017 Midwest, day 1 »

Mon, Jun 5 2017, 6:23:59 am MDT

The Results

Midwest Championships 2017

(Twin Oaks Airport, Whitewater, WI, USA)

Most pilots got minimum distance:

(Twin Oaks airport, Whitewater, WI, USA)

#	Name	Glider	Time	Total
1	Steve Rewolinski	Icaro Z9	01:16:19	711
2	Andre Wolf	Moyes Litespeed RX 3.5 Pro	01:22:13	663
3	Glen Volk	Moyes RX 3.5	01:26:22	638
4	Phill Bloom	Moyes RX 3.5	01:26:40	633
5	John Simon	Aeros Combat C 12.7	01:31:55	603
6	Alvaro Figueiredo Sandoli	Ww T2C 144 C	01:32:15	598
7	Jonny Durand	Moyes LSRX 3.5 Pro	01:39:36	571
8	James Stinnett	Wills Wing T2C	01:43:28	557
9	Robin Hamilton	Moyes RX 3.5	01:54:53	523
10	Krzysztof Grzyb	Moyes Litespeed RX 3.5	01:55:14	521
11	Linda Salamone	Wills Wing T2C	01:58:55	510
12	Ollie Chitty	Moyes RX 5	02:02:08	501
13	Mitch Shipley	Wills Wing T2C 144	02:17:24	464
14	Bart Weghorst	Wills Wing 154 T2C	02:22:27	452

Jonny is flying the Moyes Gecko for the first two days as he gave Andre his glider. Andre's was damaged in shipping. Art's should arrive today.

Mitch Shipley is also towing, flying a Dragonfly. Linda Salamone did well.

There were five start times. All the pilots who made goal got the last start time which was very likely long before they actually made their start.

Jonny landing back at launch.

Zac helping Majo with her glider.

Sara Weaver ready to launch.

Discuss "2017 Midwest, day 1" at the Oz Report forum link» »

1 topic in this article: Midwest Championships 2017

2017 Midwest, day 1 »

Sun, Jun 4 2017, 4:06:21 pm MDT

The heavy penalty for success, it's my own damn fault

Blue Sky|Midwest Championships 2017|Niki Longshore|weather|World Pilot Ranking Scheme

Here's the forecast for the day:

NWS forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.

NAM3 forecast:

1 PM:

Lift: 477 fpm (other models vary between 0 and 756 fpm)
TOL: 4,307’ (other models vary between 994’ and 8,945’)
Cloudbase: No cu’s (one other model shows cu’s at 8,283’)
Surface wind: northwest 10 mph (other models vary between 8 and 14 mph west northwest to northwest)
TOL wind: northwest 15 mph (other models vary between 14 and 20 mph west northwest to northwest)

4 PM:

Lift: 338 fpm (other models vary between 0 and 577 fpm)
TOL: 5,632’ (other models vary between 994’ and 8,283’)
Cloudbase: No cu’s Surface wind: northwest 13 mph (other models vary between 8 and 14 mph west northwest to northwest)
TOL wind: northwest 18 mph (other models vary between 12 and 18 mph west northwest to northwest)

SkySight (between 1 PM and 4 PM):

Lift: 350 – 450 fpm
TOL: 6,000’ – 7,000’
Cloudbase: 5,000’ – 7000’ disappears after 4 PM
Surface wind: northwest 8 – 12 mph
TOL wind: west 18 – 20 mph
Convergence: west northwest to east southeast Palmyra to Burlington and Richmond to Lake Geneva forming later in the day

With all the rain yesterday I would expect the the climbing conditions to be less like Friday and more like last Thursday. But in addition we will have stronger wind conditions than either day which should increase the difficulty.

The task:

https://airtribune.com/midwest-2017/blog__day_1

I'm doing the weather and I am on the task committee also. I wanted a 15 km start cylinder to deal with the wind and weak lift, but we compromised at 12 km. That didn't turn out well for me.

We trekked over to the Palmyra Municipal airport for its east-west runway to go with the forecast of an west northwest day with winds up to 20 mph at top of lift. Nice big grass runway 250 feet wide, plenty of room for two launch lines.

The launch wasn't until 1 PM. When we got there at 9:45 AM cirrus covered most of the sky. As the day progressed cu's formed to the northwest in an east west line. By around 12:30 PM this thin line of cu's were over the airport but rapidly moving to the south. Other cu's were way way to the southeast.

With the cu's rapidly disappearing as we started launch, things did not look good. Basically a blue sky with some remnants of the cirrus moving away to the south.

I was nineteenth to launch and pinned off at 2,200' AGL. I had felt a tiny bit of lift after a tow through sinking air. All the pilots ranked higher than me in WPRS points were below me having not found much lift after getting off tow.

I started working the weak stuff at 54 fpm just trying to stay up. I saw two Litespeeds turning near me and way below me so it seemed like a few of us were out there trying to get up. One of them may have been Niki Longshore. The rest of the pilots disappeared back to the launch. We were 2 km south of launch and starting out at 2,200' AGL.

Let me just say that again. All the higher ranked pilots other than these two didn't get up and went back and landed to get another tow up later.

I kept turning and found 214 fpm while Niki and the other Moyes pilot kept turning close by but way lower. I was hoping that they would hang in there with me and that we would be able to get together and fly the course together.

I had taken off at 1:17 PM. The start window on the 12 km start cylinder opened at 2 PM. I was facing a 14 mph west northwest wind. This presents a very tricky problem that I was most concerned about. Could I get high and also stay inside the start cylinder?

I climbed to 5,000' at 1:35 PM. I was way higher than anyone else. Unfortunately I was also alone as Niki and the other Moyes pilot went back to the launch as they weren't able to climb with me. Drat.

Then I spotted two other pilots near me but again way way low. Would they find some lift? I was only 5 km from the start but I didn't think that I would be able to make it back to the launch into a 14 mph headwind even from 4,200' AGL.

I watched these lower pilots as I searched around under wispy cu's for some more lift to keep me up or get me higher. The inversion looked to be about 5,000'. Soon at least one of the pilots landed and I lost track of the other. They were both very low.

I had succeeded in getting high. I wasn't forced to go back to the airport to re-launch. unlike most other higher ranked pilots (if not all of them). I felt that it would be stupid to even try to do so since I had just succeeded where no one else had and where all the best pilots in the meet were on the ground or soon to be. It felt like it would be nuts to give up all my gains and go back and start again. Even though the day might be better later. It did not look good over launch with no cu's around.

I went searching for lift near nearby wispies. I found 22 fpm. Then 20 fpm near the next wispies. And that was it. I was able to stop going down but not stop being pushed by the wind to the east. I needed a strong thermal to make it possible to stay upwind of the start cylinder edge or to go upwind for a few moments.

It was now a struggle to find better lift, not just zero sink because if I started too early I would be very heavily penalized. I had to serve two masters, the need for lift and the need to stop going east. I was not able to fight them successfully. I left the start cylinder racing to get under a cu two minutes too early.

There was plenty of buoyancy as I got closer to the ground but with the strong wind there was not a thermal. After I landed in a nice grass field I spotted the vultures ridge soaring the barn. They sure weren't thermaling.

More news on how the relaunchers did later. Some were doing very well.

5 topics in this article: Blue Sky, Midwest Championships 2017, Niki Longshore, weather, World Pilot Ranking Scheme

2017 Midwest, getting ready »

Fri, Jun 2 2017, 6:13:54 pm MDT

Too easy for some

(Twin Oaks airport, Whitewater, WI, USA)

Glen Volk|Midwest Championships 2017|Risk Retention Group

https://airtribune.com/davisstraub/tracks__122221

The open task today was to the south southeast. An easy task for some, a mere 31 km out and then return. The sky was full of cu's and cloudbase was super high.

I took off at 2:05 PM and waited on the line in sinking air until 2,100' AGL. It looked to me like there would be lift ahead under a wispy tiny cu. I was also watching a king posted glider south low over the town of Whitewater turning.

Indeed there was lift and I climbed out to 5,200' at over 300 fpm. This was way below cloudbase but with plenty of cu's ahead I wasn't concerned about getting too high. It was already cold.

I headed west southwest to get upwind of the course line which allowed me to drift with the thermals in the 6 mph west northwest winds. I was soon at 7,600' under just forming cu's. It was cold up there. The forecast was for 40°.

I was the first pilot to take on the task so I knew that I would be alone, but given the conditions I was confident that I would have no problem with the task that now looked very short.

I just ignored lift and glided for 15 km until I got down to my lower limit at 3,000' AGL (3,800' MSL). I took the next thermal at 360 fpm to 8,000' just to see how high I could get. I still wasn't at cloudbase.

It was a 9 km glide to the turnpoint with lift near it which again I ignored. Turning back I found two thermals in the blue at 400+ fpm to 7,500'.

Two more thermals, one at 480 fpm average and it was easy to take the last 16 km glide into goal as fast as possible even with 900 fpm sink before goal.

There were plenty of reflights and pilots who started later came in later.

The flight park is filling up even more. Zac and Majo made it. Glen Volk arrived as did Nene. Mitch is here which should prove interesting regarding the RRRG.

3 topics in this article: Glen Volk, Midwest Championships 2017, Risk Retention Group

2017 Midwest, getting ready »

June 1, 2017, 11:11:48 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, getting ready

Tasks completed

Krzysztof "Krys/Kris" Grzyb|Midwest Championships 2017|Sara Weaver

The pace of the Midwest 2017 is picking up with lots of pilots here doing tasks. Sara Weaver completed out and return sport class task by landing in the backyard of the neighbor across the street from the airport as her flight instrument beeps when she was 3 feet off the ground.

https://airtribune.com/sweaverflies/tracks__121950

Krzys and Larry completed the 85 km triangle.

The forecast and task for the day was:

Twin Oaks, 3km
East Troy, 1km
Lake Lawn, 400m
Twin Oaks, 400m

NWS: Sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.

NAM 3 forecast:

Noon

500-600 fpm lift
5000’ – 6000’ TOL
No cu’s
3 mph southwest surface wind
6 mph west wind at TOL

TOL raises 1000’ during the day. Climb rate increases to 600-700 fpm to the east Winds stay similar

Lift stops after 4 PM

Sport Class task was Palmyra and back, 28 km.

The wind turned out to be 12 mph west.

3 topics in this article: Krzysztof "Krys/Kris" Grzyb, Midwest Championships 2017, Sara Weaver

2017 Midwest, getting ready »

May 30, 2017, 8:42:20 CST -0500

2017 Midwest, getting ready

Forecasts improving

(Janesville-Rock County (KJVL), WI)

Midwest Championships 2017|weather

Tuesday (NAM 3, 1 PM): 600-700 fpm, west 37 mph at TOL.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=42.8336&lon=-88.7323#.WS10VMa1uM9

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 66. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Currently surface winds at 13 mph.

Wednesday (NAM 3, 1 PM): 600-700 fpm, west northwest 23 mph at TOL.

Thursday (NAM 3, 1 PM): 500-600 fpm, west northwest 7 mph at TOL.

2 topics in this article: Midwest Championships 2017, weather

2017 Midwest, getting ready »

May 29, 2017, 4:51:12 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, getting ready

Bruce, Greg and I did a nice 30 mile road ride

Greg Dinauer|Midwest Championships 2017

Greg Dinauer sends this sky picture from the airfield:

The winds were predicted to be west 40 mph at the top of lift. We took our ride on Monday early in the day and the surface winds weren't that bad. Later I road back and forth to town and it was much stronger.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1011453786

Larry says that the forecast for next week is super good. The forecast for this week is not.

2 topics in this article: Greg Dinauer, Midwest Championships 2017

2017 Midwest, getting ready »

May 28, 2017, 6:04:05 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, getting ready

Larry kept flying

Larry Bunner|Midwest Championships 2017

Larry Bunner wrote:

I did manage a three hour flight yesterday and just when it got good decided to land to spend time with Sue on my birthday. Conditions were still good two hours later so in spite of the saturated ground the soaring was good.

This place is a lot like Florida in that if the sun is shining we will be soaring.

Also we have three bands playing during the week, one special guest guitarist on another night, open jam sessions around the campfire each night, a 5km run on one of the mornings, catered breakfast at the airport every morning, wood fired pizzas most evenings and a couple super meals during the event.

Plenty of cool things to do in the area as well, like mountain bike riding on kettle moraine trails, canoeing and kayaking on the numerous lakes and rivers and even a bowling alley in town.

As I mentioned above, on such days launch later in the day. We are far north with later sunsets here.

2 topics in this article: Larry Bunner, Midwest Championships 2017

2017 Midwest, getting ready »

May 27, 2017, 9:09:55 pm CST -0500

2017 Midwest, getting ready

A typical day with light lift

Midwest Championships 2017

https://airtribune.com/davisstraub/tracks__120937

It's hard to imagine what we are going to do with eighty pilots in the air in conditions like we saw today (Saturday the 27^th of May). It's been raining for two months here. We came through four hours of rain on Friday driving from the south. Neither corn nor soybeans have been planted yet in Wisconsin (although they were in Illinois). The fields are soaking wet.

Conditions much improved much later in the day. Maybe launch at 3 PM.

http://www.midwest2017.com/

Supposed to rain tonight and on Sunday and on Memorial Day.

1 topic in this article: Midwest Championships 2017

2017 Midwest »

May 22, 2017, 8:53:45 EST -0400

2017 Midwest

Looks like rain this coming week

Midwest Championships 2017|Quest Air|weather

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=42.8336&lon=-88.7323#.WSJPNsa1uM9

We head out from Quest Air on Tuesday taking four days to get there.

3 topics in this article: Midwest Championships 2017, Quest Air, weather

The Oz Report March Fund Raiser »

March 13, 2017, 8:18:01 EST -0400

The Oz Report March Fund Raiser

Thanks to everyone who has contributed

Davis Straub|Jim Messina|Oz Report

Davis Straub|Jim Messina|Oliver Gregory|Oz Report

An extra thanks to those who have gone way above including Patrick Pannese, Luis Fernando Arias Restrepo, Keith Barghahn, Jim Messina, Kip Stone, John Kennedy, Oliver Gregory, Thomas C Ide, and Jean-Pierre Delage.

You know, all we are asking for is a subscription payment of $20/year.

Seems simple enough. Like most content on the internet, you get to read the Oz Report for free. The trouble for us, not you, is that there are not enough hang glider pilots in this world to make advertising pay for our web hosting costs.

If you'd like to contribute to our expenses click here: paypal.me/davisstraub and send money as a friend (if you have money in your PayPal account).

Or try here: https://www.paypal.com

With PayPal please click the Send&Request tab to send the money and eliminate credit card fees by clicking "Send to friends and family in the US It's free when you use bank or balance," if your PayPal account is connected to your bank account and not just to a credit card:

The email address would be davis@davisstraub.com.

If you’d rather just send a check for $20 or $30 (US Dollars only, please) or more, please feel free to do so.

Payable to:

Davis Straub (Not to the Oz Report)
6548 Groveland Airport Road
Groveland, FL 34736

If you send a physical check, be sure to send me your email address so that I can thank you as a subscriber.

These are our supporters (if you are not on the list and have donated to the Oz Report, email me and I'll make sure that you are recognized): http://ozreport.com/supporters.php. Some of you who I've missed in the past did write to me and made sure I knew just how important the Oz Report was to them. If I've missed you, please do tell me.

Or you can also come over to the Oz Report support web page and sign up to support us: http://ozreport.com/support.php. Or click here:

Discuss "The Oz Report March Fund Raiser" at the Oz Report forum link»

3 topics in this article: Davis Straub, Jim Messina, Oz Report

2017 Midwest »

February 9, 2017, 8:07:40 EST

2017 Midwest

More pilots signed up than can be accommodated

Midwest Championships 2017

https://airtribune.com/midwest-2017/pilots

Eighty six have registered. Fifty six have paid. Eighty pilots is the maximum.

The entry fee goes from $350 to $650 after February 28^th.

1 topic in this article: Midwest Championships 2017

2017 Midwest Championships »

Fri, Oct 21 2016, 7:20:22 pm MDT

June 4^th through 10^th

CIVL|Jamie Shelden|Midwest Championships 2017|USHPA

Jamie Shelden at the USHPA BOD meeting tells me that only two US USHPA and CIVL sanctioned hang gliding competitions are scheduled for 2017, both in June. I'm assuming the their meet organizers will apply for CIVL sanctioning. This isn't automatic any more. The USHPA office has handled this for the past few years.

4 topics in this article: CIVL, Jamie Shelden, Midwest Championships 2017, USHPA

2014 East Coast Championship

Day 7 and final results

Sat, Jun 7 2014, 9:27:48 pm EDT

Task 7:

1.	Greg Dinauer	Aeros Combat 12.7	02:26:13	1000
2.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144	02:26:22	994.02
3.	Charles Allen	Icaro Laminar Z8 12.8	02:40:06	837.19
4.	Tom Mcgowan	Moyes Litespeed	03:34:53	546.85

Final Totals:

1.	Bruce Barmakian	Wills Wing T2C 136	4913.06
2.	Greg Dinauer	Aeros Combat 12.7	4560.29
3.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144	3821.55
4.	Jd Guillemette	Moyes Litespeed S4	3037.99
5.	John Waters	Aeros Combat L 15	3026.09
6.	Jim Messina	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5	2953.45
7.	Charles Allen	Icaro Laminar Z8 12.8	2941.23
8.	Bob Filipchuk	Aeros Combat GT 15	2397.18
9.	Dave Proctor	Wills Wing T2C 154	1449.28
10.	Tom Mcgowan	Moyes Litespeed	967.38
11.	John Claytor	Wills Wing Talon 160	276.18

Task 7 Sport:

1.	Hugh Mcelrath	Wills Wing Sport 2	01:39:20	1060
2.	Brian Boudreau	Wills Wing Sport 2 155	01:43:18	980.21
3.	Dana Harris	Wills Wing Sport 2 155	02:17:47	660.81
4.	Cory Barnwell	Airwave Vision Pulse	02:21:01	640.73
5.	Soraya Rios	Wills Wing Sport 2 135	02:29:32	592.70
6.	Richard Elder	Wills Wing Sport 2	03:00:45	468.69

Final Sport:

1.	Felix Cantesanu	Aeros Discus	3798.89
2.	Hugh Mcelrath	Wills Wing Sport 2	3519.46
3.	Cory Barnwell	Airwave Vision Pulse	3258.15
4.	Brian Boudreau	Wills Wing Sport 2 155	3044.54
5.	Dana Harris	Wills Wing Sport 2 155	2810.15
6.	Richard Milla	Wills Wing Sport 2	2804.88
7.	Knut Ryerson	Wills Wing Sport 2	2440.09
8.	Soraya Rios	Wills Wing Sport 2 135	2417.55
9.	Richard Elder	Wills Wing Sport 2	2203.56
10.	Greg Sessa	Wills Wing U2	1982.97
11.	Michelle Haag	Wills Wing Sport 2 135	1156.05
12.	John Dullahan	Moyes Litesport 4	649.96
13.	Dan Lukaszewicz	Wills Wing Sport 2	482.98
14.	Joe Schmucker	Wills Wing Sport 2 175	462.76

2014 East Coast Championship

Fri, Jun 6 2014, 10:04:42 pm EDT

No time to think

Blue Sky|East Coast Championships 2014|Flytec 6030|Highland Aerosports Flight Park|Jim Messina

Today I think that I actually learned something. I was despairing of my apparent inability to improve my behavior in flight, but today's lesson I think is going to stick with me.

The forecast was for a great day going to the south east. We would get high. We would have cu's. We would have a nice tail wind. We would go and get to the convergence and the sea breeze on the second leg. We would make it around the Salisbury air space (I encouraged people to download the .faf file). This is why we come here.

Again the open pilots waited until about a half hour before the first start time and I got towed up after a few sport class pilots with Bruce and Greg behind me. Jim Prahl took me three kilometers to the west to a nice cu with a pilot circling under it. I climbed up to 4,700' in 200 fpm as the other pilot (Rick, a wind dummy) went back east to the air field.

I was happy by myself and drifting just right to make the start cylinder for the first start time. What I don't know at this point is that John, Greg, and Bruce are all together 3 kilometers to my east, smack over the middle of the start cylinder, drifting east and soon taking the first start clock also. They will get a much better climb than I in the first thermal and get ahead of me. I won't see them at all.

Unlike when we launched there were no cu's down the course line. The sky was full of them there just before we launched. After we left the start cylinder the sky was blue ahead. Fortunately there were haze domes and bits of cu's popping up every now and then.

I found a thermal next to a landing sport class pilot (we had encouraged them to get out in front early to be able to hook up with open class pilots who would start later) and was joined after a while by Felix and Jim Messina. I left them and headed for Bridgeville where there were cu's forming.

The cu's were working great. I was alone again and there was a line of cu's right to the turnpoint which was also the sport class goal. The cu's stopped there. Now the drama began. I made the turnpoint at 5,000' and then headed for the next turnpoint but it displayed as Laurel not Liberty. I had just missed the turnpoint name when entering it in the 6030 not noticing that I had the wrong one in the task. But when the 6030 said 10 km not 36 km for the distance to the next waypoint I knew what was wrong.

No problem. I'll just push the Go to button and page through all the nearest points (about eight pages) until I find Liberty and do a Go to there. That was easy. The problem (and the lesson): I didn't cancel the Route. Now the conflicts in the instrument began and they sure caused conflicts in my mind.

It was blue out ahead but I could see haze domes to the right of the course line (kind of toward Laurel but not toward Liberty. While others headed down the correct course line I was getting more and more confused as I circling in lift and wondered why I was so far off the course line. And what was the 6030 telling me?

When the 6030 beeped with the sound of making Laurel and switching to goal at Snow I realized that my Go to wasn't working. I put Liberty in again and headed in that direction (I thought, but more likely toward Snow).

I attempted to recover as I was now west of highway 13, eleven kilometers west of the course line (I would add 22 kilometers to my task). I headed south southeast going toward Liberty, I thought. I still had to work the blue sky.

Circling at 3,300' in 66 fpm I finally realized that the population ahead was Salisbury and after zooming out I saw that I was over their airspace, although I thought I was in their airspace. I had forgotten that it was class D up to 2,500'. Thinking that things were over I headed east to get out of the air space and to go toward the turnpoint. Might as well finish the task.

Then the 6030 flashed a message that I was about to go into airspace as I lost altitude. Now I really was going to go into airspace when earlier I had had a chance to actually not get into it by going north instead of east. The cascade continued.

I climbed back up out of airspace and headed east to get outside the airspace boundary and then headed southeast toward the turnpoint.

I could see the convergence line ahead with lower clouds on the eastern side and nice cu's with lift on the western side. Six kilometers northwest of the turnpoint I saw a glider heading west and come in under me. It didn't register that he had just made the turnpoint and was coming back to get on the good side of the sea breeze to climb up and make it to goal.

I kept heading south toward what the 6030 was telling me was the turnpoint now 5 km's away. But it was really pointing toward goal but giving me the distance to Liberty. I pushed ahead in the convergence turbulence as the sea breeze came inland further. As I looked at the 6030 I noticed something strange, the distance to the turnpoint was getting greater. OMG.

I finally cancelled the Route and saw that I was now 5 km past the turnpoint. I turned around and glided toward it no longer concerned about making goal (as my score would be stopped where I entered air space, any way) made the turnpoint then glided down the road toward the goal.

You can see from the results that other pilots hung together and actually flew the course line.

Many of the sport class pilots made goal, the longest called sport task here and certainly longer than any one that we had called earlier in the week. Richard Milla continued after the turnpoint where he was quite high (and came in second for the day) and completed a 71 kilometer task, 15.6 km short of Liberty (he had put the open class task in his instrument).

5 topics in this article: Blue Sky, East Coast Championships 2014, Flytec 6030, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina

2014 East Coast Championship

Thu, Jun 5 2014, 9:44:39 pm EDT

A day to wait for a late start

East Coast Championships 2014|Highland Aerosports Flight Park|Jim Messina

The sun finally broke through after the 11 AM pilot briefing. We scheduled a 12:30 re meeting to see if we would fly. The winds were calming down a bit but as soon as the sun came out it heated up the ground and caused the development of cumulus clouds from local heating. So the cloud cover was still quite heavy.

Cloud base was only 2,500' and there wasn't any lift for the wind dummy on his first two flights. We kept pushing the start window time back. Finally we opened launch at 3 PM with the first start window at 3:30 PM with five start windows.

As we waited the sky to the west began to open up. Charley Allen (who predicted the day before that we would start launching at 3 PM today) took off and was able to stay up, and almost got to cloud base. With the sun now hitting the ground around us we decided to get going.

I launched after a couple of sport class pilots and found really light lift just on the upwind side of the clouds that were drifting past and on the downwind side of the sunny opening in the clouds. It was too light and I went searching for more.

Down to 1,200' I found 200 fpm right over the air field in a 13 mph northwest wind and took it to cloud base at 3,200'. Bruce had been dropped off after me and came over me as I was in the best thermal around and soon we were both just barely keeping out of the cloud.

The clock ticked over to the second start time at 3:45 with no one else around and we had a ways to go to get to the edge of the start cylinder but I could see that we would be drifting outside the cylinder before the next start time given the wind strength. I decided to go for it and Bruce followed behind. I was pretty amazed that he went with me. as we started five minutes late.

There were thick clouds ahead, the thinning out that had occurred to our west hadn't caught up with our course line to the south east. There was a dark cloud street heading toward the goal we were under it. The first stop was for 55 fpm back to 2,900'.

The ground was 90% shaded ahead of us as we headed down the the cloud street. Down to 1,900' I worked 67 fpm back to 2,300' with Bruce just above me. I lost track of him at this point.

The cloud street was south of the course line as the sky opened up to the along the course line. I was still hoping for better lift under the dark clouds. Down to 1,900' again I work 61 fpm back to 2,600'.

Just northwest of Bridgeville and less than thirty kilometers from goal I got down to 1,500' and started working good lift that slowly petered out as I climbed back to 2,100'. Jim Messina had landed below me. I saw Bruce just to my east along the other edge of the cloud street and headed that way to get in line upwind of him. I didn't find anything but down to 800' I worked what I could but it wasn't enough to keep me up over the next set of trees. I landed short.

Greg apparently was over me as I thermalled up over Jim Messina. We were all four or five kilometers south of the course line under the cloud street.

Bruce was the only pilot to make it into goal.

3 topics in this article: East Coast Championships 2014, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina

2014 East Coast Championship

Thu, Jun 5 2014, 7:44:24 pm EDT

Day 5 results

Task 5:

1.	Bruce Barmakian	Wills Wing T2C 136	53.1km/h	57.9km	768.08
2.	Greg Dinauer	Aeros Combat 12.7		50.3km	514.75
3.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144		38.3km	430.69
4.	Bob Filipchuk	Aeros Combat GT 15		34.2km	392.93
5.	Jim Messina	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5		31.4km	360.87

Cumulative:

1.	Bruce Barmakian	Wills Wing T2C 136	3501.89
2.	Greg Dinauer	Aeros Combat 12.7	2624.12
3.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144	2500.81
4.	Jim Messina	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5	2082.34
5.	John Simon	Aeros Combat L 15	1960.56

Sport Task 5:

1.	Hugh Mcelrath	Wills Wing Sport 2	52.7km/h	32.7km	630.62
2.	Soraya Rios	Wills Wing Sport 2 135		18.8km	372.38
3.	Cory Barnwell	Airwave Vision Pulse		18.2km	366.58
4.	Dana Harris	Wills Wing Sport 2 155		17.2km	353.40
5.	Felix Cantesanu	Aeros Discus		15.7km	310.89

Sport Cumulative:

1.	Felix Cantesanu	Aeros Discus	2505.20
2.	Knut Ryerson	Wills Wing Sport 2	2041.19
3.	Cory Barnwell	Airwave Vision Pulse	2040.99
4.	Hugh Mcelrath	Wills Wing Sport 2	1867.84
5.	Richard Milla	Wills Wing Sport 2	1767.83

9 topics in this article: Bruce Barmakian, Davis Straub, East Coast Championships 2014, Greg Dinauer, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina, John Simon, Wills Wing, Wills Wing T2C

2014 East Coast Championship

Wed, Jun 4 2014, 11:12:57 pm EDT

Day 4 results

Task 4:

1.	Bruce Barmakian	Wills Wing T2C 136	02:03:30	970.79
2.	John Simon	Aeros Combat L 15	02:11:53	842.67
3.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144	02:14:04	818.92
4.	Jim Messina	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5	02:16:39	792.69
5.	Jd Guillemette	Moyes Litespeed S4	02:23:59	726.58

Cumulative:

1.	Bruce Barmakian	Wills Wing T2C 136	2733.81
2.	Greg Dinauer	Aeros Combat 12.7	2109.37
3.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144	2070.12
4.	John Simon	Aeros Combat L 15	1902.01
5.	Jim Messina	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5	1721.48

Sport Task 4:

1.	Felix Cantesanu	Aeros Discus	00:59:51	34.0km/h	34.0km	945.23
2.	Knut Ryerson	Wills Wing Sport 2			29.0km	708.45
3.	Brian Boudreau	Wills Wing Sport 2 155			29.0km	707.84
4.	Dana Harris	Wills Wing Sport 2 155			18.1km	501.78
5.	Soraya Rios	Wills Wing Sport 2 135			16.1km	471.86

Cumulative:

1.	Felix Cantesanu	Aeros Discus	2194.30
2.	Knut Ryerson	Wills Wing Sport 2	1938.38
3.	Cory Barnwell	Airwave Vision Pulse	1674.41
4.	Richard Milla	Wills Wing Sport 2	1471.39
5.	Brian Boudreau	Wills Wing Sport 2 155	1369.92

9 topics in this article: Bruce Barmakian, Davis Straub, East Coast Championships 2014, Greg Dinauer, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina, John Simon, Wills Wing, Wills Wing T2C

2014 East Coast Championship

Tue, Jun 3 2014, 6:42:09 pm EDT

Day 3 results

Task 3:

1.	Greg Dinauer	Aeros Combat 12.7	47.1km	819.22
2.	Bruce Barmakian	Wills Wing T2C 144	41.7km	756.78
3.	Charles Allen	Icaro Laminar Z8 12.8	37.5km	696.97
4.	Jim Messina	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5	37.4km	695.37
5.	Bob Filipchuk	Aeros Combat GT 15	35.7km	660.95
6.	John Simon	Aeros Combat L 15	21.4km	373.28
7.	Dave Proctor	Wills Wing T2C 154	18.2km	331.34
8.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144	17.3km	318.52
9.	Jd Guillemette	Moyes Litespeed S4	15.8km	292.07

Cumulative:

1.	Bruce Barmakian	Wills Wing T2C 144	1763.01
2.	Greg Dinauer	Aeros Combat 12.7	1726.84
3.	Charles Allen	Icaro Laminar Z8 12.8	1288.90
4.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144	1251.20
5.	John Simon	Aeros Combat L 15	1059.34
6.	Bob Filipchuk	Aeros Combat GT 15	1006.23
7.	Dave Proctor	Wills Wing T2C 154	968.66
8.	Jim Messina	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5	928.79
9.	Jd Guillemette	Moyes Litespeed S4	890.23

Sport task 3:

1.	Knut Ryerson	Wills Wing Sport 2	00:41:59	29.6km	795.94
2.	Hugh Mcelrath	Wills Wing Sport 2		25.4km	555.13
3.	Cory Barnwell	Airwave Vision Pulse		18.4km	456.73
4.	Felix Cantesanu	Aeros Discus		19.2km	443.57
5.	Soraya Rios	Wills Wing Sport 2 135		14.8km	384.38

Sport Cumulative:

1.	Felix Cantesanu	Aeros Discus	1208.52
2.	Cory Barnwell	Airwave Vision Pulse	1189.42
3.	Knut Ryerson	Wills Wing Sport 2	1128.40
4.	Greg Sessa	Wills Wing U2	1076.77
5.	Hugh Mcelrath	Wills Wing Sport 2	924.27

10 topics in this article: Bruce Barmakian, Charles Allen, Davis Straub, East Coast Championships 2014, Greg Dinauer, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina, John Simon, Wills Wing, Wills Wing T2C

2014 East Coast Championship

Mon, Jun 2 2014, 6:39:55 pm EDT

Day 2, we stop the task due to poor launch conditions

The forecast was for good lift - 700-800 fpm, like the first day, but even less likelihood of cu's, and strong winds - 12 knots out of the south southwest. And other than the fact that we didn't find much lift, the forecast was pretty much right on. No cu's, and a wind 9 to 12 mph out of the south.

The problem is that there is no good location to launch in a south wind. We set up to launch to the west with a strong cross wind. The first launches looked fine, but the conditions up above were not exciting with no cu's, lots of wind, and numerous pilots landing after short flights. Only Dave Proctor was able to stay up at first.

Red shows the launch direction. The runway is at 300°.

Then we spotted Joe Shmucker, who had dribbled north out of the airport and was now low in the next field and attempting to head back and make it to the airfield. With all of us watching we tried to determine if he could get over the thin line of low trees on the north side of the runway. It could go either way.

Joe kept going toward us and the trees. I asked him later and he wasn't even thinking about the fact that he was pushing into a head wind. He didn't see that there was a problem.

As he got closer to the trees he finally realized that he wasn't going to make it. He turned and was rotored into the ground. The glider was pancaked with Joe still on the base tube. A broken keel to go along with the down tubes and base bar. There is a nice video and I hope that he posts it.

After Joe was pulled out from under his glider with a face full of mud, we lined up to get launched. I had a bit of trouble getting off the cart despite the high angle on the cart. Greg and Jim Messina said later that they also had problems launching.

I was pulled right to a thermal and with another pilot got right up to 2,700'. When that quit I chased the thermal down wind and got back to 2,500' with three other pilots. We were two kilometers down wind. Bruce was way down below us. We were working zero lift at 2,500' and quickly drifting away from the airfield.

I saw Bruce heading back (or what looked like it) and headed back to see if there were any pilots who got towed up behind us (including Greg) thermaling. Turns out there weren't any and soon we all found ourselves landing. We lined up to go again.

As we waited there John Claytor launched and crashed as his upwind wing came up and spun him around.

Two of the safety committee members (Greg and Jim) got together and recommended that launch be suspended. I then got together with Greg and Jim Messina (Felix was a few hundred yards away) and they decided to spot the task. It was one hour after the first start time, so the day counted. But it didn't count for much.

(Highland Aerosports, Ridgely, Maryland, USA)

Task 2:

1.	Dave Proctor	Wills Wing T2C 154	12.5km	9.58
2.	Greg Dinauer	Aeros Combat 12.7	5.0km	6.23
2.	Bruce Barmakian	Wills Wing T2C 144	5.0km	6.23
2.	Jd Guillemette	Moyes Litespeed S4	5.0km	6.23
2.	Charles Allen	Icaro Laminar Z8 12.8	5.0km	6.23
2.	John Claytor	Wills Wing Talon 160	5.0km	6.23
2.	Bob Filipchuk	Aeros Combat GT 15	5.0km	6.23
2.	Jim Messina	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5	5.0km	6.23
2.	John Simon	Aeros Combat L 15	5.0km	6.23
2.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144	5.0km	6.23

Cumulative:

1.	Bruce Barmakian	Wills Wing T2C 144	1006.23
2.	Davis Straub	Wills Wing T2C 144	932.67
3.	Greg Dinauer	Aeros Combat 12.7	907.62
4.	John Simon	Aeros Combat L 15	686.06
5.	Dave Proctor	Wills Wing T2C 154	637.32
6.	Jd Guillemette	Moyes Litespeed S4	598.16
7.	Charles Allen	Icaro Laminar Z8 12.8	591.93
8.	Bob Filipchuk	Aeros Combat GT 15	345.28
9.	John Claytor	Wills Wing Talon 160	254.49
10.	Jim Messina	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5	233.42

Launch video here.

15 topics in this article: Bruce Barmakian, cart, Charles Allen, crash, Davis Straub, East Coast Championships 2014, Facebook, Greg Dinauer, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina, John Claytor, John Simon, video, Wills Wing, Wills Wing T2C

Highland Challenge 2013 »

Fri, Aug 30 2013, 8:26:00 am MDT

Winning his own contest

Bruce Kavanagh|Charles Allen|Highland Aerosports Flight Park|Jim Messina

Charles Allen «Charles Allen» writes:

The 2^nd annual Highland Challenge turned out to be another fantastic regional weekend race to goal comp. 17 pilots registered with about half in the sport class. For the 2^nd year in a row we few 8 of 8 days and covered a total of 839 miles across both classes. Many thanks to Sunny and Adam of Highland Aerosports for dedicating tugs to the comp, this comp would not have been possible without them. Results below:

Sport:

1. Matt Christensen – 1339
2. Michelle Haag – 1314
3. Greg Sesa – 1288

Open:

1. Charles Allen – 3310
2. Jim Messina – 2959
3. Bruce Kavanagh – 2849

Summary statics here: https://sites.google.com/site/highlandchallenge2013/summary-2013

4 topics in this article: Bruce Kavanagh, Charles Allen, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina

2013 East Coast Championship

Wed, Jun 5 2013, 8:58:33 pm EDT

Task two up the peninsula

(Highland Aerosports, Ridgely, Maryland, USA)

The winds were supposed to rotated around during the day from the east northeast to the southeast by 5 PM. It looked like there wouldn't be any cu's. The lift looked quite good, best so far, although XCSkies/RAP values need to be halved. The winds were supposed to get up to 13 knots at 2,000' at 5 PM.

Larry wanted a site record task, 182 km to the north to the Appalachians, but there seemed to be too many cirrus clouds and not enough wind for that task, the one the squeezes us through the top of the peninsula. So we called a zig zag up the peninsula with the first leg close to the sport class goal 36 km out to the north northwest, just west of Chestertown.

There was little waiting around today as there was a stray cu over Ridgely, one of the very few that we saw all day. Bruce, Larry, Tom and I got in the air right away. I climbed up to 5,300' after experiencing strong lift throughout the tow.

Unfortunately that peaked too early, fifteen minutes before the first start window, and we had to go back to the airfield to get back up again in time for the second start window. The gaggle formed up and at 2:15 we were off with Mitch, Larry, Bruce, Dave, and a bunch of other pilots.

Mitch found the first thermal off to my left, but it was weak. We continued on and after a few false starts found 350 fpm to 5,300'.

After a couple of good climbs we approached the Chester River east of Chestertown south of our first turnpoint. Mitch was low with another pilot and Bruce, Larry and I worked the weak stuff above them. This is really a poor idea and finally we move north closer to the river as Mitch got lower.

I spotted a flea market operating just before the river and figured that it would be the spot. I went there and sure enough, the thermal averaged 400+ fpm to 5,500'. We were high and in front. We hit more lift just north of the river and then went on glide.

It was an 8 kilometer glide to the turnpoint without any lift and then another three past the turnpoint before we found a little something. Bruce was a bit higher than Larry and I as we started working 75 fpm. Bruce had his own thermal a little to the south. He didn't seem to be doing all that great either as we struggled to work up from 1,400'.

The lift was terrible and I could tell that there was some sea breeze mixing causing it to be weak and slightly turbulent (nothing like the first task). No steady core and lots of moving around to find bits and pieces.

I finally found a bit of core but Larry and Bruce were now above me and I had lost track of them. The lift gave up at 2,100' and I was not that happy with being in it any way so I proceeded east toward the next turnpoint with slim chances of finding a way up.

Down to 600' I came upon a small thermal over a fir tree plantation and was quite willing to climb in it while I figured out the wind direction (it was from the south) in case I needed to land. The thermal kept happening and I just was happy to find it more fully formed than the previous one.

High above me I could see Mitch, Bruce, JD, Bob, Jim, and Larry. Perhaps others. They seemed to be getting up in the same thermal as me, or one close by. A few of them would eventually get to 6,000'. I was climbing at 200 fpm.

The wind was 11 mph put of the south south east and I was drifting toward the Chesapeake Bay. It was spectacularly beautiful, although I really couldn't concentrate on the scenery. This is what a small portion of it looked like when I was thermaling and drifting taken from Google Earth:

Bruce and Mitch left the gaggle far above me but the rest of them came back west toward me as they saw that I was climbing well. They would eventually leave before I got up to them, but it was great to have my thermal so well affirmed. John Simon, who took the next clock, came in at my level and we would fly near each other the rest of the flight.

The next turnpoint was 15 km to the east cross wind and by the time I got there with John we found the guys, JD and Jim Messina, and Dan who had been above us and climbed up to them. Then it was on to the races.

The next turnpoint was to the north 15 kilometers. I headed for the chicken coops ahead as they have been doing a very admirable job getting us up. These were no exception. I had heard from Belinda that Larry was getting low out in front of us so I wanted to be sure to stay high. (Larry would get down to 1,000' at the last turnpoint.)

Two 300+ fpm thermals and the 6030 said that I had the goal made easily around the turnpoint. The goal was only 9.4 kilometers east of this last turnpoint. John Simon was just below me, and JD was behind me and above, so I couldn't see him.

The race was really on and then suddenly half way to goal there was Larry going fast below me and passing me up. Time to really speed up.

I passed John and soon passed Larry but JD was above me and unnoticed so he came in six second earlier. There was no one at goal, but Mitch and Bruce had made it earlier and then went off somewhere for a while before landing.

The flight here.

Spot here.

Live Tracking here. (Just a few points get recorded).

The daily results for open here and sport here. Michelle Haag made goal for the first time on her thirteenth cross country flight.

The cumulative results for open here and sport here.

Cumulative open:

1.	Mitch Shipley	Usa	Wills Wing T2C 144	1778
2.	Bruce Barmakian	Usa	Wills Wing T2C 144	1719
3.	Larry Bunner	Usa	Wills Wing T2C 144	1717
4.	Davis Straub	Usa	Wills Wing T2C 144	1585
5.	Daniel Spier	Usa	Air Atos	1501
6.	Dave Proctor	Usa	Wills Wing T2C 154	1442
7.	Jim Messina	Usa	Moyes Litespeed S 4.5	1377
8.	Tom Mcgowan	Usa	Moyes Litespeed	1367
9.	Linda Salamone	Usa	Moyes Litespeed	1308
10.	John Simon	Usa	Aeros Combat L 15	1228
11.	Bob Filipchuk	Usa	Aeros Combat GT 15	1148
12.	Jd Guillemette	Usa	Moyes Litespeed S4	1145
13.	Peter Kane	Usa	Wills Wing T2C 154	820

14 topics in this article: Belinda Boulter, Bruce Barmakian, Davis Straub, East Coast Championships 2013, Flytec 6030, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina, John Simon, Larry Bunner, Mitchell "Mitch" Shipley, record, Tom McGowan, Wills Wing, Wills Wing T2C

The Highland Challenge

Wed, Oct 3 2012, 8:02:07 am MDT

Low stress competition

Charles Allen|Highland Aerosports Flight Park|Jim Messina|John Simon|weather

Charles Allen «Charles Allen» writes:

The Highland Challenge turned out to be a terrific regional weekend race to goal comp this year and everyone had a great time. 17 pilots registered of which almost half were in the sport class. We few 8 of 8 days and covered a total of 556 miles across both classes. Many thanks to Sunny and Adam of Highland Aerosports for dedicating 2 tugs on each day for our 2 hour launch window, this comp would not have been possible without them. Results below:

Sport:

1. Matt Christensen – 2,624

2. Michelle Haag – 1,796

3. Alex Tatom – 1,524

Matt Christensen took 1^st in the sport class and had a memorable flight on task 5 where he made goal and continued on almost making the open goal. Michelle was the only women in the meet an placed 2^nd overall and won 2 days. Alex placed 3^rd and had a great flight on task 6 winning the day after flying over both Jim and I as we groveled in 25fpm. Many of the sport pilots had their personal bests.

Open:

1. John Simon – 3,599

2. Charles Allen– 3,372

3. Jim Messina – 2,681

John took 1^st with a memorable flight on task 4 where he flew for well over 3 hours and made goal back at Highland. I came in 2^nd and had a great flight and made goal on task 5 which was the longest task, though, I was the only one in the open class to leave the field due to the 103° heat. Jim placed 3^rd and won task 2 however I think his best flight was when he dug out from about 500 feet and then crossed 3 miles of water on task 3. Not only did we have fun but we also pioneered a few new routes on the Delmarva Peninsula. My favorite new route was a dog leg down the peninsula that hooked west towards the Chesapeake Bay and crossed 3 miles of water just before reaching goal which was a grass strip (both John and Jim made it).

The summary is here:

https://sites.google.com/site/highlandweekendcomp/summary-2012

For those interested in the 2013 Highland Challenge registration is open:

https://sites.google.com/site/highlandchallenge2013/

This is a great no stress way to learn about comp flying in a fun and safe setting and rack up some XC miles. You don’t need previous XC or comp experience to come fly. For those local mountain pilots on the fence due to weather conditions on the Delmarva Peninsula I suggest showing up. 3 of the Highland Challenge weekends had forecast rain. On the 1^st task of the Highland Challenge we were towed over wispy’s but managed to fly 15+ miles. On task 4 it was pouring rain at 11:30am (the rain was going sideways) and the whole field managed to launch starting around 1pm and John and I managed to make goal at Massey (~40k).

We’ll likely limit the comp to ~20 pilots across both classes so please sign up soon if you’re interested.

5 topics in this article: Charles Allen, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina, John Simon, weather

2012 East Coast Championship

Tue, Jun 5 2012, 7:28:46 pm EDT

Overcast over casting the forecast

http://soaringspot.com/ecc2012/

In spite of the forecast for great lift, and the great cumulus development before noon, suddenly the sky filled up and in with cu's and middle level clouds shading everything for miles around. So much for a forecast of cu's at 5,600'.

With the ground completely shaded we postponed the first start time to 3 PM, hoping that the shaded ground would mean that the cu's would break up (as the lift stopped) and the sunlight would come back. It didn't happen.

Jim Messina and I got in line and everyone else followed at 2:30 PM. I was just figuring I'd go up for a little test flight in the obviously no lift day. The task committee kept changing the task, and even with a north wind, they called an east task hoping to get to an area with a better looking sky.

I launched and found strong lift at the end of the runway and climbed quickly over the shaded ground with lift getting to 730 fpm. As I approached the dark cloud under the grey overcast at 4,000' I pulled out of the lift as I didn't see where I would go to keep out of the cloud as there was no blue any where.

I headed east toward Jim who was about at my height under an even darker cloud but hanging steady and not going up. I didn't find any lift and finally had to go back to launch again. Larry Bunner and Paris Williams and others landed just after me and got in line for a second tow. Dave Proctor was able to stay up, but most every one else other than Jim and Dave had to relaunch.

It was a wait with one of the tugs down, but we were up again before the last clock. I didn't find any lift and had to land at the field again. Paris and the others got away to the south in a bit of sunlight.

I tried once again but just glided south downwind for seven kilometers without finding any lift.

Paris was able to hook up with John Simon and they and others were able to crab cross wind about 20 km to the east. See results at the Soaring Sport link above.

6 topics in this article: East Coast Championships 2012, Highland Aerosports Flight Park, Jim Messina, John Simon, Larry Bunner, Paris Williams

East Coast Championship - day 3, task 3 »

Tue, Jun 2 2009, 9:53:21 pm EDT

A task for a day with weak conditions.