Flying season was progressing nicely. New sites, new challenges. But I haven't even thought about any sort of competition, especially not while flying a Falcon....
I don't remember already what made me look. Probably people discussing who signed up this year. But I checked the rules for Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge 2014 and it wasn't so much a competition, but more a training camp for wannabe cross-country pilots. They even had handicap points for single surface gliders. Hm... Why the hell not, I thought. I wanted to learn how to fly cross-country, and I wanted to have more training. I didn't care much about competition part, so I didn't mind to come back with no points at all.
And then September came fast. It was time to drive to Tennessee and get challenged.... I won't describe in all the details what days were like, and what the competition was all about. JJ had done it nicely here (and part 2 here). I'll just vent for a teeny-weeny bit about my impression of the event...
....
First thing was to get there. JJ offered to share a ride. Jeff C and I joined him on the way down. JJ had a small wagon - Pontiac Vibe. Small engine. Manual transmission. This poor thing was really struggling with all the load - 3 people, 3 gliders, and a lot of camping gear. It required constant downshifting on even very slight up-hills. It was tiring. Since we left Friday evening and arrived around 10am the next morning - I personally was tired and in no mood to do any kind of flying. I mean, I could, but it wouldn't be as safe and fun. So when we got to Whitwell later Saturday afternoon, I just observed. A good thing too, because a sledder the next day required my full attention - I cleared the wires over the church LZ with only 100' to spare (you can see it in the video below). That would be a bit too much excitement for my tired brain.
So, for the first part, a few things that I would have done differently the next time around - I should leave early morning, and have a full night sleep before flying. Take an extra day off...
...
The other thing, this year competition was later in the year than usual. The conditions were very light. To stay afloat required skills I didn't have. Having a single surface glider made things even more challenging. People were struggling even with topless gliders. I couldn't have known that before I signed up as I had no experience with the site, but... having sledders only, killed a lot of enjoyment of the event. I didn't care much about points, but I didn't expect not to be able to get above the ridge even for a minute or two.
What else?... My expectations of "training" camp was naively optimistic. I guess, as a freshly graduated H3, I expected more handholding, but in reality it was just normal flying days - with a task at hand if you could do it. If not, well... not.
Tom Lanning signed up as well. He's done this event for many years, but he enjoys it anyway. He was the obvious choice for our team captain. Tom put a lot of effort in making us to think for ourselves. In my case, I only started to appreciate what he was doing when we were done flying. Yes, I am a slow learner, and remember that part about handholding expectation? :-)
I am not sure if I can do better next time, but at least, now I got some idea on how to improve things... at least I hope so.
...
As to the event itself, it was not very smoothly executed. It felt more like a relaxed flying party than a competition/training event. A few old timers mentioned that it wasn't always so. It all worked out in the end though. And maybe next time it will be improved.
If, after reading all that venting above, you want to ask "So, Max, was it all just a waste of time?". No! Not at all.
I had an opportunity to learn from people who achieved a lot in hang gliding. You hear those names from the day you start learning how to hang glide - Dennis Pagen, Mike Barber, Mitch Shipley and many others. A couple of lectures were particularly useful. Also, I got to fly two new sites. I wish those flights were longer, but the experience of learning a new site and launching from it - it is a very valuable thing for a pilot.
And of course, non-flying fun made it a great vacation. Great food, great company, amazing nature. Every morning I would wake up to a new shapes of clouds filling the valley. Great place to be for an aspiring photographer :-).
Anyway, I hope to do it again someday, or just spend a week of flying at TTT with no competition involved. It is an amazing place.
Here are a few, mosly non-flying, photos -> TTT Challenge 2014 Photo album
Whitwell launch (video courtesy of Lee Minardi)
Launching from Henson Gap ramp (video courtesy of Lee Minardi)
I don't remember already what made me look. Probably people discussing who signed up this year. But I checked the rules for Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge 2014 and it wasn't so much a competition, but more a training camp for wannabe cross-country pilots. They even had handicap points for single surface gliders. Hm... Why the hell not, I thought. I wanted to learn how to fly cross-country, and I wanted to have more training. I didn't care much about competition part, so I didn't mind to come back with no points at all.
And then September came fast. It was time to drive to Tennessee and get challenged.... I won't describe in all the details what days were like, and what the competition was all about. JJ had done it nicely here (and part 2 here). I'll just vent for a teeny-weeny bit about my impression of the event...
....
First thing was to get there. JJ offered to share a ride. Jeff C and I joined him on the way down. JJ had a small wagon - Pontiac Vibe. Small engine. Manual transmission. This poor thing was really struggling with all the load - 3 people, 3 gliders, and a lot of camping gear. It required constant downshifting on even very slight up-hills. It was tiring. Since we left Friday evening and arrived around 10am the next morning - I personally was tired and in no mood to do any kind of flying. I mean, I could, but it wouldn't be as safe and fun. So when we got to Whitwell later Saturday afternoon, I just observed. A good thing too, because a sledder the next day required my full attention - I cleared the wires over the church LZ with only 100' to spare (you can see it in the video below). That would be a bit too much excitement for my tired brain.
So, for the first part, a few things that I would have done differently the next time around - I should leave early morning, and have a full night sleep before flying. Take an extra day off...
...
The other thing, this year competition was later in the year than usual. The conditions were very light. To stay afloat required skills I didn't have. Having a single surface glider made things even more challenging. People were struggling even with topless gliders. I couldn't have known that before I signed up as I had no experience with the site, but... having sledders only, killed a lot of enjoyment of the event. I didn't care much about points, but I didn't expect not to be able to get above the ridge even for a minute or two.
What else?... My expectations of "training" camp was naively optimistic. I guess, as a freshly graduated H3, I expected more handholding, but in reality it was just normal flying days - with a task at hand if you could do it. If not, well... not.
Tom Lanning signed up as well. He's done this event for many years, but he enjoys it anyway. He was the obvious choice for our team captain. Tom put a lot of effort in making us to think for ourselves. In my case, I only started to appreciate what he was doing when we were done flying. Yes, I am a slow learner, and remember that part about handholding expectation? :-)
I am not sure if I can do better next time, but at least, now I got some idea on how to improve things... at least I hope so.
...
As to the event itself, it was not very smoothly executed. It felt more like a relaxed flying party than a competition/training event. A few old timers mentioned that it wasn't always so. It all worked out in the end though. And maybe next time it will be improved.
- Team Critical Mass (photo courtesy of Lee Minardi)
- Tom Lanning, Vitaly Pogrebnoy, JJ Cote, Max Kotchouro, Jeff Curtis
I had an opportunity to learn from people who achieved a lot in hang gliding. You hear those names from the day you start learning how to hang glide - Dennis Pagen, Mike Barber, Mitch Shipley and many others. A couple of lectures were particularly useful. Also, I got to fly two new sites. I wish those flights were longer, but the experience of learning a new site and launching from it - it is a very valuable thing for a pilot.
And of course, non-flying fun made it a great vacation. Great food, great company, amazing nature. Every morning I would wake up to a new shapes of clouds filling the valley. Great place to be for an aspiring photographer :-).
Anyway, I hope to do it again someday, or just spend a week of flying at TTT with no competition involved. It is an amazing place.
Here are a few, mosly non-flying, photos -> TTT Challenge 2014 Photo album
And a video collage of my flying TTT frustration:
Whitwell launch (video courtesy of Lee Minardi)
Launching from Henson Gap ramp (video courtesy of Lee Minardi)
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