Team Challenge 2016 – Part 3

Day 3

On the third day winds finally switched to WNW. That meant we didn't have to drive anywhere, and I got to run off Henson Gap ramp again. The ramp is a marvel of engineering, and it is a pleasure to launch from.

On the downside, the day's forecast called for even lighter conditions than two previous days.

Ollie tells us about the weather

David Hanning reviews XCSkies forecast

The task committee and safety committee were trying to map forecast to something XC flyable.

Eventually, it was decided to fly between LZ and the launch. C task, for example, - tag LZ, tag launch (at launch height or above), land at LZ. A and B tasks were similar but with added SW launch waypoint, and multiple trips back and forth.

Erik and Bryson writing down day 3 tasks on the whiteboard

The day progressed pretty much as expected. Paragliders launched first and some of them were able to tag the waypoints a few times. It was a lot of work even for them to stay up.

Around 3PM our team decided to launch. Steve went first, and I could definitely see why I would want a topless glider. He went to the north, all the way to the other side of route 111, and he was working some light lift there.

Paul launched next, I went after him, and then Dana. I probably dove of the ramp a bit too much for the conditions, and lost more altitude than Paul. I was gliding toward route 111, but I got there a bit too low for my comfort. I turned around, and went for the LZ. I got there with enough altitude to box the field and do a nice DBF approach. Paul landed just before me. I am not sure if he was sinking faster than me or simply decided to land so we wouldn't have to land at the same time.

Steve landed quite some time later. I love watching his landings - he is so relaxed and graceful

Here is the video of his landing:

While we were breaking down, other gliders were landing every few minutes. Everyone was executing good landings, and some people were having fun, showing off their landing skills. Like, a topless glider skimming the ground downwind at high speed, pulling up, turning around and landing perfectly. It is amazing how much energy this glider retains.

Breakdown area in Henson Gap LZ

Steve Pearson

And a short video review of my flight with multiple camera angles :-)

Day 4 and up...

Not much to say about day 4. It was Whitwell day again. It had some potential. But wind switched, and launching safety was questionable. Our team made a mistake by setting up at the paragliders side of things. At that launch it started to tail after 1pm. All paragliders packed and went home.

Hang gliders were launching from the cliff. But only Zac Majors was able to stay up. He found a thermal somewhere in the middle of the valley. My poor Sport2 had no chance getting there even if I was at the cliff launch.

We packed our gliders and went back to Henson. The cool thing about that day - I spent a lot of time talking to Steve about past and the future of the sport, different glider designs, and why certain things on a glider done one way or another. Did you know that curved tips on your glider don't do anything for glider's performance and handling? But that's what people wanted for non-engineering/non-logical reasons. It would be much easier to assemble the glider without those things, too. Anyway....

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Day 5 - it was raining. Natalia and I spent time playing tourists. Visiting Chattanooga, Ruby Falls, and Lookout mountain hang gliding launch.

The morning of day 6, after reviewing the weather for the next 2 days, we decided to head home. There was a chance of flying this evening, probably without XC tasks. And forecast for the next day was questionable, too. I had plenty of flying done for the last 2 weeks, and didn't want to stay for marginable days. It's a long drive home. It was time to get back to our cats :-)

Final thoughts

It was my third year in a row at Team Challenge. Different time of year - each time very similar conditions. Despite of very challenging flying weather that I got here, I loved flying in Sequatchie Valley. Tennessee Tree Toppers club at Henson Gap is awesome, too. I definitely going to be back, I am just not sure if or when I am going to do another Team Challenge.

Team Challenge was a good event for me to push beyond my comfort zone, and submerge in everything-about-flying atmosphere for a week. It was not that good for me from practical, A pilot to C pilot mentoring, standpoint. Most of the time I was on the ground before A pilot could provide any coaching. Oftentimes, A pilot had trouble staying up as well.

I DID learn a plenty. Most of it on the ground, of course, from conversations, presentations, lectures, weather reviews, observing other pilots. But hang gliding is a physical sport, you can have all theory you want, but without practice, it is unusable. And on the trip down south this year, I got that kind of practice... in Florida where Tom Lanning led us on an XC flight from Wallaby to Quest. On that flight, he provided exactly the mentoring I was looking for at Team Challenge.

One very useful thing that I picked up (or rather started to develop) from 3 years of visiting Team Challenge - weather analysis. I find weather subject very boring. I know, as a pilot, I need to understand it, but it puts me to sleep very fast. All these years, I relied on a couple of very basic tools and, mostly, on other people do the weather forecasting for me. At TC, every morning, David Hanning had excellent forecast analysis using XC skies, and a couple of other tools. This year, to my amazement, I started using some of those tools, and it even started to make sense, I think...

So, it was all good. Made new friends, learned new tricks, challenged myself, scared myself a couple of times, got to apply my New England thermalling skills to Sequatchie Valley (which is apparently has very similar weather). I am glad I didn't just go once and forgot all about it. And I recommend any new H3 pilot (or a paraglider pilot) to do the same. Or, for that matter, to any pilot who wants to get exposure to competition basics. Even if you are an H2 pilot, go fly there outside of the competition, you can help with the retrieve, fly, and absorb a wealth of flying information concentrated there.

Will I be back?... If we form a New England team - I'm game. On my own... probably not next year.  Green Swamp Sport Klassic event, on the other hand, looks interesting.  Oh, and when I get to paragliding - I will definitely do another Team Challenge. Paraglider pilots seem to have too much fun in Sequatchie Valley...

Thank you Ollie and everyone helping to organize this event! It's been real. I'll see you next time, whenever it is going to be.

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More photos -> Team Challenge 2016 Photo Album

Team Challenge 2016 – Part 2

Day 2

Day 2 started as usual with the weather review. The forecast was very similar to the previous day. South-East day, Whitwell.

Then the task committee decided on the tasks for A, B, and C pilots. C pilot task was to tag Stargap waypoint, and then land at Church LZ. B task - tag Stargap, land at Galloway airstip. A task - tag Stargap, tag Galloway, land at Church LZ. C task should have been easy enough... if I could get above the ridge, and stay there for a bit.

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Steve Pearson arrived the night before. Our team was complete. We loaded gliders on Steve's SUV. Dana and Paul drove their cars to Galloway to simplify retrieval.

Team's place in the launch line rotates every day. We shifted from spot 7 to 6, and still ended up in the very back of the Whitwell's setup area. No paragliding launch option for us this time.

It didn't matter all that much. The day was supposed to be light, and it wasn't likely there would be a launch traffic jam. Everyone would be waiting for sure signs of lift.

While we were setting up the gliders, Steve gave us a glider tune up clinic. It was great to be able ask any questions about the glider design, performance tuning, maintenance, and whatever else we could come up with, or things we didn't even think of. Steve always had an answer, and he was more than willing to share all the secrets. Thank you, Steve!

...

Back to the competition... I wanted to launch earlier (if there was even slight indication of lift), so if that didn't work out, I would have time for another attempt. Competition doesn't limit number of launches as long as they are in the allowed launch window (usually somewhere between 12pm to 5pm).

Everyone was on board with that. Team strategy was to push the C pilot (me) first. Around 2PM, we lined up for takeoff. There were just a hand full of people in front of us. Everyone else was either undecided, or still getting ready.

The launch was uneventful. I saw a glider climbing slowly out in the valley. I thought I could get there. As I was about to set on a glide there, he wasn't gaining anymore, and turned away from the spot. I felt some turbulence, tried to turn. Lost altitude. I was still too close to the ridge for a comfortable 360. I moved out, trying out every possible bump. But nothing was working. In a couple of minutes, I noticed that I was too low and too far from the LZ. Pulled VG, set on a glide, cursing myself yet again for poor strategy.

I barely made it over the trees into the LZ. I was speeding up on the last part of the glide so I would have energy to go over the trees, but fortunately it wasn't necessary. I left no safety margin on this flight, and was in survival mode. At least my landing was good.

And so I was on the ground, pretty pissed at myself, too. It was time to execute plan B - do it again!

Natalia was already waiting for me in the truck on the other side of the road across the LZ. What can I say, I am a lucky man :-) Thank you, Natalia.

I broke down the glider as fast as I could, and Natalia drove me back up to the launch. This time, I figured, I would launch from the paragliding site. The team that was there before was most likely already gone, and I wouldn't be in anyone's way. Plus, I really liked that launch better.

It was a good decision. While I was setting up, paragliders were launching, spreading out, showing where the lift was. I launched, and followed one of them to a thermal he was marking. It worked really well. In a few minutes I climbed above the ridge. Moved over the plateau, and found even a better climb.

Around 4K MSL, I wasn't climbing as fast anymore, but I saw another paraglider circling above me not to far. I adjusted my circle, and up I went again.

At 5900' MSL, I was at the top of the climb. There were no other paraglider or hang gliders above me. I had the C-task on a glide. I pushed for Stargap waypoint. In a few minutes I was above the cell tower (a visual marker for the waypoint) but lost 2000' in the process. Before I could decide what to do next, go for the Church LZ, or look for a thermal - a thermal found me. The cell tower was triggering some nice lift. I recharged but topped out at 5000' MSL.

5000 was still plenty high, the day seemed to be working over the plateau, so I hoped, I could find yet another climb when I needed it. I decided to go for the B-task. I wasn't really interested in simply making points - I wanted to fly as far as I could. In retrospect, I should have tagged Church LZ, and then look for another climb. That would have made things more challenging... but it was more fun to fly forward. I hate u-turns :-)

Initially, I was trying to stay over the ridge, thinking that I might have a better chance finding a climb there. That didn't happen. Stargap is pretty big, and as I was getting lower, not finding any up-moving air, I was getting nervous being too far from the fields. My morning experience was fresh in my mind - safety first. I adjusted my glide slightly, angling toward the valley.

I didn't find any climbs, but I found less sink. Turning in it prolonged my flight time, but didn't extend the distance. When I picked a nice field to land in (no fences, no crops, next to a paved road), I found a bit of lift, and worked it patiently in case it would switch on and take me out of here. One last thermal that I needed to make the goal...

It didn't happen. I landed in that nice field, 3 miles short of the goal. 8 miles straight line, launch to landing. 10 miles if one accounts for the initial drift away from the goal (when I was working on my first climb).  50 minutes flight time. Considering I was all by myself, with no help to make any of the decisions I made, I was pretty happy with the flight.

Here is the visualization of the flight  on doarama: http://doarama.com/view/716278

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I sent my location to Natalia, and she got there as I was finishing up breaking down the glider. A few local people drove by. All of them waved and smiled. Good. Looked like I didn't upset any landowners.

In the evening we were back at the camp for diner and Team Challenge storytelling... um... I mean, debriefing. Good ending of a good day. This day got me what I came here for, everything else would be a bonus.