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
...
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.
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