The 100 km FAI triangle attempt.



Paris was up for it, so I proposed my 100 km FAI triangle task. The first leg is
a twenty five miler south southeast to a waypoint a mile beyond the intersection
of I4 and highway 27, just southeast of the Wallaby Ranch (yup, they still seem
to be operating). The second leg is to the west nineteen miles to the
intersection of Dean Still and Rockridge. Then twenty miles back to Quest.



The cu's had been forming since 11 AM, and they now filled the sky. It looked
great and there were pilots galore ready for cross country flights. I worked
with Kevin to lower my sprogs one more half turn (a total of one turn now on all
the sprogs from the Wills Wing factory setting) so I didn't get out to the
launch in time to be the first pilot off. Paris was second and I was sixth. This
is always a bad strategy for me. I need to go first for my own mental well
being.



I pin off at 1,300' in no lift as I see pilots high overhead climbing under a
dark cloud. It takes a while to find the source and climb up. Still I don't get
to cloud base, but hear on the radio from Paris that he is sixteen miles from
Quest. That seems impossible. Maybe he means sixteen miles from the first
turnpoint.



I round the turnpoint at Quest, not very high and a mile and a half out hit 600
fpm. I climb up almost to cloud base at 5,000', head back and nick the 400 meter
start circle again over Quest and head out toward the south way behind Paris.




The clouds are thick and the lift good following down the west side of highway
27. I get low at one point but quickly find good lift and make it to the first
turnpoint. I can hear Paris saying that the ground is shaded between turnpoint
one and two and it sure looks that way to me.



But, there is a cloud street paralleling interstate 4 heading west southwest,
not too far off the course line. On the south side of the street, the sky is
blue and full of cu's. To the north side, the sky is gray with mid level scud
and few cu's below. I quickly decide to follow the cloud street and worry about
the gray and shaded area later.



The lift is good under the cloud street and I quickly find myself seven miles
south of the Dean Still and  Rockridge turnpoint. No worries I say, just a
bigger triangle today. I decide to turn around when I get to highway 98. The
cloud street continues off to the west with this huge dichotomy between its
north and side sides.



I now have a choice. I could head back through the shaded area toward Quest
twenty eight miles away, or I could retrace my steps back east under the cloud
street, then north northwest up highway 27 where an hour previously I had good
lift. I had heard from Paris and I think I heard that he was managing to
continue flying through the shaded area, so I took the direct route.



There was little to no lift for me in the shaded area. I did find a few spots
and got up there, but mostly it was gentle smooth gliding air. I landed seven
miles short. Paris made it back.



It would have been much smarter to start the task at 1 PM instead of 2:25 PM. We
were just getting lazy around here with all the good weather. I haven't seen
Paris to ask how he made it through the gloomy looking landscape. Perhaps there
was a break or two in the shade.



George Stebbins was out there in my neighborhood on the first leg, but he
decided that cutting the task short after the first turnpoint was a pretty good
idea. He made it back.



The weather and winds continue to look very favorable for the next week.