The flight and the task.



The Flytec Race of Champions is on and it is on for the money. Each day the
first three pilots to goal get the money and the pilots at the back of the field
get cut.



More about it and real time updates are found here:
http://flytec.com/race.
You'll find pictures, pilot profiles, audio updates from the air, results, and
pictures of Gugga's broken corner bracket on his Moyes Litespeed that caused
lots of excitement at launch today (he was unhurt).



There are twenty three pilots in the Flytec Race of Champions all flying for fun
and a share of $10,000. We've brought in Phil Bloom from LA, Mikey Barber from
Wallaby Ranch, and Bo Hagewood, to go with a good number of the pilots who
competed in the Flytec Championships. The bottom seven pilots get cut after the
first day.



The day showed 11-15 mph east winds and the cu's were thin to non existent, so
we decided to head to the northwest a bit of a cross wind task to Williston. The
forecast was for 500-600 fpm lift, so even without clouds we should be able to
do such a task. It would have been a bit too difficult to head upwind toward the
lakes.



It was windy at launch but it didn't seem so bad and the launches went well for
the most part. Gugga panicked every one when he came off the cart and his base
bar bracket broke off (see URL above for the pictures), and only the safety
string on his vario was holding the one side of the base tube to the down tube.
He went up 60-70 feet when the weak link broke as he locked out. The glider
turned around and he crashed down wind into the tree near launch 30 feet up. He
then crashed through the tree to the ground and came up waving his arms as the
EMT's rushed to him. The glider took the impact.



The rest of us were getting up in blue skies with strong lift and being blown
quickly west down wind. We would work our way back east and then drift while
thermaling up. Now the smart guys were working their way to the north west on
the course line and the edge of the start cylinder to get ready to go for the
2:15 PM start time.



I was just trying to stay up and not get blown down wind too far so even though
I knew where to go, I wasn't focused on it. It wasn't clear that there would be
lift out there (no clouds) and whether one would be on one's own or not. Better
to hang with Primoz half way out to the edge of the circle and not get blown
away.



I figured that my mind wasn't working at all (it didn't during the last meet),
so I might as well use the other pilots' minds (follow their actions). Primoz
was right there and I could thermal with him and glide with him so I might as
well let him do the thinking (as long as I could).



I may have lost him (hard to remember now), but at three minutes before the
start window opened I finally saw the four or five smart guys circling due north
of me. I was high at 5,000 but knew I had to hustle out to the edge of the start
cylinder to get a reasonable start time. I was behind the eight ball, but better
to be there than where all the rest of the pilots were (which was south and west
of me downwind).



The start window opened and the lead gaggle didn't immediately race off. They
hadn't been climbing so well so they were tentative. They continued working lift
after getting back inside the start cylinder. We found lift upwind of them,
quite a bit below them, and while it was weak at 280 fpm, they weren't going any
where so it was worth it to stay there and climb up.



Finally the blessed six (including Jonny and Kraig), headed straight north
against that strong east wind. After a few turns a couple of us followed along.
We were jumping across lift streets if there were any lift streets. Seven
kilometers out the lead guys began to search for the core and with just enough
time to let us catch them as they started up in a thermal that averaged 440 fpm
just east of Center Hill. Much better.



With those guys just above us now we all headed north for another seven
kilometer glide and a 500 fpm thermal southwest of the Okahumpka rest stop on
the Florida Turnpike that again got us all near each other but with Hans and I a
little bit lower than the hot guys on top. At 5,500' we all raced off.



Hans was moving fast just to my right and getting lower. Kraig and Jonny as well
the other four were higher and approaching the turnpike from the south just east
of the highway 301 overpass that goes into Wildwood. We were approaching some
small lakes on their down wind side. We were not finding any lift. Suddenly the
pilot in the lead turned upwind and headed to the upwind side of the lakes. The
other guys on top followed.



Hans was falling fast and heading northwest. I was above him but lower than the
leaders and didn't see the advantage of going upwind from my position. I turned
and looked at Hans. He had just hit 700 fpm. I raced to him while the rest of
the gaggle couldn't see him as they headed upwind and away from us.



Hans' thermal averaged over 500 fpm to 5,500'. We watched the guys who had
dominated us climb slowly way upwind of us. It was time to run and race.



Hans and I together raced off to the intersection of the Turnpike and I75. I
knew that this was right on the course line. There were three pilots circling
under the cloud above us when we came into the thermal and Primoz was right
there with us. It was 550 fpm to 5,700' while the Brazilian pilots above us
disappeared to the north. We were now on our own.



We headed northwest on the west side of I75. The wind was 11 mph out of the west
northwest.



It took 21 km, and turning in a bit of nothing, so find the next good thermal
that averaged 530 fpm from 2,500' to 6,700', a 1000' higher than we had been
before. We are all helping each other just by flying in the same area. We didn't
see anyone else. We were right on the northwest course line heading for
Williston.



The next thermal was 600 fpm back to over 6,000' and we were all there after
spreading out to find it under a wee wisp of a cloud. Now there was a decision
to make. There was a large blue hole before the goal and two sets of clouds out
ahead. The ones on the left looked more firmly packed and that's where Hans, who
was now on top, was heading. The ones on the right were thinner, but there were
a few more of them further north also. Perhaps a few more chances for lift.
Primoz was headed in that direction. I was in the middle.



After a few kilometers I decided to stick with Primoz as I felt the clouds there
had the best chance (turns out either would have worked). We came in under the
clouds and I found 425 fpm to 6,300'. Primoz was over me and climbing also.



This was the end of the clouds except a few wisps just ahead. I was right on the
course line. We were 26 kilometers from the goal and it was awfully blue out
there. I headed for the wisps.



Now one of the wisps had turned into a small cloud just to my right but I
decided to continue to the other very thin wisps which were just ahead and not
divert even a little. Perhaps a mistake (one I have made many times).



The wisps disappeared as I got near them 17 kilometers out, but I went right to
where they were. There was a brown east/west field under me as I got there. The
lift was still there (as the wisps had just disappeared). It was 385 fpm to
5,700'. My Flytec 5030 said I had the goal by 2,000' if I found the lift/sink to
be neutral on the 17 kilometer final glide.



It averaged 400 fpm down all the way to goal. I made the edge of the 400 meter
cylinder with 250'. Hans (Aeros Combat) was the first pilot into goal. I was
second (Wills Wing T2 - 144) and Primoz (Aeros Combat) was third.



Dustin and Paris were next. Kraig Coomber landed 80 meters short of goal and had
radioed back to Jonny and Phil to slow down as he had hit too much sink. Just a
little bit of lift and he would have made it in.



The results will be tallied to determine who is cut. We were in the money. This
sure helps my fund raising efforts here at the Oz Report.



Hans did the course in two hours. It was 109 kilometers.







Your editor with a fist full of cash at the goal.  Photo thanks to Michael
Cosner.