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We didn't fly on Friday due to an occluded front right over our heads. The
forecast was for great lift to great heights, but that didn't happen at all. So
much for the forecasts. Once again the weather models failed to deal with mid
level clouds.


Speaking of forecasts, the Thursday forecast called for a blue day, which was
spot on, but also for southwest winds, which was not the case. In fact the winds
were south southwest which proved crucial. The task committee originally looked
at a downwind task 205 miles (330 km) to the northeast, but with the wind socks
at the Big Spring airport showing winds at 190 degrees, I quickly added a
secondary task to the north northeast as the pilot meeting with a new goal point
at a grass air strip on the east side of the town of Silverton. Unfortunately, I
made an error with its altitude, lowering it from 3,250' to 2700'.


Out on the flight line I chose to go with the secondary task given the continued
south southwest winds. The start circle is fifteen miles given the strong winds.


There were no clouds over the airport when we launch and it was clear (or is it
hazy?) that there was an inversion at about 5,000'. I took off after Jim Yocom
and we both climbed slowly to 5,000' as we drifted out of the airport at 14 mph.
We could see other pilots getting up better to the west of the airport and Jim
raced toward them. He got low but found lift just past the launch line. I
followed found the lift just below Jim at 500' AGL and we climbed out to 6,500'
and drifted two and a half miles to the north.


I jumped out in front and headed north to find weak lift and all the rigid wings
plus a flew flex wings spent the next fifteen minutes inside the start circle
just hanging on as Mark Stump landed below. We were not able to cross the
fifteen mile start circle until fifteen minutes after the start time at 1:30
after we found 250 fpm to 7,500'.


To the west about a hundred miles we could see the dry line marked by cumulus
clouds and some over development stretched out for hundreds of miles to the
south west and north northwest. But where we were flying there were no clouds at
all, but we could see that the inversion had broken.


I was with Jim Yocom, Campbell Bowen, and Ollie Gregory, three pilots who are
ahead of me in the standings, and I needed to to get away from them, as quickly
as possible. Jim and I jumped out in front our little gaggle as often as
possible, him to pull, me to get away. Still we hung together as Campbell and
Ollie kept catching up as we slowly left Dave Giles behind.


Despite the lack of clouds we were quickly able to find lift averaging between
350 and 450 fpm and I was not able to escape my pursuers in spite of long glides
out in front designed to make myself disappear.  Finally at eighty miles
out I got another chance. Campbell and Ollie had hung back to work lighter lift
and Jim was searching around near me. At 7,000' (4000' AGL) I ran out in front
off the agricultural plains and over some rougher territory.


Three miles away I could see the rocky south facing faces of an east west creek
and headed for them. I followed along the creek to the west over these hot rocks
and quickly found 600 fpm on average, the best lift so far, to 9,700'. Finally,
I had escaped my pursuers. Now the task was to stay ahead of them.


Back up over farm land to the north, I noticed lots of green circles so I was
searching for the driest areas. I found lift between the circles and things
continued to go well. I could see little wispies twenty miles ahead of me and
was making every effort to get to them. Also the dry line was getting bigger and
closer and looked like it was near the goal to the north.


Twenty five miles out I was down to 1,600' AGL and climbing. After getting up I
race to the east to get under the first wispy that I could get to and was
rewarded with 500 fpm to 10,000'. There were more wispies ahead and I raced
toward them. Then I made my mistake. Heading for a set of wispies, I flew
through 500 fpm. I should have stopped as I didn't find any lift at the wispies.


The wispies were dying out because there was a large cu-nimb about twenty miles
north of goal and the out flow from its top was beginning to shade the land near
goal. This would slow down the pilots just behind us.


Thirteen miles out I saw Campbell just above me. Ah, they've caught me. I headed
for further wispies toward goal and had to work 250 fpm for five minutes to make
it into goal. Jim Yocom got in four minutes ahead of me and Campbell three
minutes. Ollie landed a mile short.


We three broke down without seeing anyone else. As we headed back toward Big
Spring we could see five flex wing pilots very low about a mile short. I later
learned that I had miscalculated the altitude at goal by five hundred feet. This
made the difference for a few pilots who left light lift near the end a little
too low.


Seppi was the first flex wing into goal followed by Nels, Gerolf, then Glen
Volk. Glen was seeing the discrepancy as he came toward goal, but did not figure
out the problem until later. He just got inside the goal cylinder, turned his
glider around and rounded out at five feet to land. Bruno and a few others
landed just short counting on that extra altitude. My apologies for my mistake.





Click for a higher resolution version of this photo of the airport by Joerg
Bajewski.