The flight and task.

The results

The winds that were supposed to be 14 knots out of the southeast didn't show up, which was great because the task committee called a back into the wind task, that turned out not to have any wind to come back into. Actually the winds were all over the place today along the course line, mostly light, but some times 10 mph out of the southeast.

The cu's did show up just as forecasted and they were a nice addition to the flying conditions here in Forbes. Looks like we might have cu's for the rest of the competition. The average lift was forecasted to be up to 600 fpm, and we got some of that, now and then.

The task committee called a 150 km dogleg task. First west northwest 80 km to Condobolin, then north east 45 km to a small tow, then east southeast 25 km to a field north of Trundle.

The cu's were forming to our northeast as we launched. It looked like a great day. The cu's were supposed to come down to Forbes a bit later in the day and they did.

I took off second in our line and found lift without missing a beat to 5, 000' AGL. It was 50 minutes to the last of three start gates, which I was planning to take. I wanted a bunch of guys out in front of me who started twenty minutes before me.

The lift was on and off in the start circle until 2:16, four minutes before the second start time. A cloud formed a little under five km from the edge of the ten km start cylinder. We all got under it and climbed. Some pilots left the lift after the second start gate opened, but a number stayed to the top at 7,000' AGL before heading out six minutes after the start gate.

I continued to work the cloud and the subsequent ones that formed conveniently right at the same spot. Ollie was with me and we hung on only losing 1,000' before heading out to catch up with the pilots in front of us. The cu's were just forming north of the course line (north of the river over the dry, dark fields) so we had timed it perfectly. We were soon catching the stragglers.

There were plenty of cu's forming during the first hour and a half as we worked our way west to Condoblin. We were getting to 7,000' AGL. In the last thermal 10 km before the first turnpoint everyone joined up, although at different altitudes. The leaders were still ahead of us, but we did have twenty minutes on them and could use them to mark thermals ahead.

Going to the second turnpoint was a bit dodgy. Still I found good lift to get back over 7,000' AGL. There were plenty of cu's and you just had to find the sunny patches and get under the cu's with sunlight below. I worked 300 fpm from 2,000' AGL back to 6,500' AGL ten km from the second turnpoint.

Jack Simmons, who didn't fly the first two days because he hurt his shoulder landing on the practice day, started late and landed at the first turnpoint. Alex Trivelato from Brazil was low under me at the second turnpoint and landed there.

I was plenty high coming into the second turnpoint which is always a plus when it comes to turnpoints. The cu's were now a bit off the course line as I headed into the blue, but I could reach the clouds if I needed to. I saw a few pilots on the ground below.

Three pilots were turning but not really going up in front of me and to my left. They were circling like buzzards over a fallen comrade. My instinct was to not go to them as they weren't climbing but then I said, well they are showing zero and maybe I'll need that. After a couple of turns near them I saw a cloud forming a few kilometers to the right and headed for it. That was the ticket.

The three pilots came came in a thousand under me as we rocketed back to cloud base, twenty kilometers from goal. I went on glide to goal as did Hans Kiefinger a thousand feet below me. The flight computer showed I had goal by two thousand feet.

There was sink all the way and ten kilometers out I barely had goal made when I found strong lift. A few turns and it was lift all the way into goal. A good number of pilots landed just short of goal, a few hundred meters. Some even in the same field as the goal line. Jeff Shapiro came in blazing at forty feet above the goal line.

It appears that a small group of pilots made it in early. I came in near the lead of the second group in seventh place (the results page has obvious errors). Pilots dribbled in over the next hour and a half. We sent our driver out to pick up Alex and Jack and Jeff and had Belinda drive the 70 km from town to get us.