The results are here later: http://www.soaringspot.com/2008dba/.

I spent all morning at the physical therapist getting my knee, hamstrings and ankle worked on, taped up, electroed, and massaged back to health. It's been great getting such good attention and my knee loves it. The hamstrings are improving also, but they have a ways to go to get back to full strength. I didn't get out to the airport until almost 12:30 to get the results up (I'm doing the scoring). Tomorrow, I go to Toowoomba to get an MRI on my knee to see how bad the damage is, so I won't be flying tomorrow.

The launch window opened at 1 PM, and I wasn't even sure that I was going to fly. I've got a borrowed Airborne Fun 190 (thanks Raef), and a set of really big pneumatic wheels (also thanks Raef). Finally, I decided that I might as well give it a try. Of course, I was extremely nervous not wanting to hurt myself more.

I made sure that I got a release that allowed me to tow off the shoulders and the chest to reduce bar pressure on tow (thanks Leroy). The wind was maybe 10 to 15 mph, so that seemed to me to be perfect for landing the Fun on the wheels still in the harness, zipped up, not so strong that it would blow me backwards, but strong enough that I would have little ground speed when I landed. Who knows what kind of field I would encounter downwind. Thanks to Leroy for coaching me on how to do this.

I get everything ready with help from Belinda and others. My leg is in my brace. I can't get that leg into the harness (due to the hamstring injury) until I get onto the cart and Belinda helps me put it in. I zip up the harness and the two legs are now one. Ooh, I hope this goes well and that I land okay.

The tow goes great, but I pin off too early and miss the thermal. I land a ways back of launch and have to carry the glider back to launch. Belinda comes out in the car and takes back the harness. Landing on wheels goes well.

I launch again, but Smokey has a problem with the tug (runs out of gas?) and waves me off. I land next to launch. Two wheel landings, so far so good.

I get towed up by Smokey again and let off at 1,000' but stay in the lift for a few minutes. I lose it but just over the launch area at 700' I find it again and ever so slowly climb out and drift down wind.

The winds are 15 mph out of the east south east and right toward the first turnpoint at the Chinchilla airfield and right down the highway. About ten kilometers out the local wedge tail starts squawking and harassing me, but not hitting the glider. This continues for the next ten kilometers. I am just trying to stay up and let the wind do the work. I don't want to get hit by the eagle, but have no where to go.

There are cu's around and I'm over the "river" which apparently is a well known area for good thermals. I find one to over 6,500' (5,500' AGL) so I'm happy. I towed up at 3:30 PM so I've got a late start, but the air feels great and the glider is light handling, for such a big glider.

I just keep floating along pretending that I'm in a paraglider. I do have to go on glide now and then, but when I find lift I just hold onto it no matter how light.

As I approach Chinchilla I find out from Belinda that the airport is the turnpoint. When I crashed I broke my display on my Flytec 6030 so I can't see where the turnpoint is on the vario/gps. I find a good cloud and climb to over 7,000' in the best thermal of my day.

I head right down the runway high and make sure that I get over the wind sock at the air field to get the turnpoint, or what I think might be the turnpoint. I then go on glide to the west down the highway, but it is now almost sundown and there is no more lift to find. All the fields were cultivated before Chinchilla, but none of the fields past Chinchilla are. I'm looking down to see how long the grass is in the fields.

I get lower and lower and finally it looks like the last field that I can get to has short grass (and bushes and trees). I come in downwind over the field and can see that there is plenty of wind. As I make the turn, the glider stops going over the ground and I come pretty much straight down for an uneventful landing on the wheels. I'm able to crawl out of the harness.

I find out that my backup GPS which is in my harness also has a broken display from the previous crash, so I can't tell Belinda where I am. I've had to communicate my location to her all during the flight using landmarks, the old fashion way, so she is not far away. I give her a few landmarks and she finds me quickly.

I was able to come in ninth on this day.