The flight/task. You can view the flight in Google Earth also from this URL.


The results:
http://www.moyes.com.au/Forbes2007/Results.aspx.


Tracklogs:
http://www.triptera.com.au/canungra/forbes2007. You can also find the
results here and the results of the FTV scoring also. You can download tracklogs
and animate them in SeeYou or CompeGPS. More on this later.


There is a bit of a conflict in the task committee as the meet director wants to
come back and it looks like the winds might be a little strong for that.
Fortunately the winds will quiet down to 12 mph out of the northwest and it will
not be a problem (for most pilots) to come home.


As has been the case for the past three days we have plenty of time to launch
and the guys at the end of the staging line go first, while the higher scoring
guys wait until less than an hour before the start time to get ready to go. This
staging by cumulative scoring is a great system, but it does require a bit of
marshaling.


The day is blue once again but there are a few scattered cu's that show the best
lift. I'm pinned off by a thermal at 800' AGL pulling my release as my weaklink
breaks thereby losing the bridle. It's a steady climb to over 8,000' AGL.


We stay close to the top of the lift and again have a good start like the
previous day with many pilots at the top of the lift at the edge of the start
circle as the start gate opens. I'm out in front as I was just outside the start
circle and went in to nick it, then turn around and fly. I didn't fly too fast
as I wanted to gather other pilots around so I could see what they were up to.
It's hard to be strategic in this position.


The lift is strong once again and we race ahead to Grenfell the turnpoint for
out out and return. I will average 40 mph heading south with a west, northwest
wind at 10 mph. I don't get lower than 4,300' AGL, and climb repeatedly to over
8,000' AGL. The pilots are spread out everywhere with many getting really high
early and staying there.


We are at the turnpoint in less than an hour and still high. In fact coming back
I'll stay high until about half way when I don't find a thermal after getting up
over a dust devil to over 8,400' AGL, and then find bad sink on a 13 km glide
down to 2,000' AGL. I am forced to take 300 fpm when I've been flying in 600+
fpm to stay up.


A dozen pilots join me as I climb to 5,000' AGL and we head off. Another climb
from 3,000' AGL and then we finally find the strong lift again. From twenty
kilometers out is is a hard race to goal with so much lift that it is hard to
pull in the bar or keep the glider going straight.


I come in thirtieth, with sixty pilots making goal. Gerolf landed 7 km short,
but I didn't gain enough points on him to win the glider. Andreas Ohlsson won
the day on his Wills Wing T2 far ahead of every one other than Michael
Fieschenbichler on a Moyes Litspeed 4 RS (more on the RS soon).


Jonny beat Robert Reisinger by twenty seconds and five points to win the meet by
sixteen points. I'll write up more detailed reports on what I consider to be the
best competition in Australia ever over the next few days. This meet must have
set the record for the highest percentage at goal and for the longest average
task (well over 100 miles).