Attila, Lukas, and Glen (with input from Steve Blenkisop) formed
the task committee today. After changing their task based on my weather forecast
they called a dogleg to Stockinbingal with the turnpoint a thirteen kilometer
cylinder centered at Crow:

Unfortunately my forecast included this:

The cyclone in Western Australia sent out a long tail that covered the sky today
(with a few minor breaks). It was gray, gray, gray whenever you looked up. But
we've flown in Australia in these conditions before and had great soaring.

The wind was out of the north northwest at 13 mph on launch and we were all
looking up at the sky which had turned from blue overhead to gray every where
within an hour. Some were wondering if it was worth towing up.

I was the second one off in my line and it turned out the lift was a little less
than 200 fpm, sometimes more. Jonny launched early got up and went on course
early, which you can do under the Oz GAP 2005 scoring system. Steve Blenkisop,
and others also went early.

I stayed around with many others and climbed to 6,700' a couple of times before
the start window opened at 2 PM. It was nothing but shade down the course line.

A bunch of us left together and spread out to find the lift. It turned out to be
quite robust. After a couple of thermals I was happy to lead out and stumbled
into 550 fpm. We kept getting higher (and colder) with each thermal getting to
8,100' before Grenfell. We were running into a quartering head wind at eleven
mph.

Just before the hills north of Grenfell the highest eight guys took off over the
rest of us. I decided it was pointless to go under them in the next thermal as
that would just keep me behind and below them. Of course, using them to spot the
next thermal is always useful, but I wanted to go out ahead.

I just kept on flying past the lead gaggle trying to get out in the lead (what,
are you nuts on a overcast day?) and find the next thermal before they caught
on. Unfortunately, things got quite weak not just for me apparently right at
this point in the flight.

I found 200 fpm on the hills sides east of Grenfell and that got me high enough
to go searching again on my own. It looked quite bleak ahead. No obvious sources
of lift.

I went to a small hillside with a line of trees and worked 60 fpm from 1,500'
AGL. Moving around I found better, 170 fpm and a drift from the west. After I
got up a bit Filippo and Attila joined me and we climbed to 5,200'. I left when
it got too weak for me to feel good about staying in the gaggle.

After a thirteen kilometer glide it looked like I was going to be landing. I saw
a pilot on the ground by a main road. I noticed that there was a small break on
the clouds and there were shadows from the trees on the ground. When I came over
the field that the pilot landed in I felt a little bit of lift.

It was only 100 fpm but that got me high enough to get to the 200 fpm thermal a
little closer to the turnpoint. I twirling into the turnpoint cylinder and then
found 300 fpm as Conrad flew by and out into the shade as the sun had quickly
gone away. Climbing to 5,500' I went on glide when the thermal gave out.

It was a thirteen kilometer glide to the ground.

It doesn't look like anyone got close to the goal.

http://www.forbesflatlands.com/results.html

Task 5:

Cumulative: