The flight and task.

The results

The old farts got their wish and we had a rest day, merely a 143 km down wind paraglider task. We were able to get home before sunset and before the thunderstorms.

The RASP model (the NSW version of Dr. Jack's great work) was right on again. It is almost as though it knows the future. It called for a reasonable chance of over development near Forbes. Sure enough we got that. The winds at all levels, lift, cu's and heights were all spot on. Also the NSW RASP gives hourly predictions so you can tell the meet organizers where to set up the launch lanes.

The task committee, concerned about the chance of over development called, a short down wind task. The cu's were supposed to show up late, after 1 PM after the inversion broke. There were haze domes over the field as we started to launch at 1 PM. The first pilots off circled in one thermal in the almost blue sky.

The sky quickly filled with cu's as the rest of us who waited a bit to launch circled up in the start cylinder. The launch was much less intense as we gave everyone additional time by forcing the task committee to do its job on time.

I was lucky to find myself under a dark cloud just before the start time well up wind of the course line at the edge of the start cylinder climbing up. Joerg was with me and we felt we (and a few other pilots) were in a good position with the cloud streets lining up toward goal. Unlike the day before I did get up wind and looked forward to using the downwind component to go fast.

At the start we all raced off right down the cloud street and we got lift and got again to 6,500' which was cloud base in the early afternoon. There was plenty of lift and plenty of lift indicators.

It was just connect the dots. We didn't get low, we just ran from cloud to cloud. Steve Moyes was just below me almost the whole time, so that was reassuring. I lost Joerg and then he got low. I hooked up with Ollie near Grenfell (goal was to the south east to Boorowa) and we flew a few cu's together until he caught the lift a bit earlier than I and got away.

Thirty six kilometers out from goal I had goal on the flight computer from 9,300'. But I was a bit nervous having missed goal the day before so wanted to make sure that I actually had it. Especially after encountering some sink on the way in. I stopped for the weakest lift so far (350 fpm) at the last cloud before goal.

The sink that I had encountered was a false indicator. The lack of clouds ahead was due to the fact that a sea breeze was coming in. There was strong lift for the last twenty kilometers into goal. I could not get down and came in three thousand over the LZ. The wind turned from west northwest along the course to south at goal.

Our driver, a former sailplane pilot, told us on the radio that he had run into four pilots at what he thought was goal, and it turned out to be four pilots who landed 1.2 km short of goal. They raced themselves into the ground. Attila, Balasz, Michi, and Mario. His report caused me to slow me down before I got to the blue area and found all the lift.

The goal was full of pilots. Many had raced much faster than I.

With certain pilots going down before goal, and Jonny making goal, a shake up in the standings is in order.

We've got two more days, of perhaps great flying. We are all rested now, so we will be ready to go.