The results are found here: http://soaringspot.com/BSI2008 (flex wing) and http://soaringspot.com/BSIR2008 (rigid).

David Glover, meet director, blogging: http://2007worlds.blogspot.com/

Another glorious day in hang gliding heaven. First of all the town of Big Spring is incredible, way, way beyond the pale. They do everything for us and really do want us to come back and fly here. We love flying here, of course, but it is great to have all the help that makes it so easy to have a good time here. Tonight they put on their welcome dinner with a band and great brisket.

All week free ice cream. Hangar, air conditioned headquarters and harness setup room, full use of the airport facilities, hangar for the tugs, free high speed wireless, taxi way for launching making for quick rolling, press, lots and lots of press including multiple TV stations and newspaper, front page, prize money for the spot landing contest, bottled water on the launch line, cart retrieval, covered areas, special baskets of goodies, and more.

Thanks to Big Spring and all the folks here that do so much for us. We love coming here.

The day started early with cu's showing up at 11 AM during the pilot meeting. The RUC forecast (which proved to be quite wrong) said 6-7 knot winds out of the south, cloud base (with cu's) at 7,500', 90 degrees on the ground, 55 at cloud base, a chance of over development (like on Friday), moderate lift (400-500 fpm).

We needed to get back for the opening dinner so the task committee called a straight line task 77 miles to Brownfield. We didn't like the winds (even though they were supposed to be light) and the chance of over development near Big Spring.

This turned out to be a good call as the winds were quite a bit stronger with the winds up high at 20 mph, and down low at 14 mph out of the southeast. There was no overdevelopment and it never even got close to that, but we got lucky on the call.

There were cu's every where as we got going at 12:30 at the launch with the rigids going first. I was the first flexie with Dustin right behind me. I had a good tow but when I got off I didn't find any lift under the rigid wing that was turning wide circles to my right. I found some lift further downwind, but it went away and then I after worked really rowdy lift at 500 AGL, I went over to land and start again. Jeff Shapiro came in right after me and we had to start again 12 minutes before the second start time.

We two got very lucky and found 1000 fpm from 1,500' AGL right over the launch area and drifted down wind toward the edge of the start circle as we screamed up to 8,000'. This meant that we were only three miles or three minutes behind the folks that were at the edge of the start circle (5 miles) at the second start time. All but one pilot took the second start time.

Jeff and I headed off to cross the start circle and head for some clouds to our north. When we got there he worked some weaker lift (less than 1000 fpm), but I kept going looking for stronger stuff. Jeff stayed under the cloud street and I headed to the left edge over the hot sunny fields and the forming clouds trying to stay away from the shaded ground.

He found good lift and kept pushing forward strong trying to catch up. I got down to 1,800' before I found the good lift and starting working a broken line of cu's heading toward La Mesa.

Shapiro caught Glen Volk who had been just 100 feet above us when we had to go land and he got up and out of there. They went on a glide into the blue with Jeff following Glen against his better judgment (he wanted to to the clouds to the right as he had done when flying with me). Glen got away and Jeff had to work from a low spot.

Meanwhile I was racing two miles behind Jeff O'Brien along highway 87 toward La Mesa. Dustin was way to our east under a nice cloud street. He had been able to work his way over there in the start circle, while Shapiro and I were sitting on the ground in line.

I had great lift and was hitting the cu's regularly trying to chase down Kraig Coomber who was just behind Jeff. As we approached the airport at La Mesa, Jeff O'Brien stated that he was in 1,100 fpm. But so was I and so was Kraig. I was now a mile behind Jeff and half a mile behind Kraig and we were all rocketing up at the fastest rate I had experienced in five years (toping over 1,400 fpm) and we were all in the same thermal. I just held on and hoped that it would all work out.

At cloud base at over 9,000' we all headed out. I lost track of Jeff, but was catching up with Kraig in his big glider (S5) flying just to his right. Jeff was further to our right getting a better line.

It was a nine mile glide and I almost caught up with Kraig. That was rewarding. As we came into the thermal under a cu I could see Jeff off to our right 1,000' over our heads. The lift here wasn't as strong as the last one, only 400 fpm.

That wasn't good enough for me, as my reference point had been heated up and after it got weak and with Kraig a few hundred feet below I headed to the northwest to get toward some better looking clouds. This maneuver put me down to 600' AGL. Kraig stayed along the same line that we were just on.

I wasted twenty minutes not getting up, but not going down. I was able to stay up long enough for good cu's to start forming over me and that's all it took to get to goal, a very short task as it turned out.

Dustin won the day staying to the east. Zac came in second. Seven of the eight rigids made it in. Twenty of the twenty six flex wings made it to goal.

We wasted about 100 miles that we could have flown in addition to this short task. But we did have to get back to the dinner, and you might as well start off the meet getting almost everyone to goal. Tomorrow 200 miles?