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/

Jeff O'Brien blogging here: http://hang6.blogspot.com

Big Spring continues to live up to its reputation as the World's premier hang gliding competition site. The cu's and conditions today were unbelievable any where else, but just part of the regular deal here at Big Spring. So many pilots had big smiles on their faces today as they came back to the airport.

The forecast was for east winds (starting off east northeast), up to 14 knots at the height of the -3. East winds are rare her and they are due to Edouard, the tropic storm on the Texas coast near the border with Louisiana. The day started with light south west winds (8 knots to 3,000') but the forecasts showed that the winds would switch by 1 PM.

The forecast also called for cu's at 11 to 12 thousand feet, strong lift (averaging 700 fpm), and 100 degrees on the ground again. This is really hot for this area which is usually about five degrees cooler at this time. The east winds caused a bit of concern for the task committee, but if we really had cu's and strong lift, we felt that it was possible to come back to the airport.

We called a task over the cultivated area going first 29 miles to the northwest then 23 miles almost straight east (actually east northeast) right into the head wind, with a final leg, late in the day, 22 miles south (cross wind) to the airport. We knew that the second leg would be the toughest, but with good conditions we felt that it was doable, and well worth it to come back to Big Spring (something that we were never able to do last year at the 2007 Worlds).

The cu's were already popping at the task committee meeting at 11 AM. Kraig was concerned that it might OD, especially with the tropical storm coming (maybe earlier than was forecast). So we first called a smaller triangle, but when it still looked good at 1:15, we chose the longer task.

With one tug down (Tim crashed it when practicing landings after he finished towing for the day yesterday, he is recovering), we called for an hour and fifteen minutes of launch time before the first start time and asked pilots to cooperate and get going right away. Of course, with less resources, it was in their interest to get going right away. They cooperated.

The winds at the airport on the ground were switching between north and east and we kept switching between the north taxi way and the east taxi way. This worked great given where we set up.

On this day five pilots got in line before me so you know that they were eager and willing to spend one hour and fifteen minutes at least before they could go on the task. This is rare.

There was plenty of lift right away with lots and lots of cu's around. Dustin had lots of problems with towing and weaklinks (even breaking the tug's weaklink) and taking out a tip wand on one of his many landings. He did mention at our "team meeting" that he had previously started last here at Big Spring and lapped the field. And that he might try that again. Now that he was way behind it looked like he would have to take the last start time.

We climbed right away to over 10,000' and the cu's were really working. We had agreed to take the second start time so we hung out and enjoyed ourselves.

Jeff O'Brien went out near the edge of the start circle with Glen Volk ten minutes before the second start time and told Shapiro and I that he found 700 fpm 2 km inside the start cylinder. Shaprio and I were hanging under a dark cloud 3 km's out from the airport (the start cylinder is 12 km). So when we got out to the start cylinder a few minutes later O'Brien and Glen were higher and ready to get in front first. Chris Zimmerman had already taken the first start time and was out on the course with only Michael Williams.

It was a cross wind slog up to the northwest to Flower Grove. The wind was 10 to 15 mph out of the east northeast. There were plenty of cu's, as we jumped across the streets. Glen and O'Brien were always high and just in front of us. Shapiro and I were working together with lots of other pilots, who also took the second start time. I wasn't getting high, as I kept leaving the poor lift, anything less than 400 fpm.

I headed for a really good looking cu just south east of the turnpoint and was rewarded with lift over 500 fpm. I saw Glen and O'Brien just over me, enjoying this smooth strong lift to 11,000'. This was plenty enough lift and height to get me around the turnpoint and headed into the wind. There were cu's just to the north of the course line (it was blue to the south of these), so I headed for the cu's.

Now that we were flying on the lift line, instead of across them, the lift was much better. There were half a dozen pilots around, or just ahead. We were compressed by the 13 mph head wind. I found strong lift and soon caught back up with Shapiro and six other pilots.

I found better lift than the pilots circling about half way down the leg, and got all of them to join me as we got back to 11,000'. I headed out first again and just started jumping from cu to cu finding good strong lift. Derrick and I hooked up with Jim Lamb in his Silent sailplane (he decided to fly that instead of his AIR ATOS VQ) near Ackerly. The lift was so promising and just what we needed to be able to press ahead.

Seven miles from the second turnpoint I saw Glen Volk high and behind me circling up with Dustin who had caught up with him. Glen had been in the lead until this point (ignoring Chris and Michael, who started earlier). He and Dustin were way high, but I was climbing out in front of them under the same cu. As I headed toward the last cu before the turnpoint Glen came by me, but he was only a few hundred feet higher. That seemed a bit strange.

After not finding good lift in the next thermal (Glen did), I headed out toward the turnpoint which had a six mile section of blue sky with no cu's in front of it. Derrick may have been just in front of me at my altitude.

There was plenty of sink on the way to the turnpoint, but I could see a smallish cu forming over the turnpoint. Nothing like what we had been thermaling under on this leg, but promising none the less. By the time I got to the turnpoint I was down to 2,000' AGL. I saw Derrick in front of me past the turnpoint turning so I continued but didn't find anything and I was not interested in landing in this rough area, away from the farm lands.

I searched around to the southwest, downwind after not finding the thermal that Derrick was in and found a rough one at 1,000' AGL.  In spite of its rough nature, I gritted my teeth and held on. I needed to get as high as I could so that I could have a chance to find a friendlier thermal out back on the flats and over farm land. I climbed to 6,300' and then went searching seeing dust devils to the south west.

The goal was to the south, but the winds were east northeast pushing us away from the course line. The winds were between 13 mph and 16 mph. I jumped over to a nice thermal spotted by Glen Volk who was near me again and that got me to 7,000'. We then jumped over to another thermal, that really turned on averaging 600 fpm to 10,300'.

Zac came in and joined Glen and I at my altitude (which makes for a wake, which I dislike). Glen was just above us (maybe 20 feet) and we were screaming up. I was watching the 6030 and seeing that we had goal made, no problem, but the lift was so strong there was no need to risk it as we were fifteen miles out.

Finally, we headed out and then found really strong lift. Zac and I found it first getting 760 fpm for a minute or so as we flew straight. We were so high we didn't need to turn and all we needed to do is pull in as much as we were comfortable with given the turbulence that we encountered. Glen was to our left more under the clouds, and while he didn't get the lift that we got at first he found more lift later, as we were doing everything to get down and go as fast as possible.

We hauled it into goal and still I was too high at 1,000' AGL. Zac got down faster and better as did Glen. Glen was unhappy that he was in the lead and then lost it on his glide to the second turnpoint, where I caught him.

Chris Zimmerman won the day flying pretty much by himself and getting to goal as fast as Dustin. Dustin was second starting at the last start time, but flying fast. Chris took two thirds of the arrival points (OzGAP 2005). So Dustin (and by extension of rest of us) had many fewer points.

Pilots were very excited to get back to Big Spring. We got to leave our hang gliders set up in the hangar.

We noticed before we left that there were cirrus clouds to the southeast. They were coming from Edouard. We were concerned that they might shut us down, but they didn't. Here's what it looked like at 2:40 PM, five minutes before our first start time. You can see the cu's near us (at the bottom of the panhandle in the middle - east to west) and the arm of cirrus that we could see.