Big Spring US Nationals
We called a task to the west to stay away from what looked like possible OD near Big Spring. On the previous day we should have called our task in that direction and we might have avoided the worst of the OD.
The task was 135 km, first almost due west to Andrew, then north to the airfield south of Seminole. There were lots of upper level clouds around Big Spring associated with the nearby front and OD to the south east. These clouds filtered the sunlight, suppressed the lift, and kept the cu's from forming near the airport. Finally, as we waited around the cu's started happening, and we started launching at 1 PM.
There was a nice cu 2 km to the west of the airport and I had Jonny tow me over to where two pilots were already circling in it. Jeff O'Brien, who launched first came in under us and as more pilots came over we all huddled together in the weak lift that got us to 4,000' AGL.
We continued to huddle and wait for conditions to improve. I spotted a very wispy cu to the west and went there and found the next thermal that we could all huddle in hoping to stay up long enough that things got better. As we worked this thermal the first start time passed at 2:15 PM. We were still 5 km from the edge of the 10 km start cylinder. The wind was out of the south at 5 mph and we wanted to go west.
The lift improved when we went a little west again from an average of 100 fpm to 200 fpm. The day was beginning to look promising. There were cu's ahead of us out on the course line.
We jumped again over to the west in anticipation of taking the second start time. I looked down and saw Glen Volk, who had been with us, way low over the lake to our west and scooting back toward us. He didn't find anything and went all the way back to almost the airport. He was down to 600' AGL three kilometers west of the airport with his harness unzipped when he finally found something to get back up in.
At 2:28:33 and 1.7 km from the edge of the start cylinder I headed out first with Zac just behind me and the Jeff's following right behind him. I headed west northwest along the course line (we were just south of it which was good given the light southerly winds), but quickly realized that I would have to go toward the southwest to get around the shading ahead that was due to the upper level clouds.
Zac got ahead and found a little lift, but then we quickly moved on to a thermal that at 300 fpm got us back to 4,300' AGL. I could see Derreck Turner further to the south having raced away from the rest of us working some lift under a cloud.
Twelve kilometers out from the start circle we finally found solid lift and that got us to 5,000' AGL (7,500' MSL) and around the shading, so that we could now head northwest back toward the course line. The cu's were getting thicker and much more numerous, so that day was looking better (but we hoped not too good).
Next came a fifteen mile glide under cu's that kept us up but not so much that we turned very often. Zippy and Shapiro got ahead of me and O'Brien got high at the end of the clouds. I had to stop there and climb up as another shaded area loomed ahead. It looked like I needed a seventeen kilometer glide to the next set of good looking clouds. Fortunately there was a nice patch of sunlit ground on the other side of the shading, before the cu's.
I started out at 5,100' AGL, lower than O'Brien, but what looked to be enough altitude to make it. Twelve kilometers out I found good lift, radioed back and Zippy came in under me, happy for the help. I had lost contact with Shapiro and O'Brien. Larry Bunner then joined Zippy and I and we climbed out to 5,300' AGL.
The three of us then flew the next three thermals more or less together. As we approached the first turnpoint I could see O'Brien way down below us, maybe a thousand feet off the deck. I had radioed our position so he knew where we were getting lift. But he was far below us.
We raced past the turnpoint and headed for a thick large cloud to the west southwest. We all got under it, but I was a little misplaced, climbing in a thermal at 200 fpm, while Larry and Zippy and found 400 fpm 150 meters to my west. This ended up destroying our collaboration as they climbed to 9,300' while I could only get to 7,300'. O'Brien had come in way underneath us again and was struggling. Shapiro was just below me and working the same poor lift that I had found.
The clouds were sparse ahead as we approached Andrews. All of us found good lift under some of the clouds, but I ran under a bunch of cu's without finding anything useful. Down to 1,400' AGL I had to go on desperate search mode feeling out anything that I could. It took ten minutes to finally find a thermal that turned out to be the best one that I found all day, getting me to 9,000' MSL.
Racing ahead I took the turnpoint and came in under O'Brien (who had managed to get high again) and Shapiro. From that point on it was a cake walk into goal, with a down wind component. We had to fly over large areas covered with oil wells and their attendant power lines, but unlike the last time I was here, I was plenty high and not in danger of landing.
Zac came in first with Larry behind him, then Derreck. Glen Volk, who had to save himself near the airport and Big Spring, took a thermal to cloud base at 8,000'. He then was able on his own to make the 3 PM start gate.
Glen raced to catch up with folks and was amazed when he caught Jeff O'Brien. His speedy flight won him the day and put him in first place over all. See the results listed above.
http://OzReport.com/1250143363
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