tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21863044584657696562024-03-13T08:51:12.770-07:00Selena's Soaring BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-63395964506169966452014-06-28T19:43:00.003-07:002014-06-28T19:43:45.315-07:00FLYING! :D<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m excited to say that we have had two official contest days!<br />
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You can follow my spot using this website:</div>
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http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=03j95ISnpl05XTbeJdy7WnN8sUIQYGLYX</div>
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<br /></div>
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To check out the scores and excitement at the end of the
day, go to:</div>
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http://2014nationals.blogspot.ca<br />
<br />
I'm pretty tired atm, so stories and photos to follow tomorrow.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-48332020822406794872014-06-24T15:29:00.001-07:002014-06-24T15:30:41.981-07:00Practice Days<div class="MsoNormal">
Welcome to another gliding contest, with rain, rain, and
more rain! </div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
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The
two practise days have both been rained out, with some exciting storms moving
over the field and dumping heaps of precipitation over the flying area.
Hopefully the system passes over us quickly, and leaves behind some good
weather so we can get flying Wednesday or Thursday.</div>
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This
has given me plenty of time to sort out my equipment that I’ll need both on the
ground and in the air. The pilot’s meeting is happening tonight, followed by
pizza and beer for all.</div>
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Photos
and stories to follow once the contest really gets going.</div>
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In
the meantime, follow the scores at the World Championships in Finland!</div>
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http://soaringspot.net/wgc2014/</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Australian Team Blog:</div>
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https://www.facebook.com/AUglidingteam?fref=ts</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-16895550195011093432014-06-19T19:34:00.001-07:002014-06-19T19:34:11.350-07:00Back in the glider seat!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, my season is off to a late start, but I am excited to say that I will be getting back into a glider in the next few days! I am planning to continue blogging the exciting flights and happenings at the airport(s) I get out to. This blog will be filled with stellar stories and photos in the coming weeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Canadian National Soaring Competition starts on Monday and I will try to keep posted with details from the contest as much as I can. June 23&24 are the official practise days, with the contest running from June 25 - July 4. Full information, photos, and scores for the contest can be found at http://www.sac.ca/nationals/</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am registered to fly in Club Class and have been given a Junior (SZD 51-1) from the SOSA Gliding Club to fly for the contest. I am lucky enough to have the lovely Lynne Gough crewing for me, with guest appearances from my amazing glider-wives-duo Alec Shaw and Max Baru.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-23914355189589028352011-08-22T00:50:00.000-07:002011-08-22T00:50:12.409-07:00It's Over...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The final night party was a lot of fun. Then on Saturday morning came the closing ceremonies. I was so proud of everyone who made the top ten in each class. Tim Kuijpers looked thrilled and a little overwhelmed as he stood on the podium and we all listened to his national anthem being sung. And then it was over. People were packing everywhere, and many goodbyes were said. I already miss having breakfast with our Austrian neighbours, briefings in the big hangar, jokes and songs on the grid, flying with my dear Aussies, evenings with the Swiss and their pool, and most of all the flying! It's a little hard to believe that it's all over! So sad... I finished in 41 position (not last yay!). I will take a little while to digest before writing a formal article for Free Flight, but can definitely already say that I learned heaps! </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chris and I have one more day in Germany before we head home. Chris will be helping for duration of the Eastern Junior Camp, and I will be helping a few days at both the Eastern and Western Junior Camps.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-6780534496677057222011-08-19T07:05:00.000-07:002011-08-19T07:05:34.155-07:00Day 8 Cancelled, Contest is over!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PiO5CK1Vx70/Tk5oXFWWZ_I/AAAAAAAABd8/Be6oA1ZGX8s/s1600/IMG_0683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PiO5CK1Vx70/Tk5oXFWWZ_I/AAAAAAAABd8/Be6oA1ZGX8s/s320/IMG_0683.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Selena was on the front of the grid today. The weather did not look promising but the organizers wanted to wait as long as possible to allow the club class to get another day. Tim Kuijpers from the Netherlands had only a small lead in front of the two German pilots. The sniffer, Brian Spreckley, did not take off until one o'clock and kept delaying first launch. A storm started growing just to the south of us and we felt a few drops but Brian still stayed up. Shortly after the storm passed Brian was forced down and shortly after that the day was cancelled for both classes. The Dutch camp was very excited for their victory. Below is a photo of Tim being thrown into the Swiss pool. Tim is a very friendly fellow and there were many people going up to congratulate him. Tonight is the last night party and many people are getting ready for it. There are many visitors here just for the party including our friend Jonas who is staying in our caravan.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-itzWl3Srb8k/Tk5scXA8s2I/AAAAAAAABeA/sfWzeOR3sBo/s1600/IMG_0760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-itzWl3Srb8k/Tk5scXA8s2I/AAAAAAAABeA/sfWzeOR3sBo/s320/IMG_0760.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The storm to the south</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0VPU_27WLc/Tk5tEMwnBqI/AAAAAAAABeE/HV5ymEKUM78/s1600/IMG_0685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0VPU_27WLc/Tk5tEMwnBqI/AAAAAAAABeE/HV5ymEKUM78/s320/IMG_0685.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Tim from Holland in the pool</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-10970114926050696262011-08-18T23:32:00.000-07:002011-08-18T23:35:35.790-07:00Day 7As Chris said, Club Class was pushed off of the side of the grid to give the Standard Class a better chance to fly. Chris decided to have a nap on the grid. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z06-dqsCVQg/Tk4AolYGzsI/AAAAAAAAAHA/qbtTvtk6h0A/s1600/IMG_0729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z06-dqsCVQg/Tk4AolYGzsI/AAAAAAAAAHA/qbtTvtk6h0A/s320/IMG_0729.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I really didn't think we were going fly. Storm clouds had moved through earlier in the day with verga, then some altocumulus came in, then dead calm air. Slowly though we started to feel a few thermals move through and they decided to launch the grid. I think people were still skeptical and I heard that one Standard Class glider dumped some water on the grid. Soon enough though they were getting pretty high! Cloud class got pushed on and we launched into beautiful air! I had forgotten what the ground looked like at 8500ft!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qPQw90OsOIU/Tk4BU4dnevI/AAAAAAAAAHE/aD_bWvE8G4g/s1600/IMG_0730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qPQw90OsOIU/Tk4BU4dnevI/AAAAAAAAAHE/aD_bWvE8G4g/s320/IMG_0730.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tI4Muq2ymDc/Tk4BnxMmi6I/AAAAAAAAAHI/1ydxFSnaIsY/s1600/IMG_0737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tI4Muq2ymDc/Tk4BnxMmi6I/AAAAAAAAAHI/1ydxFSnaIsY/s320/IMG_0737.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Well, as much fun as it was to be in thermal wave to 2500m, the start gate opened at 2000m so I was forced to lose altitude, and much of the working band, to get low enough for the start. It was tricky because you didn't want to get too much below the working band or it was very difficult to re-connect with the clouds. I managed to find a few other gliders at the start and we flew south along a band of clouds to the first turnpoint. It was pretty fun, and I had to keep reminding myself to fly fast! Along the first leg we met up with some Standard Class gliders flying the other direction, gave them a wave, and kept on going south. As we flew south the clouds kept forming, although they got weaker as we got further south. I flew most of this leg behind Nathan Johnson, and let me tell you, he is an amazing pilot, and is especially great at finding energy lines. It was great to watch him!<br />
<br />
We finally joined a gaggle "low" in the first turnpoint (by low I mean 1600m higher than we have been getting most of the rest of the comp!!). I was following behind a group of other gliders, and was hesitant because I was much lower than them. Nonetheless I managed to get final glide partway along the second leg! How cool. I realised I was going to be a bit over time so initially thought I would just clip the second circle. When I got there there was a massive cloud leading right on track into the turnpoint so I followed it further in, gaining altitude, speed, and distance (how sweet!). I then turned for home, still above final glide, and cruising along well. I reckon I still could have flown a little bit faster as I finished 300 feet high. It was a neat finish and I hope someone got a photo or two because I was on final with 5 or 6 other gliders! Just in time for a good landing and a cold beer. I finished the day in 15th place with 74kph (still 20kph slower than the winner, unreal!). I need to fly more consistently. (Although I have never had this problem before...) Unfortunately points from the day were severely de-valued due to the short task time and distance. Tim Kuijspers from the Netherlands has moved into first place ahead of the Germans so hopefully he can hold his lead today! Andrew Maddocks also had a great day finishing in 9th place!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-12643172813262002932011-08-18T07:58:00.000-07:002011-08-18T07:58:20.162-07:00Day 7Today we started out with a 2.5 hour AAT and were gridded in front of the Standard Class. The contest manager decided to allow the Standard Class to launch first to get in a longer day so we had to push all the Club Class gliders to the side and then regrid after they were all up. The task was also changed from to a 1.5 hour AAT with minimum 69km, max 247km and nominal 154km. The pilots were reporting the highest cloudbase of the contest and some reported wave. The start gate was limited to 2000m to avoid any advantages/disadvantages of getting in the wave. She is at the first turn now and after turning will have a nice tailwind for the second leg.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-46299248396019955342011-08-17T10:37:00.000-07:002011-08-17T10:37:53.598-07:00HOME!!!<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I MADE IT HOME!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The temperature jumped up today and it was definitely the best day of the contest! Chris was kind enough to act as my brolly bitch in the hot conditions. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ymhBI4e8fM8/Tkv3Lzht6kI/AAAAAAAAAG4/MDOBeq1R7TY/s1600/IMG_0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ymhBI4e8fM8/Tkv3Lzht6kI/AAAAAAAAAG4/MDOBeq1R7TY/s320/IMG_0725.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was a strange day. A strong line of cu along the Black Forest, a big blue hole that was only barely working, a strong section of cu along the Swabian Alps, back through the blue, and a ripper leg home. I am pretty sure most people got pretty low in the blue. Throughout the flight climbs were sporatic - one time taking a 4kt climb, the next being forced to accept a 1.5kt. I tried my best to stay with the gaggle, but found myself slipping behind, then caught up, and then fell behind again. I ended the day ahead of a few other gliders I spent the most time with. The biggest mistake of the day was leaving too early. All of the best competitors left about 40 minutes after I did. But to be honest, I just wanted to get around, and was absolutely thrilled when I managed it! And Chris being a good crew brought me one of the most delicious beers I have ever had! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GCCCm9kFhmQ/Tkv5jCpzZtI/AAAAAAAAAG8/TDN7A3DFz28/s1600/IMG_0727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GCCCm9kFhmQ/Tkv5jCpzZtI/AAAAAAAAAG8/TDN7A3DFz28/s320/IMG_0727.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Unfortunately one of the other competitors landed out in a poor paddock and is going to the hospital. Hopefully he will be alright!<br />
<br />
Also be sure to check out the latest videos from Hubi:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUaXK4zFmPQ<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjoMxNDCfDgAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-64532978587577104902011-08-17T07:35:00.000-07:002011-08-17T07:35:36.808-07:00Day 6Sorry for not updating earlier, the internet is still not working very well here. Today the weather looks quite good but I have heard it is a bit tough on course. The task is a 235km zig zag. Selena has just rounded the last turn point and I expect her home soon. We will update soon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-14908375701000063532011-08-17T00:58:00.000-07:002011-08-17T00:58:35.325-07:00FlashbackThe Worlds is making me have a flashback to this year's Nats:<br />
- dodgy weather<br />
- mass landouts (more people have landed out than made it home)<br />
- BC trailer on the field (I keep thinking Bill has come for a visit)<br />
- Winzeln turnpoint is the new TillsonburgAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-65240901765919647342011-08-16T07:14:00.000-07:002011-08-16T07:14:13.650-07:00Land outSelena got stuck in a blue hole and landed out shortly after starting. There are already many land outs from other competitors reported. We can now only hope that 25% of the field does not make 100km and the day gets cancelled.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-29023880058956412182011-08-16T02:31:00.000-07:002011-08-16T02:31:08.466-07:00Day 5The weather looks good for today but there is a lot of moisture on the ground from all the rain we have been getting. It may take a while to start getting good. We have been given a task which is almost identical to Day 4's task, Bonndorf-Zwiefalten-Winzeln for 258.9kms.<br />
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Last night was 'International Night' in the hangar. Many countries brought food and drink from their homeland. We were also warned about a drug/alcohol check today so the pilots could not sample all the different drinks although the team captains and crew did not need to worry about this.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-16603680175815621692011-08-15T04:06:00.000-07:002011-08-15T04:06:14.404-07:00Day 5: Cancelled<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today has officially been cancelled. This will be our official rest day which I think is good so that later in the week when the weather improves we can fly fly fly. It will also give Chris and I an opportunity to get caught up on laundry and groceries as this has been difficult to do without a proper crew.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We also saw a presentation about the JWGC 2013 to be held in Poland. Leszno looks like a fantastic site and it sounds like it will be a great contest!</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-27746403946328905612011-08-15T02:31:00.000-07:002011-08-15T02:31:27.623-07:00Day 5We woke up this morning to the sound of pouring rain on the caravan. Needless to say the campground is soaking wet and there are puddles everywhere. The Austrians got to work building a trench between them and Italy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1N1c9tECQWY/TkjnJYDNiQI/AAAAAAAAAGw/5XTBn6mD5QI/s1600/IMG_0724e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1N1c9tECQWY/TkjnJYDNiQI/AAAAAAAAAGw/5XTBn6mD5QI/s320/IMG_0724e.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Grid time has not yet been announced. Briefing is scheduled for 1200. There is talk of making this an official rest day, but we won't know for sure until the briefing. The morning has given many teams the opportunity to make repairs. Yesterday during out-landings a few wheels were made flat, gear doors broken, etc. Nick Maddocks has taken his glider back to the Schempp factory this morning (he ground-looped in an outlanding the other day, breaking the tail, and unfortunately putting him out of the competition).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-51631125942140413072011-08-15T00:36:00.000-07:002011-08-15T00:36:04.983-07:00#10I was one of the very first launches and the air was cycling upwards, and I soon found myself at cloud base around 1700m. As the launches continued the air cycled downwards and I was drifting further and further away from the clouds with the start in a blue hole. Most other Club Class gliders experienced this too and I found myself in the most disgusting thermal with 25-30 other gliders. The group wasn't really moving down, but we weren't going up much either. And the organisation was terrible, one big jumbled mess of fiberglass floating around the sky. And then someone at the top would decide to switch directions and we would all be forced to turn the other way and re-organise ourselves from the top down (I was near the bottom). One pilot from the Netherlands Tim Kuijpers managed to hook into wave and found himself at 2500m. Then they announced in the air a start altitude cap of 2000m and he had to come back down. Finally the air picked up again and the gaggle got to cloud base and we set off.<br />
<br />
When we started I found myself somewhere in the middle of the gaggle. There were many gliders ahead of me and above me, and several gliders also behind me. I was still cautious about the start because the air didn't feel very strong. I decided to head downwind and east of track to avoid the Black Forest. This ended up being one of the best decisions I made all day. I managed to cruise along at cloud base as I heard the Aussies getting lower and lower. They think that they got dumped in the lee of the wave that was created by the Black Forest, and after having the vario pegged at -10kts found themselves in paddocks with several other gliders. The radio got pretty boring after that... I didn't have the heart to tell them, but as they were landing out I joined the Belgium DC Niel Deijgers in a thermal that averaged 8kts to 7500ft. (I definitely owe him a beer for that one!)<br />
<br />
I flew along with the now much smaller group along to the first turnpoint. We managed to duck into the circle and head back along the clouds to the second point. I saw DC low around the first point and I was a bit worried that he may have landed out. 10 minutes later he joined my thermal with the group higher than me! The cloud street we followed to the second point was beautiful and we went fairly quickly. A few times we got lower in the working band, but I managed to always stay within it with the group. We all shared times leading out, but when I did I made sure that they were still on my flarm behind me. Nearing the second turnpoint the strong part of the group got about 200ft above me. I decided to continue following them despite my lower altitude in order not to lose them. However, they slowly drifted further and further ahead and I drifted a bit further away from cloud base. It worked out that a few other gliders joined in behing a bit lower, and we stuck together again. We all opted to follow the cloud street back south. Initially this led us 10 degrees off track, then 20, 30, 60... However, going towards Musbach was a huge massive blue hole with a few despairing cu's scattered through. The cold front was moving in, taking a lot of energy, and leaving big areas with no sun getting through to the ground. Eventually I ran out of energy and I landed at an airstrip with 6 other gliders. At least I had company!<br />
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The most impressive thing about yesterday is Tim. He flew the entire task by himself and was the only pilot to make it home!! UNREAL! I think the key is that he managed to leave so early giving him more time when the air was still working. However, there were many other pilots that also left early and they didn't make it home so this shows what a good pilot he is.<br />
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Three people from the Standard Class made it around, but at this point it looks like it won't count as a day as 25% of the field has to fly a minimum of 100km. Club Class has a day and I finished the day in tenth place. WooT!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-73224166563919392082011-08-14T07:52:00.000-07:002011-08-14T07:52:22.915-07:00UpdateSelena has landed off field at an airport with a few other gliders. It looks like her flight will put her above a few of the pilots ahead of her in the standings. I am just heading out and there is yet to be a finisher at Musbach. There was just some very heavy showers that passed through the airport so it is possible no one will finish.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-11387481139917208312011-08-14T06:28:00.000-07:002011-08-14T06:29:16.971-07:00Day 4Today a 238km racing task has been set for the club class. The weather report called for good conditions but also a good chance of over development. Selena is still in the air at the moment with many of the top pilots landing out already. There is some ugly looking clouds over top the airport right now so returning to the airfield could be the biggest challenge today. The last I heard from her she is with the Swiss.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-90696128408255133202011-08-13T23:30:00.000-07:002011-08-13T23:30:15.522-07:00The launch time was delayed and delayed. They kept saying that it would get better, but it really to me looked doubtful. The sky was covered with low dark cumulus and higher cirrus. Finally the cirrus moved by and the ground got some heating and the bases were able to lift. Club Class was launched. I was near the front of the grid and it felt like a long time before the rest of the fleet was launched. The air was pulsing and cloud bases were no higher than 1400m. A couple of gliders had to take re-lights. I managed to find Johno in the air and we started with a few other gliders as the bases were lifting to 1500m. The first section of the flight out was a huge struggle. Climbs were far between and sporatic in strength, some of them 3knots, others only 1knots. I really focused on staying within the working band. Johno managed to slip above me as we flew, and at one point I decided it was very important to stay within the working band so took a climb that he didn't need to and we were separated. I was still loosely flying with several other gliders, using them as thermal indicators ahead of me. I reached the first turnpoint with a very low airspeed so decided to turn directly for the second circle. On the way to the second circle I found an amazing cloud street. I was flying with two other gliders, but I was cruising at cloud base and they were significantly lower. I reached the edge of the second circle in no time, and realised that I couldn't turn directly for home or I would have been 30 minutes under time. I decided to fly further into the circle. This was the good decision. The poor decision came a few minutes later. I hadn't anticipated flying so deep into the second circle, so forgot to take into account in my pre-flight planning the Stuttgart airspace that was located in the second circle. An airspace warning popped up on my PDA. I pushed the nose down to decrease my altitude. What I should have done at this point is to turn around for home, keeping myself out of airspace and within the working band that was just sucking you in at cloudbase. Instead what I did was keep pushing further into the circle, marginally increasing my distance, but putting myself out of the working band. As I turned to home slightly beneath the working band the air was calm calm calm. I knew immediately that I was in trouble. There was no lift to be found anywhere and I was still 2000 feet below final glide. I did manage to find one climb around Horb am Neckar, but wasn't able to fly much closer to Musbach as the terrain was rising and the outlanding fields increasingly poor. I decided to try to fly towards an alternate airport, hoping to find some lift along the way. I was unable to find any lift, was unable to find any lift, and was forced to land in a paddock only 15 km from the airport.<br />
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This was a very simple mistake that I made. The more I fly the more I realise how much of the skill in this sport is directly correlated to how much experience you have as a pilot. I know that if I had more experience I would not have made this mistake. So it is all I can do to learn from this so I can be better in the future!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-79270346612916947262011-08-13T23:28:00.001-07:002011-08-13T23:28:10.870-07:00Check out the latest movie from Hubi!<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCliJ0UUvNwAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-28116732425211928862011-08-13T07:16:00.000-07:002011-08-13T07:16:05.943-07:00On TaskJust like yesterday the weather has improved and the sky is now looking quite good. Selena is now on task with Nathan Johnson, my teammate from the 2009 JWGC in Finland. We were initially worried about another band of cirrus coming over the task area but at the moment it looks like it will clear. The wind is lighter today and we hope it will not be giving the rotor effects the pilots encountered yesterday. The task was reduced to 2 hours and the weather man expects the end of thermals to be later than originally anticipated.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-29036705294958709602011-08-13T03:39:00.000-07:002011-08-13T03:39:14.148-07:00Day 3<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have been given a 2.5hr 161km AAT. First launch is currently scheduled for 1300. It is still quite cool and the clouds are low and dark. Thermals are forecasted to be weak increasing to moderate throughout the day. Bases from 1000m MSL to 1400m MSL. The day is supposed to shut down by 1630. However, the clouds are starting to break up bringing some warmer temperatures on the ground. Hopefully the clouds will soon start to lift and we can get in a day.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-5341907943530163502011-08-12T23:31:00.000-07:002011-08-12T23:31:42.888-07:00Fun Pictures<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZutlhOIS4ig/TkYZV13Bs9I/AAAAAAAAAGg/9yqWIfoBQ9Y/s1600/IMG_0651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZutlhOIS4ig/TkYZV13Bs9I/AAAAAAAAAGg/9yqWIfoBQ9Y/s400/IMG_0651.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Austrian team flying kites at 9 am one morning.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u6xIY9xnXb4/TkYZbTnuS_I/AAAAAAAAAGk/wXV4xTmxaco/s1600/IMG_0667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u6xIY9xnXb4/TkYZbTnuS_I/AAAAAAAAAGk/wXV4xTmxaco/s400/IMG_0667.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How they mow the grass in Klippeneck. (sheep in the background)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zJoxCLRyXiA/TkYZebfHZBI/AAAAAAAAAGo/CbTtrQUxibQ/s1600/IMG_6891e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="341" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zJoxCLRyXiA/TkYZebfHZBI/AAAAAAAAAGo/CbTtrQUxibQ/s400/IMG_6891e.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Austrian pirate flag. They have caused many pirate-ish shinnannigans.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jjCWPp0hKro/TkYZgKT1gVI/AAAAAAAAAGs/3Z-EaV1XvIQ/s1600/IMG_6934e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jjCWPp0hKro/TkYZgKT1gVI/AAAAAAAAAGs/3Z-EaV1XvIQ/s640/IMG_6934e.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The full rainbow over the trailers yesterday morning.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-13021729944033006812011-08-12T23:25:00.000-07:002011-08-12T23:25:49.641-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Contest Day 2 was a very tough day. On tow I thought I back released about 100 feet on tow when the tow plane shot unexpectedly down creating a massive slack in the rope. I focused as hard as I could but tow was very tough, and it almost happened two more times. After release I found the thermals to be incredibly rough and broken. On one side they would be 6knots, the other side minus 4knots. It was very difficult to climb, especially when the gaggles were forming because everyone was low. Winds were very strong, approximately 30kph. It seemed like very strong lift was being produced due to the updrafts along the Schwarzwald. The day was forecast to cut off early, so I felt the need to get started as early as possible. I got up to 1500m and set off on task, roughly flying with a few other gliders. I think the working band was between 1300m-1500m, but finding massive sink in between thermals I very quickly fell out of this working band. Below this it continued to be very rough and broken. I took many thermals that felt strong on one side, but being unable to properly thermal it was very slow to gain any altitude. I circled in one spot for a very long time, but only gained a few hundred meters. When a few other gliders joined me at the same altitude I opted to set off with them. I took a slightly different route staying closer along the Schwarzwald, but keeping them in sight. We re-joined each other further along for another thermal, but this one was also not producing much altitude gain. I soon found myself out of altitude and out-landed in a good paddock.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513396546041130862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-70149498925144650532011-08-12T06:38:00.000-07:002011-08-12T06:38:37.035-07:00Day 2The weather has improved and a task was set and Selena is currently on task. There were a number of relights mostly in the standard class. I heard that the start of the task actually had some very good lift. We can see some cirrus to the west that is moving in; we are hoping that it does not move in before the end of the 2.5 hour task.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186304458465769656.post-64474443131810064602011-08-12T00:55:00.000-07:002011-08-12T00:55:23.314-07:00Friday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--pVQMMfhAuM/TkTbD3Gd5CI/AAAAAAAABd4/I4ETpVfbiok/s1600/IMG_0657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--pVQMMfhAuM/TkTbD3Gd5CI/AAAAAAAABd4/I4ETpVfbiok/s400/IMG_0657.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Last night the Italians had us over to their camp site for dinner. Not surprisingly we had pasta. It was delicious of course. They also had some authentic parmiagano cheese that I quite liked.<br />
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Today the weather does not look very good. There is a rainbow sitting on the horizon at the moment. We expect the day to be cancelled at some point but we are gridding and are waiting to wait.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2