https://airtribune.com/play/1042/2d

Jonny and Pedro make it into goal. Pedro took the first start window and Jonny
took the last one.

The forecast was for a strong southwest wind about 18 mph at the top of the lift
at 9,000'. Still the task committee called an out and return (sheep from goats,
I guess), maybe because the forecast was for strong winds yesterday and they
didn't materialize. The wind was already blowing hard at 8 AM.

I had to tale a relight after pushing hard to the south to get upwind of the
course line on my first attempt and getting low and alone. I got low on my
second attempt also when I pinned off at 1,500' and had to push a long ways
upwind to get to the front of the cu. That thermal turned out to be very nice
and I thermaled up through Wolfi to 7,800' from 600' AGL over a stock yard.

We headed southeast at 70 - 80 km/h to get the third start time (Wolfi had taken
a relight right after me) and found 400 fpm just south of the course line on the
south side of Casa Grande, and took that to 8,600'. Unlike in the RAP forecast
there were cu's every where and over development to the southeast.

Gliding to the first turnpoint we were there is less than half an hour after we
started.

Gliding cross wind along the course line I found field of swirling dust that
looked like a dust devil under a nice looking cu. I pushed into it and found
1000 fpm which later quieted down and I left at 7,200'.

I was on contact with Larry Bunner. He had taken the previous start window but I
was catching up to him. Zac was behind me. I lost track of Wolfi but there were
four or five pilots below me.

The drift pushed me far away from the course line and there was a lot of shading
to the south along the course line. Zac would go under the thick clouds that
caused the shading. I headed for the scattered clouds over the sunlit field to
the northwest.

I went for a promising looking field 3 km north of the course line under some
small cu's. There was a glider on the ground right there. From 1000' AGL to
5,800' at 300 fpm. Larry was now behind me but just to my south.

Continuing to look for cu's and sunlit fields I headed west over the hills on
the northeast corner of Casa Grande. The first set of clouds didn't produce much
and then back down to 1,000' AGL 2 km north of the course line I found weak lift
west of I10 that drifted me again back to the northeast and into the hills.
Larry came in under me and we climbed up to 4,500' just south of the higher
hills.

I decided to head under a cloud street to the southwest and check out if I could
find stronger lift. Larry hung back and found 500 fpm and drifted back over the
hills to the north. We were actually under the outer ring of the Phoenix
airspace which had an 8,000' bottom. Not much chance of piercing that.

I found little bits and pieces of weak lift under the dark street but nothing
worth turning in. I was able to glide within 12 km of the Bon turnpoint and land
in an undeveloped development behind high walls (which I could see from the air)
at 5:10 PM.

Larry was able to get a little bit further against the strong head wind but then
thermalled north and finally had to land back behind me. I landed on the
northwest side of the Casa Grande airport and he on the east side in a soccer
field.

Wolfi landed a few kilometers west of us. Zac was able to make the turnpoint but
not get back to the goal. Johnny and Pedro made it in.