• http://skyout.blogspot.com/


• http://www.jonnydurand.blogspot.com/


• http://naughtylawyertravels.blogspot.com/


• http://hang6.blogspot.com/


• http://gottafly.blogspot.com/


• http://lucasridley.blogspot.com

Results here:


• flex wing: http://soaringspot.com/flytec2009/


• rigid wing: http://soaringspot.com/flytecr2009/

There is a stationary front up in Georgia and it has been making it difficult to complete our tasks, especially the 231 km task today. None the less than flying has been spectacular. This format is just so much fun. We are loving the whole thing, a new "town" every night.

This morning the sun was up and bright with only a few clouds in the sky at Williston. All the grey from the previous day, Monday, was gone and it looked like we would have a good day. The forecasted weather had definitely improved substantially from the evening before, so it was a go to go for the big task up to the northwest.

It was clear that we were going to have a sea breeze influence again from the southwest as well as the influence from the warm/cold/stationary/occluded front to the north. The south westerlies were forecasted to come up between 2 PM and 5 PM and they would be exactly perpendicular to our task line.

We set an early launch time given the length of the task, and the coming sea breeze, and the chance for cirrus from the north. Launch was to be opened at 11:30 AM, with the first start time at 12:30 PM. It was indicated by various pilots, Glen Volk, for example, that start times were irrelevant as no one would finish the task. And therefore everyone would want to launch first to get going first.

Therefore I set the launch time early as I figured that would in fact dissuade pilots from launching early and spread out the launch times. Pilots would go when they felt that they could stay up.

I was ready to go first at 11:30 AM despite the fact that there were no cu's in the neighborhood. I figured I could just land and start again in need be. Many pilots were very reluctant to get launched as they thought it was too early (just as planned) and were complaining and wanted the launch times and start times moved back.

Rhett pulled me up to 2,200' without hitting any lift, but I pinned off as I felt a little something and I was already high enough to go searching. I headed back in the general direction of the launch area on the east side of the Williston airport and found 200 fpm in the blue (as there were no cu's). I just twirled up to 3,700' and kept up a steady reporting to Belinda in the staging line making sure everyone knew what was going on. Finally Jonny decided to be the second one to get into the launch line.

Bobby towed him up and got some footage as Jonny did loops.

Other pilots finally got the message that the lift was good enough to stay up and I was soon joined by O'Brien, Shapiro, and Volk. The southwest winds were already in effect at 10 mph, blowing us away from the course line. It looked like it would be a tough day with a cross wind all the way.

Jonny headed off to the northwest to get under some cu's that were forming there. A few minutes later we followed him and found the lift still in the eight kilometer start circle. Pilots may have thought that they were going early, but no one was. We were getting to 4,800' but no one was able to get out of the start circle yet.

We were barely able to get near the course line to the north west, but finally it was time to get going at the first start clock and half a dozen pilots headed out toward the clouds to the northwest but still downwind of the course line.

There were plenty of cu's but every time we circled up we were blown downwind to the east of the course line in the now fourteen mph winds.

Jonny and Dustin got out ahead. I stayed with O'Brien, Zippy and Shapiro, a little wolf pack as Shapiro said during the flight. We were more and more off course, getting almost twenty five kilometers to the east of the course line, hoping to make it up later when we got away from Florida and into Georgia.

It was just connecting the dots (the cu's) until we got near Interstate 10 west of Lake City and east of Live Oak. The cirrus was just to our west and the cu's were about to be gone. We had been heading west as much as we could trying to reduce the distance that we were off course, but now the cirrus was stopping all lift to our north and to our west.

We crept along into the gloom. I found some good lift under very thin cu's at the edge of the gloom over I 10 and Shapiro came in under me. Zippy and O'Brien were just to our south a few kilometers about at our altitude.

Jonny and Dustin were fifteen kilometers ahead along the same line way east of the course line just north of Live Oak struggling in the grey above shaded ground. Dustin mentioned an embedded cu-nimb to the north, but it looked to be a long ways to the north. There were mammatus clouds nearby. The winds were 18 mph out of the southwest.

As I topped out what was to be the last good thermal I headed for some small fires in a field were they were burning debris. I figured a fire thermal in the grey would be a good idea. Zippy was to my south a kilometer to two away turning at my altitude and I should have gone to him but that would be going back. Of course, when you just want to stay in the air, it doesn't matter which direction you go.

Shapiro behind me headed for Zippy. O'Brien was out ahead to my south looking for lift. I reported 100 fpm just passed the fires and held on to it drifting northeast toward the Suwannee River and away from goal.

O'Brien landed and Dustin said that he was getting back up after he thought he was on final glide. I climbed up at 100 fpm in very nice soft air, but it wasn't taking me to where I wanted to go. Zippy and Shapiro hooked up and kept working better lift to my south.

I was able to climb to 3,000' over the river but it only bought me 6 km toward goal. I landed then Zippy and Shapiro landed further up the course line.