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Wills Wing pilots' blog

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Corinna's Sky
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Rod Flockhart

The flight and task.

Cloud base was below launch as it had been most of the day as we drove up. The
temperature dropped to 16 degree Celsius by the time we got to launch. It looked
like a leisurely setup was in process.

I set up and then went around talking to various folks. Heather scowled at me
from a distance. Most everyone was in a buoyant mood after two days of not flying
and it looked like we would be flying. We just had to wait for the cloud base to
lift.

The pilot briefing was postponed twice to 1 PM. The task and safety committee
meeting was dragging on. As the cloud base lifted a cu-nimb formed behind
launch. Would the cloud base be too low or would the lift be too powerful?

The task committee called an 81 km task up and down the range, with the last
turnpoint out where I had recommended, after  a few days previously they
put the northern turnpoint back over unlandable territory. It was great to see
that after thirty pilots claiming that that turnpoint placement was unsafe, the
meet director, Franco Rinaldi, insisted that they not use it for this task.

I decided to launch early. We had an hour and a half before the start gate. I
went up to the front of the line but let a couple of pilots get in front of me.
When Alex Ploner decided to go in front, I decided to launch after him. I got to
miss all the later hassles at launch.

The wind was from the north northwest, but it was coming up the south west face
very lightly. You could see the cloud shadows racing crosswise to the launch
from clouds only two thousand over launch. I went further down the hill to
launch, and had a nice long run and a sweet launch into light lift. There were
already pilots turning out in front of me.

I worked my way south as we had thirteen to fourteen kilometers to go to get to
the edge of the five kilometer start cylinder. There was lift all along the way
to cloud base, and I had to pull in hard at one spot to be sure to stay under
6,000'. When we got south far enough along the ridge we were away from the air
space so we could relax and not worry about it.

Pilots were flying on the ridge within the five kilometer start cylinder then
coming back to six or seven kilometers out and getting back to cloud base at
about 6,500'. We were just waiting around, but to our north there was a cu-nimb
and rain was dropping 10 km north of launch. It would later rain on launch. We
had a turnpoint back at launch.

The cu-nimb built as we waited just outside the start cylinder. Soon we were on
the last cu's on the edge of the cu-nimb. It had suppressed all the other cu's
closer to it. The minutes were ticking down as we waited to head south which was
free of cu-nimb activity. Another cu-nimb formed east of launch and it was
dropping rain also.

The safety committee was busy on the radio discussing stopping the task. It was
very close. It could have gone either way. But the south looked good and the
cu-nimb was still to our north. Lots of pilots were very concerned that they
would soon be sucked up by the approaching cu-nimb.

I headed back into the hills two kilometers outside the start cylinder to get
back to cloud base but at about eight minutes before the start window opened I
noticed that a couple of pilots were getting up upwind further out into the
valley and a bit closer to the start cylinder. I pushed out up wind, got into
the lift and began to climb in a perfect location, right at the edge of the
start circle. In fact a quarter of each circle that I did was in the start
cylinder.

My timing could not have been more perfect. I was right on the start cylinder
climbing at an average of 500 fpm and just as I got to cloud base at 6,800', the
start window opened. I was just outside the start cylinder and went in sixteen
seconds after the start window opened at cloud base.

As I raced ahead I saw Jonny just to my left and Manfred just to my right. We
had all just been at cloud base.

We found a little bit of lift with Dustin at nine kilometers from the edge of
the start cylinder after getting the first turnpoint at the center of the five
kilometer start cylinder and then further down the course toward a mountain side
five kilometers. Jonny was finding a slightly better line than me and out
gliding me and everyone else. Jonny, Dustin and Manfred with me just below them
came into the hill side and found 400 fpm. Everyone else was behind and below.

We showed everyone the lift and climbed up above the hillside and were working
our way to cloud base. The two Jeff's with a dozen other pilots had stopped
behind us, but I told them what was ahead. They came over and found 800 fpm 400
feet south of our 400 fpm and we flew over to the top of them.

At cloud base at 7,500' it was a quick run a few kilometers to the south to get
the second turnpoint and then head north. I had lost a few spots but was running
well in the top ten. We came back near to the spot where we got up previously,
but I didn't see any good lift so kept going. There were plenty of markers
coming the other way out ahead.

I could see out in front of me that the whole valley was dark, shaded by the
cloud cover. The cu-nimb by launch was gone or would soon be. There was now rain
on the west side of the valley to my left. It didn't look like there would
be much lift along the western facing flanks of the eastern hillsides of the
valley, with all the shading.

I headed a couple of kilometers further west than most of the leading pilots
going for a dark isolated cu that I saw a pilot who was heading south turning
under. This looked like the last cu before the uniform dark sky and shaded
ground. I figured that getting high under that cloud might be a good idea
because we might not make it to goal.

I climbed to 7,000' and then headed up the range. There were lots of pilots
below me as I passed them and just kept gliding looking for some lift. I figured
with it so dark I would have to take much weaker climbs. My next climb averaged
150 fpm.

The lift was weak along the ridge line in the dark, but I did find spots of
150-200 fpm. I worked my way north finding lift here and there and gliding in
zero sink when I didn't find lift. I had gliders around to help spot the lift.

The sun came out near the launch and the lift got much better. The next
turnpoint was the launch and I found 300 fpm by the towers just before launch
and climbed to 5700'. I was just outside airspace. I could see on my 6030 that I
had goal made but just barely through the next turnpoint. I went on glide along
the ridge tops toward the cemetery just out in the valley. As I got close to the
turnpoint I could see the pilots in the lead gaggle a ways below on final glide.

I hit the turnpoint, when back to the ridge line, now below the top and hugged
the hillside most of the way going back to goal at the standard LZ in Sigillo.
It was great to finally make it into goal at this contest. 98 pilots joined me.

After the second and furthest south turnpoint Dustin flew straight for over
thirty kilometers hoping to find one good thermal to get him to goal. He landed
at goal without making the last turnpoint.

Jeff O'Brien outraced Manfred and Christian to win the day. That makes two days
out of four that Americans won the day. Jeff Shapiro was in sixteenth.

USA TEAM on the last day:

Last day: