32.881678,-111.854982,Francisco Grande, Casa Grande, Arizona,
USA

http://soaringspot.com/2010scfr/

http://www.santacruzflatsrace.blogspot.com/

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

http://www.willswing.com/blogs/PilotBlogs/tabid/38/Default.aspx

http://westcoastbrit.blogspot.com/

Well my trust in the forecasts of the models is coming back. We were still a
little skeptical today in the task committee (I just support the task committee,
I'm not on it), but they called a triangle task to the northeast assuming that
the winds would be as light as the forecast and more importantly that the lift
and the height of lift (the two parameters that seemed to be off on the first
two days) would be as forecast.

The RUC and the NAM forecasts on XCSkies (which I use here in Arizona because I
can zoom down to the local area instead of seeing the whole southwest in
BLIPMAPS) said 700-800 fpm to top of the useable lift (which seems to be the
parameter to use here, instead of thermal tops) at 8,000-9,000'. And sure enough
some pilots got that today.

The task committee called a task to Sarita, a very small paved air strip 34.4
kilometers east of the Francisco Grande hotel and east of Casa Grande, out in
the flats, an area of mixed dry fields, cotton and alfalfa. Then a short leg
(thirteen kilometers to the edge of the turnpoint cylinder) to the northeast to
near Florence, a turnpoint with a ten kilometer radius that will keep us out of
the supposedly active bombing range and out of Phoenix Class B airspace, then
forty two kilometers back to the hotel with a one kilometer goal radius. Overall
a eighty seven kilometer task (assuming you just nick the ten kilometers
turnpoint near Florence).

We're one tug down as the prop of the local tug blew off yesterday while a pilot
was on tow. No one hurt but no prop either. It may be fixed in time for a day or
two of towing. So pilots were encouraged to get going early. Of course, the top
pilots in priority staging wait until the last minute (to save all their flying
energy for the course). Joe Bostik was the last to launch as he keeps having
trouble with his zipper (he also had trouble with his 6030 yesterday forgetting
to program it for the route and then missing the second turnpoint cylinder by
163 meters). Being down one tug proved to be no problem as pilots didn't wait
for an hour to start towing and there was plenty of time to get everyone in the
air.

Pilot lined up and I got pulled up at 12:30, about half an hour earlier than I
have been getting going on the previous two days. The last start time is 2:20,
so this is way early if you are going to take that start. I pin off at 1,600'
AGL as we are in a light thermal as I assume that I can stay up in it and I feel
a bit of an obligation to let the tug resources go down quickly for the next
guy. I climb out to 4,400' at 145 fpm. Pretty damn light.

There is a six mph wind out of the northwest which is quite light and after I
get up I go searching for better lift. After looking around in zero until almost
1 PM and down to 1,100' AGL, I find my own thermal that averages 250 fpm. I
start climbing and ever so slowly everyone in the air no matter how far away
comes and joins me in the thermal as I climb to 7,700'.

When we get to the top of the thermal it still is lifting but very slowly. There
are seven minutes to go before the first start time, I'm high and if this holds
out I'm thinking of taking the first start time, even though I "know" that I
will be the only pilot to leave at the first clock. But first the lift has to
hold at zero or better for the seven minutes. I'm just one kilometer outside the
entry start cylinder of thirty two kilometers which puts me just east of the
hotel. The wind is very light.

The lift holds out and I am high and so I decide to go on my own. I figure with
an hour head start (assuming most pilots take the last start time) if I can find
some good lift (harder to do on your own without other sniffers around) then I
have a slight (very slight) chance to win the day, basically on arrival points
(flying slower than the other pilots, but getting to goal first). The arrival
points go down to almost zero if you are forty five minutes behind the first guy
to goal.

A hero or a zero. A slim chance to be a hero (it just depends on getting a
couple of good thermals) or a zero, landing out because I didn't get what I
needed and didn't have any help to find it.

I take off at 1:20 PM with 7,500' (6,000' AGL) and glide east northeast toward
Sarita. It is a twelve kilometer glide until I find the first hint of lift. I
have to search all around to find the actual lift (255 fpm) so that slows me
down, but gets me ready for the rest of the task. It was a long glide without
lift. I got down to 2,000' AGL. I needed to work hard to find the lift. It
wasn't that strong.

I continue on after topping out and find broken (and smelly over feed lots) bits
of lift, but no cores. I am in search mode as things aren't working yet and I
need to find a good thermal to get back in the comfort zone over 6,000'. I get
down to 4,000' and work 71 fpm for a few turns but that doesn't work out. I
continue on and get down to 1,800' AGL and start working 61 fpm.

I'm just focusing on the thermal and searching and searching for better lift.
Where is it? I move a little to the side and pick up 183 fpm and climb to
4,900'. This allows me to glide to the turnpoint cross wind (in the light wind)
five kilometers to get the Sarita turnpoint.

There is no lift at the turnpoint at 2,500' AGL so I continue northeast toward
the next turnpoint searching and searching. Finally down to 1,500' AGL, I find
114 fpm. Three pilots come and join me, two below and Jeff Chipman at my
altitude. The two of us climb to 4,300'.

When that lift stops, we head out and Jeff spots the lift when we are down to
1,400' AGL. It averages 182 fpm and I'm feeling pretty good as this is the best
thermal in quite a while. And it is nice to have some help. I've just been
scratching across the country side since I left the start circle and I'm not
feeling the love. I like the fact that I've been on my own for almost the whole
flight and responsible for keeping myself in the air in very light conditions,
but it sure would be nice to get high.

Jeff spots a dust devil down wind of us to the east. We're in a ten mph wind
with the turnpoint to the north east. I watch him go for the dust devil staying
in the present lift because I'm already run to three or four dust devils and
they didn't provide any lift. He starts turning and climbing in the dust devil
so I head back toward him in lift all the way and we climb up at 225 fpm. Where
is that 500 to700 fpm that we should be climbing at given the forecast?

The lift gives out early again at 5,400' (4,000' AGL) and we head north toward
the turnpoint. It is only six kilometers away. I find 88 fpm for a dozen turns
half way there then watch a big strong looking dust devil form right where the
course line would take us if we made the turnpoint and headed west toward goal.

I leave our weak thermal, pull in hard to make the turnpoint cylinder edge
quickly then head for the field with the dust devil. Two more smaller ones are
forming upwind of it as it goes over the cotton patch at the downwind end of the
field that it formed in and begins to disappear. I fly over it and get nothing.
I fly over the other two dust devils, and almost nothing. I search all around
the big brown dust devil field and finally find 138 fpm. We climb to 4,700'.

As we climb up three pilots come over our heads. Most likely Dustin, Shapiro and
Zippy, but maybe not. As the lift peters out we head east toward goal. I see a
few kilometers off to the north Dustin or some other pilot turning and climbing.
This is way off the course line, but I make a mistake and don't go to him.

Chippy and I glide six kilometers into a fourteen mph wind and find very little.
I go down first, but Chippy soon after.

I hear later from Shapiro that he and Zippy and Dustin came over us and kept
going and a little ways further, got down to 500' AGL in a dust devil and
finally found 500 fpm just outside the dust and climbed back up to 8,000'. When
I got out of my glider I looked up and saw five pilots at eight or nine thousand
feet over my head. Shapiro said that they had experienced the first leg as very
iffy also, but obviously somebody found some good lift just behind us.

 

Pilots made it back to goal with Shapiro winning the day.

We have had light winds every day here, except near goal on the third day (and
today when Chippy and I were low). This makes is possible to have triangle tasks
which we much prefer as we want to get back to the hotel and not have to setup
and land on the green grass. I've been able to setup or leave setup my glider at
the western edge of the golf course staked down and tied to a tree, just covered
with my ultra violet resistance cover (by Marilyn).

Pilots are flying in tee-shirts and that's all. I have a thin Lycra short sleeve
tee-shirt and speed sleeves and that is a bit too much, too hot down low. It was
very pleasant at 10,400' on Wednesday. Southern Arizona is the hottest spot in
the nation this week. It's 106 on the ground. We have a RedBull tent, plenty of
free RedBull, and lots of water provided by Jamie Shelden (as the meet
organizer).

Given the high temperatures pilots have to be especially careful to take care of
themselves. Stay out of the sun as much as possible. Drink lots of water (and
electrolytes). Put on sun screen. Don't stand in the launch line too long.