http://soaringspot.com/2011bsn

There is no better location for hang gliding than Big Spring, Texas. After the
flying that we have experienced so far this year and for the last eleven years,
it is hard to imagine a better venue for actual hang gliding than right here.

The conditions, the consistency, the safety, the marvelous feeling in the air
just can't be matched by any other location. For sure, it does not have a
majestic beauty of, for example, the Dolomites or the Alps, but then again I
spent every day of the 2011 Italian Nationals sitting at the hotel often just
watching the rain. Perhaps someone should tell the meet organizers not to call
for such meets in early June.

The conditions were so good on Wednesday it is hard to describe. We love cumulus
clouds. We had plenty of love on Wednesday. We love strong smooth lift. We had
plenty of that. We love racing right with our friends going as hard as possible.
We had that and a lot more.

Being able to fly back to the airport and not just going long, even when there
was a reasonable amount of wind is a blessing. Everyone loves to be able to just
leave their glider setup in the huge hangar and to go have a bite to eat and get
to bed before midnight.

Dave Proctor flew for almost six hours on Wednesday and made it back to goal
with a thermal at 7 PM giving him 700 fpm. Where else are you going to find
that?

David Glover, the meet organizer, always says that what keeps us coming back to
Big Spring is: 1) the conditions, 2) the facilities (airport, hangar, water,
terminal), and the people (very friendly and providing $20,000 each meet in
services). It isn't the scenery (although it is interesting and beautiful in its
way), and it isn't the great food (this is no southern Italy, but there are a
few good restaurants). It's the world class flying.

Should we bid for the Worlds again, just to give the pilots what they want,
great flying? Or are they actually just a bunch of tourists that want to have
something other than hang gliding to entertain themselves?

So, now to Thursday. The task committee called at 202.6 km FAI triangle. Please
let us know if a longer FAI triangle has been called and made in a competition.
It may (or may not) be the longest FAI triangle called in a competition.

The weather forecast was for moderately light winds, cu's, strong lift. The
winds were strong in the morning so we called a backup task to the north if they
stayed that way. But with the lighter winds forecasted, the task committee
called the big FAI triangle. The winds turned out to be pretty strong but not so
strong that the task wasn't doable.

The cu's showed up after noon, but they were pretty sparse at first. Pilots were
a bit reluctant to get going, at the 12:30 PM launch time, but they finally got
into line at ten to one. I started fairly early, seven after one,  and this
time found strong lift right away with Glen just below me and Bostik off to one
side.

After we climbed to 9,000' we flew over to a nice looking cu on the east side of
the runway and climbed up to cloud base at 10,000'. A bunch of us would stay at
cloud base until it was time for the first start clock at 1:40. Obviously we
didn't spend much time in the five kilometer start cylinder.

The wind was fifteen kilometers per hour out of the south. Our first leg was
sixty six kilometers to the northeast. There were plenty of cu's in that
direction.

A number if us who had been sitting around at cloud base decided to take the
first clock, given that the task was long and should take almost five hours to
complete. We wanted to get back to Big Spring before the lift died out.

Joe Bostik was first across the edge of the start cylinder and I crossed it
eight  seconds after it opened. Alex Cuddy was just behind Joe and to his
right. The three of us raced off without bothering to see if anyone else was
coming with us. There must have been ten pilots at cloud base.

The first glide was eleven kilometers and we were averaging fifty five mph over
the ground with a quartering tail wind. We raced hard and found strong lift
repeatedly back to over 9,000'. Joe was leading and I was following from behind
and lower.

About half way to the turnpoint Joe went on a path that didn't appeal to Alex or
me and we shaded right to get under some clouds. We hit good lift and got back
to over 9,000' As we headed from the next thermal I saw Joe low and circling in
a sunlit area far from any cu's.

We hit another thermal then headed directly for the turnpoint and some scattered
cu's before the turnpoint. I was leading and this was a mistake on my part. We
should have continued shading to the right to get under some better clouds and
approach the turnpoint from the south and not the south southwest given the
fourteen mph winds out of the south.

This mistake was almost fatal. The scattered cu's formed a big cu, but the lift
was barely positive, and we were being blown past the turnpoint to our east.
Finally I ran for the turnpoint with Alex following and then ran back to the
west. The sink was 600 to 700 fpm down. It looked like I would be flushed to the
ground.

I passed over a field that look landable and kept going a little bit further
down to 600' AGL. I could feel just a hint of lift in the next field and went
for it. It was going up and I hopped on the train.

After I made a few turns Bostik came in under me, having not yet made the
turnpoint and we climbed to 6,700' before he took off for the turnpoint back
upwind and to the east. I headed south upwind to where Alex and another pilot
were turning.

The lift was rough and not going up very much at first but down to 4,500' I was
going to hang with it after my near death experience. Alex saw some birds
circling and headed off south getting low quickly and soon landing. The other
pilot and I finally found the good core and I climbed to 11,200' as he went back
to get the turnpoint.

The wind was now twelve mph out of the south southeast and our next turnpoint at
La Mesa was due east. I headed west south west fourteen kilometers before I got
in a nice thermal under Glen Volk. I had a glimpse of Glen earlier on the course
and it was good to see him as he was in second just behind me. We climbed to
10,500' and then headed off west southwest trying to stay upwind of the course
line to La Mesa.

It was a saw tooth course all the way to La Mesa with a now ten mph south
southeast wind. We were getting to over 11,000' and jumping from cu to cu. Joe
Bostik caught up with us, and there were a few other pilots around. We were
racing as hard as possible and taking only the good lift.

Bostik, Zippy, Volk, Shipley and I all hooked up at the La Mesa turnpoint. We
were at 9,500' and heading south back to Big Spring. Joe was pulling. We were
heading into a ten to twelve mph head wind.

After a few thermals Joe headed off further to the west than pilots were
comfortable with so we headed for some cu's and found lift. Joe was low and
turned east apparently to get back under some cu's. The four of us continued to
fly together working one cu after another.

At first Zippy and Mitch were leading then after Glen and I spotted a dust devil
Glen and I were leading. At twenty five kilometers from goal, I got dropped off
the bottom end when I didn't climb as well as the others. Glen at cloud base
headed off toward goal with Zippy and Mitch following.

I followed for a little while but it was all blue ahead to goal and I was too
low to make it unlike what it looked like for the other three.

I turned west to get under some forming cu's (this was at almost 6 PM) and found
strong lift after a bit of a search. I climbed in that thermal at eighteen
kilometers out to 10,600'. I had an required 8:1 glide to goal with a ten mph
head wind.

I started gliding in and then noticed Glen low circling about ten kilometers
out. A few kilometers ahead of him was Zippy, way below me, but going on glide
toward goal. I pulled the bar in figuring that he if could make it I certainly
could. The 6030 said I had goal by 800'.

 I raced Zippy to goal and lost by a couple of seconds. I was so excited
because he had been so high above me twenty five kilometers out and I wasn't
even sure I would make it in. Mitch came in a little later, but Glen did not
make it in.

Larry Bunner was the first pilot in ten minutes before me and he took the second
clock. It turns out that Zippy and Mitch also took the second clock.

Now the question is did Larry beat Attila's 200 km triangle record set in 2000?
It looks like he did. This wasn't a real 200 kilometer triangle because we
didn't account for the cylinder radii. Still he did 195.6 kilometers at an
average speed of 45 km/h, which is indeed faster than Attila's record.