Use this as a model about how to think about your own competition
flying

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

I'll start off looking at Sunday, September 18th,
the first day of the
Santa Cruz Flats Race. I did well on that day coming in second ahead of the
eventual winner, Jeff O'Brien and behind James Stinnet. Even though I did well
in the end there were a number of mistakes that I made and I put myself in
danger of landing.

The pilots were all together and high, over 8,000', for the 1:45 PM start five
kilometers southeast of the Francisco Grande. The lift had been strong and
consistent and on this first day it looked like we would have good conditions
for the task. Within three kilometers after we left the start circle we found
400 fpm and then after another three kilometer glide we found another thermal
averaging 400 fpm and we were back at 8,000'. The day did indeed look very
promising as we headed over dry desert toward Arizona City, a very dry looking
town.

I was in full race mode pulling in the bar to get up to almost 50 mph racing to
the next thermal and putting myself out in front of the other pilots. I would
have to glide seventeen kilometers and passed Arizona City before I found 300+
fpm. Glen Volk was quite a bit behind me but quite a bit higher when he saw that
I had found the lift and came in 1,500' over me to join me in the thermal. I
never saw him after leaving the start cylinder.

I was at the northwestern edge of a large cultivate area filled with multiple
green fields, many quite wet. I would have to thread my way through the fields
trying to stay over the dry ones, but still head toward the turnpoint to the
southeast. I couldn't see any other pilots although James Stinnett was not too
far away and of course Glen was high over my head. Jeff O'Brien was nine
kilometers back. I was happy to be on my own, but filled with trepidation as the
right path ahead was unknown.

After carefully nurturing weak lift, I was 3,000' AGL when I rounded the
turnpoint first with Glen just behind me and 1,000' over my head. Stinnett was
four kilometers behind and no higher than me, but I didn't see him. I was
nervous being this low but there were dry fields ahead and I was racing for
them. But I was racing at 10 to 15 mph slower than when I had started after the
first two strong thermals. The thermals had been much weaker in the cultivated
areas and I was just carefully tiptoeing through that area without pushing it.
Still I was in the lead as everyone else had also slowed down. This was nerve
racking.

Seven kilometers north of the turnpoint and down to 400' AGL and desperate I
found a tiny bit of lift that turned into a thermal that later averaged 170 fpm.
I was certainly going to stay with anything that I found. Glen was unseen two
kilometers to my east, 1,800' higher climbing 50 fpm faster.

Glen got out ahead as he was higher and had climbed faster and headed for the
Newman mountains to the north northeast. I climbed to 6,200' as James and Jeff
came in 1,400' below me for my first glimpse of other pilots. I went racing to
the hill behind Glen, again without seeing him.

As I came to the edge of the mountains Glen was four kilometers ahead climbing,
unseen by me and Jeff and James were four kilometers behind, all of us at about
5,000'. Glen was climbing at 280 fpm over the range.

I pushed into the mountain sides but didn't find the lift and headed back out to
a point further north where Jeff O'Brien (and Dustin) caught up with me. Glen
was 5000' over our heads having successfully climbed up over the peaks as we
searched for the lift at 1,500' AGL. Stinnett was behind us at 1,000' higher. I
followed Jeff and Dustin back into the mountains and this was a key for me,
hooking up with other pilots and not pushing out ahead but going back for better
lift.

Glen having climbed up high headed out to get the turnpoint just on the west
side of the mountain range. But as he headed back toward Francisco Grande on his
own, far ahead, he would not find the lift and would have to land. Stinnett came
in 1,000' over Jeff and I and we could see him above us as we climbed up. We
soon left Dustin below as he missed the best part of our climb.

Stinnet left with almost 9,000', 2,000' over our heads as Jeff and I continued
to climb with Mitch Shipley. The three of us left seven kilometers behind
Stinnett about five hundred feet lower. It seemed to me, other than Stinnett, we
were in the lead as I had never seen Glen and also didn't know that he had
landed.

Stinnett took a more direct route by himself while Jeff and I detoured to the
Casa Grande hills for that little bit of extra lift as we left Mitch behind.
Given the fact that he was already seven kilometers ahead of us, James was able
to come in fifteen minutes ahead of Jeff and I.

Jeff played a safer game than I did not pushing way out in front of the other
pilots. He stayed with other pilots the whole way. Glen went out on his own as
he was way ahead and he just had some bad luck. Stinnett stayed with other pilots
and then got ahead at the Newman mountains and had good luck going back to goal.

I stayed with Jeff and Mitch after hooking up with them at the mountains as I
wanted help after getting low out in front. Glen had been able to use me as a
guide dog staying above me until he found so much better lift that he got way
ahead and was on his own.

I could have played it much safer and not raced out ahead at high speeds at the
first of the race, but waited to fly with others and stay high. I'm apparently
wired to be impatient and want to get out in front and lead the pack, much to my
detriment, as the second day would show.