http://ozreport.com/forbesblogs.php

Went flying on Thursday along with 100 other pilots. I got out there to the
airport early on the bike, around 9 AM and flew the big Malibu (188), just for
fun, towing off the shoulders with the pro tow setup. I thought that it might be
a bit of a hand full flying the big glider without a V-bridle to the keel, but
other than the fact that I had to stuff the bar the whole time, it was easy. No
PIO. I took a couple of flights and found 500 fpm at 10:20 AM. No reason not to
start flying early around here.

Lots of good tows after one pilot took out a down tube coming off the cart
early. More experienced pilots are showing up and showing others how to do it.

I had a nice chat with one top pilot who said that he had just carried out an
extensive testing program to determine the polars of various gliders (picking
the best one for himself) and whether adjustments would improve glide
performance. He stated that he was getting 22 to 1 on the best glider at 50 kmh
(which is about where you would expect best glide).

He also said that he was getting better performance than his major competitors'
glider. And that the configuration from the factory was just about right. When
he attempted to improve performance he often found that the adjustments that he
made and were reputed to improve performance actually decreased it. He did make
a few minor performance improvements.

He found that 3/4 VG was optimal, while full VG degraded glide performance. He
said that the glider was a toy to fly, with very easy handling.

He'd rather it not be the case that his competition be aware of his superior
glider before the Worlds, but rather find out during the competition.

Zac reports:

Members of Team USA warmed up at Forbes today with a 95km
triangle. Pretty good flying I'd say. Not super high, left most climbs at 5k,
but topped out at 7000'. Lift averaged 5-600 fpm, but had one solid 900 up.