Saturday, April 11, 2015

Green Swamp Sport Klassic (Day 7)

The task today was a small triangle to the south, then northeast, and back north west.  The task and results are available on Soaring Spot, while the task and tracks are available on AirTribune.

Although we had a short "barbecue" task, it was not trivial to complete especially for the pilots flying novice level gliders due to the initial leg into a brisk breeze.  I decided early on to focus my efforts on helping those pilots in my group.









I kept encouraging pilots back upwind, even within the start circle.  We were making slow, but steady, progress until the small group flying with me missed a dying climb.  I pushed forward until I heard John say he found a climb.  Since I was already low, I should have kept going forward to a promising climb, but turned around and arrived back to his position very low.  John was climbing well, but I was just too low to really dig in.

When it became apparent I was separated from John and the climb was dying for me, I tried to shuffle downwind towards the airfield.  I shortened the drive a little, but still had to call Sue for a ride.  Sigh.


Packing up my glider for the last time after such a short flight wasn't the way I wanted to part, but it was still fun and I had plenty of time to pack it neatly for its new owner.



Although I apparently didn't learn my lesson from yesterday, I took consolation that John and some other pilots in that gaggle did well for the day.

The awards dinner at Red Wing Restaurant was lively and fun.  I think just about everyone agreed the Green Swamp Sport Klassic was already a classic.

Mark and the "cream of the crop"

Trophy winners!

Flights: 1, Duration: 1:06, Distance: 8.6 km

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