Although the weather forecasters predicted blue skies, we settled on a 156 mile task to the north-northeast. I was a little slow out of the start gate and quickly fell one climb behind the leaders. I was enjoying the climb-glide cycle over the farmland north of Big Spring until I approached some mesquite covered hills with uninviting LZs. I thought it might be safer and faster if I teamed up with some other pilots to look for lift. I waited at the top of a climb for 3 other pilots. When they reached my altitude I led out and expected them to quickly follow and hopefully spread out. However, they kept orbiting in place while I reached out over the unfriendly terrain looking for lift. I should know better to wait on other unknown pilots; you’ll just waste time and still end up finding the next climb alone. (I’m a slow learner as I repeated the same mistake once more later in the day!)
The mesquite opened up into a nice large canyon with little mesas in the middle. The view was great and I regret not snapping some pictures. I inadvertently slowed down as I started wandering around but snapped back into the race when I saw pilots race in below me. I moved onto the flat cropland beyond the canyon and was punished with widespread sink. I got low enough to announce an “imminent landing warning” to our driver Beth. I flew over to a tower along a ravine and was rewarded with a smooth 800 fpm climb back into the sky. The farmlands once again gave way to a larger canyon area that was more impressive than the previous one. I crossed the area very high (11,000 feet) and comfortably enjoyed the view unlike several competitors far below me. I found a reasonable climb on the far side of the canyon where I expected it to be and eventually joined two other pilots as we left the canyon and glided over green farmland again.
Unlike my previous two experiences, the other pilots joined the hunt for our next climb. We glided a long time before one of the other pilots started turning in some weak lift. Since we were low I joined the slow climb while visually looking for anything better. I was anxious to leave when I noticed the time; it was getting late and the day was probably shutting down. I decided to become more cautious as we moved forward circling in little bits of lift. My new flying buddies were not doing as well as me and eventually they landed south of a narrow canyon that had a golf course in the middle.I floated over that little canyon hoping for a climb on the far side, but expected to land in the fields just beyond. I found a mushy climb that allowed me to drift downwind towards a little town in the middle of a sea of crop land. I was sure my day was done when that thermal dissipated. I cruised over town hoping to snag a late day “pavement thermal” but came up empty.
I moved on and tip-toed into a little 10 – 20 fpm climb that was drifting downwind at 11 mph. I knew there wasn’t enough daylight left to drift into goal, but maybe this lifting line would eventually turn into a real climb. The thermal was smooth and fairly wide, just not strong. I settled in and started flying with one hand in the center of the base bar as I watched a thunderstorm develop ahead of me on course line. I heard Glen landed just inside the goal circle, Mike landed just outside of it, and Carl was ahead somewhere. Beth was picking up Bubba and Pete who were on the ground behind me. I just kept checking in and reporting that I was drifting at 11 mph towards goal while climbing at 10 feet per turn. I drifted for miles in that mellow late day wisp. I was close enough to goal that a “real” climb would probably get me in. I started daydreaming about coming into goal at sunset to be the fifth pilot there. However the rain and lightning ahead of me and the setting sun quickly brought me back to reality. When the lift finally faded I went on final glide not really looking for another climb. I ran down wind above a series of telephone poles along a paved highway. As I descended the wind got stronger and the telephone poles started flicking below me like railway ties below a train. I did a 180 at the last minute expecting to hover down, but landed in completely calm conditions. I guess an evening gradient is one of the benefits of an 8:15pm landing. I walked over to the road and started breaking down before it got dark. I snapped a couple pictures of the storm ahead of me and the sun setting behind it. The crew swung by and picked me up just as it was getting dark; it was good ending to a great day of flying.
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