Thursday, August 02, 2012

Big Spring - Day 1

The first day was filled with adventures that make good storytelling.  We staged in hot blue conditions with light southerly winds.  The task was a 61.9 mile (100 km) triangle to the northwest, then directly south, then back to the airfield.

I was relieved to see pilots remaining airborne and then seeing cummies pop just before I launched.  My tow was uncomfortably rowdy behind the trike right from the start.  I recovered from the most slack tow rope I've ever seen. Finally having enough, I released low hoping the turbulence beating me up was thermal induced.  I fought with the sharp-edged bronco as I slowly rode it to the top floor.

John on tow over the airport.  Photo by John Beckley.

Luckily for me, the entire field was waiting for the last start so I was in a reasonably good position for a race start.  I hung back with several other pilots as we stumbled into a good climb just as the start clock ticked over.  Although risky, the move payed off as I had enough extra altitude to directly glide to a strong climb.  Jeff O'Brian and I climbed quickly and snatched the turn point ahead of the pack.

The day turned on as we raced along the second leg; large clouds started forming atop strong climbs.  It was along the second leg that I watched a 737 fly through a gaggle of gliders I was racing to.  I have seen close calls over the years, but I thought this one was going to end in a collision.  Luckily, especially for Jonny, the plane sliced through the gaggle narrowly missing the wide-eyed glider pilots.

Flying over Texas.  Photo by John Beckley.

The next challenge immediately presented itself on both sides of the course line.  Rain was falling just right of the course line but heavy rain and lightning ahead to the far left was the real challenge since it blocked the final leg back to the airport.  Some pilots decided it was unsafe and landed, some charged ahead and flew close to (or through) the storm, and others, like me, slowed up and waited to see if the storm would continue to grow or rain itself out.  I sat in extremely weak climbs for almost 45 minutes before I was convinced the storm was dissipating and I could safely move on.  I lost many points but I was comfortable with my decision to slow up.


After one last tall climb, I started a long smooth final glide over the recently watered countryside towards goal.  A line of storms beyond the airport to the north were dropping rain and lightning bolts.  I watched the smoke from a fire in town go from leaning towards the north to leaning towards the south as I approached the airfield.  (You can see the smoke earlier in the day to the right of the trike in the first photo above).  I was now racing a gust front.  I landed next to the wind sock in the middle of the field just in case the gust front was passing through as I touched down.  I landed in a light south wind and was just entering the hanger when the wind switched 180 degrees and started to blow.

The rest of my retrieve crew was still in the air, along with Dave Proctor who was sharing our radio frequency.  Dave made goal, but was unable to lose altitude as the outflow from the storms were plowing under the warm air.  He flew south until it was safe to land.  Teammates PK and John Beckley were forced to do the same.

The adventure was still not over though.  Driver extraordinaire, Ryan Crawford, and I drove to fetch PK and John.  PK landed along a nice road, but John landed deep within a ranch to the southwest.  We drove his trusty Subaru Outback along a maze of tiny ranch roads and finally found him talking with the ranch foreman.  We talked about the drought and how it has affected everyone in the area.  I explained we were doing our part by having a hang gliding competition; that always seems to bring rain.  ;-)


John's LZ

We shared tall stories of the day as we drove back to town before eating, working on equipment, and preparing for day two and the rest of the adventure.

Update:  Scores for the day are available at Soaring Spot.

Flights: 1, Duration: 3:25, Distance: 61.9 miles

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Fun Fun, Makes me wish I was there.... Hey, wait!!! pk