 |
| Phil |
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| Sarah |
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Clowns with water balloons
I was among the victims yesterday when a roving band of clowns with water balloons and buckets of water attacked the outdoor diners at the Cantina.
I was about to file a complaint with the Organisers when I realized that three of them were members of the US Team.
I was about to file a complaint with the Organisers when I realized that three of them were members of the US Team.
Good report - Catorce
WGC2013 report - 16 January
Yesterday proved almost as good as the beautiful sky at launch time suggested it would be. The amazing altitudes promised at the pilot briefing did not materialize - pilots had to be content with 6000 feet instead of 8000. The best lift was close to the forecast - most pilots found some 8-knot climbs. But there were holes to step into, and many pilots wasted at least some time digging out of one or more.
The forecast of overdevelopment and thunderstorms late in the day was spot-on: these grew into formidable obstacles south of Chaves (i.e. just where predicted), and by 6pm a shelf of blowoff had covered the airfield. But even late-arriving pilots were mostly able to find enough altitude north of home to cope with problems on final glide, so the result was lots of finishers and good speeds - the best of the contest so far.
My prediction of a modestly devalued day in Standard class was about right: the best time on course was 2:53, giving the winner (Christophe Cousseau of France) 958 points. A slightly longer task could have worked - but thunderstorms are hard to predict, and I give the Met Office here good marks for coming close yesterday.
All US Team pilots got home. In Standard class, Phil and Peter reported good lift but some long glides under fine-looking clouds that took longer than expected to produce useful lift. Their speeds (just over 102 kph) were good for 15th and 17th place.
Sean and Sarah had good flights in Club class (which in Sean's case included an uncomfortable low point followed by an excellent climb) finishing 11th and 12th. In World class, Tom got low a couple of times and thus was slow, but did manage his first finish of the contest.
A couple of finishes yesterday were noteworthy: two pilots managed a valid finish at a height and speed that left them unable to reach the runway. It appears that one pilot managed this well, with a safe landing into a field of acceptably low crop. The other pilot had difficulties - it appears he almost reached a good field, but with a fence looming in his path came to earth in rather tall corn, producing a groundloop that caused damage to his landing gear. With the attention of some clever local repairmen, he was reported to be ready to fly this morning. (As you've no doubt gathered by now, I find it strange that the finish geometry at a world gliding contest should be arranged to routinely result in risky landouts). [You're not the only one. Ed.]
As I've noted, we've found roads in Argentina to be generally good, and the "relaxed" enforcement of speed limits well suited to efficient retrieves. There are some differences of note. The normal range of speeds is considerable: big trucks (which are plentiful) do around 80 kph, whereas cars, theoretically limited to 130, may be doing 160. Outside of towns, everyone is supposed to have headlights on (to facilitate safe passing) and to cooperate with overtaking vehicles which includes allowing space for them to duck back into the right lane when passing can't be completed.
In and near towns, watch out for speed bumps, none of which resemble the wimpy US variety: Any speed above about 10 kph risks serious discomfort, derangement of passengers & cargo, and possible suspension damage. It's normal to find that an impromptu detour (itself none too smooth) has been carved out through the dirt shoulder to bypass these. And at city intersections, stop signs are scarce. In rare cases you'll find a traffic light, which may have a surprisingly - not to say painfully - long cycle. More typically you'll find no sign at all - you must negotiate a safe passage with crossing traffic: the nominal rule is that the vehicle on the right has the right-of-way, but the real rule is that the more confident driver in the older vehicle goes first. Fortunately, Argentina drivers in general seem both competent and reasonably courteous.
An interesting feature of glider contests at Chaves is real-time coverage of the finishes by the local radio station. The announcer is good at spotting the oncoming gliders and gets quite excited as they cross the runway threshold and touch down: think of the way a soccer announcer's voice rises as the play gets near the goal and you have the idea.
Here's a sample.
Today's weather started out grim, and stayed there. The few patches of sun on the ground at 8:30 were entirely gone by 9:30. It looked more or less hopeless for soaring, and the weather forecast at the morning pilot briefing said that the only change likely was deterioration: gust fronts and thunderstorms are apparently possible later today and tomorrow. In the face of this we still gridded all gliders and assembled on the runway at 12:15 under leaden skies for the expected series of first launch time postponements. The Puchacz sniffer was unable to stay aloft, and the inevitable day cancellation came around 1:30. This timing proved just right for PG: we towed the glider the short distance from grid to trailer and were sliding the fuselage in the box just as the first raindrops began to fall.
Yesterday proved almost as good as the beautiful sky at launch time suggested it would be. The amazing altitudes promised at the pilot briefing did not materialize - pilots had to be content with 6000 feet instead of 8000. The best lift was close to the forecast - most pilots found some 8-knot climbs. But there were holes to step into, and many pilots wasted at least some time digging out of one or more.
The forecast of overdevelopment and thunderstorms late in the day was spot-on: these grew into formidable obstacles south of Chaves (i.e. just where predicted), and by 6pm a shelf of blowoff had covered the airfield. But even late-arriving pilots were mostly able to find enough altitude north of home to cope with problems on final glide, so the result was lots of finishers and good speeds - the best of the contest so far.
My prediction of a modestly devalued day in Standard class was about right: the best time on course was 2:53, giving the winner (Christophe Cousseau of France) 958 points. A slightly longer task could have worked - but thunderstorms are hard to predict, and I give the Met Office here good marks for coming close yesterday.
All US Team pilots got home. In Standard class, Phil and Peter reported good lift but some long glides under fine-looking clouds that took longer than expected to produce useful lift. Their speeds (just over 102 kph) were good for 15th and 17th place.
A couple of finishes yesterday were noteworthy: two pilots managed a valid finish at a height and speed that left them unable to reach the runway. It appears that one pilot managed this well, with a safe landing into a field of acceptably low crop. The other pilot had difficulties - it appears he almost reached a good field, but with a fence looming in his path came to earth in rather tall corn, producing a groundloop that caused damage to his landing gear. With the attention of some clever local repairmen, he was reported to be ready to fly this morning. (As you've no doubt gathered by now, I find it strange that the finish geometry at a world gliding contest should be arranged to routinely result in risky landouts). [You're not the only one. Ed.]
As I've noted, we've found roads in Argentina to be generally good, and the "relaxed" enforcement of speed limits well suited to efficient retrieves. There are some differences of note. The normal range of speeds is considerable: big trucks (which are plentiful) do around 80 kph, whereas cars, theoretically limited to 130, may be doing 160. Outside of towns, everyone is supposed to have headlights on (to facilitate safe passing) and to cooperate with overtaking vehicles which includes allowing space for them to duck back into the right lane when passing can't be completed.
In and near towns, watch out for speed bumps, none of which resemble the wimpy US variety: Any speed above about 10 kph risks serious discomfort, derangement of passengers & cargo, and possible suspension damage. It's normal to find that an impromptu detour (itself none too smooth) has been carved out through the dirt shoulder to bypass these. And at city intersections, stop signs are scarce. In rare cases you'll find a traffic light, which may have a surprisingly - not to say painfully - long cycle. More typically you'll find no sign at all - you must negotiate a safe passage with crossing traffic: the nominal rule is that the vehicle on the right has the right-of-way, but the real rule is that the more confident driver in the older vehicle goes first. Fortunately, Argentina drivers in general seem both competent and reasonably courteous.
An interesting feature of glider contests at Chaves is real-time coverage of the finishes by the local radio station. The announcer is good at spotting the oncoming gliders and gets quite excited as they cross the runway threshold and touch down: think of the way a soccer announcer's voice rises as the play gets near the goal and you have the idea.
Here's a sample.
Today's weather started out grim, and stayed there. The few patches of sun on the ground at 8:30 were entirely gone by 9:30. It looked more or less hopeless for soaring, and the weather forecast at the morning pilot briefing said that the only change likely was deterioration: gust fronts and thunderstorms are apparently possible later today and tomorrow. In the face of this we still gridded all gliders and assembled on the runway at 12:15 under leaden skies for the expected series of first launch time postponements. The Puchacz sniffer was unable to stay aloft, and the inevitable day cancellation came around 1:30. This timing proved just right for PG: we towed the glider the short distance from grid to trailer and were sliding the fuselage in the box just as the first raindrops began to fall.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Estancia Hounds
There are a bunch of dogs at the estancia where we are staying.
The collies are still just puppies and have been very entertaining. Pat thinks
they are not getting enough to eat so she has been feeding them up.
 |
| Part of the collie collection |
 |
| Bruno assesses the chances of a supplemental ration |
Good report - Trece
WGC2013 report - 15 January
Compared to the day before, we got just a bit farther yesterday. By 1:30 the low cloud layer had entirely dissolved and sun was on the ground everywhere. The first launch was delayed a couple of times, but by around 2pm World class gliders were on tow, and for the first time in the contest, all were able to "stick" - I saw no gliders relaunch, and indeed none that looked particularly low. This no doubt had a lot to do with winds under 10 knots - the friendliest of the contest thus far. Pilots reported altitudes around 1000 meters, and best climbs of better than 1.5 m/sec.
Tasks for Standard class and then Club class were soon cancelled, presumably on the basis that there would not be time to complete these launches and then a task in what was predicted to be a short soaring day. But pretty much everyone assumed that the World class would now have a chance at their fifth task in conditions that looked well short of booming, but definitely friendly.
So more than a few eyebrows were raised when, with World Class gliders hovering near the start line waiting for the flag to drop, their task was cancelled. One report had it that this was done because the latest weather report suggested there would not be time for completions, and thus another mass landout day would ensue. But, while most pilots chose to land, some stayed in the air and one was seen in the landing pattern after 5pm, which suggests the day may well have been long enough. And we've certainly seen that in this task area lots of landouts can be done safely. The result of all this was our third straight day without a task for any class, and a general sense that time is running short with more flying needed for this contest to be considered a fair test.
We continue to enjoy good wildlife sightings. The pond just west of the Chaves runways has shrunk a bit in the recent dry weather, but still has an area of several acres and a good amount of bird life. Yesterday's included Franklins Gull, White-cheeked Pintail, South American Stilt, Southern Lapwing, Cinnamon Teal, Plumbeous Ibis, Great Grebe, and Maguari Stork. Seven Chilean Flamingoes made a low approach in tight formation, but - perhaps deterred by dozens of strange white birds camped on the lawn nearby - pressed on east toward quieter neighborhoods. In the campground we've discovered the nest of a pair of Whistling Herons, which so far seem undeterred by a high level of human activity 40 feet below. A less welcome critter is the armadillo, unadmired for his habit of digging holes in runways, glider parking areas, fields, and elsewhere.
Fortunately, we have a much better looking day today: sun, a few high clouds, light northwest wind, cumulus likely. The marplot [? Ed.] seems to be a chance of afternoon thunderstorms creeping in on Chaves from the southeast. Because of this, the first launch is scheduled for 11:30 - the earliest we've yet seen. Tasks (of which each class has been given four possible) mostly head north, where conditions are forecast to be very good: climbs of 3+ m/sec to over 2500 meters. The general thought among pilots is to try to carve out the best 3 hours of flying that the day offers (that's about how long the announced tasks should require), aiming to be on final glide before encountering problems with late afternoon overdevelopment or storms.
12:30 update: Launch is now complete (a large fleet of towplanes consistently achieves this in around an hour) into an absolutely gorgeous sky, dotted with cumulus whose bases are above 5000 ft. Winds are around 10 kts. Looking southeast we see thicker cloud and some tendency toward vertical development that could prove troublesome later. But for now it's easy to think that we at last have the conditions we came for, and that today will yield a high rate of completions and brisk speeds. In view of this, tasks may not be quite long enough: in Standard class, for example, the task distance is 339 km which a fast pilot on a day like today should complete in around 2:45 or so - whereas a minimum of 3 hours is required for an undevalued day. But perhaps this can be seen as a buffer against possible bad weather late in the day. In any case, this day looks to produce distances and speeds to make pilots smile.
Compared to the day before, we got just a bit farther yesterday. By 1:30 the low cloud layer had entirely dissolved and sun was on the ground everywhere. The first launch was delayed a couple of times, but by around 2pm World class gliders were on tow, and for the first time in the contest, all were able to "stick" - I saw no gliders relaunch, and indeed none that looked particularly low. This no doubt had a lot to do with winds under 10 knots - the friendliest of the contest thus far. Pilots reported altitudes around 1000 meters, and best climbs of better than 1.5 m/sec.
Tasks for Standard class and then Club class were soon cancelled, presumably on the basis that there would not be time to complete these launches and then a task in what was predicted to be a short soaring day. But pretty much everyone assumed that the World class would now have a chance at their fifth task in conditions that looked well short of booming, but definitely friendly.
So more than a few eyebrows were raised when, with World Class gliders hovering near the start line waiting for the flag to drop, their task was cancelled. One report had it that this was done because the latest weather report suggested there would not be time for completions, and thus another mass landout day would ensue. But, while most pilots chose to land, some stayed in the air and one was seen in the landing pattern after 5pm, which suggests the day may well have been long enough. And we've certainly seen that in this task area lots of landouts can be done safely. The result of all this was our third straight day without a task for any class, and a general sense that time is running short with more flying needed for this contest to be considered a fair test.
We continue to enjoy good wildlife sightings. The pond just west of the Chaves runways has shrunk a bit in the recent dry weather, but still has an area of several acres and a good amount of bird life. Yesterday's included Franklins Gull, White-cheeked Pintail, South American Stilt, Southern Lapwing, Cinnamon Teal, Plumbeous Ibis, Great Grebe, and Maguari Stork. Seven Chilean Flamingoes made a low approach in tight formation, but - perhaps deterred by dozens of strange white birds camped on the lawn nearby - pressed on east toward quieter neighborhoods. In the campground we've discovered the nest of a pair of Whistling Herons, which so far seem undeterred by a high level of human activity 40 feet below. A less welcome critter is the armadillo, unadmired for his habit of digging holes in runways, glider parking areas, fields, and elsewhere.
Fortunately, we have a much better looking day today: sun, a few high clouds, light northwest wind, cumulus likely. The marplot [? Ed.] seems to be a chance of afternoon thunderstorms creeping in on Chaves from the southeast. Because of this, the first launch is scheduled for 11:30 - the earliest we've yet seen. Tasks (of which each class has been given four possible) mostly head north, where conditions are forecast to be very good: climbs of 3+ m/sec to over 2500 meters. The general thought among pilots is to try to carve out the best 3 hours of flying that the day offers (that's about how long the announced tasks should require), aiming to be on final glide before encountering problems with late afternoon overdevelopment or storms.
12:30 update: Launch is now complete (a large fleet of towplanes consistently achieves this in around an hour) into an absolutely gorgeous sky, dotted with cumulus whose bases are above 5000 ft. Winds are around 10 kts. Looking southeast we see thicker cloud and some tendency toward vertical development that could prove troublesome later. But for now it's easy to think that we at last have the conditions we came for, and that today will yield a high rate of completions and brisk speeds. In view of this, tasks may not be quite long enough: in Standard class, for example, the task distance is 339 km which a fast pilot on a day like today should complete in around 2:45 or so - whereas a minimum of 3 hours is required for an undevalued day. But perhaps this can be seen as a buffer against possible bad weather late in the day. In any case, this day looks to produce distances and speeds to make pilots smile.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Photo from today's grid
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| Phil and John |
They look so relaxed after the Task has been cancelled, don't they?
Good report - Doce
WGC2013 report - 14 January
Chaves did not see a favorable weather trend yesterday. The low cloud layer that had broken encouragingly by noon began to re-assemble itself by 2pm, as southeast winds continued to bring in moisture off the South Atlantic. The sniffer was able to stay aloft, but apparently did not find conditions suitable for a launch, and thus the day was cancelled for all classes.
I thought perhaps the World Class, first on the grid, might be given a chance to try their luck in winds that were about as low as we've seen during the competition. As I've noted, this class has suffered gravely from difficult soaring conditions and rules that require formidable distances for a valid day. Over eight scheduled contest days, they have achieved just four valid tasks during which the class leader has accumulated a total score well under 1600 points. But by late afternoon it was clear that even if they'd been able to stay aloft and start a task, no completions would have been possible, and the decision not to launch was the correct one.
I may have to take back some of the nice things I said about Juan Mandelbaum. He was indeed unfailingly helpful while here, and has done an enormous amount to help the US Team - but after departing yesterday morning he couldn't resist sending an e-mail to which was attached a photo of the beautiful cumulus-filled soaring sky he apparently encountered only an hour or so north of Chaves, and which persisted all the way to Buenos Aires.
Today's sky at 10:00 looked grimmer than yesterday's. Southeast winds continue to bring in marine air. No sun was on the ground anywhere, the ceiling was around 100 meters, and light mist was occasionally falling. Nonetheless, a grid time was announced, and crews dutifully towed gliders to the north edge of the airfield. By 11:30, some breaks in the overcast had appeared, the ceiling was up to perhaps 200 meters, and optimism was beginning to gain some ground.
Task sheets were distributed that call for short tasks to the north, where perhaps pilots can connect with some of those elusive good conditions. A puzzling quirk is that every task for every class has the same small final steering turnpoint about 5km from home - which means that all finishers (always assuming we have some) will be funneled into the same small area toward the end of their final glides.
At the pilot briefing, the weather forecast - prefaced with apologies - called for decidedly tricky conditions: a southeast wind, backing to east, will continue to bring moisture, and a strong inversion means that even with good solar heating climbs much above 3000' may be hard to find. But by 12:30 we see enough sun to feel encouraged that today might not be the third straight no-fly day.
[Update at 1420: Club Class and Standard Class Tasks have been cancelled.]
[Update at 1440: World Class Task cancelled before the Task opened. This was a questionable call. Tom reports that the Task was doable, and his class really needs more valid days...]
Chaves did not see a favorable weather trend yesterday. The low cloud layer that had broken encouragingly by noon began to re-assemble itself by 2pm, as southeast winds continued to bring in moisture off the South Atlantic. The sniffer was able to stay aloft, but apparently did not find conditions suitable for a launch, and thus the day was cancelled for all classes.
I thought perhaps the World Class, first on the grid, might be given a chance to try their luck in winds that were about as low as we've seen during the competition. As I've noted, this class has suffered gravely from difficult soaring conditions and rules that require formidable distances for a valid day. Over eight scheduled contest days, they have achieved just four valid tasks during which the class leader has accumulated a total score well under 1600 points. But by late afternoon it was clear that even if they'd been able to stay aloft and start a task, no completions would have been possible, and the decision not to launch was the correct one.
I may have to take back some of the nice things I said about Juan Mandelbaum. He was indeed unfailingly helpful while here, and has done an enormous amount to help the US Team - but after departing yesterday morning he couldn't resist sending an e-mail to which was attached a photo of the beautiful cumulus-filled soaring sky he apparently encountered only an hour or so north of Chaves, and which persisted all the way to Buenos Aires.
Today's sky at 10:00 looked grimmer than yesterday's. Southeast winds continue to bring in marine air. No sun was on the ground anywhere, the ceiling was around 100 meters, and light mist was occasionally falling. Nonetheless, a grid time was announced, and crews dutifully towed gliders to the north edge of the airfield. By 11:30, some breaks in the overcast had appeared, the ceiling was up to perhaps 200 meters, and optimism was beginning to gain some ground.
Task sheets were distributed that call for short tasks to the north, where perhaps pilots can connect with some of those elusive good conditions. A puzzling quirk is that every task for every class has the same small final steering turnpoint about 5km from home - which means that all finishers (always assuming we have some) will be funneled into the same small area toward the end of their final glides.
At the pilot briefing, the weather forecast - prefaced with apologies - called for decidedly tricky conditions: a southeast wind, backing to east, will continue to bring moisture, and a strong inversion means that even with good solar heating climbs much above 3000' may be hard to find. But by 12:30 we see enough sun to feel encouraged that today might not be the third straight no-fly day.
[Update at 1420: Club Class and Standard Class Tasks have been cancelled.]
[Update at 1440: World Class Task cancelled before the Task opened. This was a questionable call. Tom reports that the Task was doable, and his class really needs more valid days...]
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Halftime
We've reached the halfway point in this competition. We've had 6 flying days, 2 no-fly days, and we have 6 days left on our Championships calendar.
We occupy a variety of positions in the place standings, and all our pilots expect to move up in the second half. It is generally agreed around here that all three scoresheets are still somewhat volatile. The next six days will tell the story.
The story of that story will be told in this blog.
Peter, Phil, John, and I would be greatly encouraged to keep writing if our readers would put a little something in the tip jar. We use the donations we receive to purchase essential items that we didn't bring with us in our luggage - things like tarps, plastic chairs, lumber, a printer, a bicycle, and bizarre power strips.
Also, gasoline is up to almost 7 pesos per liter, and (thanks to the difficult soaring conditions) we've been burning a lot of it recently.
We'll do our best to continue to acknowledge every donor. Thanks.
We occupy a variety of positions in the place standings, and all our pilots expect to move up in the second half. It is generally agreed around here that all three scoresheets are still somewhat volatile. The next six days will tell the story.
The story of that story will be told in this blog.
Peter, Phil, John, and I would be greatly encouraged to keep writing if our readers would put a little something in the tip jar. We use the donations we receive to purchase essential items that we didn't bring with us in our luggage - things like tarps, plastic chairs, lumber, a printer, a bicycle, and bizarre power strips.
 |
| A bizzare power strip and a plastic chair |
Also, gasoline is up to almost 7 pesos per liter, and (thanks to the difficult soaring conditions) we've been burning a lot of it recently.
We'll do our best to continue to acknowledge every donor. Thanks.
Good report - Once
WGC2013 report - 13 January
Though there will no doubt be some dissent from "Monday morning quarterbacks", the decision to declare a rest day looks like a good one. The predicted good soaring weather did arrive yesterday afternoon, but the fat cumulus clouds at least had the good grace not to appear over the airfield until around 4pm - just late enough to support the belief that there would have been insufficient time for a decent task.
Popular rest-day activities included beach excursions (the closest is about a 75-minute drive from Chaves), and a quiet day near home. My day included a visit to an interesting shop in the town of Tres Arroyos ("Three streams") about a half-hour southwest. In a building that may once have been a small warehouse is an improbable collection of merchandise mostly - but obviously not exclusively - pitched to tourists. This is the place to go when you need hay, bracelets, dogfood, gas grills, grains, cured ham, cutting boards, tables, gaucho knives, cheese, wine racks, sausages, small swords, or leather belts. All of this is locally produced and to the extent I could judge (i.e. omitting such items as hay and dogfood) showed evidence of good craftsmanship.
Some additional tales from Friday's flying have filtered in. A few pilots landed in fields just short of the airfield, and not all of these had done their field-scouting homework - at least one came to earth in a soybean field, which when plants are small is okay for the glider, but will reliably lead to an unhappy farmer. So we surmise that the Otto Ballod gliding club is now in line for some neighbor-relations problems that may persist past the end of this contest. And one story had it that among the short-landers was a pilot who'd released just a bit early from an aerotow retrieve and who compounded his problems by failing to extend his landing gear (a detail not infrequently overlooked during a no-pattern, straight-in landing). Fortunately, in a smooth field this rarely produces much worse than an acute case of embarrassment. (Because I've already expressed my wonder at rules that make the nature of fields just short of home so significant, I'll avoid this subject here.) [Thanks. Ed.]
Today we awoke to a low, solid overcast that by 10:30 had dissolved into low cumulus clouds - rather like the beginning of many good days at Uvalde. At the pilot briefing we learned that this had much the same cause as at Uvalde (sun acting on a layer of marine air) but by no means the same result. It seems the good soaring conditions of yesterday have retreated some ways north. If these can be reached, pilots should find strong climbs to good altitudes under cumulus clouds. Unfortunately, it seems likely that wind from the ocean will keep our local weather difficult and free of cumulus. Wind - which as launch time approaches is agreeably light from the southeast - is predicted to strengthen, perhaps to troublesome velocities.
[Update: all Tasks were cancelled at 2pm. It's another rest day.]
Though there will no doubt be some dissent from "Monday morning quarterbacks", the decision to declare a rest day looks like a good one. The predicted good soaring weather did arrive yesterday afternoon, but the fat cumulus clouds at least had the good grace not to appear over the airfield until around 4pm - just late enough to support the belief that there would have been insufficient time for a decent task.
Popular rest-day activities included beach excursions (the closest is about a 75-minute drive from Chaves), and a quiet day near home. My day included a visit to an interesting shop in the town of Tres Arroyos ("Three streams") about a half-hour southwest. In a building that may once have been a small warehouse is an improbable collection of merchandise mostly - but obviously not exclusively - pitched to tourists. This is the place to go when you need hay, bracelets, dogfood, gas grills, grains, cured ham, cutting boards, tables, gaucho knives, cheese, wine racks, sausages, small swords, or leather belts. All of this is locally produced and to the extent I could judge (i.e. omitting such items as hay and dogfood) showed evidence of good craftsmanship.
Some additional tales from Friday's flying have filtered in. A few pilots landed in fields just short of the airfield, and not all of these had done their field-scouting homework - at least one came to earth in a soybean field, which when plants are small is okay for the glider, but will reliably lead to an unhappy farmer. So we surmise that the Otto Ballod gliding club is now in line for some neighbor-relations problems that may persist past the end of this contest. And one story had it that among the short-landers was a pilot who'd released just a bit early from an aerotow retrieve and who compounded his problems by failing to extend his landing gear (a detail not infrequently overlooked during a no-pattern, straight-in landing). Fortunately, in a smooth field this rarely produces much worse than an acute case of embarrassment. (Because I've already expressed my wonder at rules that make the nature of fields just short of home so significant, I'll avoid this subject here.) [Thanks. Ed.]
Today we awoke to a low, solid overcast that by 10:30 had dissolved into low cumulus clouds - rather like the beginning of many good days at Uvalde. At the pilot briefing we learned that this had much the same cause as at Uvalde (sun acting on a layer of marine air) but by no means the same result. It seems the good soaring conditions of yesterday have retreated some ways north. If these can be reached, pilots should find strong climbs to good altitudes under cumulus clouds. Unfortunately, it seems likely that wind from the ocean will keep our local weather difficult and free of cumulus. Wind - which as launch time approaches is agreeably light from the southeast - is predicted to strengthen, perhaps to troublesome velocities.
[Update: all Tasks were cancelled at 2pm. It's another rest day.]
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