Day 2 at CCSC Region 6 South

Day 2 is in the bag here, and was as good today as it was bad yesterday.  Weather forecast was for 2-4kt to about 5000′ msl, with cumulus clouds throughout the soaring area, and winds from the west-southwest at 10-15kt.  The task call was for a 2.5hr TAT for both classes, from CCSC north to Moraine (basically south Dayton) with a 4-mile circle to address opposite direction traffic issues, then due west to Eaton with a 12-mile circle, then southeast to Double-J with a 15 circle, then a steering circle at Fricke, then home.   Amazingly, the actual weather on course turned out to be very close to the forecast, except slightly better cloudbase heights out to the west.  All pilots made it around – ZERO landouts (with the Day 1 landout jamboree, I’m now down to slightly less than a 50% landout rate for my lifetime CD average, and there is now some reasonable chance that I will avoid a lynch mob).  Can’t say enough about task advisers Erik Nelson (5E), Jim Price/Rob Cluxton (1K).  It was Erik who noticed the opposite direction traffic issue and proposed a good solution – thanks!

I have been exercising my CD prerogative to ‘sniff’, and I have been monitoring the launch and opening the gates from the air.  Today the weather looked too good to pass up, so I took a tour around the task areas (had to make sure those waypoints hadn’t moved anywhere).  As I was passing back by CCSC on the way from Eaton to Double-J, I checked in with Contest Manager Rolf Hegele, and during the conversation he asked about conditions.  My reply was that conditions were ‘good but not great’, with some climbs in the 4kt range, but most in the 2-3 range.  At the end of the day I was approached by Don Kroesch (DK) with a complaint.  He maintains that he was having a GREAT day until he heard my condition report, at which time it all fell apart and he limped the rest of the way around the task.  Hmm, didn’t know that CDs had that kind of power – wow!

Dinner tonight was City  Barbecue and it was scrumptious.  City Barbecue is a small chain originating Columbus, Ohio, with some branches in the Cincinnati area, and their stuff is pretty heavenly.

Popular weather forecast for tomorrow is for sunny, high near 90, with light winds from the south – yeah!  Stay tuned,

Frank (TA)