Sequatchie Badge and Record Camp 2013

Two and a half years ago I had the opportunity to purchase a well equipped and maintained glider. A long standing member of my home club, Memphis Soaring Society (MSS), was divesting himself of his ship to pursue other interests for awhile. With the consent of a supportive wife and after several decades of flying club ships I suddenly found myself the proud owner of an SZD 55-1, (2D).

2D Pre-takeoff 3-13-13

2D Pre-takeoff 3-13-13

I soon discovered that owning a glider changes your perspective in many ways.  For me it was a green light to spend more time running around with the other members who own a glider, who take off for several hours seeing how far they can go and then relive the good and bad aspects of those flights at day’s end. Up until then I had been a steady tow and demo pilot who, in the back of my mind, was thinking “someday” as I listened to those members venturing far awar from the airport.  Well, for me, that day had come.

Not long after acquiring 2D, in May of 2010, some MSS members informed me of a ridge soaring gathering to take place in Talihina, OK that Thanksgiving weekend.  I joined them and was introduced to ridge soaring, spending two days flying and learning from those who attended.  This is an interesting area not well known to most that is becoming more active thanks to the efforts of several pilots but primarily Randy Teal (BU) of Tulsa.  Check out his Talihina traces on the OLC….amazing!  After that weekend my mind began to wander every time I’d see an article about a contest or other activity in the SSA magazine and I began to think “I should consider doing that” more frequently.

Kevin McLean-Sarah Arnold

Kevin McLean-Sarah Arnold

Sometime last Fall I saw the information announcing the Badge and Record Camp that Sarah & Jason Arnold were to hold March 5-14, 2013 out of the Marion County Airport in the south end of the Sequatchie Valley, just west of Chattanooga, TN.  That brought back a memory for me of seeing a picture in the SSA magazine of the 2-33 (or was it a 1-26?) they have flying on a ridge at Chilhowee with the trees below covered in frost and snow. The Sequatchie Valley, with Marion County Airport at the south end, runs from west of Chattanooga to Crossville in Tennessee and is just a beautiful setting for glider flying. There have been many long flights accomplished in this area when the ridge is working and thermals are occurring with decent cloud bases allowing one to transition between ridges.

So I knew I had to go and mentioned it to others at MSS. Fellow member Jim Story, who has recently purchased and refinished his first glider, an LS-1 (YA), decided to join me. We later discovered that another Memphis area pilot, Steve Vihlen, and his ASG-29 (SV) was going too. It was going to be a great week!

As the date approached it became apparent that the first day of the camp could be quite good. A front was pushing through that promised to bring winds of the right direction and speed.  Steve and I caravanned over, 5 hours in moderate rain that was relentless in its consistency. As forecast, the next morning presented cloud bases of 3,000 MSL and wind 90 degrees to the ridge at 15-20kts. Walden Ridge on the east side of the Sequatchie Valley was open for business!
Sequatchie Ridge

In all my years around gliders I have never felt the urge to obtain badges. For whatever reason it just was not something I thought of. So in my mind for this trip I was just going over to do some casual ridge flying, enjoy the camaraderie of the other 24 attendees and hear some interesting speakers at the dinners relate some information I could take home with me. Included in the information I received were files showing possible tasks for Silver, Gold and Diamond distance (and goal) flights. After discussions between Jim, Steve and myself, I found myself contemplating doing a Gold distance task. 300k is the goal and the one I chose was laid out at 321k.

Although I flew ridge that weekend in Oklahoma it is still very much a leap of faith for me. As a few took off in front of me I knew logically that it was working as forecast. While on tow in gusty conditions and over unfamiliar terrain we cruised toward the south end of the ridge, giving me an opportunity to use my slack rope skills. At 3,000 AGL and with the wind at my back I released a couple of miles from the ridge with my flat-land inner being persistently whispering to me “I do NOT like this picture”.  Of course it was just a short while before the lift picked me up and I was on task. An airspeed indicator error thought to have been fixed before takeoff initially served as a distraction early on but was not a deterrent to the job at hand.

Ridge view

Ridge view

The first 30 minutes had me seriously questioning whether or not I could go the distance physically. With temperatures in the low 30’s on the ground I assumed it was no warmer than that at 2,500 MSL. While I believed I was dressed for the conditions I found that my feet turned out to be the one area that spoke to me the loudest from the onset.  That being the case I stayed low and kept the hammer down for the first half of the flight running at or below the top of the ridge between 90 and 100 kts most of the time. Even with concentrating on flying and the cold conditions I could not help but marvel at the collection of homes and cabins dotting the top of the ridge. There is also a hang glider ramp that made me think that as low to the trees as I might feel there are others who clearly win that contest when they fly in this area!

Snow and lower cloud bases in the area of the first turn point proved to be an issue for Kevin McLean in his Standard Jantar (4L), who was one of the first to reach that area (Hinch Mountain VOR). He had to loiter for about 10 minutes before he could safely reach the turn point.  After an hour and a half the sun began to appear on the south end of the ridge providing at least a warm feeling mentally. I then slowed to a more casual speed and finished at altitudes above the ridge, finishing the task in 2 hours 38 minutes.

Approaching Hinch Mtn VOR

Approaching Hinch Mtn VOR

All in all it was a great experience. With Sarah and Jason’s having all the assets in place, the task pre-planning essentially done for me and the wind cooperating I know how fortunate I was in the timing of it all. At the end of the flight the weather had improved enough that there were thermals to 4,000 in the valley so I spent another 45 minutes or so taking in the beauty that is Sequatchie Valley. In the end Jim Story, Kevin McLean and I completed the gold distance and there were a couple of others that flew a good bit further who were not declaring a goal. I have since learned of the wave camp Sarah and Jason hold in February each year and am planning on it for 2014 to complete the altitude portion of the Gold Badge.

What a great week!  If you are a golf fan you have likely seen the TV ad for the World Golf Hall of Fame where Golfer Gary Player of South Africa says, “If you love golf, you have to go”.  Well, I say, if you live in the eastern US and love to soar, you have to go to Sequatchie Valley and enjoy the beauty of it all!

Jim Story-Mark Olinger

Jim Story-Mark Olinger

Postscript:  After almost a week of hanging out with the other pilots, hearing great speakers impart new information to take home and a number of decent thermalling days, another front approached. On the last day I was to be there the stars aligned:  Great ridge lift AND thermals!  The result for me and five others was the ability to do the diamond goal and distance in one flight. What a great place to fly!

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