Today started out as a ‘Groundhog Day’ day – doing everything the same as yesterday, and for a while it looked like we were going to get the same result – but that’s a different story ;-).
Got up, assembled, watered up (why in the world do I keep putting all this water into my glider, even in the face of a dismal soaring forecast?), and towed out to the grid. At least today I had an idea where I was going on the grid, and got there with very little problem. Back to the pilots meeting to hear the aforementioned dismal soaring forecast, and then back to the Micro-Castle to do some programming and other things to waste time.
Out on the grid at noontime, things were actually looking a bit better, and it started to seem like we might actually get to fly – and even maybe go out on task. Despite weatherman Scott’s prediction of a blue day, we started seeing cu’s popping over us and out to the east – too bad our task took us to the west into the blue – but at least we could admire them from a distance!
CD Richard Maleady got a sniffer up right at noon, and when the pilot started reporting ok if not spectacular climbs, he started the launch for the entire fleet. My glider was in position 39, so I had lots of time to watch the launch and listen to pilot reports, and then I started hearing something about a lost pilot – strange. Turns out one of the new tow pilots towed a glider out, and then couldn’t find the airport! Now Perry isn’t the easiest place to find, even when you are approaching from the east or west where you can see the entire runway, so I can understand how a pilot without a GPS could get a little disoriented. So, Kurt happened to be up towing in his smoke-equipped Decathalon, so he proceeded to essentially write “HERE” in big letters over the airport. This eventually did the trick and our wayward pilot was returned to the fold, as it were. Names and tail numbers have been withheld to protect the guilty, but I was given to understand that a Garmin GPS-12 with a Perry waypoint already programmed in was going to appear in that pilot’s cockpit tomorrow morning.
The tasks for the day (there were separate Std, 15/18, and Sports tasks) were all 4 circle TAT’s that all went west southwest to Aiken or Twin Lakes to start, then northeast up I-20 to Don Bells then south to either Ernies, Williston, or Wexford Mills, then North to Eagles Nest, then home. All class gates were open by about 2:15 or so, and soon thereafter pilots started streaming out on course. 15 meter pilots Erik Nelson (5E) and John Cochrane (BB) reported that they team flew today, had a lot of fun, and were able to help each other out of a couple of jams. They actually started and finished within a few seconds of each other, and were 2/3 for the day – nice!
There is a superstition in the racing circuit that winning the practice day is bad luck, and that superstition got a big boost today, as both the 15 meter and 18 meter winners from the practice day landed out today – bummer. One of the unlucky pilots was my wingman John Mittell (BZ) who landed in a field about 10 miles from Perry. John had picked a great field, and the retrieve was a piece of cake. There was no planned dinner here at the field, so when John treated his retrieve crew to dinner at the Pizza Stop, the place was full to brimming with other glider pilots.
Popular weather for tomorrow is calling for ‘mostly sunny’ (maybe some cu’s?) and a high of 80 with light southwest winds. Could be a good day – stay tuned!
Frank (TA)
