In the aftermath of the vicious storm that swept through North Alabama and neighboring states last week, Bill and I decided to take a break and ‘get out of Dodge’ to enjoy soaring in nearby Tennessee and to escape the extended power outage, lack of auto gas, and other unpleasantness that prevails in our home state. For more details, see the related story on SoaringCafe.com .

As I write, we are basking in cool, sunny weather at Chilhowee Gliderport near Benton, Tennessee. We arrived at Chilhowee on Friday morning and were delighted to see many old friends, most of whom will remain to fly in next week’s U.S. Sports Class Nationals. The soaring weather forecast called for NW winds at 10 to 15 knots–perfect for soaring the local ridges–and an~8,000′ cloudbase (excellent by Eastern U.S. standards!). Bill and I each declared 200K speed triangles and several other pilots joined the fun, Gary Carter (HK) and Linwood Stevenson (PS) among them. Linwood flew the farthest, completing a 330K course and Bill completed his 200K in ~2-1/2 hours. Bill’s second turn was Marion Co. Airport in the Sequatchie Valley, about 45  miles west of Chilhowee. By using ridge lift after he entered the Valley, his average speed up to the second turn was ~70 mph. Unfortunately, the area around Marion Co. was very wet from the last week’s storm, and he struggled in weak lift for quite a while. Eventually, he found a decent thermal that lofted him to ~7,000′, which was enough for a final glide home.

Yours Truly started my 200K too late–about an hour after Bill, Linwood, and the others. The run to the first turn north of Loudon, TN was good with nice cu’s abounding, but the clouds began to disappear about halfway to the second turn. I finally decided to abandon the task and head for home, but I was below glide. I hoped to pick up some lift on the way back, but there was none to be found. Too low and too late to make a safe glide home, I picked a field about five miles west of Chilhowee and landed. The field was good and the owners helpful, so the landing and retrieve were uneventful, and Bill arrived with my trailer about an hour after my landing.

This morning’s forecast calls for blue conditions–no cumulus, but the top of lift should be ~5,500 feet. We’re ready to challenge the elements again! We haven’t yet decided on a task but Bill may re-fly the 200K for a Tennessee state record and I’m thinking about a 100K speed triangle state record attempt. The standard and sports class records should be easy to beat if all goes well. I really want to make it back home today!

Rand Baldwin “NN”