Our secret weapon at this competition has been Graciela Gentile, a Chaves resident who met the Sneads in 2008 and has been a friend of US glider pilots ever since. She met the McKnights at the Junin Regionals in 2009, and this year she adopted the enti…
Special Events
3 timers AAT
by Bill Elliott •
Et par billeder fra i går Samme vejr som i går blot med mere vind. Det bliver svært, som sædvanligt. Rigtigt svært. I går var gaggle-flyvningen ved startlinjen frygtelig, og de sædvanlige prøvede at komme sig selv, og os andre, til livs. Det lykkedes næsten med en mid-air collision, hvor begge fly dog heldigvis kunne […]
More photos
by Bill Elliott •
Postflight interview on 99.7
by Bill Elliott •
The local FM radio station interviewed Sarah after she landed today. We had the radio tuned to the wrong station back at USA Base, so we missed it. The station promised to get us a copy of the audio.
Vi er hjemme!
by Bill Elliott •
Vi er begge hjemme – Felipe har lige meldt ankomst. Uden tvivl en skidt dag resultatmæssigt, men vi kunne desværre ikke komme afsted ved startlinjen. Too bad! Det blev ren overlevelse hele vejen rundt… MEN, nu er der kolde øl /Morten
Scrutineer at rest
by Bill Elliott •
The gentleman with the clipboard in this photo is Art Grant, Chief of Scrutineering at the championships.”Scrutineering” is the method the Organisers use to assure that the configuration, equipment, documents, and weights of the gliders are all within …
Good report – Dieciseis
by Bill Elliott •
WGC2013 report – 18 January
As everyone knew they would be, yesterday’s tasks for all classes were cancelled around 2pm, in the face of entirely hopeless conditions: low cloud, mist and a cold southeast wind. Perhaps a dozen gliders were never placed on the launch grid – their pilots had decided that the chance of flying was not worth the effort.
The mandatory improvement in conditions shortly after cancellation was again seen, but it was slight: the sky brightened a bit and the mist stopped falling for an hour or so. Not the most incorrigible of the second-guessers was able to make the case that we should have waited longer. There was a considerable body of thought that, with impossible conditions and a weather forecast that offered not the slightest chance of useful improvement, it was a waste of time to put any gliders on the runway. It’s fair to note that contest organizers are ill advised to closely consult crew comfort in making their decisions – this habit often leads to lost flying opportunities.
Our morning routine here usually includes a visit to the Hotel Paris, which is something of a social center in the town of Gonzales Chaves. Its confiteria features good coffee and reliable internet service, which have made it popular with many at WGC2013. I expect hotel management will be sorry to see the contest end.
Within walking distance of the Hotel Paris are three food markets that have met our needs rather well, but which require some adjustments in planning. They open around 8:30, but always close from noon through 4:30. Beer and wine are readily available (the latter is excellent value in Argentina – $3 buys a good bottle) but are not sold before 10am or after 9pm. Cheese selection and price are favorable. Fresh produce is not impressive. Breakfast cereal – especially low-sugar varieties – seems hard to find; mushrooms close to impossible. Meat is inexpensive and of good quality, which makes sense in view of the Argentine preference for – and skill at – carne asado (barbecue).
Today’s morning weather looked much improved: at 10am, plenty of low cloud could still be seen, but sun was on the ground and seemed to be gaining the upper hand. The weather presentation at the morning pilot briefing described a flyable but tricky day, with sun, southeast winds (mercifully not strong) and cloudy areas to the southwest all contending for mastery. The general sense is that conditions to the northwest (where tasks have been set) may be decent, but it will not be wise to plan on a long-lasting day.
The FAI is the Fédération Aeronautique Internationale, the umbrella organization for air sport competitions around the world. The FAI flag is always displayed prominently at such events, along with flags from all participating countries. It was announced at the pilot briefing that two of these flags are missing: the FAI flag and the one belonging to Team Argentina; information as to their whereabouts is sought. We immediately considered the possibility that Heinz Weissenbuehler had put in a stealth appearance, his presence at a world gliding contest being reliably associated with missing flags, banners, etc. But a thorough search turned up no sign of this, so the missing flags are a mystery. One rumor – of dubious reliability – has it that the Argentina flag is missing because someone determined that Team Argentina might have something to do with the disappearance of the FAI flag. We await developments. [Editor’s note: any potentially libelous statements in this paragraph should be attributed to the author, and not to the US Team as a whole.]
Photos from today’s grid
by Bill Elliott •
SeanPeter
265 km. AST
by Bill Elliott •
A-opgaven er 265 km. AST – CU’erne er forsvundet, og der er trukket noget mellemhøjt AC ind. Indtil 14:30 lyder prognosen på 700-900m blue thermals med CI+AC tillagt. Fra 15:30 til 17:00 er det samme model, men med en højde på 900-1100m. HVIS temperaturen kommer over 26 grader, kan vi komme i max. 1200m. Opgaven […]
08:50
by Bill Elliott •
Her til morgen er solen fremme, men der er også et mudret billede af lave skyer. Vi krydser fingre!
