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Flight Articles from the August 2006 Big Spring Comp in Texas (in order of posting time stamp)
[Tony de Groot 1] [Tony 2] [Tony 3] [Skippy]

Tony De Groot
August 2006
Big Sprint Comp Update

Big Springs Update #3

The last 3 days of competition were a struggle for us.

The first day it was so light with a lot of wind drift.  It was our first blue day and I didn't realize how hard it was going to be.  We still were trying to figure out where to go to get lift.  Dark fields, parking lots, all just guess work really.

I wanted us all to fly together but as it was so hard to stay up after tow we just tried to stay up and the wind drifted us off the airport.  I ended up following Dave Duke as I figured he was due a good day.  Well, he was but I wasn't and as I hit 5-600 feet down after heading out from the airport.  I thought I would move a bit to my right as that is what they say in the books.  So then I moved into 800 down.  So what do you do continue to move through this sink crosswind or do you go back through the sink the way you came?  I was coming to an area where I couldn't land so had to head back to the left.  Dave hit some lift in front of me and I stretched to get to him and got in his thermal, but at 100 feet over.  Three turns later I was landing as Dave climbed away.

Dave won the day going fifteen miles with Greg launching awhile later and going a little less while I only got about 9 miles with Skippy also not getting much after going on glide.  She did though hang out at 500 feet over and drifted for a couple miles which kept her from landing as long as possible.  Since it was an open distance day it had a 900 point value.

The open class pilots set a 156 mile task and some actually completed it.  156 miles on a weak blue day, amazing!

The second to last day had over-cast conditions all day as perfect clouds sat five miles away.

The last day I thought was going to OD so I set up fast and walked up to the front of the line ahead of all the topless gliders.  Usually, we all waited until everyone launched ahead of us.  They said we could do this if the open class competitors weren't in line.  As I walked up I was surprised as all the topless guys were like, Jah, Jah go for it.  They all piled in behind me cutting off all the other single and sport class pilots.

Soon I was up and climbing with all these pilots.  I was high, but not real high as I was being pushed outside the airport.  3,900 agl was a fifty fifty proposition to find lift if I left but I didn't want to push upwind and lose all the altitude and land and get back in line.  So, I thought I would go for it.  Then all I needed was to catch one thermal away from the airport and all the pilots in the open class would cruise over and I could follow them for awhile.

So I drifted away and searched for that one thermal and searched and searched and fricken bombed!  Another open class pilot flew over me a few minutes later and he searched and searched but bombed as well.  Then fourty five minutes later it went off with clouds popping and the whole gaggle came out.

It did OD a short time later with rain and lightening and the rest of our group didn't get far.  I won the day but not by much.  The day was eventually cancelled for the open class pilots after quite a bit of heavy complaints as some pilots choose to turn and land while others flew through the storm to make goal.

In the overall single surface class Greg ended up taking first, myself second, Dave Duke third and Anne-Odile with her personal record flight in fourth.

The last day of the competition there was a pretty fun spot landing competition in the early morning.  Johnny Durand Jr. and Seppi were dive bombing downwind at the crowd nearly cleaving them with there cheese cutter side wires then wanging it around and landing right on the spot.  Scotty, you would have fit right in.  Greg and I landed right on the spot but we both dropped our base tube, Greg just set it down.  I got it on the second try.

The party at the end of the day was fun and Anne-Odile speaking Spanish to the Guatemalan team and then wrapping with the French team had a great time.

We drove home in one straight shot taking 21 hours.  I hope some other pilots will go out there some time to compete at Big Spring either to compete with the other pilots or just to challenge your own skills.  You will have a very good chance to push your personal best distances and meet some talented pilots.

See ya, Tony

Flight Articles from the August 2006 Big Spring Comp in Texas (in order of posting time stamp)
[Tony de Groot 1] [Tony 2] [Tony 3] [Skippy]