Monarca Task 5

Today was another day of high pressure at Valle De Bravo. However there were no high clouds to filter the sun, which meant the inversion was higher, the thermals were stronger, and the edges were much sharper. I had an excellent game plan for the day and was feeling good about the task.

On launch I had one aborted attempt as I believe I was on the edge of a cycle. The second launch was fine and I headed out to start my climb. The air was certainly very textured, but I felt that it was nothing I couldn't handle. I'm flying Dad's Omega 7 which is a large and has a weight range of 100 to 130 Kg. I'm at about 113 with 6 Kg of ballast. So far I had felt the wing was extremely stable and reliable even in rough conditions. hmmph...

After gaining enough altitude I started my glide towards the pinon. I made it around the corner just fine without event, took a few little tip collapses, once again I felt that the air was perhaps rougher then it had been in the previous tasks. Once across the pinon I went deeper into the terrain towards the wall to climb up. I began to circle in a strong established core. I was well below the wall height and probably about five hundred feet above the ground several hundred feet in front of the wall. I was facing upwind right on the edge of the thermal and I was pulling pretty hard on my right brake and weight shifting to bank it back into the core. for a few seconds I teetered on the upwind edge, then I spun the glider to the right. As soon as it happened I immediately realized my mistake and instinct took over before my mind could interfere. The right side of the glider was deflated so I quickly braked the left side and continued to watch the glider. It accordianed a little bit and I lost a bit of the left tip as the right side began to reinflate. I checked my altitude with a quick glance and had flashes going through my mind of other gliders being over controlled into a cascade resulting in a reserve toss. I didn't want that to be me, so my hands went up. I was well aware of the possibility of a cravat and knew I didn't have altitude to waste. I quickly made the decision that if that were to happen I would huck imediately. The glider was ready to restart, but both tips were tucked in. As I gained airspeed I started to check the surge and both tips popped out. I took the diving glider around to the right to face away from the terrain and re-establish myself in the thermal.

The whole event didn't scare me too much, but it definitely shook my confidence and I started to completely re-evaluate the glider I was flying. I'd been on the edge of spinning other gliders before, but usually weightshift was always enought to load the glider and I rarely pull that much brake to begin with. However, spinning your glider is a serious mistake!

I continued on towards the start, but wasn't having much fun. strong cores kept ripping through and slowing me down. I kept blowing tips also. eventually I caught up with the lead and had a pretty good start. The glide out to start was mellow and I began to think the day was starting to change. On the way back several people took a line to veer back towards start, but I felt I needed another climb before getting that low to the terrain again. So I veered a little bit left and thought I was about to hook into a thermal. I was completely ready to handle turbulence and control the glider. But that didn't stop me from taking a full frontal near heavy traffic. Once agian a rush of adrenaline and flying instincts took over. The recovery was easy, but I was now extremely uncomfortable in the air. I needed to climb to get away from the terrain and back to launch, the next turnpoint, but I didn't want to chance another collapse. I worked up my nerve and rejoined the gaggle to climb out. Then I went on glide. The line I took back to launch went over the wall and behind the pinon. I needed to speed bar to get to the next turn point, but I'd lost my nerve. A comp pilot should not take wacks when he's ready for them. I decided that my head was not in the right place, I was not ready to fly this glider light in high pressure, high energy conditions. So the solution for me was to tag the second turnpoint, as I was already there and land. As soon as my feet were on the ground and I watched the gliders overhead I knew I had made the right decision and felt much better. I hope there wasn't any reserve tosses today and that many pilots make it to goal safely.

I'm not worried about losing my position in the comp. I learned far more about myself as a pilot, and that's worth much more then a few ranking points in a game that is supposed to be fun. Hopefully Dad's flight was much better. He probably killed it, but I'll let him fill you in when he gets back.

Buenas Tardes,
Wil

Thanks Wil!!

My flight today was pretty much the opposite of Wil's. When I took off I was rested, confident, well fed, and ready to race. I found the conditions sporting but manageable. I didn't start well but was able to catch up by the first turn point. Being heavy on the Boomerang is a huge advantage if you're able to fly accelerated with the trimmers open. Aside from surfing up the side of the pinon a couple of times I flew the entire race pretty high and fast. I'm still not closing well but I feel I'm getting a little better. About the last 18 months or so I consistently fly the course with the leaders only to be left behind at the end. Today I once again let the leaders get away but this time I was only a couple of minutes behind them. I think I've finally realized that you have to make a major mental gear shift if you want to close out the race with the leaders. Haven't seen the scores yet but I think I came in ok.

As you can imagine there was quite a discussion about where you are in the weight range of the glider. Wil has been flying brilliantly all week being in the lighter half of his weight range. He had a couple of strong deflations and managed to find some really ratty air and things just started adding up to a point where he just wasn't have a good time anymore. He showed alot of maturity by respecting the fact that he just wasn't feeling it and then landed. That said when you jump into the water here in mid day conditions it doesn't matter whether you're at the top, bottom, or in the middle of your weight range. All of the reserve tosses this week have been by gliders loaded to the top. My glider has balled up completely twice this week, I've taken 3 frontals, one accelerated, and had my glider start to spin twice. Probably about a 1000 tips and countless assymetrics...... It's all part of the game we play. It's not if - but when it will happen. Wil handled his glider recovery perfectly but was understandably shaken which is perfectly natural all things considered. This is stuff that can't be taught - you just have to experience it first hand and move on......