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Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/23/03 7:37
pm)
65.70.100.171
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Big Spring,
Texas Nationals
Rich Sauer and I decided to fly my plane from Northern California
to Big Spring, Texas for the Nationals. The flight time was supposed
to be 7 hours and 35 minutes. We would make a stop for fuel at St.
Johns, AZ. Everything was going great for the first 20 minutes, then
my charging system failed. Oh well, the nice thing about aircraft
engines are they do not need a battery to run, they use magnetos to
fire the spark plugs.
I turn off all the electrical,
including my GPS which plugs into the lighter socket to keep it
charged. It runs for only 3 hours off the internal battery. I have
flown the first part of the route many times and was able to make it
to Las Vegas using only visual navigation. After Las Vegas I would
turn on my GPS every « hour to check and make sure I was still on
route. As is usually the case we hit head winds stronger than
predicted and the first leg to St. Johns took 5 hours and 30
minutes, about 45 minutes longer than planned.
When landing
at St. Johns, I let the rpm drop too low on roll out and the engine
quit (this is caused by the high altitude and hot turbo charger). As
we were rolling down the runway I tried to start the engine but the
battery was too weak. As luck would have it, the runway and taxiway
were every so slightly down hill to the fuel island. I rolled all
the way (about ¬ mile) to the fuel island with the prop still. We
got some funny looks as we taxied up.
As I worked on the
charging problem, Rich asked the lineman if he could give us a jump
so we could get on our way to Texas. He looked at us a little funny
as to why we would want to fly all the way to Texas without an
electrical system. As he was getting the ground service cable, the
plane in front of me at the fuel island was trying to start his
radial engine. A fire erupted in the cowling. The lineman dropped
the cable and ran on got a fire extinguisher. While he was gone,
Rich was knocking on the window of the plane trying to tell the
pilot that his plane was on fire. The guy just kept on cranking.
Burning fuel was now running on the ground and burning under the
plane. The lineman arrived with the extinguisher and was able to put
out the fires.
We were trying to beat the thunderstorms that
were supposed to cover most of New Mexico, so we asked the lineman
if he was ready to give us a jump. I could almost see him rolling
his eyes. First a fire and now these guys want to get going to
Texas. In between all this excitement I determined the problem with
the charging system was the voltage regulator. I would have one sent
to Texas. The plane started right up with the jump and we were on
our way.
Soon after departing St. Johns, we hit a really big
thermal. I had set the climb power to give me about a 200 fpm rate
to keep the engine cool. Slowing to 82 knots and keeping a 45 degree
bank, we were able to climb at 1,500 fpm for about 3,000'. We were
still going up at 13,500' when we pulled out because we had reached
our cruising altitude. Near White Sands New Mexico, we were near a
military operations area. We got to see a F-117 stealth fighter up
close. They passed within « mile of us. They continued to maneuver
around the area for a few minutes while we watched.
We found
Big Spring without any more excitement. Total flight time was just
over 9 hours. The regulator will be here Friday. Scot Huber is
already here was well as Ron Gleason, Bo, Paris, Kurt Warren, and
many others. No one flew earlier today, but after 5:00 pm several
gliders were towing up. The High today was only 93 degrees. One of
the employees for the local FBO said it has been over 100 degrees
for the past several days. The wind was blowing about 10 to 15 mph
out of the east. Ron said the forecast was for winds out of the
south for the next couple of day.
Vince
Edited by: Vince
Endter at: 7/29/03 5:07 pm
|
Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/24/03 4:57
pm)
65.70.100.116
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Big Spring,
Thursday 7-24-03
Rich, Linda, Kim and I went over to the airport this morning around
10:00 am. Several pilots were already there getting ready to fly.
Rich wanted to take an early test flight. The winds today were out
of the south from 3 to 15 mph with the stronger winds in the
afternoon. Rich towed up at 11:30 and was able to stay up for almost
an hour. He was at 5,000' (2500' agl) most of the time. He landed so
he could make some changes to his glider.
The tug pilot
today was Lisa (I forgot her last name). She is doing a great job.
Early today she was towing a low time pilot who got out of whack
soon after leaving the cart. She was able to slip the tug over to
him and save his tow. I wish I had it on video because it looked
really cool.
Some of the pilots put together a task of a
61-mile triangle. Clair, Bo, Ron Gleason, Bubba, Jerz and a few
others started launching at 1:30 for this task. I was not very hot
to fly after bouncing around for 9 hours yesterday so I helped
launch some of the pilots. There was only one tug here today. By
3:30 most of the pilots had launched and the sky was filling up with
beautiful CU's. I gave in and got on a cart to fly. At 3700' (1200'
agl) my vario was indicating 1600 fpm so I pinned off. I rode this
thermal to 10,000' at 400 to 600 most of the time. The wind at
altitude was 12 to 15 out of the south. I drifted almost 3 miles by
the time I topped out.
I decided to fly to the second
turnpoint in the triangle to meet up with the pilots who had
launched earlier. I flew for about 12 miles without getting below
8,800'. Most of the time I was able to dolphin fly and stay above
9,500, this leg was into the wind. I had a problem though. I had
forgot to take the Chapstick out of my pocket and it was caught
under my leg strap. After about 45 minutes of this I could not take
any more so I flew back to the airport. As I was again under the
cloud street, I lost only about 1,500' on the 12 miles back. To the
west of the airport, I found a blue hole and cored sink to get down.
I landed at 4:30. The day was just starting to look really good. It
looked like you could get in a 150 to 200 mile flight launching at
3:30.
Jerz was first back from the triangle with Ron close
behind. Most of the other pilots made it back as well. I found the
air here to be much smoother than I had expected. The thermals were
big. There was some big sink in-between the lift, but the sink only
lasted for 20 seconds or so, not like the 4 or 5 minutes of sink we
had at the Wild West Regionals. It would be hard to judge a site by
just one day, but I was very pleased with the conditions. I was a
little disappointed with some of the landing areas around here.
There looked to be some long glides to the east of the airport due
to the lack of LZ's. Other than the Green swamp, the Florida comps
seemed to have more LZ's. Though, if we can stay 8,000' agl, we
won't need as many LZ's.
I talked to a local gentleman about
the area. There is indeed a big spring in Big Spring. 100 years ago
it used to flow 1.5 million gallons a day. Now water is pumped into
it to make it flow. Water rights here were and still are just as
fierce as in the Owens Valley. The airport we are using was an
active military base up to 1976 at which time it was turned over to
the local government. While in operation, their claim to fame was
they could train an Air Force pilot, for less cost than anywhere
else in the world. This also has to be the prairie dog capital of
the world. Everywhere I look I see them standing up trying to look
their cutest for the local tourist.
The local community is
really excited about having us here. As you enter the airport
property there are large signs that say "Hang Gliding" that point
the way to the area we are set up. They even installed several
bleachers for the spectators. There has been a lot of local radio
coverage about the event. It is quite a change from the local sights
around my area (San Jose) where the local government want to do
everything they can to keep us from flying.
I have been out
to eat only once so far, but we hit a great place to eat. I can't
even remember the name of the place, but the parking lot was full,
always a good sign. They had a regular menu or you could take
advantage of their all you can eat Mexican buffet for a whopping
$5.95 per person. The four of us got out of there for $25, including
some beverages. I enjoyed the food. The had water melon that was the
sweetest I have tasted for a long time. And a lot of the food in the
buffet was vegetarian so I really packed it down.
Vince
|
Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/25/03 5:15
pm)
65.70.100.251
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Big Spring,
Friday
Linda Sauer has been a great help. She has been keeping us fed and
watered while out at the airport. What she wants to do though is
chase us. She is tired of sitting around. Yesterday we just did a
short out and return so she did not have to go anywhere.
The
wind was 5 mph stronger today than yesterday. The direction was
close to the same with maybe a little more east in it today. The
clouds started forming by 1:00. Glen Volk, Jerz, Mark Bolt and Jim
Lee towed up early for a 100-mile down wind task. Jim Lee did not
find anything and landed. The others made it to cloud base. If they
can stay up, they should make it in a little over 2 hours, given the
wind.
By 4:00 the wind was a little lighter, between 10 and
15 mph. Campbell towed up along with another pilot. After making
cloud base, I watched Campbell fly up wind along a cloud street for
several miles without turning. Watching the clouds drift overhead,
it looked to me like the wind up high was a little lighter than what
we are seeing on the ground. Earlier today it was blowing 20 to 25
mph at times.
The local officials had some of the prison
residents come by and install a nice canopy over the bleachers. They
also installed twenty-two 6' tables in the terminal building for the
opening day dinner and the pilots meeting. The local television
stations have been out gathering interviews for the local news. Did
I mention that one of the businesses around here that generates a
lot of revenue is prisons? There are 5 of them around the airport.
The Quest trailer arrived here last night with another
dragonfly, a trike and more launch carts. The hanger is getting very
crowded. It would be difficult for me to get my glider out without
having a lot of other gliders move. The gliders in the hanger are
getting bumped around as well. Someone pushed a glider's side wires
against my D-cell and it had started to cut through the sail.
Someone pushed Rich's glider back against the hander door, and when
they closed the door, it hit his glider. It looks OK, but he was
understandably upset. When parked outside the wind pushes them
around and the asphalt wears the tips. I think I am going to break
down every night and set up again the next day. I do not want to get
stuck in the hanger when I want to launch. For now it would be nice
to have someone in charge of the inside of the hanger.
Rich
and I did not fly today. With the dinner and mandatory meeting
tomorrow, I don't know if we will have time to fly Saturday either.
At 5:00, more pilots started towing. Rich is out on the flight line
getting some video of the pilots launching. The wind is still closer
for 15 than 10, with gust to 20. With the wide-open spaces, towing
has not been a problem. Bo did say that a couple of times he hit
sink so strong, that even with the turbo wide open he could not
climb up to the pilot and the pilot could not get down before they
had to release.
During the competition I will be using my
APRS. You can track my position by clicking the link:
www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?KF6WAV
If
I am not broadcasting, you will get a message saying position not
found. We should be launching between 1 and 3 pm Texas
time.
Vince
|
Ernie
Camacho
Administrator
(7/26/03
7:12 am)
12.236.203.186
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Re: Big Spring,
Friday
Vince sent this photo of Jerz launching off the cart:
|
Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/26/03 6:30
pm)
65.70.100.207
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Big Spring, comp
starts tomorrow
The wind is blowing again today. It might be a little lighter than
yesterday but not much. The sky was filled with nice looking clouds
by 1:00. A couple of pilots towed up at 2:00. A couple more tugs
showed up this morning. Jim Yocom brought his tug from Colorado.
Unfortunately the body of the tug shifted in the trailer and put a
hole in the left wing. They will be able to get it fixed and flying
by tomorrow. Something similar happened to one of the other tugs
here as well. That one was repaired last night.
I worked on
my plane yesterday and found part of the problem. The regulator was
burned out. I replaced it but it still would not charge the battery.
Without out my tools and test equipment, I could do nothing further
to trouble shoot the problem. The local FBO took over and found a
short in the alternator. They should have it all going again by the
middle of next week.
Rich and I decided to fly today. We
towed up at 4:30. Bo took me right to some lift. I climbed from
4,500 to 9,500 in that thermal. As I was climbing, every time the
thermal started to get weak, I flew 200 yards upwind and would find
a good core again. I headed south into the wind stopping under
clouds as I came under them. The lift was 400 to 800 fpm. My highest
was 10,800. The cloud base looked about 11,500'. The lift would slow
down the last 1,000' or so before cloud base. My ground speed in the
way back was in the `70s most of the time. Rich headed south as
well, but he left lower than me. He never found much lift so he
headed back to land.
The town of Big Spring put on a nice
dinner for the competition pilots and their guest. After the dinner
and speeches from the airport manager and the mayor, we had a pilots
meeting. It looks like we just might fit all the gliders in the
hanger. They are placed on their nose and base tube and can be
really packed in tight. It will be interesting tomorrow when the
pilots with gliders in the very back want to get out first.
Tim the scorekeeper set up a wireless network in the
terminal building. It works anywhere in the building. Unfortunately,
I am typing this in my motel room because it is after 9:30 and I did
not want to hang around the terminal building until I was finished.
The competition starts tomorrow. There is talk of a long
downwind task because the winds are again expected to be strong.
Vince
|
Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/27/03 4:07
pm)
206.231.12.49
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Big Spring,
first day of Nationanls
The day started off badly. Rich and Linda Sauer's truck was broken
into last night. Jerz had his truck broken into as well. I had a lot
of my stuff in Linda's truck. Between their and my stuff, we lost
about $3,000 worth of gear. Luckily I had most of the things I
needed to fly in my room. They did take my spare parts box and all
my Cam Helpers, my carbon repair kit, digital video camera, cell
phone, Icom W32A radio and other small items. Right now I'm not
feeling too good about the city of Big Spring. This is the second
time Jerz had his truck broken into in the last 3 days. The first
time they just went though it and did not appear to take anything. I
hope the day gets better. The pilots meeting is about to start so I
will add more later.
I'm back on the ground now. I hoped the
day would get better, I was wrong. The task today was a 60 mile
triangle to the north. We would start with a down wind leg, then
cross, and a headwind on the last leg. The winds were supposed to be
out of the south at 10 mph. CU's started forming at 1:00. There was
a rush to launch at 1:45. I was in the middle of the line for
launch. On my first tow, the weak link broke at 10'. I landed and
headed back in line. I am dressed for the temperature at 10,000'. I
get back in line for another tow. This time the rope breaks at the
tug end when I am at 30'. I was right in line with the tug and there
was no surge before it broke. I dumped the rope and landed straight
ahead.
Now I am ¬ mile from the tow line still dressed for
cold and totally soaked. When I get back to the tow line I am third
from last to launch. This time I take the tow to 2,000' and pin off.
I thought I was in a good thermal, but it was only 200 fpm. I
finally climbed to 8,900 (6,400 agl) right in the center of the
start circle at 3:00, which was the last start time. Most everybody
else was on course. Things got better from here. I started catching
pilots at the first turn point. By the second turnpoint I had caught
most of the rigid wing pilots. I was flying by myself all this time.
The upwind leg was much harder. The lift was good, but there
was a lot of sink as well. I had my vario set for a 15 mph headwind.
10 miles out I was at 11,000' and my vario said I had goal by 2000'.
For the next 4 miles the sink was 600 to 1,200 fpm down. 6 miles out
my vario said I was 600' low to make goal. I found a thermal, but it
was only 200 fpm and the drift was so strong my glide to goal was
getting worse.
I gave up and headed toward goal again. 4
miles out I was very low, unable to cross the highway north of the
airport. I was looking to land when I caught 500 fpm up and climbed
until I had goal by 800'. Again I hit sink and I was going to be
short of goal. 2 1.5 miles out I hit lift the remainder of the way
to goal and crossed at 300'. Many pilots were caught in the sink and
landed short, including Davis. Some pilots found a better line and
hit more lift than sink. They were able to glide all the way in from
9 miles out. My stopping cost my at least 15 minutes. But I did make
goal so that was some consulation.
Rich did well today. He
made it around in 2:13. My time was 2:33. Paris was on our frequency
as well. He did really well the last leg and I think he may have won
the day. He took the last start time. His time was 1:59.
Bruce Barmakian told me how he lands the Atos. I tried it
today and it worked great. It only works when you have the room to
run. He fly's down until he can start running or at least moon
walking and then flairs. This takes the load off the glider and the
fair window is much larger.
I have had much better
birthday's in the past.
Vince
Track logs for this
flight: Vince (red), Rich (blue), Paris (black)
Edited by: Ernie
Camacho at: 7/30/03 9:15 am
|
Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/28/03 7:31
pm)
65.70.100.65
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Big Spring Nats,
day 2
I finished in the middle of the pack yesterday, 8th place out of
16. After all the towing problems and the sink to goal, I'm glad I
made it. Rich did really well. He placed 3rd out of 37. He took the
2:45 start time so he got more departure points and arrival points.
It didn't hurt that he had a fast time as well.
Paris had an
interesting climb at the start. He was down to 700 feet over the
airport. He found a little thermal, which he was working. The
problem was he was going to drift directly over the prison, which
can get you disqualified. So he fly's around the prison to the other
side and waited. Sure enough, his thermal came along and he climbed
out.
Paris had an interesting tow today. For some reason the
rope broke at the tug end. When it snapped back it got stuck in his
side wire. He tried pulling it free, but it had tied itself in a
knot. He was forced to land with 200+ feet of rope stuck to his side
wire. He picked the most obstruction free area he could find and
landed safely.
The winds this morning looked a little
stronger than yesterday. The direction is still out of the south.
The task committee called a 104-mile downwind task (to the north).
There were a lot less clouds today at 1:00 than previous days. The
winds were predicted to be 10 to 15 out of the south. Cloud base to
be 9 to 10 thousand.
I was going to try to get ready earlier
today because the launch line does not move near as fast as at the
Florida comps. I put on my harness at 1:30 (first start window was
2:30) and found that everyone else had the same idea. I was about 30
in line and did not get towed until 2:30. Jim Yocom did not get
towed until 3:05 (the last start time was 3:00). I was pretty worn
out standing in line for an hour. At least the tow was uneventful
and I got off in some nice lift.
There were 20 or 30 gliders
in one gaggle at the edge of the start circle at 3:00. I was happy
with my start. I was flying with the lead gaggle for 25 miles or so.
The other gliders I recognized were, Bruce B., Paris, and Davis
along with 5 or 6 gliders I did not recognize. They finally shook me
free. I flew with a flex wing gaggle for another 30 miles, but they
were not flying the way I wanted so I left on my own for the last 45
miles.
There were lots of clouds to mark the lift so I made
good time. I stayed between 8 and 10 thousand most of the time. I
never was below 7,000 until final glide. I was with Rich for the
first 5 miles after the start but lost sight of him soon after. He
got low, really low, probably less than 300' at the 37 mile mark. He
climbed from there all the way to 11,000, but it cost him a lot of
time. He fell behind me by 15 miles.
At one point I was only
2 miles behind Paris and Bruce, at 24 miles to goal. The clouds were
a little further apart at this point so I slowed down to make sure I
could make goal. Before my final glide I climbed until my vario said
I had goal by 2,000'. I flew through a lot of sink from 10 to 5
miles from goal. My height above goal was down to 800'. From 5 miles
out to goal there was lift and I crossed goal 2,400' over.
There were a lot of gliders landing as I came over. Paris
and Bruce had landed 15 minutes earlier. Scot Huber was already at
goal, but he took the 2:30 start time. He should get some good
departure points. I probably placed 7th or 8th again today. I am
typing this in the truck on the drive home. We stopped for dinner at
a Mexican restaurant in La Mesa. We won't make it back to the hotel
until 11:00. Sitting here I could not understand why my legs hurt so
much, then I realized it was from standing in line under my glider
for so long. Tomorrow I will get ready even earlier, but I'll bet a
lot of other pilots are thinking the same thing.
Vince
|
Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/29/03 5:07
pm)
65.70.100.6
Reply
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Re: Big Spring,
Texas Nationals Day 3
I did a little better yesterday, I finished 6th for the day, which
moved my overall place to 5th. Scot Huber placed 5th, 5 points ahead
of me. My time was faster, but he took the first start time, which
gave him more departure and arrival points. This is the first meet
that I have carried a backup GPS. As it turned out, I needed it for
yesterday's task. My primary GPS screwed up at goal and they could
not determine when I had crossed. My backup had all the proper
data.
I am getting more and more sore as the days go by. It's
funny; I can fly 4 « hours back home and not even be tired, here I
fly for an hour less and I'm sore. I realized one of the reasons my
legs are sore is from standing in the launch line for over an hour.
Today the weather called for lighter winds. They would be
blowing from the same direction as the last 3 days. Cloud base would
be 8,000', rising to 10,000' later in the day. There was the
possibility of rain late in the day, after 6.
The task for
today was an FAI triangle of 75 miles. We would fly it in a counter
clockwise direction to the north of the airport. The task committee
made some changed to the launch and start times. The rigid launch
time opened at 12:30, the flex wing launch still opened at 1:00. The
rigid's would had three start times, 2:00, 2:15 and 2:30. The
flexwings start times stayed the same at 2:30, 2:45 and 3:00. There
were a lot of complaints from the flex wing pilots that this would
allow them to pimp off the rigid wing pilots who took the 2:30 start
time. Little did they know that almost all the rigid wing pilots
were going to take the 2:00 start, making that a moot point. Some
had asked that the rigids fly the task in the opposite direction.
The task was not changed.
All the rigid wing pilots lined up
at 12:50 or so, to keep from getting stuck behind all the flex wings
that were sure to launch early. The clouds started forming much
earlier today. By 1:00 the sky looked fantastic. I was the fifth
pilot to tow. The tug I was behind seemed to have some trouble
climbing. We flew for a long time and were still pretty low. At
1,200 agl I pinned off because we hit some good lift. I thought the
longer I stayed on tow, the more chance I would break a weak link,
possibly in sink and not be able to get up. As it worked out, I took
this thermal all the way to cloud base at 8,000'. Now all I had to
do was boat around until the 2:00 start, which turned out to be
quite easy.
By 2:00 the clouds had filled in and most of the
ground was shaded. I could see rain in the distance. I could hear
Rich and Paris wishing they could start early before everything shut
down. I think all but one of the rigids took the 2:00 start. The
first turnpoint was pretty easy, taking only 2 thermals. I flew
through rain for a couple of miles. Most of the rigids were still
together at this point. After the first turnpoint things got a
little worse. Some of the pilots charged ahead trying to get out
from under all the shade of the clouds. 3 of them made it to the
sunny area, but the sun had not been out long enough for the ground
to heat up and they landed (Rich Burton, Jim Yocom, and Scot Huber).
A gaggle of about 6 gliders was flying together and getting low.
Davis was leading. He saw a tractor thermal and headed for it. All
the other pilots followed but me. I stayed a little more north and
found a little better thermal.
I was able to gain 1,000' on
the gaggle. I left on my own for a long glide toward the second turn
point. I got really low, about 1,000 agl. I started thinking about
what the ground looked like and what I would look for if I were back
home (we almost always fly in blue days, not following clouds like
we have been doing here). I spotted a good trigger and sure enough,
I climbed all the way to 10,500' at 600 fpm. I was only 1 mile from
the second turn point. I got the turn point and was heading for goal
when I saw the main gaggle come in 2,000' below me. As I looked back
toward the first turn point, I saw that the sun had come out and the
course looked really good.
Paris and Rich were flying
together and really burning up the course. They started « hour
behind me and were now less than 4 miles behind. As I found out
later, Bruce Barmakian also started « hour later and had caught all
of us at the second turn point. I continued to fly on my own most of
the way back. Somehow, Dave Seaborg caught and passed me. He did
mark one thermal for me that helped me make it to goal.
I was
11 miles out and on glide. My vario said I did not have enough to
make goal. There was not much I could do except keep gliding for
goal and hope for lift. I found very little sink and my vario
numbers slowly came up. I made goal by 600' finishing third behind
Bruce and Dave. My time was 2 hours and 51 minutes. The wind had
picked up to 20 mph out of the south and it was raining over the
south end of the airport. Mike Tryon made it a little after me.
Davis landed 6 miles short. Bruce had an incredible time of 2 hours
and 13 minutes.
Two flex wing pilots made goal. Rich was
doing great right up to the time that the wind picked up. He landed
1.5 miles short. Paris landed a couple hundred yards short as well.
The lift shut down soon after I landed. All but one of the pilots
who were ahead of me in the standings landed out, so I have a chance
to move up.
Linda took the truck over to the Ford dealer to
have the locks changed. The people that broke into it earlier took
the spare key. She has been sleeping in the truck the last two
nights in case the people tried to break in again. Hopefully she
will get a good night sleep tonight.
Judy Hilldabrand had an
incident with her glider. After landing she was breaking down.
Someone was standing in her control frame while she got out of her
harness. A dust devil came through and the person at her glider
could not safely hold on. It picked up her glider and threw it into
some power lines, which electrocuted it. It is no longer
flyable.
Vince
Track logs for this flight: Vince
(red), Rich (blue)
Edited by: Ernie
Camacho at: 7/30/03 9:17 am
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Nancy
F
Unregistered User
(7/29/03 8:03 pm)
216.103.80.211
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Big Spring
contest
Hello, Hello,
It sure is different learning about the day via
the computor. I keep having a hell of a time trying to figure out
how to get to the latest posting. I wish there was just a simple
link.
Well, it sounds like there was a lot of trauma at the
beginning, but things are smoothing out. You are doing great! Keep
it up. I'll bet you'll learn a lot at this competion. I miss you and
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Love
Nancy
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Nancy
F
Unregistered User
(7/29/03 8:40 pm)
216.103.80.211
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Big
Spring
Well, that's embarrassing! I thought I was only replying to Vince.
Good thing I didn't get all mushy. As long as I'm talking to
everyone here....
Will you please respond to Vinces postings?
Poor guy keeps typing them up, but no one has said anything. Even if
it just "keep it up" or "you suck" or talk about the "wimen-folk
more". Your responces are greatly appreciated. He may not be able to
answer them, but he does read them.
That's all folks.
Nancy
F. (Vinces driver)
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Lori
Allen
Totally Kewl
Hangchick
(7/30/03 5:40
am)
12.210.180.144
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Got to tell him
in person
Well, the only reason I didn't reply was because I was actually
there. Just got home Nancy and I told Vince I was looking forward to
keeping up via the Vince Report once I got home.
You would
have loved it there. Just the multitudes of prairie dogs at the
airport are pure entertainment.
Lori
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Jon
James
Unregistered
User
(7/30/03 7:19
am)
192.25.142.225
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I read
'em
I look forward to Vince's reports and read them asap.
(then I
read Davis' but Vince's is more like being there).
Texas can
be great and it's good to see our guys are doing well.
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John
Blacet
Member
(7/30/03 7:35 am)
65.214.144.197
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Go Team,
Go!
Thanks to Vince for the postings. Needless to say, we are all
reading them, but want to avoid cluttering up the topic.
As I
read them, my toes get all pointy as "we" make goal!
Had an
earthquake last night about 10:50; 4.something. Woke me up in
Guerneville with a sharp jolt. No damage reports.
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Ernie
Camacho
Administrator
(7/30/03
9:26 am)
12.236.203.186
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Re: Go Team,
Go!
Clutter away! This is a good way to tell Vince, Rich and Scot that
we're rooting for 'em.
When I archive this topic to our
website, I can remove msgs as needed.
I'm glad that Scot is
participating. I've always hoped he'd try his hand at flying against
the big dogs in a national comp. He's certainly holding his own!
BTW, did you notice that the cumulative scores have:
Rich - 7
(flex)
Vince - 3 (rigid)
Scot - 14 (rigid)
Good show!
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Daniel
Pifko
Member
(7/30/03 11:28 am)
64.165.57.235
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Lifts
my spirits
These reports really brighten up my day. My body is under the
fluorescent lights, but my mind is right up there with you guys. I'm
especially impressed with how well Vince and Scot are doing
considering how short a time ago you picked up HG. Keep it
up!
Daniel
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Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/30/03 3:29
pm)
206.231.12.49
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Big Spring Nats,
day 4
By making goal yesterday, I was able to move up a couple of places
to third overall. It is a really tight race in the rigids, except
for Bruce who is 700 hundred points ahead already. Anyone in the top
10 could easily move up to second place. It is still close in the
flexwing class as well. Paris still has a good lead, but there is
not much separating the next 10 pilots. Glen Volk and Kurt Warren
were the only two flexwing pilots to make goal. Since so few flex
pilots made goal, the distance points made up most of the score.
Rich received 782 points for yesterday. I received 737 for making
goal. With Bruce burning up the course and beating us by more than a
half hour, the rest of the rigid pilots get lower scores. Bruce
keeps crediting the glider, but we all know it is the pilot.
Gary Osoba was kind enough to send me his weather prediction
for today. It looks like yesterday but with an even greater chance
of OD and rain. The cloud base will be about 500' lower than
yesterday. He is suggesting a short and early task to get people
back before it starts raining. There are CU's popping up to the east
y 10:30. We will have to wait and hour and see what the task
committee presents us.
I'm back on the ground now. The task
committee called a 75 mile task to the south to an airport called
Big Lake. It was not on the waypoint list so we had to manually add
it to our GPS's. Gary's call for the weather was right on as far as
cloud base and over development, but the winds were more out of the
east, northeast. He did say that all bets on the wind speed and
direction were off if it over developed and there were
thunderstorms.
Five minutes before the rigid's launch window
opened the task was changed to a two sided triangle. The turn point
was 40T, an intersection of roads 349 and176. Goal was Cole airport.
Total distance was 68+ miles. The launch times and start times were
moved up today so we would have a better chance of making goal.
After the last minute task change, they moved all the times back 15
minutes. The rigid start time was 1:15 and flexies start at 2:15.
My tow was much more exciting than I wanted. Just as we
started to roll and the wing runner let go of the wing, a crosswind
picked up my right wing. The left wing was dragging on the ground
and the cart veered to the left, directly at a fence. The only thing
I could to was push out get off the cart and turn right as hard as I
could. Luckily, the tug driver kept the power on and I was able to
get back behind the tug. The rest of the tow was
uneventful.
The start went well and I was able to stay close
to cloud base (7,000') right up to the start time. Things went down
hill after than. The climbs were very weak. I did not get back to
7,000' until the first turn point. It looked like most of the other
rigids passed me by. I was flying on my own.
The climbs got
better after the turn point. A few miles after, Jim Yocom joined me.
We flew close to the same course line back to goal. We were both in
a really good thermal (800 fpm) 12 miles from goal. Jim said later
that he was seeing lightning strikes all around us. I never saw any
lightning. He left early to get on the ground. As I left the
thermal, I hit a really good lift line and stayed above 9,000' for
another 3 miles.
I looked around and low and behold, I could
see about 7 rigids gliding toward goal. I guess I wasn't so slow
after all. As we got lower the winds picked up. I saw several
gliders land short. Six miles out, Linda radioed that we should not
land at the airport if at all possible. It turns out, the property
manager did not have permission from the owner for us to land there.
I crossed goal with 400' to spare so I was able to make it to a
field south of the airport to land. I saw two other rigids make goal
in front of me. My time was 2:51. Bruce landed out, under a mile to
goal.
The flex wing pilots had a lot faster run to the first
turn point. The lead flex pilots gained almost 50 minutes on me.
Rich was doing real good, but got low 16 miles out. He was climbing
out when I saw rain and lightning ahead. He landed for safety
reasons. Bo was the only flex wing pilot to make goal.
The
crime wave at out motel continues. Brian Porter had his truck stolen
last night. The police have finally said they would patrol the area.
The Super 8 management has turned a blind eye to all the crime at
their motel. I don't think any pilot will stay there next
year.
Vince
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Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/31/03 4:09
pm)
65.70.100.225
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Big Spring Nats,
day 5
Earlier I was saying how expensive this trip has been with my
alternator failing and my belongings being stolen. I don't have any
reason to complain. Jim Yocom who was nice enough to bring his tug
with him from Colorado had to buy a new set of wings for it
yesterday. His pilot was giving a ride and just as they landed, a
gust lifted one wing and turned it into the fence. Thankfully, no
one was hurt. It makes my problems seem trivial.
Yesterday,
Ron Gleason was so far ahead of everyone, he arrived at goal when it
was raining. He was forced back and had to land. Rich Burton did the
same thing. By the time I came in 15 minutes later, the rain had
moved on and 6 of us were able to cross goal. I guess some days it
pays off to little slower. I placed forth for the day, which was
good enough for over 900 points (out of 1,000) and enough to move me
to 2nd place overall.
Gary Osoba is predicting the lift to
start late so he is suggesting a late start and short task. It
rained last night so there is a lot of water on the ground. This
will slow the lift development. He also suggests a task to the north
or northeast. Winds will be light in the morning and increasing
later in the day.
It is Kim's birthday today (Rich and
Linda's daughter). Linda snuck out this morning and picked up a
cake. They are going to have a party for her tonight after we get
back from our task.
The task for today was an out and return
to the northwest. The distance was 57.3 miles. The launch and start
windows were moved back and hour today because the lift was not
supposed to turn on until later in the day. Rigids were to launch at
1:00 and race start at 2:00. Flex wings launch at 1:30 and start at
2:30, 2:45 and 3:00.
By 1:00 there were not very many clouds
and the rigid's launch and start times were moved back 15 minutes.
My tow today was much less exciting than yesterday. I was behind the
yellow tug with is not very powerful. The tug pilot was trying to
core some thermals (with me trying to stay on the rope) to climb
faster. I finally gave up and pinned off in some light lift. It took
a while but I finally climbed to cloud base.
Once again, as
all the rigids boated around at the start circle, the lift seemed to
lighten. I was at 7,300', but by the time I started I was down to
6,600'. My start was not too bad. Right away I saw a glider head off
to the right of course line, which turned out to be Jim Yocom. I was
with a gaggle of 5 gliders, including Dave Seaburg and Davis. After
two thermal, I decided to go out on my own. I took a really long
glide and was rewarded with 600 fpm up. By the time the gaggle came
under me I was 1,500' over.
I stayed in front all the way to
the turn point. I think I was the first pilot to make it. This is
where I slowed up. I got low and had to take a 200 fpm thermal. I
then came to the gaggle I had left behind as they were still on
their way to the turn point. I still was not getting up and about 5
miles from the turn point they caught up to me again. I went on
another long glide. I saw the flex wings heading our way and one was
going up fast. I joined up with him and climbed at 800 fpm. I shook
the gaggle again, but some how Dave caught me.
I guessing at
this point that Campbell took a line more to the right and passed
us, or passed us by the turn point. 15 miles from goal, Dave and I
were at 9,400' so we headed on glide for goal. We kept heading under
clouds and slowing down in lift. At 10 miles out we saw Campbell
circling ahead of us. My vario still said I would we a little short
of goal. Campbell left on glide before we caught him, but as we flew
through his thermal, we gained almost 1,000'. This gave us goal.
Dave hooks in about 40 to 50 pounds more than me and there
was no way I could out glide him, but I did manage to stay within 20
seconds or so. Dave was only a few seconds behind Campbell. My time
was 1 hour and 56 minutes, Davis was 5 minutes behind me; Scot Huber
made goal and was 9 minutes behind. Most of the rigids made goal.
Rich Burton landed just short of goal.
Rich Sauer had a
really good flight. He made it in 2 hours and 5 minutes. Looking at
his GPS track log he flew almost a straight along the course line to
and from goal. He was the third flexwing to make it back. Because he
landed for safety reasons yesterday, he fell in the overall
standing. He went from 7th to 11th. With his good flight today, he
should move up some.
Vince
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Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(8/1/03 6:32
pm)
65.70.100.236
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Big Spring
Nationals, day 6
The official scores from yesterday showed that I was only 22
seconds out of first place. My finish was good enough for 950
points, my highest ever. Campbell was first and received 996 points.
Dave Seaberg was only a few seconds behind Campbell. Bruce finished
4th, about 3 minutes behind me. He had a bad start and did not cross
the start circle until 10 minutes after the start time. I remain in
second place, but only 4 points ahead of Dave (out of 2900 points),
it's really close. Rich Sauer did well, placing 4th for the day.
This moved his overall score from 11th to 9th.
Tim the
scorekeeper was able to play back the rigid's flight on the
computer. I did in fact make the turnpoint first. Campbell passed me
when I was low and stayed ahead all the way to the end.
Kim
Sauer's 14th birthday party was a big success. Quite a few pilots
showed up for the celebrations. At last count, Linda had ordered 22
extra large pizzas. David Glover brought his mobile blender and the
margaritas were flowing freely.
Gary says the weather today
should be great for flying. The lift should be 800 to 1000 later in
the day with very little chance of over development or rain. The
winds should be out of the south, southeast at 12 to 15. For some
reason, when Davis gives the weather, it is different than what Gary
sends. One of the reasons I charged ahead yesterday was Gary's
prediction of strong lift.
The task for today was an FAI
74-mile triangle. The turn points will be 27T and Cole, and then
back to the airport for goal. Start times were 2:00 for the rigids
and 2:30, 2:45 and 3:00 for the flexies. At our 1:00 launch time the
sky was completely blue. I figured it would be just like flying back
home for me, were we almost never have clouds to mark lift.
I
was 5th to tow and found some lift right away. I climbed right to
7,400'. Most of the other rigids did the same. We played the typical
start waiting game; we slowly circled and lost altitude. We were
still working our way back up at the 2:00 start time. No one went.
About 2 minute later most of us left, only to stop for weak lift
right after the start circle. We stopped again a short time later
for another weak thermal. We were about halfway to the first
turnpoint.
Most of us went on a long glide. I spotted
someone to my left circling and joined up with him. We climbed at
over 800+ fpm to 9,000'. After that climb, I figured the lift had
turned on and Gary was correct with his lift prediction. I passed
over the lead gaggle just before the turn point and took the lead.
I was making some long glides, at one point just before the
second turn point I was down to 3'800', about 500 agl. I was cursing
myself for racing ahead. What good would it be if I was on the
ground. I felt the telltale signs of a thermal and found it within
one 360. It started off at 200 fpm, but within 3 turns it was 600
fpm then a couple more turns and I was climbing at 1,100 fpm, all
the way to 10,600'. I left the lift when it slowed to 600 fpm. I was
only 1 mile from the second turn point and the first gliders behind
me came in 2,000' under me.
After getting the second turn
point I hit one more thermal at 16 miles from goal. I took this one
to 11,500'. Bruce came in under me about 2,000' lower. When I left,
Bruce left as well, but I did not realize this at the time. I was
still in the lead 7 miles from goal. The headwind was increasing and
I was concerned that if I hit sink, I would not make goal. With all
I had done so far, I did not want to risk landing short so I stopped
and thermaled for 500'. Without me seeing them, both Bruce and Davis
flew under me.
The last 4 miles into goal I hit lift and
ended up crossing goal 3,000' high. Bruce placed 1st with a time of
2:35, Davis second with 2:38 and me third at 2:40. It was another 20
minutes before the next rigid crossed goal, Ron Gleason. Scot Huber
made goal. I used 7 thermals to make the 74-mile task (not counting
the times I stopped to turn in lift, then left because it was not
strong enough).
The flex wings really burned up the course.
Paris' time was 2:15 and Rich Sauer's time was 2:35. Rich placed 4th
for the day, which moved him into 8th place overall. I have had
three 900-point days in a row. I am still in second place overall,
but I am now 450 points ahead of 3rd place.
The lift was
extremely good today. I talked to a pilot who stayed in a thermal
until he topped out and was at 12,700'.
Rich Sauer had an
interesting problem yesterday. He coiled his harness zipper string
so it would not get hooked on the cart (most of us do). When he
released from tow and pulled his zipper string, it tied itself like
a bow tie and he could not get his zipper past his knees. He was
scratching for lift at the time. Once he found some lift he unzipped
and tried to undo the knot. He could not do it with one hand so he
bent his body in the middle and used his teeth and one hand, flying
with the other to undo the knot. He was successful.
The Big
Spring chamber of commerce paid for an under cover police officer to
watch the motel parking lot. We will have surveillance until after
the meet. They also provide sodas and ice cream sandwiches at the
pilots meeting. They are going out of their way to see that we have
a good time and come back next year.
Vince
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Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(8/2/03 7:44
pm)
65.70.100.157
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Big Spring,
final day
The meet officials have provided both a wired and wireless network
for the pilots at the meet. We all appreciate this. Going back to my
motel and dialing up at 24K (the fastest I have connect here) makes
me appreciate the meet network even more.
Yesterday, some of
the rigid wing pilots reported very bad turbulence just before the
first turnpoint. I passed up the thermal they were in so I never hit
the really bad stuff. One pilot said it was worse than he ever had
in the Owens Valley.
Yesterday was my 21st wedding
anniversary. Nancy was back in California and was disappointed I was
not there with her. She said my good score yesterday made up for me
not being there. As far as important dates, the meet has been tough
on me. I missed Nancy's birthday, my birthday, and now our
anniversary with her.
Gary is calling for even better
condition today, though is might be a blue day. Climbs to 12,500
possible. At 10:00 the winds are 16 mph out of the south. It is
supposed to get lighter as we get higher. For the first time,
yesterday Davis read Gary's weather report at the pilot meeting.
The task for today is a 75 mile out and return to the north.
Launch times were moved back to take better advantage of the lift
later in the day. Rigid start time was 2:45 and the first flex start
time at 3:15. Once again I was let off tow in good lift that I was
able to take to the top of the thermal (about 9,000').
Clouds
started to form around the airport. Most if not all the rigids were
bunched up under a cloud 2 miles from the edge of the start circle
when the 2:45 start time came. Before the task, David Glover
reminded me that if I finish with the other gliders I should hold on
to second place.
For some dumb reason, as the entire rigid
gaggle headed on a course line, I thought it looked better to the
left, it wasn't. I saw the gaggle circling to my right. I was down
to 6,500' when I saw most if not all the rigids glide over me 3 to 4
thousand feet above. I couldn't believe what a blunder I had made.
Now I had to race just to get back in the comp.
In the end I
passed all but 5 of the other pilots. I place 6th for the day. I did
finish ahead of Bruce, but not enough to make up the 250 point he is
ahead. The top 5 places for the rigid wing class were, Davis 5th,
Campbell 4th, Dave Seaberg 3rd, me 2nd and Bruce first.
Rich
Sauer placed 8th overall in the flexwing class and Paris won that
division.
Sorry for the short report, but I have to get up
at 5:30 Sunday for a flight home.
Vince
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Lori
Allen
Totally Kewl
Hangchick
(8/3/03 8:19
am)
12.209.161.245
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Congratulations!!!
Vince, outstanding job getting second place! Actually,
congratulations to all of you. The Sonoma guys are truly a talented
bunch of pilots.
Lori
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Ernie
Camacho
Administrator
(8/4/03
7:37 am)
12.236.203.186
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Re:
Congratulations!!!
It's too bad that Scot was flying on a different frequency. I'd
have loved to hear how he fared in his first national competition.
Scot, maybe you'll have time to add your report after you get home?
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Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(8/4/03 10:23
am)
216.103.80.211
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Re:
Congratulations!!!
I asked Scot what he thought about his first racing style comp. He
said "it's tiring to pull in on the bar all the time."
Vince
Edited by: Vince
Endter at: 8/5/03 4:12 pm
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Ernie
Camacho
Administrator
(8/4/03
11:21 am)
12.236.203.186
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Re:
Congratulations!!!
So, when and where do we have the victory party???
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Ernie
Camacho
Administrator
(8/4/03
11:31 am)
12.236.203.186
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Re:
Congratulations!!!
I, too, wish to add my congratulations to our winning club pilots.
All three of you did very well indeed!
I shouldn't be making
negative comments, but I do find it curious that our sport's number
one journalist (Davis Straub of the OZ report), has consistently
mentioned Vince's consistent improvement, let alone Vince's
existence, almost never. I would have thought that in his wrap-up
article, where he justifiably praises Paris Williams' winning style,
he might have mentioned the rigid pilot, who in the space of two
year's competition in a handfull of meets as rocketed into 2nd place
in the nationals! Oh, well, I suppose Davis may be miffed about
Vince's horning in on Davis' journalistic turf.
I for one,
appreciate that Vince has both decided to test himself against the
best in the sport, and that he's willing to take the time to share
his journey with the rest of us.
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Leo
Jones
Unregistered
User
(8/5/03 4:37
pm)
66.52.187.63
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Congratulations
Well, you three guys have certainly put Sonoma Wings on the map.
It's remarkable that such a small club has produced such a core of
talented and competitive pilots.
Well done, good show, you
guys.
Leo
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Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(8/5/03 4:46
pm)
216.103.80.211
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Re:
Congratulations
Davis has written about me, this is what he said:
> One
person at the meet mentioned that Vince reminded him > of a
clueless three year old in a candy store.
>
> Davis
Straub
> ozreport.com
>
Pensacola, FL USA
To which I replied:
So my trick
worked? I gave some other pilots a false sense of superiority? I did
not go to Texas to beat the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th ranked class 5
pilots in the US, I went there to learn. I have only been flying
hang gliders for five years and competing for one and a half. As far
as much more seasoned pilots must feel, I guess I am clueless. I
don't want to become a wizened old fart who sits in front of a
computer and complains that I could have done this, or I could have
won that. For now, I will continue to work on my flying skills any
try to learn as much as I can with the time I have left on this
earth. I hope that if I ever get good at this hang gliding stuff, I
don't look down my nose at the clueless three year old who is trying
to learn.
Vince
|
Greg
Sugg
Club
Secretary
(8/5/03 8:35
pm)
66.81.112.125
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I Agree
Amen, Vince!
Greg, clueless 55 year old ;)
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Vince
Endter
'02 Go-For-It
Champ
(8/6/03 4:38
pm)
216.103.80.211
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Re: Big Spring,
how I flew
This is how I flew. The first day I had so many problems with my
tows that I did not get to the start circle until after the last
start time. I could not see anyone in front of me so I flew most of
the task alone.
The second day I was able to stay with some
pilots, but I was soon left behind the leaders and in front of the
followers. Once again on my own. I was getting a feel for what the
lift was like in Big Spring and how often and where it was.
By the third day, I was feeling more comfortable with the
lift distribution. Jim Yocom was telling me that if we ever want to
beat the Europeans, we need to go on longer glides. I was staying up
with a gaggle, but they would stop to thermal after only one or two
thousand feet. After mapping the lift distribution in my head, I
figured I should be gliding for three or four thousand feet before
thermaling. I would also keep track of my last climbs and would pass
lift if it was not as strong as I was expecting.
Even though
I would pass lift without stopping, I would put that data into my
head for my lift distribution map. I would make a mental note of how
much altitude I had lost since the last lift and what was the
strength of the lift. If I passed two thermals before my three to
four thousand foot glide I would note that. If I only passed one
thermal on my glide, I would probably stop more often or take a
weaker thermal. Once though, I went from 10,000' to 3,600', which
was only 500 agl and made me nervous. It would take most of the
first leg or first third of the course for me to get a good thermal
map in my head. I would then take more of a risk the last two thirds
of the course base on my thermal map. After the second day I would
fly my own course based on my feelings of the day. If that was out
in front, fine. If other pilots were on the same course, that was
fine too. This was similar to how Bruce was flying.
One of
the reasons I never placed first is my lack of experience on final
glide. Twice I was in position to place first, but I did not have
the confidence to glide to goal without stopping to thermal. The
pilots who were more experience with this were rewarded with first
or second place, though more than once they decked it.
I was
also keeping track of the ground shading. On some days the clouds
would fill in early, then break up. I would keep track of how long
the sun had been out on the ground in front of me to determine if I
should race ahead or slow down and wait for the ground to heat up.
There were some days where the clouds would for and dissipate
quickly. I would keep track of how often they would form, which
would tell me how often I should expect to find thermals. I would do
better on blue days, because my lift distribution map worked best
without clouds. Some of the other pilots would slow down without
clouds to mark the lift, but I could picture my map in my head and
look out and visualize all these thermals out on course.
I
tried to stay upwind of the course line. It is a lot easier to turn
down wind to make a turn point than to fly upwind to it.
As
far as staying high and using the other pilots to find lift, it is
easier said than done. If I could, I would do this as I said above,
for the first third of the race, but there were several times that I
was left behind because I did not get to the lift in time.
On the last day, all I needed to do was stay in the air and
make goal. After almost decking it on the first glide (I broke my
rule of mapping the lift for the first third of the course) I was
forced to fly on my own and map the thermals again. I passed all but
two or three of the pilots. Once I knew I was back toward the front,
I slowed down and let other pilots catch me so I would have help
getting to goal. Both Bruce and I flew slowly this day to make sure
we both made goal. If Bruce decked it, I would take first.
I
honed my thermal mapping technique flying one of our local sites,
St. John over the last year. It has been a great training ground for
me.
Vince
|
buzzett
2002 Service Award holder
(8/11/03 12:05 pm)
66.52.181.64
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Linda's
Story
Kim and I headed for Texas on July 6th. Our first stop was in Palm
Springs, my sister lives there, for a little R & R before the
real work started. On Tuesday we planned to head out early for
Texas. David Glover calls me on Tuesday and says it looks like it
will be a great day to go far and wants to know where I am on the
road in case of retrieval and gives me the radio frequency. I
finally get on the road at 9:30 our time and start driving. I arrive
in El Paso just before dark and David calls to say no one went far.
Oh well, I was ready to retreive anyway. I kept driving and pulled
into my brothers, in San Antonio, at 3:00 am our time, oops, 5:00 am
Texas time. When I wake up on Wednesday the sky is full of black,
water filled clouds. David tells me that the weather looks bad until
Friday.
Thurs morning looks great. The sky is filled with
cummies and I want to chase pilots so I head out for Zapata(200
miles south) around 3:00. Several guys flew. I met them about the
time they landed and stopped for a quick chat and to find out where
the local party was that night. You need GPS cords to find places in
Zapata because it is all locked gates, cactus and mesquite.
On
friday Scot and Paris decided on an out and return to Laredo. Paris
only made it a few miles out, but Scot landed just short of the
airport on the return leg. Scot was behind a locked gate and I still
had a combo for a lock in my cell phone that got us to with in a 1/4
mile of where he landed. He had brought a neat wheel set-up, Canoe
wheels, and was able to walk out quite easily. There was a party at
the resort where we were staying, put on my the owners. The plan was
to head out the next day for Leakey, TX and the Texas open event
early, because of CLAUDETT.
Today is Paris's birthday! We loaded
every vehicle to the max and headed out. I was pulling the swift
trailer and chasing Paris as he attemped to fly to Leakey (197
straight line miles). Paris landed at the 85 mile mark and chose a
small field by the hwy.. A nice family in a van stopped and let me
in through the gate to retrieve him. As I am talking with them I
find out that the private airstrip and house, right across the hwy.
belongs to George Strait, one of my favorite country music stars.
Yes, Paris heard about that from me for the remaining time we were
in Texas.
LEAKEY~~TEXAS OPEN
Leakey didn't give us very good
weather for the first couple of days. I drove over to San Antonio to
visit my brother (62 straight line miles) every other day. The
promoters of the Texas open asked me to do the registration and
scoring of the cross country. Davis Straub helped me with the SeeU
program and I was able to do downloads and uploads and maintain a
score sheet. This is why I bought the laptop. One of the promoters
brought out an airstream trailer and Kim and I were able to set~up
the registration and sleep in nice airconditioned bliss. Kim was
totaly spoiled by the pilots. She had 2 tandem para flights, 2
dragonfly flights and 1 hang. She now wants lessons. Will she be
competing with dad in the next few years? Or, better yet, become a
tug pilot? Time will tell. The locals were once again the best.
Leaking is a dry county( NO alcohol), yet trucks with ice chests
filled to the brim with beer and wine coolers showed up every day.
Another local Nena and her daughter made us all dinner one night and
supplied the non-meat pilots with the best veggi fair I have eaten.
My brother brought over his Kareoky and music ( don't know how to
spell) business for the awards and dinner. This is a must for next
year. I have aready been asked and accepted to do the registration
and scoring.
Headed out for Big Spring on Monday Morning. Paris
and Curt decided to fly part of the way and I was pulling the Swift
trailer once again and chasing them. They made it part of the way
and landed in a field that made it easy for me to get to them.
BIG SPRING~~US NATIONALS
Everyone flew out and returns or
triangles the first few days. The prairy dogs were abundant. I got a
little bored by not having to drive at first. During the meet, when
you have pilots that make goal all the time, I had to challenge
myself by finding the dirt roads that would keep me on the course
line, but weren't on the maps or my GPS. It was still loads of fun.
I helped with the launch/towing line and just about everything that
was asked of me.
CONCLUSION
It was a great 4+ weeks and I am
looking forward to it next year. The flying for Zapata wasn't great
this year but I have a feeling next year will be the year for miles!
I learned alot more about my GPS and Computor from Paris Williams
and Davis Straub, thanks guys. Meeting Lisa, our beloved tug pilot,
was my highlight for the trip. She is an awesome person and gives
great tows. The down was haveing my truck stolen and ransacked. I
even slept in it for 2 nights because the thieves had my spare keys.
On the second night I woke up at 5:00 and found my door locks up! I
guess they new better than to take the truck with a MAD MOM in it.
Looking forward to next
year.
Linda
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