Papa3
May 21st 08, 02:33 PM
At Tuesday's pilot's meeting, weatherman Ray Galloway gave us a
forecast that included decent instabilty, the promise of Cu, and none
of the mid-level or high clouds that have challenged us on several of
the task days. Oh, but by the way, winds at 3,000 feet were progged
to be more than 20kts from the West.
Ray serving dual duty as sniffer launched just after noon and soon
reported an altitude of over 3,000 AGL. Of course, there was some
suspicion that he had towed to 3,500.
Regardless, CD McQuigg launched the first 4 competitors into a decent
looking sky, and the wait began. Within 20 minutes, the sniffer and 2
of the 4 early launchees were back on the ground. Chip Garner and
Tomasz Krolikowski continued to grind around between 1,500 and 2,500
AGL for the next 1 hour while we waited (and waited) for things to
improve. It was not to be, and by 2:30 it became obvious that,
although conditions were probably good enough to launch, with gusty
winds and the likelihood of many (most) gliders ending up in fields,
it wasn't safe or fair to call a task. Day cancelled.
Speaking of Tomasz, this is one of the nice stories in the contest.
He and his dad, Ryszard are competing in a matched pair of SZD-55's
thanks to the generosity of a fellow club member at Aero Club
Albatross who loaned his ship to "Team K". Tomasz is far-and-away
the youngest competitor at this meet.
That brings you up to date. Today looks like it could go either way,
as Cordele lies right on a line where a cold front passed and then
disipated over night. If we're on the "right side", it looks good.
If not, there's a high chance of rain showers and T-Storms. Stay
tuned.
P3
forecast that included decent instabilty, the promise of Cu, and none
of the mid-level or high clouds that have challenged us on several of
the task days. Oh, but by the way, winds at 3,000 feet were progged
to be more than 20kts from the West.
Ray serving dual duty as sniffer launched just after noon and soon
reported an altitude of over 3,000 AGL. Of course, there was some
suspicion that he had towed to 3,500.
Regardless, CD McQuigg launched the first 4 competitors into a decent
looking sky, and the wait began. Within 20 minutes, the sniffer and 2
of the 4 early launchees were back on the ground. Chip Garner and
Tomasz Krolikowski continued to grind around between 1,500 and 2,500
AGL for the next 1 hour while we waited (and waited) for things to
improve. It was not to be, and by 2:30 it became obvious that,
although conditions were probably good enough to launch, with gusty
winds and the likelihood of many (most) gliders ending up in fields,
it wasn't safe or fair to call a task. Day cancelled.
Speaking of Tomasz, this is one of the nice stories in the contest.
He and his dad, Ryszard are competing in a matched pair of SZD-55's
thanks to the generosity of a fellow club member at Aero Club
Albatross who loaned his ship to "Team K". Tomasz is far-and-away
the youngest competitor at this meet.
That brings you up to date. Today looks like it could go either way,
as Cordele lies right on a line where a cold front passed and then
disipated over night. If we're on the "right side", it looks good.
If not, there's a high chance of rain showers and T-Storms. Stay
tuned.
P3