JJ has retrofitted the burner with the remote from
his gas-log fireplace -- so watch out in 2005!

Happy New Year

9B

At 17:30 30 December 2004, wrote:
First day of the Avenal contest this uear, the call
was 25 mile turn
area task around just one turn (Buena Vista). I struggled
for over an
hour and finally made it to about 25 miles north of
the turn. Found
myself on a low ridge covered with oil wells. Flew
down the ridge and
didn't find a thing. Looking grim when, right in front
of me, a
gigantic gas burner suddenly ignited. It looked like
the burner on your
kitchen stove, except this one must have been 20 foot
across. I
emmediately dove for it and hung a hard left when I
got the surge.
Giggling and cranking, I rode that sucker to 8000 AGL.
Feeling good
about my secret thermal, I decided to go deep into
the turn-area, so I
flew 20 south, made the turn and centered up for another
pass on my
secret thermal. I could see it clearly, glowing in
the distance. Like a
sailer returning after a long cruise, I headed for
my beacon on the
hill. Things were working so well, I put the nose down
and came smokin'
in. About a mile out, my secret thermal, my beacon,
my gas
burner,-----------------------------------------------------------
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------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------****
OFF

I landed at Belridge, so much for sure things.

Best wishes for 2005, see you at Avenal, Parowan and
Montague.
:) JJ