2011 US Seniors Day 3 Report

Day 3 here at the 2011 Seniors was a boomer in every sense of the
word. Clouds to die for in all quadrants. Cloud bases at about 4500’
at the start, rising to above 6000’ in the last turn area. Cloud
streets and 5-6kt climbs were common. There was an early concern
about a band of mid-level cirrus coming in from the west, but the band
dissipated just after the start gate opened and did not affect the
task.

The launch went off without a hitch again today, and scorer Rick
Sheppe reported that he continues to be amazed at how well the tow
pilots and ground crew worked together to get it done. Quite a
complicated ballet with 50-odd gliders, 5 tow planes, and an entire
crew of Japanese flight students acting as runners. The result of the
dance today was 51 gliders launched in 51 minutes - well done, guys!!

Local Florida boy Henry Retting won the day with a 71.32 mph raw /
65.68mph handicapped. Second place went to another local boy, Billy
Kerns with 70.24mph raw / 64.42mph handicapped. Third was Tom and
Doris Knauff with 71.73mph raw / 64.12mph handicapped. For those of
you not familiar with glider racing, this means these guys had to be
cruising at well over 90kt between thermals, and not stopping very
often for climbs. Henry told me that he started out the west side of
the start circle, waiting for a good cloud lineup. He maxed out the
first small cylinder and then headed SE toward the SW corner of the
second cylinder. He says his first three climbs were all better than
6kt, so he deliberately started going lower between climbs, not
stopping until crossing through 3000 in order to cut down on the
number of climbs. After turning in the second circle, he headed north
along a conveniently forming street, running along the ‘Florida
ridge’ (a north-south section about 100’ higher than the rest of the
terrain) until time to turn for home. Well done Henry!

Something my crewperson Scott Manley pointed out to me today that we
competition pilots don’t always appreciate is how interesting the
typical mass glider return and landing is to the crews and
spectators. We are always interested in how fast the launch occurs,
but he points out that most if not all the entire fleet returns and
lands in about half the time of the launch, meaning there is a glider
landing about every 30 seconds for roughly 30 minutes – interesting.

Tomorrow is the mandatory rest day (special rule for the Seniors). My
crew is abandoning me for the day (got a better offer – a much better
offer), so I plan to spend the day as a software geek and a wannabe
book author. Tune in Thursday for more racing action!

TA.

Frank,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write this! During a comp, time
is precious so it really is an extra labor of love to share each
contest day with us every night. Well done! Please keep up the good
work and good job on your own flying so far these first three days.

Bruno -B4

On Mar 15, 10:28*pm, Bruno wrote:
Frank,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write this! *During a comp, time
is precious so it really is an extra labor of love to share each
contest day with us every night. Well done! *Please keep up the good
work and good job on your own flying so far these first three days.

Bruno -B4

Bruno,

Thanks for the kind words. It is amazing how quickly time gets away
during a contest day. Wake up a 7:30, run, launch, land, drink beer,
eat, sleep. Repeat as necessary ;-).

Frank

Wake up a 7:30, run, launch, land, drink beer,
eat, sleep. *Repeat as necessary ;-).

Frank

I think I want to be Frank Paynter when I grow up. See you at Llano
in August Frank, keep up the reports, I love reading them.

Originally Posted by Frank Paynter[_2_]

Day 3 here at the 2011 Seniors was a boomer in every sense of the
word. Clouds to die for in all quadrants. Cloud bases at about 4500’
at the start, rising to above 6000’ in the last turn area. Cloud
streets and 5-6kt climbs were common. There was an early concern
about a band of mid-level cirrus coming in from the west, but the band
dissipated just after the start gate opened and did not affect the
task.

The launch went off without a hitch again today, and scorer Rick
Sheppe reported that he continues to be amazed at how well the tow
pilots and ground crew worked together to get it done. Quite a
complicated ballet with 50-odd gliders, 5 tow planes, and an entire
crew of Japanese flight students acting as runners. The result of the
dance today was 51 gliders launched in 51 minutes - well done, guys!!

Local Florida boy Henry Retting won the day with a 71.32 mph raw /
65.68mph handicapped. Second place went to another local boy, Billy
Kerns with 70.24mph raw / 64.42mph handicapped. Third was Tom and
Doris Knauff with 71.73mph raw / 64.12mph handicapped. For those of
you not familiar with glider racing, this means these guys had to be
cruising at well over 90kt between thermals, and not stopping very
often for climbs. Henry told me that he started out the west side of
the start circle, waiting for a good cloud lineup. He maxed out the
first small cylinder and then headed SE toward the SW corner of the
second cylinder. He says his first three climbs were all better than
6kt, so he deliberately started going lower between climbs, not
stopping until crossing through 3000 in order to cut down on the
number of climbs. After turning in the second circle, he headed north
along a conveniently forming street, running along the ‘Florida
ridge’ (a north-south section about 100’ higher than the rest of the
terrain) until time to turn for home. Well done Henry!

Something my crewperson Scott Manley pointed out to me today that we
competition pilots don’t always appreciate is how interesting the
typical mass glider return and landing is to the crews and
spectators. We are always interested in how fast the launch occurs,
but he points out that most if not all the entire fleet returns and
lands in about half the time of the launch, meaning there is a glider
landing about every 30 seconds for roughly 30 minutes – interesting.

Tomorrow is the mandatory rest day (special rule for the Seniors). My
crew is abandoning me for the day (got a better offer – a much better
offer), so I plan to spend the day as a software geek and a wannabe
book author. Tune in Thursday for more racing action!

TA.

The Japanese students are the greatest. They fly in the morning prior to launch and while the competitors are pulling out they spend their time upstairs at the office studying for their various orals and exams. They chase rope and hook up gliders and I hope each of the competitors will take a moment when they see them to acknowledge their contribution.

I had my backseat ride with Karl Striediedk on day 3 and it was to say the least, AWESOME. I learned that if it ain't a 10 kt thermal, Karl isn't interested. I learned a lot and more than anything I learned that I have a lot to learn. These guys amaze me and it was good to see my friend Tony Turiano thermaling beneath us down at Winter Haven, hard to miss that bright orange SGS 1-35. It was great to see Tony's smiling face back at SLGP, means I didn't have to go searching for him in some cow pasture with a Florida Cracker holding him at gun point. If you go down in Central Florida and have problems with the Cracker/Cowboy/Redneck accent, call me, I am fluent in all three.

Many of the newer competitors were asking me, "what does Karl do?" "How does he do this and that?" My advice would be to schedule a day at a competition, make a donation to the national team and occupy the backseat of Duo Discus KS, it will be worth it.

BTW, I think I got a condom catheter with SUPER GLUE. Could have made it around the course without it though. One other thing I learned, if you don't drink REAL coffee in the morning, you get a hell of a headache in late afternoon.

Walt

Yeah but if you grow up that will end the glider flying, I know Frank
and he hasnt grown up yet! ha ha

I need to fly really bad its been a long winter.....

Joe

I know the last turnpoint for day 3 was a large radius area, but I was
still surprised to see that task was laid out in such a way to have head
on flight paths.

Tom