13.5 WGC Contest Day 8: US Pilots

297km racing task today for Tony and Francois: Follow along on the 2 tracking sites:
http://live.glidernet.org/#c=46.55575,20.85812&z=9&s=1 or
http://glidertracker.de/#tsk=http://.../243266/xcsoar

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 6:46:17 AM UTC-6, wrote:
297km racing task today for Tony and Francois: Follow along on the 2 tracking sites:
http://live.glidernet.org/#c=46.55575,20.85812&z=9&s=1 or
http://glidertracker.de/#tsk=http://.../243266/xcsoar

Rough day.

Climb to 2K ft. glide to 600 () ft. repeat.

On Tuesday, 11 July 2017 13:46:17 UTC+1, wrote:
297km racing task today for Tony and Francois: Follow along on the 2 tracking sites:
http://live.glidernet.org/#c=46.55575,20.85812&z=9&s=1 or
http://glidertracker.de/#tsk=http://.../243266/xcsoar

Kudos to Tony Condon, OK the FES helped, but drifting back across the town of Bekes below 500' in a bubble which gradually improved to a couple of knots and took him to 2,500ft took some chutzpah

Must be there or thereabouts for a day win

Thanks Fat Albert, not sure what FES had to do with it. The terrain here in Hungary is much like my home of Kansas. Half of the fields are wheat, the harvest is in progress, and there are a million places to land. There also are a lot of Sunflowers here too. Just like home.

For the record, SeeYou says the bottom point of that climb was 780 ft. AGL.

It was quite the day, and that last climb was the ONLY climb that Francois and I did not share. We did a really nice job of staying together, which is not easy when you are going from one low save to another. I couldn't imagine a better teammate.

Thanks Fat Albert, not sure what FES had to do with it. The terrain here in Hungary is much like my home of Kansas. Half of the fields are wheat, the harvest is in progress, and there are a million places to land. There also are a lot of Sunflowers here too. Just like home.

For the record, SeeYou says the bottom point of that climb was 780 ft. AGL.

It was quite the day, and that last climb was the ONLY climb that Francois and I did not share. We did a really nice job of staying together, which is not easy when you are going from one low save to another. I couldn't imagine a better teammate.

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 3:46:26 PM UTC-4, Tony wrote:
Thanks Fat Albert, not sure what FES had to do with it. The terrain here in Hungary is much like my home of Kansas. Half of the fields are wheat, the harvest is in progress, and there are a million places to land. There also are a lot of Sunflowers here too. Just like home.

For the record, SeeYou says the bottom point of that climb was 780 ft. AGL.

It was quite the day, and that last climb was the ONLY climb that Francois and I did not share. We did a really nice job of staying together, which is not easy when you are going from one low save to another. I couldn't imagine a better teammate.

Way to go Tony! Congrats to you and Francois for great flying on a clearly difficult day. You climbed in an area that Sebastian used before the turn, but he didn't go back.

No small bragging rights to beat the best in the world, if only even by a football field's length!

On Tuesday, 11 July 2017 20:43:57 UTC+1, Tony wrote:
Thanks Fat Albert, not sure what FES had to do with it. The terrain here in Hungary is much like my home of Kansas. Half of the fields are wheat, the harvest is in progress, and there are a million places to land. There also are a lot of Sunflowers here too. Just like home.

For the record, SeeYou says the bottom point of that climb was 780 ft. AGL.


Tony

I've flown in Hungary, do they still burn 2km square stubble fields by lighting all four sides at once with multiple vehicles towing burning rags? Often ducked clumps of burning straw when climbing in a field fire, Hungary is the only place I ever ducked a burning bale!

I've also flown an, admittedly non self launcher, FES sailplane.

My estimate of your above the ground height came from seeing altitude 250m or so on the tracker with the ground there about 100m ASL. Whatever, 500ft or 750ft, it was brave to drift off over what appeared to be an unlandable area at that height.

For me the decision would have been influenced by the FES, it's the only virtually instant start thermal-on-demand system out there, would you have made the same decision without the FES?

No criticism intended, that's the whole point of the FES to me, no compromise on soaring decisions, no abandoning of soaring because you've got an ion thermal [geddit :-)]

Uli didn't, he chose to land there pretty much.

I've seen a few fires that I hypothesised were field fires but couldn't confirm.

For me, FES does not give me permission to fly over unlandable terrain. Yes it's quick and pretty reliable but I'm not betting my life on it and not risking the glider.

The thermal was at the edge of town, plenty of fields around. Uli was under me and ended up in a nice cut wheat field a few km outside if town so that is a good indication that we weren't soaring Iver unlandable stuff.