Dust Devil Dash results

Winner was Kevin Wayt, who landed at Burns, OR after amazing 587 mile
flight from Tehachapi. Second and third were Garry Dickson [his 1-26 was
the only glider to make an off-field landing] and Danny Sorenson.

22 pilots flew, congratulations to all. Weather was beautiful if you were
ahead of the thunderstorms, interesting if you had to dodge them.

e-mail me separately if you would like a full scoresheet; I will get it on
the SoCal Soaring webpage as soon as I can.

Ian

On Monday, September 10, 2012 12:45:03 PM UTC-7, Ian Cant wrote:
Winner was Kevin Wayt, who landed at Burns, OR after amazing 587 mile

flight from Tehachapi. Second and third were Garry Dickson [his 1-26 was

the only glider to make an off-field landing] and Danny Sorenson.



22 pilots flew, congratulations to all. Weather was beautiful if you were

ahead of the thunderstorms, interesting if you had to dodge them.



e-mail me separately if you would like a full scoresheet; I will get it on

the SoCal Soaring webpage as soon as I can.



Ian

Congratulations to Eric for an amazing flight. His flight was over 1000km straight out (630 SM or so):
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0...l?dsId=2741496
He took advantage of unusual conditions by flying directly north while staying on the west side of the OD instead of following the traditional line NE which most took. This resulted in a great down wind run under great cloud streets without having to deal with OD. Normally there are not many clouds north of Reno but Saturday was one of those days with best conditions to fly directly downwind into Oregon. Bases were relatively low (mostly around 14K) which also favors the direct route north where the terrain is lower. This was well predicted by Dr. Jack NAM blipmap. A bunch of us flew from Truckee to near the Oregon border and back that day.

What is also remarkable is that his wife drove 17 hours that day, which brings me to my question:
I am curious how come so many SoCal pilots can get crews to chase them on long straight outs (during the DDD and from Crystal the rest of the season). Here in Norcal there are only couple of us lucky pilots that can find crew to chase us. The rest can't get their spouse to drive with a trailer. I would like to setup a similar dash from Hollister or Truckee but would like to learn how you guys manage to make it work for so many pilots...

Ramy

I think he means Kevin.

On Monday, September 10, 2012 3:12:12 PM UTC-7, (unknown) wrote:
I think he means Kevin.

Yes, thanks for correcting me. I meant Kevin of course. I am used to congratulates Eric too ;-)

Ramy

On Monday, September 10, 2012 3:42:40 PM UTC-5, Ramy wrote:
Congratulations to Kevin for an amazing flight. His flight was over 1000km straight out (630 SM or so)
... Ramy

Sorry, Ramy, but 1000 KM OLC is not the same as 1000 KM straight out. On Kevin's flight, from furthest south soon after release to furthest north before turning back to land safe and happy at an airport was just over 600 miles. Still, an amazing flight and a fantastic chase crew.

How to get a crew, Ramy? Ask. Offer incentives. "Experience of a lifetime". I think most of the Crystal Squadron do the day out is for the pilots, the trip back has a day for the crew. My offer is for an "unforgettable experience". Sometimes a good thing, and sometimes a part of Soaring Lore. Which is made up of Fact and Enhanced Fact. This year, my crew's adventures included the starter not wanting to work until the car cooled off and a crew radio that never did seem to work. We exchanged a few text messages during the flight so we would know where the other was. At least the A/C worked this year!

Steve
VJS

I don't have a one man rigger and Leah much prefers the A/C in the truck to waiting for me on the ground when it is 100+. In the past I've asked students to chase on days Leah was unavailable, they've usually been willing. A few years ago for Kowbell a couple college friends wanted to visit that weekend. Fine with us we said but you'll have an adventure on Saturday. They didn't really know what they were getting into but had a lot of fun riding along with Leah and were a huge help in getting the glider loaded and driving home that night. This year for the 13.5 meter contest my high school english teacher sister was looking for a summer vacation so she came along. she had a friend in Texas that she wanted to see anyway. she had more fun than she was expecting I think and was very helpful. She chased on Kowbell with Leah and then was at most of the contest with us.

Mike Koerner told me that his wife and kids have been to every national park, amusement park, and any other attraction in the western US while retrieving him from straight out flights. Seems like a good trade off to me. Unfortunately most of my flights head west across Kansas and into the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles. Not too much entertainment in those parts but it seems that as long as we find a town with a Dairy Queen and motel if its late, Leah is happy.

I've got the fever, and there's only one prescription...
More Kowbell!
Jim