Seniors Contest Begins in Florida

Yesterday was the practice day for the annual Seniors Contest at Seminole
Lake (www.soarfl.com) in Florida. A large entry of about 55 has been
whittled down from the 70 applicants, and the filed is crowded with hot
ships. We are all agog at Dick Butler's 'Beast' with its 28 metre wings and
sundry aerodynamic refinements (e.g. a retractable tail wheel with gear
doors and a pointed nose where the tow hook used to be). It's amazing to
see it land; - when he applies flaps the lift goes inboard and the tips
droop. It's said to have a L/D better than 65:1!

I 'rented' the back seat of World Cup and many time US National champ Doug
Jacobs' borrowed DG 1000. As requested, he flew the task 'thinking out
loud'. It was the best day of the season so far, with cloud base as high as
6,000' and streets aligned with the task. You can see many of the traces at
http://www.ssa.org/members/contestreports/OLC.htm. Walter Weir, who hoped
to avoid the congestion (you can't believe the traffic in the gaggles), flew
out and around, and was at Cheryl Lane, the first turnpoint, when he heard
the announcement that the gate was open. It was like driving the wrong way
on the freeway as he returned to the start with 55 other gliders, going the
opposite way, under the same streets.

We flew most of the course around 5,000', with little turning and probably
achieved an L/D in 3 figures. To diminish the chaos and danger of the
finish, this year there is a minimum height of 500', but we finished at
2,000' so we could start and go around again. Doug said "O.K, you have
control; - do the same." A Master Class. Fewer streets, but higher bases,
and another fast circuit around the course. Just an amazing opportunity.
Doug is following the lead of Karl Streideck in 'renting' the 2nd seat to
raise money for the US team. At $200, it was an excellent buy.

First contest day is today, and again the weather looks great; - perhaps
even stronger than yesterday. Daily reports are to be found on
rec.aviation.soaring under the title '711 reporting, if you want to follow
the contest.

See you all at the Banquet.....

If possible, some photos of Dick Butler's "Beast" will be appreciated