| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Anker
83 Posts |
 Posted - 10/08/2007 : 6:15:03 PM
|
The weekend of the 2007 Thermal Duration End of Season contest at the Daniel Boone Homestead in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania was forecast to be unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the 80's, light breezes and sunny skies. I am sure the great forecast contributed to the high turnout of 39 pilots on Saturday and 37 on Sunday. Inclusion on the top 10 experts for the season was also wide open with several pilots in contention for the top spot.
Many ESL members pitched in to plan and run the contest. Without this help we just couldn't pull it off. Special thanks to Dale Hart who took care of scoring equipment, scoring on Saturday and retrievers and Steve Lucke who organized hauling the ESL winches and other launching stuff from LISF. Also thanks to the DBSF club for organizing the use of the field and for lending us their retrievers.
Saturday morning turned out to be very foggy and the early risers who came to the field at 7AM to set up found that they could have slept in. After setup we had extended "testing of planes and winches", and also held the annual ESL meeting. Finally at 11AM the ceiling lifted enough to allow zooming off the launch. We flew fixed flight groups through the day, starting with a 6 minute task, going to 8 minutes, and then to 10 minutes as conditions improved. Winds were light and most flyers made their task times. The landings were challenging with "NATS" landing tapes: 100" tapes with each inch worth a point. Flying continued to late afternoon to make up for the late start. To our surprise there was a tie for the 2nd expert position which was resolved with a F3J style flyoff between Josh Glaab and Tom Kiesling. Tom won the flyoff. We had one junior pilot, Josh Glaab Jr., age 8, who joined the AMA at the field, flew really well and walked off with the junior trophy. Josh jr. was also one of the three novices. The Saturday results were:
Junior:
1: Josh Glaab jr.
Novice:
1: Brandon Waite
2: Josh Glaab Jr.
3: Bob Cortwright
Sportsman:
1: Chuck Robinett
2: Gary Bolash
3: Robert Buxton
Expert:
1: John Hauff
2: Tom Kiesling
3: Josh Glaab
Sunday was forecasted to have very light breezes and sunny skies. The first round was an 8 minute task in completely calm conditions.The first group to launch discovered that flying efficiently towards the NW took them into a wave that made the task a piece of cake. The rest of the groups followed suit and what had looked like a very difficult round turned out to be quite easy. By the second round the wind had picked up out of the NW and the rest of the day we had 10MPH prevailing winds, often strengthened and weaked by huge hatsucking thermals. There were periods of huge sink that punished the group that was up to fly and by the end of the day every group had been slammed into the ground and sucked high up into the sky by hatsuckers. Very exciting flying with uncertainty about the results right up the the last round. By the end of the day the results were:
Junior:
1: Josh Glaab Jr.
Novice:
1: Brandon Waite
2: Josh Glaab Jr.
3: Bob Cortwright
Sportsman:
1: Dimitri Katramatos
2: Lenny Strickland
3: John Bitzer
Expert:
1: Mike Lachowski
2: Tom Kiesling
3: Kerry Cochrell
Weekend champion was Tom Kiesling.
After packing while the ESL scorekeeper frantically calculated the end of season standings, a pilot meeting was called and the end of season awards were given to:
Sportsman:
1: Chuck Robinett
2: Robert Buxton
3: Dimitri Katramatos
4: George Hill
5: Rich Watson
6: Ed Anderson
7: John Bitzer
8: Lenny Strickland
9: Peter Nicholson
10: Michael Lavelle
Expert:
1: Thomas Kiesling
2: Michael Lachowski
3: Luis Bustamante
4: John Hauff
5: Jeff Steifel
6: Josh Glaab
7: Tony Guide
8: Steve Lucke
9: Peter Schlitzkus
10: Leszek Zyga
Most improved: Fritz Bien
Advancing from sportsman to expert are Chuck Robinett and Miner Crary.
I have been told that a green Coleman folding chair was left at the field after the contest. Please contact me if you are the owner.
Respectfully submitted:
David Beach, Saturday CD
Anker Berg-Sonne, Sunday CD and ESL scorekeeper |
|
|
aeajr
477 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2007 : 08:52:29 AM
|
This is not a Contest Report as much as a personal report of the contest. For
me, flying in ESL contests is a blast. The three that are flown at our home
field are great but the away contests are even more fun. There is a certain
vacation feel to the whole thing. I really enjoy them.
I traveled to the contest with Dimitri and Hedel Katramatos. If you have
not been car pooling to these events you should definitely try it. It makes the
trip there and back so much more pleasant. Long rides in the car are so much
nicer with friends.
We arrived at the Daniel Boone Homestead field Friday afternoon, around 3 pm.
The weather was beautiful. There was bright sun, warm air and very little wind.
It was perfect for some last minute tuning and testing.
David Beach had a winch set-up when we arrived. So we got in a few hours of
practice and enjoyable flying. This was a great way to start an ESL event.
Sort of the cocktail hour before the main course. It also allowed me to
discover a problem that I was able to fix that evening so my plane was ready for
the contest.
Saturday I awoke full of excitement about the coming day. I opened my hotel
door and stepped into a cloud. Fog is a funny thing. You have flash backs of
horror movies where the creature comes out and grabs someone. Fog is beautiful,
but creepy.
The field was deeply socked in when we arrived at 8:00 am. We were not going to start
a TD contest for a while. The ESL year end meeting was called and we sat and
talked while we waited for the fog to lift. Lots of topics discussed, but you
can read those in the notes from the meeting.
At the pilots meeting I learned we had around 40 pilots with three Novice
Pilots. Go Novice! And we had one Junior class pilot named Josh who was
assisted by his father, Josh Glabb. Josh Jr. was flying a beautiful yellow and
black Laser Arts Sovereign 2M R/E plane. As the day went on we would see that
this is a great flying plane that gets along with the winch quite well. And,
while Josh Jr. is not quite ready for Expert class, it is clear he will be
someone to watch as his skills develop.
Josh Jr., and his sidekick, Sam Hauff, helped with the announcing of the rounds
too. I think we have a couple of ESL officers in the making. ;-)
After the meeting broke, a few test launches were called for as the fog was now
starting to lift. I stepped up to the winch with my Thermal Dancer. I am not
one of the super launchers in the League, but shortly after the plane left the
hook, it also disappeared from view into the fog. "Help, I can't see my
plane!"
With the help of others, the plane was spotted and landed safely. It was still
going to be a while before we could start. Everyone settled in. I think we
finally started around 11.
Once the fog lifted it turned out to be a beautiful day. At times the air was
challenging and at times you launched right into lift. It was one of those
days. Based on the open winch format of the contest you could stand and check
the skies before you launched. I did that quite a bit.
I think it was on the third flight, I had gotten too far out, chasing lift, and
got caught in big sink on the way back. It was clear I was not going to clear
the power lines as I crossed the road. It looked like there was a big enough
gap for me to get between them. I was doing good right up to the point where I
caught the tail of my plane on the phone line that was strung between the power
lines. OOPS, could not see that one. If I had only flown about 3 inches
lower.
When you hang a plane on a power line, things are going to get damaged. When
the plane comes down on its own, that is a blessing. When it lands on a wing
tip and delaminates, it calls for some work. If you have seen me fly you know
that that is why I bring a back-up plane.
But, in usual ESL fashion, people came over to help and to ask if my plane was
OK. Thanks to Jeff Steifel for the gift of some finishing epoxy and some good
advice. I got repairs started between rounds and the wings went into the shells
and under weight. My highly experienced yellow Legend finished the contest.
The first two flights were not good but once I got it tuned in, the Legend did
well and proved that a 25+ year old second hand plane can still ride a thermal.
Despite the damaged plane, overall it was a great day of flying, friends and
fun. A group dinner was arranged for anyone who wanted to join. Great food and
fun conversations were the standard for the meal followed by some last minute
tuning and repairs. Some additional attention was needed on my Thermal Dancer
that night in the hotel room.
Sunday arrived with the promise of another beautiful day. A test launch showed
that the repairs to the Thermal Dancer's wings would hold. I was all set.
I have not been very good at reading air or thermal cycles but the cycles were
so pronounced that you could really feel the thermals come through. I got a
real lesson in thermal cycle reading that day. However timing them and knowing
where to go is always a challenge as lift was taking people quite deep in order
to make their times. On one flight, when everyone went left, I went right and
was lucky enough to pick up the new cycle as it formed. I rode that one
directly over the field to a skied out position. That was fun, but I still
missed my landing. ;-(
Well I didn't take first place, but I wasn't last either. This was an
improvement from Saturday. However Dimitri, my club mate and driver of the red
party van, did take first place Sunday. Congratulations Dimitri! It is fun to
travel with champions. ;-D
And I had some fun flights that really tested me. On one 10
minute round, I was on final approach at 5 minutes when I hit a bump over the
landing area. A turn and another bump gained me a few feet. I managed to gain
some altitude and stretch the time to about 8 minutes. Not a winning time but
a very memorable fight. There were several like that.
I had the opportunity to work with Greg Sado, a sportsman pilot of great talent.
We timed for each other and helped each other. Greg, thanks for a great day of
flying! You provided some great tips. I will work on the timing of my
landings. I hope we can fly together again soon.
After the last round, the packing up and the putting away began. Then the
awards were given and congratulations were in abundance. The season was over
for the winch launched pilots. The hand launch pilots have one more contest to
go. Next year I hope to join in the hand launched competition too.
What a great time I had! I can't wait till next season. I still won't take
first place, but I know I will come away from each event as a winner based on
the learning, the sharing and the great people who fly in the Eastern Soaring
League. See you all next year!
Best regards,
Ed Anderson
ESL Content Editor
aeajr on the forums |
Edited by - aeajr on 10/09/2007 09:06:28 AM |
 |
|
|
kzimmerm
4 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2007 : 3:40:53 PM
|
| Any Pictures? |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Thermal Duration End of Season Contest, 2007
Forum Locked
