[LASS Soaring] World Soaring Masters: Day One

[Ben Wilson]

Got off to a little bit of a late start today, on account of rain 
showers that started up *right* as my alarm went off in my tent here on 
the spacious AMA Flying Site.  CD Mark Nankavil (apologies on the 
spelling) got things rolling as soon as it cleared up and we got in 4 
remarkably rain-free rounds before calling it while we still had light 
to pack up. 
With the weather being as it is, you could call this the Fall 2006 
Soaring NATS!  Winds were a steady 15 MPH the entire day, gusting to 25 
MPH according to wind gauges.  I could count on one hand the number of 
honest thermal turn attempts I saw today - surfing was the name of the 
game.  I'm not sure if anyone got their 12 minute tasks, though I know a 
few who got very close.  Thornburg mentions in The Old Buzzard Goes 
Soaring, and I'll paraphrase here: "fly in all types of weather if you 
want to win contests", and that is where those Soaring Masters in 
attendance beat the pants off of the non-Masters.  There are plenty of 
guys out there who stay at home if it's overcast or blowing too hard - 
today would've no doubt made them think twice about getting off the 
couch.  But where's the challenge in flying in pristine conditions?  To 
me, this hobby is about challenging, learning and expanding, and that's 
why I'm here.

As far as what I've learned today, I figure that this high-wind stuff 
requires a mindset that is similar to, but altogether different than 
your normal calmer-air flying.  If normal TD work is "macro", then 
high-wind stuff is very "micro".  Fine, clean control of your plane and 
accurate deduction of what the fast-moving and quick-changing air was 
doing in front of your ship were the keys to success today.  The Masters 
here did those things - and the rest of us hung on for dear life. Me?  
Well, while I'm here at the Soaring Masters, I'm no Master yet!  My goal 
is to get on the first page of the results tomorrow :)

Yes, there was some carnage along the way - though honestly today was 
the day to test the limits of all manner of equipment, airborne or 
otherwise.  Model throwers were the rule, not the exception along the 
flight line today!  Safety was on the minds of everyone after the 
incident at the NATS with a pilot struck on the ground, and the winch 
bosses where quick to hand out warnings and kindly suggest that someone 
toss your plane.  There were line breaks, but with NATS-like efficiency, 
they were easily handled and the contest continued on.  And while there 
aren't "official" Turnaround Trolls, there was a good crew of kiddos and 
of-legal-age volunteers out there doing a thankless job.  Not to forget 
Marney and the well-oiled machine in the transmitter impound - flawless!

The weather was heinous, and at the end of the 4 rounds, there wasn't a 
perfect 4000 on the board even out of some of the best pilots from the 
West Coast, East Coast or beyond the lower 48 states.  I don't have the 
Day One scores, unfortunately, but suffice it to say there are some 
familiar names up there, but there are some unexpected as well.  A good 
contest, and anything could happen in the next two days.  Thunderstorms 
this evening and Saturday isn't looking any better - "may be severe with 
damaging winds" in the afternoon.  Another challenging day, but one that 
hopefully the "Soaring Masters" will make the most of.

ben wilson
louisville area soaring society
http://www.louisvillesoaring.org