[LASS Soaring] "Winds and Sun, and Wood In Punta Gorda Florida Today"

[GordySoar at aol.com]

Mike Pop and I got to the field early today , he decided to fly his new  
Pelican 140', instead of the new Shadow V tail he'd recently outfitted.
 
I reach into my Sportube and pulled out my Pike Giant since the wind was  
heading up and it looked like it might be a big thermal day. It wasn't :-)
 
Mike was again in the zone, and early on in the rounds it was clear that it  
was going to end up between the two of us.
 
In the 5th round I found smeg, made a bunch of bad decisions and posted  
about a 4:30 (7 was max).
 
Mike put a near perfect round.
 
Round 6 I got hurt again for about the same amount of time and but a  good 
landing, one Raheed of the Buzzards was up in that with me and got  crunched too.
 
Mike got a couple of re-launches due to equipment dramas, and we all  thought 
that luck was with him, maybe avoiding the crap air, but I could see  from 
his launch that the air was sort of flat, he went off toward the left over  some 
trees, where early he'd picked up some big air....and found nothing.
 
He made a quick run to the small tree line at the end of the landing zone  
that had been pumping life saving lift for Mike all day, but found nothing but  
really hard sink.  He was lucky to get it down on ground for a 1:41ish and  a 
zero landing.

The 7th and last round, I maxed with a 7 and a 50 (max possible), it  was 
Mike's to lose.  He got decent air, and worked it really hard but that  tree line 
let him down again and he wobbled into the landing zone early, found  he was 
too hot, turned, looked like his plane was toast, but he leveled it out,  
turned back and floated for more than about 100' 2' off the ground to a 30  
landing!!!
 
But it wasn't enough to over come that crushed flight...he ended up 59  
points short.
 
Tough medicine but we all had a great time!
 
Great group of guys and a nice flying site too.
 
Gordy



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