[LASS Soaring] "New Orleans International MOM TD Challenge Match, Day 1 Results"

[GordySoar at aol.com]

First of all, lets start with Paul Perret, Paul is a past Electric Soaring  
Nationals Champion and on top of that the Louisiana State TD Soaring Champion  
for over 20 years!  Other than Joe Melchoir of Deleware, I am pretty sure  
that is a USA Record!
 
Not since 1978 when the Nationals where held at Lake Charles, LA has there  
been a contest with this kind of high caliber pilot skills and knock down blood 
 and guys competition in all of Louisiana.
 
First launch went up at about 10:30, it was windy, really windy and hot  with 
a high over cast sky.  The field cold have used a trimming but we had  only 
two line breaks for the day (both mine).  The CD had decided that with  the 
strong wind, he'd allow one line break, so on my second I had to fly it  out.  
 
I had just reached the point where I was ready to dive in for the ping when  
the line released.  It was obviously a thermal because I had been tapping  up 
worried about a second line break and a bad round...it was clear that a low  
line break would have been a total score killer because the wind wouldn't allow 
 a low alt thermal climb out with out putting the plane dangerously down wind 
 into the cane fields.
 
It kind of surprised me and I forgot to flip my launch camber off, so the  
Giant was just sitting there when usually it takes off forward like it has  
afterburners.  When I finally got my head out of the break and took off the  
launch camber, it got right up on step and climbed on out into the lift  road.
 
Save my butt but lost 19 seconds on the flight...and Paul was so far only  
off by about 7 seconds.
 
It was a battle between the two of us all day.  We put in 6 rounds  before a 
band of showers ended the day.
 
When all the score sheets were turned in and tallied...guess which  sailplane 
had proven it self superior again?
 
DUH....SHARON...and Paul Perret.  My last round really hurt me, losing  two 
minutes to some deadly crushing mushy sink.  I lead the first three  rounds, he 
closed it up in the next two and finished me off in the last  round.
 
That Sharon on the last flight got way up, with out a turn, it just punched  
ahead in to the storm front heading toward us with winds up to about 24mph., 
he  then hooked a nice but extremely tight piece of air and worked it down  
wind.  Of course no ballast because Sharons don't have any place to put it  and 
don't need it, and proof was that he worked it way down wind yet it screamed  
back for a nice tidy landing.
 
"It was mine to lose and I did !" :-)
 
But what a great day of soaring!
 
We sat around till after the clean up crew was all packed up and the TV  
camera truck was bumping its way  out the field access road, and  proclaimed it 
beer-thirty, time for some relaxing, Cajun style :-)

Wish you guys could have been here.  
 
JoJo?  Well he wasn't too happy having come all that way then having  his 
lunch handed to him by the Rag'n Cajun Paul Perret and the Sharon, but by  the 
time he boarded the plane home, he was smiling!

Gordy
Off to the French Quarter for some food and music....you?





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