Scores

Task 1:

https://ayvri.com/scene/z15yrzn1jx/ckpl6fq8n0003266lfsh3a6pf

Task 1 was an 80k task west to Temple then south west to Eagle. It was a blue day with very weak lift and an inversion around 3k feet. The wind was about 14mph in the air and more south than west so the first leg of the task was cross wind followed by a longer upwind leg. Jim and I flew together for 2 hours and only made it ~19km. Jim won the day beating me by about 3 points and Ric Caylor wasn't far behind.

Task 2:

https://ayvri.com/scene/z15yrzn1jx/ckplwnfp90003266kryw7q2ru

https://ayvri.com/scene/z15yrzn1jx/ckpo5aiwj0003266kk38gb47a

Task 2 was an 40.5k task west to Masse then North to Marl. The clouds were out and it was on big, base was about 6,200 AGL and we were getting consistent climbs of 300-500 fpm. The wind was about 11mph in the air and south - west so it was a cross wind leg to Masse then basically downwind to goal. Ric Caylor and Pete Lehmann headed out first taking the 2:20pm start clock and the rest of us took the 2:40pm clock. Everyone made goal, however, Ric Niehaus missed the 1st turn point by about 250 meters so didn't get a good score despite making it in. Jim and I flew the whole task together and raced hard into goal. I was lower but flying faster on final glide but wasn't able to catch him and arrived 14 seconds after. Jim's task speed was a 55km/hr and did the flight in just under 39 minutes.

Jim, Pete, Ric Caylor and I all arrived at over 1,000ft at goal to find a beautiful cloud with 500fpm so we climbed to cloud based (6,200 ft) and decided to fly 19km upwind to Masse. All of us made it to Masse making it a 60k flight. Ric and Knut landed at goal.

Also a big thanks to Ric Niehaus who towed 2 pilots then landed and got in his glider to fly the course. Unfortunately the 1st start time was prior to pilots towing so most of us were on course by the time Ric was reached cloudbase.

Task 1-2 (Pete Lehmann writeup):

Hi All,

A note about our flying thus far in Charlie Allen's Mini-Comp on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

We're operating out of a little grass strip on the farm of a Dragonfly pilot named Ben. We have two Dragonflies at our disposal, and the tug pilots have thus far been ones with roots back in the Ridgely community: Zack and Adam. In addition, Ric Niehaus today towed a couple of people (me first) before flying the course after Adam towed him up. It really is a pleasant little site, and it is wonderful to have a moderate turnout of pilots in the comp, a couple of wind dummies, and a number of other pilots (current and retired) willing to drive for us. Thus far the weather has been delightful, a bit warm, but not viciously hot and humid as it so often is in these parts at this time of the year.

Yesterday was the first comp day, and it was a great disappointment: blue, hot and very light. I barely made it out of the start circle while Charlie Allen and Jim Messina did a really creditable job of staying in the air for nearly two hours struggling with the light lift, low altitudes (max 3,800, I think) and increasingly strong adverse winds. Still, neither of them even made the turn point. All the same, it was an interesting, if difficult, introduction to flying here. One of the differences to flying at Ben's (as it's called) as opposed to flying Ridgely is that Ben's is much closer to the marine influence of the Chesapeake which makes it often difficult to soar. As a result, one is towed to the east, away from the water, in an effort to get into the more unstable air. Thereafter one can dive further inland into better conditions. Yesterday I never got over two thousand feet before landing, while Jim and Charlie got to near four grand once they had gotten inland. That wasn't great, but it was certainly an improvement over the conditions at the launch point.

Today was very different. The forecasts were better, albeit not vastly better than yesterday so a short downwind task was chosen: From Ben's to a turn point at the Massy airfield and then on to a field north of Middletown, Delaware. Altogether a pretty easy 22 miles. I was off first and then wound up alone and struggling a bit, but still easily, if slowly making goal along with the other four pilots (Ric Niehaus too made it a bit later after towing two of us).

But then it became interesting. Conditions had improved, and just as we got to the goal circle we encountered the best thermal of the day which eventually got us all to a bit above six grand. Recognizing that conditions had changed, and wanting to do something a bit more challenging than we already flown, we all voted on the radio to see if we could fly 12 miles back to Massy, the turn point we had passed on our way to goal. This was not that easy as we were flying into a ten-mph headwind, and we had to fly along the edge of the blue marine air to our right, east. In the end, the four of us who had turned around all made it to Massy fairly easily having flown about 34 miles in total, while Ric and Knut landed at the original goal. On the way home we stopped at a remarkably nice little restaurant in a tiny town along the way.

All in all, it was a remarkably fun day.

Task 3:

https://ayvri.com/scene/mxkox29wk4/ckppwg05h00063a6ii7e6uyzx

Task 3 was awesome. It was essentially a repeat of Task 2 except we had a turnpoint a few miles south of Masse making the task a little longer. I was a little behind Jim after the 1st turnpoint and he stopped for what looked like a weak climb just before Masse and I decided to fly past to a better looking cloud north of Masse in an attempt to win the day. Unfortunately, the cloud fell apart and I ended up doing a long glide in the blue getting down to 1,000ft. I changed gears and drift in 0-50fpm till it finally came together and turned into 500fpm and made for an easy glide to goal. However this mistake put me 14 minutes behind.

Pete Lehmann's Writeup:

Today's weather was something of a repeat of yesterday's conditions, albeit with a bit stronger southerly wind, and somewhat lower cloud base. Still, it was quite straightforward to climb out and get established on course. Uncharacteristically, I hung back and launched second-to last in order to enable the last launching Ric Niehaus to join up with someone after he had finished his towing chores.

In the event, Ric didn't really need my help as the other pilots were also still hanging around near the tow strip at the time he was towed up. Five of us soon climbed out and left, but with me below them all as I'd chickened out of climbing with the little crowd. I am a woos. As a result, I was left below and behind them as we fought the crosswind to the first turn point.

I made the turn point behind them, and struggled for a while as they disappeared into the distance towards goal. I finally found a very solid climb to near cloud base during which my flight instrument told me that it had calculated that I could make the 18.5 mile glide to goal. That seemed a stretch, so I kept climbing towards the cloud before finally heading out for goal under something of a convergence cloud line. With the tailwind, and with the lift to be found under that cloud line, I never once turned during the glide, and still got to goal too high. It was ludicrously easy and fun, and was topped off by a perfect landing.

Jim Messina again won the day flying his Aeros Combat, and is flying extremely well. Of our little band of six, only Knut didn't make goal, handicapped as he was by his king-posted Gecko. Bacil Dickert unexpectedly materialized at goal to provide us refreshments, and then kindly offered to go and retrieve Knut.

It was another good day. May the weather continue to be kind...

Task 4:

Pete Lehmann's Writeup:

Yesterday's forecasts were all over the map. Depending on which one you believed, it was going to be great, stormy, booming or weak. In the end it was very weak, cloud base was at three grand until late in the day, and a big cunim buildup shaded the last part of the course.

The day was challenging enough that Knut and I needed two tows to get out, and Ric Caylor three. Once we all got on course it was a desperate struggle virtually all the way. Charlie and Knut landed early, and the rest of us worked any lift we could find. A good climb averaged 125 feet per minute, and my average for the flight was only 85fpm. Only when we got away from the Chesapeake and into the middle of the Delmarva peninsula at the Masse turn point did things improve as we encountered the convergence clouds. This time the lift was hardly booming (I saw 200fpm for a while), and cloud base was a mere 3,600 feet.

At that altitude my instrument told me I should just be able to glide the ten miles to goal, so off I went. It was a tricky decision as I was gliding across a blue area and then into the shade of a monster cunim building to the west. But I feared doing what the others did, flying further north under the convergence to a point where they would then have a shorter glide to goal, but one with, at a minimum, a cross-wind, or at worst a quartering head-wind. I preferred the longer glide, but with a significant tail wind component.

The glide was close, and I was in some doubt I could reach goal in the trees when I stumbled into a decent climb in the shade, three miles short of goal. I then easily glided home. While setting up my landing along a soarable tree line I had the unique experience of seeing a Bald Eagle ridge soaring the trees below me. That is a first for me. Bacil Dickert was there when I landed, and I broke down in a hurry to beat the gust front and rain I expected to result from the big cunim.

In the end my glide gamble paid off as the others all came up a bit short on their shorter, but head wind glides to goal. It was only a 21-mile task, but quite difficult, and equally rewarding. Surviving the first ten miles was a moral triumph in and of itself.

Task 6:

Task 6 was about 21km to the east and back. The 1st start clock was 11:30am and it looked soarable starting at about 10:00am. I launched 1st as soon as Adam arrived and took the 12:10 start clock before going on course. The clouds were very reliable but it was clear it there was a short window to fly as the sky was blowing up. I managed to get to the turnpoint which was an 11mph upwind flight and started back. Overall it was a really fun flight.

Pete Lehmann's Writeup:

After a semi-off day (only Charlie tried to go on course the previous day, and he did not get far), I had thought today would be an even worse day on which to fly. So, I went into town, had breakfast and did a few errands. But Charlie texted me that we'd be taking a whack at the day, and that the pilots' meeting would be early; too early for me to make it. I rushed back, and with Ric Caylor's help, was set-up and ready to fly when Adam, our tug pilot, showed up to begin the day's foolishness.

The forecast had predicted a 70% chance of thunderstorms, but the day had dawned moderately clear and by late morning cumulus clouds were forming. Charlie figured that we had a window of time before the inevitable cunims would form, so he called a short, twenty-mile out and return task. He launched first and headed on course, becoming the only one of us to even make the turn point before the skies opened. Shortly after he had left the other three of us towed up, got to cloud base together at three thousand feet and headed off to the east against a slight headwind.

By now the clouds were seriously overdeveloping, and while they were actually quite reliably producing lift, they were clearly going to hell. It was only a matter of time, and very little of it, before we were going to be screwed by the overdevelopment. Almost immediately after topping out near the launch airstrip, I saw that there was a cell dumping rain directly on course line toward the first turn point. I decided to try and fly around it to the north, and began to detour that way. I did well enough for a bit, including experiencing yet another climb with a Bald Eagle, before I finally missed a low climb as the sky was going crazy all around me. Fortunately, as I tried to accomplish that last climb, I was above a small grass airfield, and when I failed to climb out, I had the benefit of a windsock below me to determine the proper landing direction, and a hangar behind which to break down in the increasingly strong winds heralding rain.

Bacil Dickert once again arrived to pick me up and help with a very fast breakdown. We had just tied down the glider as the first raindrops fell, and we drove back to Ben's airstrip in torrential rains that flooded the countryside. I was lucky as hell that Bacil had gotten there in time as I would otherwise have been a drowned rat.

Of the other two pilots, Ric Caylor and Jim Messina, they too landed short of the turn point. Ric had recently heard my assertion that one can find lifting air at the edge of rain, but called on the radio to contradict that. He and Jim had continued towards the rain cloud and landed, but not much short of where I had gotten too with my detour around the first rain cloud. There really was no "correct" way to fly today. We were all destined to be screwed by the weather.

Still, it really was a dumb fun little flight, working the clouds and trying to sleeze around the rain.

But maybe we should have gone bowling.

Task 7:

https://ayvri.com/scene/mxkox29wk4/ckq2d9xm500043b6iejoen43r

Pete Lehmann's Writeup:

After a rain day, the final task was flown over rain sodden countryside and in rapidly changing conditions. Only four of us flew, Jim Messina, Ric Caylor, John Simon (for the only time in the comp) and myself, joined by Doug Rogers who wind-dummied for us.

The task was a twenty-mile total out and return to the southeast, and only Jim and Ric managed to make it back to Bens on yet another weak, low-altitude day. Cloud base was right at 3,000 msl, and for the first part of the day the lift varied from weak to worse. However, upon making the turn point Ric and Jim had the skies clear, and cumies formed to grease their return home.

It was yet another curiously satisfying day. Notwithstanding the crappy conditions, we all had a chance at making the task, and I spent eighteen minutes surviving at between 1,000 and 600 feet above the ground in the company of Black Vultures and a Bald Eagle. I never did manage to escape, but I found it perversely fun to survive that long at those altitudes.

To sum up, Charlie's Mini-Comp was a remarkably fun event. While it was disappointing that we had fewer than the hoped-for ten participants, the fact that we were such a small group made for a wonderful sense of comradery. All pilots camped out at the field, socialized before and after every flight, and we dined together virtually every night, either at the field, or in pretty nearby Chestertown. More importantly, we flew on seven of the possible eight flying days, and while the conditions were often remarkably weak, it was always soarable and there was always at least a chance of making goal. In fact, only on two days did no one make goal. An unintended benefit of the generally poor conditions was that our tasks were short. In high class competitions the tasks are all too often grueling and require long retrieves at the end of the day. Our short tasks meant that we were never far from home, and could actually eat dinner and relax after flying. Most significant, the difficult flying was genuinely fun and rewarding, and I enjoyed gaining a better understanding of the tricky convergence flying of the Delmarva Peninsula.

I also want to thank the many people who drove for us during the week, making for painless retrieves. We often had nearly as many drivers as we had pilots: John Dullahan, Bacil Dickert, Ed Messina, Doug Rogers, Michal, Jackie Williamson, and Jim Carroll. Adam Elchin was the main tug pilot, with Ric Niehaus helping out on a several days.

Oh, yes, and the winner was: Jim Messina, crushing the riffraff, followed by Ric Caylor who flew consistently well.

It was a great event. Thanks, Charlie.

Ric Caylor's Writeup:

This was my first competition flying in the open class. It has been an eventful week of flying so far, with a task attempted on seven of the eight possible days. I have been flying my new wing, the Moyes RX 5 Pro LightSpeed. Prior to this time, I had only flown it eight times but with great success. I respect this glider’s high performance but even more, the challenges that may be thrown at me if I am not careful and focused.

The last day of the comp dawned after a day and a half of rainfall which left behind 5+” of water. The sky was starting to dry up. Task 6 had ended early for me at the start of the rain period. I had been in the air trying to avoid the rain, but it forced me to the ground because I was not able to escape it; but that’s another story. On the morning of Task 7 I half set up my glider to dry it out while the sky was still overcast. The ponds and flowing streams of water I had witnessed yesterday were gone. But the wet ground was still soft. Reeds and sediment remained as debris on our airfield. I thought to myself, “If I flew, landing out would be complicated by the mud and swampy areas from the previous day’s deluge”. And that did not excite me on my last day of the competition. Pete Lehmann walked over and said to me “Today is looking like it could be a good day. Charlie has called a task to BALTCH and back.” Reluctantly, I finished assembling my glider and packed my harness for another day of flying above the Eastern Shore.

The field where we cart launch was not too soggy, but pilots needed to be mindful of the path when taking off. I watched as Doug Rogers first took flight to test the air for us. He was staying up and that was a good sign. Adam Elchin, the Dragonfly tug pilot said, it was good, and lift was to be had. Pete was the first of us to start the day, then Jimmy Messina. I was third, followed by John Simon. Knut Ryerson and Ric Niehaus who flew earlier in the comp had other obligations and where not present. Charlie Allen had hurt his shoulder prior to the comp and had flown everyday but chose to skip this task. Today was John’s first and only day of flying with us during the mini comp.

On previous days, while on tow most of us were fooled. We would release early, only to struggle to get up. On my second day, I made three tows before successfully finding my way to goal. Adam towed me towards Jimmy who was circling under a blanket of gray overcast. By the time I made it to his area, lift was light. After a few turns I suddenly spied a mature bald eagle below, climbing. I knew at the point things were going to get better. We left at nearly the same time at the top of lift near 3,100’ MSL, which wasn’t quite cloud base. An excessively big smile spread across my face as I pulled VG. I led the way out on course line towards the BALTCT waypoint which was 18.3Km from the start circle perimeter. The task for today was an out and back to Bens for a total of 36.3 Km. All week Jimmy was the dominator, winning every day except for one. Today I wanted to win.

Currently, I was a bit higher, and leading. Excitement coursed through my veins racing with Jimmy. I kept my lead for two more climbs and, reaching the turn point first, I quickly tagged it and turned back towards goal at Ben’s. Having a light tailwind was my advantage. I expected to find Jimmy still climbing, which would have been to my advantage, putting me further in the lead, but he had disappeared! I had burned up much of my altitude by this point and I needed another climb. I started looked for ground sources, thermal generators and triggers. There was a large chicken farm on the other side of a small, forested area with large dark fields adjacent to it. “There were birds, lots of birds,” I exclaimed to myself. By the time I got there I found myself at 590’ MSL which meant I was less than 500’ AGL. I unzipped my harness in case I needed to land but I was determined not to land. There was a large field under me above which I could scratch as much as I needed in order to save my flight and stay in the air. The lift was small, strong and punchy. I would fly into the core and then push out and whip into the turn again and again. With each attempt I managed to climb a little bit more. I would constantly check my altitude numbers on my Blade flight instrument. I gained twenty feet, fifteen feet, thirty feet as I watched the ground get further away. Finally, at about 1,000 feet I could make a complete circle in lift.

Charlie and Doug were the retrieval drivers and had been following us on the ground and they were parked close by, watching me scratch my way out of my predicament. Charlie coached me into a better climb rate over the radio. Finally, I could relax some and look around for Jimmy who was off in the distance climbing back at the turn point. I radioed him, hoping he would leave his climb and join me. He did, and I started to smile once again.

The tables started turning, in favor of Jimmy, but I was still in the race. Pete and John had landed just outside of the start circle. I knew at that point I had at least second place even if I did not make goal. However, making goal could improve my overall standings in the comp. Yes, I was thinking about that too.

While I was able to climb back to nearly cloud base, I struggled to out climb or top Jimmy. He now had the upper hand, and he was not going to give it up without a fight. Jimmy started pulling away from me and advanced to the next thermal which dramatically increased his lead. It basically took three climbs to get to the turn point, and three more to get home (goal). Cloud base was only around 3,500’. Jimmy topped out the last climb before he relayed over our 2-meter HAM frequency that he had the glide numbers and that he was proceeding to goal. Meanwhile I was near 2,000’ halfway back, scratching and praying that I could core this climb and inch my way closer to goal. Suddenly, the angels sang while a redtail hawk came from nowhere and began circling below me. “Yes!” All I needed was one more thermal after this gas up, and I knew where to find it.

Mike Barber says, that when you’re circling in zero lift you are waiting for the bus to pick you up. And after gliding from my last climb, I found myself waiting for the bus. I just hoped that I wasn’t too late. I was now so close to victory. I really needed to focus. As John Simon says, “Be patient, shift gears and slow down.” It is one thing to know and yet another thing to do. So many times, in other comps I would leave an area hoping to find something better. Not this time! No, I am going to make it home. I kept telling myself over and over. My focus was on two things: finding a climb and watching my arrival altitude for goal. I was just over 5k away with a slight tailwind. There was no need to squeak it in. I kept watching as I gained height and increased my arrival altitude. It had gone from -230ft to 1200ft! That was way more than I needed but there was no room for uncertainty. By this time Jimmy had arrived at goal. He told me that the wind direction had changed to SE back at the field. I buried the base bar and headed home. Yes, that smile came back once again. This would be my third day of making goal out of six flights. Making goal on the last day is like icing on the cake. I arrived at 600’ AGL and eager to land. With the help of Jimmy from the air and John on the ground they coached me with wind direction in the field. After flying for 2 hours and 2 minutes I landed on my feet and carried my glider 50 yards back to the hanger. My approach had been a bit low and slow when I turned from base to final such that I needed to change my spot. John reminded me that after a long flight one should remember to “not get sloppy.” You need to focus even more because you are exhausted, emotional, and easily distracted. I owned my mistake and I got away with it this time, but I will not let it happen again.

I cannot say enough about my gratitude to have been a part of this Highland Challenge Mini Comp., to fly with the “Big Dogs” who have a tremendous number of hours and years under their wings, it is humbling and yet an honor to have flown with them. I appreciate their wisdom, mentoring and encouragement. For me, the opportunity to finally get off the porch was a long time coming. The lessons I have learned and put into practice are starting to gel, but I know that I have only just begun my journey. I’ll finish with one of my favorite quotes, "Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the only the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

Ric Caylor