Electroglide Contest Results
102 posts
Hello Club members, here we are in 2025 and Electroglide is off and running. We did start in January and in February we had to cancel our meet. We finally got some needed rain for our runway. As of today, our runway looks great. It was a little windy and none of our pilots were able to find any thermals. In the past, Electroglide stopped in the month of November. I have added November and December. December will be awarded down at the field. So, let’s get started with January results. We had four participants for January.
Open Class:
1st: 92 total points, John Davis
Radian Class:
1st: 173 total points, Alex Sutton
2nd: 150 total points, Stephen Treger
3rd: 126 total points, Fritz Logan
February and March have been rainouts. No make-up in sight.
February Monthly meeting event was a blast. Spot landing was event, and the goal was to touch down in the center circle on you main gear to get the most points. Total points you could get was 90 points and your time was also the backbone breaking point for ties! We had a good turnout for this event, seemed like we had almost 20 pilots. Thanks for all who participated in this fun event. As you all know Jim Bonnardel who is the mastermind to Spot Landing was thinking that he had this in the bag, but little to him did he know he was going to get beat!. Here are the results:
5th place, Neil Zhu who had a total of 70 points and a time of 1:06:7
4th place, Josh Rodriguez who had a total of 70 points and a time of 42:47
3rd place Brad Bender who had a total of 80 points and a time of 41:06
2nd place, Jim Bonnardel who had a total of 90 points and a time of 42:26
Our First-Place winning was George Harper with a total of 90 points and a time of 42:01,
Way to go George Harper on winning the event!
Thank you for your time!
Joe Murek
The last Electroglide for 2024 took place last Saturday. Eight pilots competed, three in the open class and five in the Radian class. We had a beautiful, San Diego blue sky day for us to fly in.
No thermals were found on the first two launches but launch three and four had some very long flight times, Neil Zhu, flying a Conscendo in the open class, scored the longest at 9:56 minutes. Three other pilots also had times above nine minutes in those last two launches.
Winners for the day:
Open Class:
1st. Place Glen Meritt 221 total points
2nd. Place Neil Zhu 186 total points
3rd. Place Deric Knight 182 total points
Radian Class:
1st. Place Stephen Treger 221 total points
2nd Place Scott Vance 186 total points
3rd. Place Lewis Dotson 65 total points
Winners for year:
1st. Place Neil Zhu 1631 total points
2nd. Place Dennis LaBerge 1405 total points
3rd. Place Stephen Treger 1004 total points
Thanks everyone for coming out and competing the Electroglide this year, the oldest continuing club contest in all of the AMA sanctioned clubs.
Next Electroglide is scheduled for January 18, 2025.
I’ve been hosting the Electroglide for nine years and I’m ready to step back, hand over the hosting duties and fly in the Electroglide myself. Please consider helping out our club and this long running contest by hosting this event.
It’s not hard, set up the speaker, run the timer and briefly write up the monthly winners like you see above. November and December are non-contest months so that’s only ten times per year that you would be involved in this contest. I’ll train and be around for any vacation or out of town coverage needs. You could also have a wife or friend run the timer while you compete in the Electroglide.
It’s easy and it supports our flying club.
Jeff Struthers
(jstruthers@san.rr.com)
Well we were surprised by some nice thermals this last Saturday. The weather conditions didn’t look very promising at 9:00 a.m. but by 10:00, the sky started clearing. I won’t get into the details of the day and launches like I have been in the past but here are the winners of each launch and for the day’s contest.
First launch: 1st. Place, Neil Zhu,9Conscendo), at 9:35 minutes plus a 30-point landing. 2nd. Place, Stephen Treger,(Radian), at 6:45 minutes. 3rd. Place, Scott Vance,(Radian), at 6:35 minutes.
Second launch: 1st. Place, Neil Zhu at 4:46 and a 30-point landing 2nd. Place, Stephen Treger,(Radian), at 2:25 with a 10-point landing. 3rd. Place, Bob Anson,(Radian), at 2:18 with a 20-point landing.
Third Launch: 1st. Place, Neil Zhu at 9:38 with a 30-point landing. 2nd. Place, Dennis LaBerge,(Radian), at 9:13 with a 30-point landing. 3rd. Place, Scott Vance at 8:55 with a 30-point landing.
Fourth and final launch: 1st Place, Dennis LaBerge at 3:13 with a 30-point landing. 2nd. Place, Scott Vance at 2:36. 3rd. Place, Glen Merritt, (Easy Glider), at 1:55 with a 30-point landing.
Winners for the day:
Open Class:
1st. Place Neil Zhu 273 total points
2nd. Place Glen Merritt 205 total points
Radian Class:
1st. Place Dennis LaBerge 229 total points
2nd. Place Stephen Treger 177 total points
3rd. Place Scott Vance 141 total points
Thanks to Frank Sutton for the event pictures.
The next and final Electroglide for the 2024 season will be on October 19th. We’ll have the sponsored raffle for this year’s Electroglide Pilots after the final launch. You don’t need to be present to win but please be sure that I have your e-mail address.
See you then,
Jeff Struthers
jstruthers@san.rr.com
The weather could have been better, but we still had a fun time at this month’s Electroglide. The winds were from the South, the skies overcast, yet into the wind, so eight aircraft lifted off at 10:00.
Scott Vance,(Radian), had the long flight at 4:20 minutes with a 10-point landing. Dennis LaBerge, (Radian), was second at 3:20 and Stephen Treger came in third at 2:33. New Electroglide pilot Glen, (Open Class), managed a 20-point landing.
Second launch again had Scott with the long flight, finding the lift at the West end of our runway, having a flight time of 5:07 minutes plus a 10-point landing. Dennis was second at 2:30 and Neil Zhu, (open class), came in at 1:44 and a 20-point landing.
Third launch was a bit more fun with four of us finding the lift at the Western end of the runway. Jeff Struthers, (Radian), had the long flight at 4:33 plus a 30-point landing. Scott came in second at 4:30 also with a 30-point landing and Dennis came in at 3:04 and a 20-point landing. Neil and Lewis Dotson, (Radian), had 10-popint landings.
The fourth and final launch of the day had most of us not finding any lift at all. Bob Anson, (Radian), found it coming back at 4:32 minutes. Scot was second at 3:43 plus a 30-point landing and Jeff was third at 2:10 with a 20-point landing.
Winners for the day:
Open class- 1st. Neil Zhu 94 total points
2nd. Glen 68 total points
Radian Class 1st. Scott Vance 187 total points
2nd. Jeff Struthers 124 total points
3rd. Dennis LaBerge 116 total points
For some reason, (maybe I forgot to hit send), the report for last month didn’t get published. Here are the results for July 2024.
Open Class: 1st. Neil Zhu 162 total points
Radian Class 1st. Scott Vance 153 total points
2nd. Dennis LaBerge 126 total points
3rd. Stephen Treger 121 total points
Thanks again to Frank Sutton, our ever faithful photographer, for the event pictures.
Next Electroglide is set for September 21st.
On a side note, I have been running the Electroglide for eight years now and I’m getting burnt out doing it. Thanks to Jim Bonnardel this last Saturday, I was able to compete in the event and that part, competing, is really fun.
I need to pass the torch to another club member to run the Electroglide. It’s not hard, just 10 events per year. Collect the score sheets and send the results to our club editor, Steve Belknap for publishing. I liked doing a full write up of the event but that’s just me. From now on I’ll just be writing up the final scores and sending those to Steve.
If you too enjoy flying in the Electroglide, a spouse, or friend can run the event timer for you, easy stuff.
I still will be able to fill in for those odd times when you can’t be at the event.
Coming to the field and flying, chatting with one another at these events are what makes our club such a viable and fun organization. It does take occasional involvement though; we all need to step up at times to help out.
Jeff Struthers
We had a pretty fun Electroglide this past Saturday. Only five pilots showed up, maybe because the weather conditions didn’t look so good for glider flying in the early morning hours. By 9:30 however, the sun was shining and there was a nice westerly breeze.
At 10:00 and the first launch, we had three Radians and two open class gliders looking for some thermals. Nothing much was found. Dennis LaBerge,(Radian), found a little lift, coming back at 4:30 minutes plus a 30-point landing. Neil Zhu,(Conscendo), was second at 2:13 with a 20-point landing and Fritz Logan,(Radian), was third at 1:35 with a 20-point landing.
Second launch had a much greater thermal activity to play with. All pilots found the lift or at least parts of it. Flight times jumped with Neil having the long flight at 9:35 minutes, Dennis was a close second at 9:20 and fritz was third at 4:32 with a 30-point landing.
Third launch had the pilots heading to the same spot but the lifting area was moving away. Neil had the long flight at 5:14 with a 30-point landing. Dennis was second at 4:40 minutes and Fritz was third at 1:34.
Fourth and final launch was a quick one, the westerly wind having picked up and blowing the thermals away. The long flight being recorded by Dennis at 3:20 minutes with a 20-point landing. Neil was second at 1:49, also with a 20-point landing. I don’t have enough returned time sheets to verify but it seems like the other three aircraft landed off-runway, thus not getting a time aloft score.
Winners for the day:
1st. Place- Neil Zhu 185 total points
2nd. Place Dennis LaBerge 162 total points
3rd. Place Fritz Logan 118 total points
Thanks again to Frank Sutton for the pictures of the event.
Next Electroglide is scheduled for July 20th 2024
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
It was a quick Electroglide contest last Saturday. We only had five contestants and a brief period of sun before the 10:00 start time. Thermal lift seemed to be in short supply; longer flights were mostly on wind lift.
First launch had us climb up, four Radians and one Conscendo looking for some lift. Bob Anson, (Radian), had the long flight at 2:48 minutes. Dennis LaBerge, (Radian), was next at 2:35 and picking up a 30-point landing. Neil Zhu, (Conscendo), was third at 2:11 minutes, also getting a 30-point landing.
Second launch had Bob and Jeff, (Radians), both getting the long flight at 2:49 minutes. Jeff picked up a 10-point landing. Dennis was second at 2:23 and getting a 20-point landing. Neil picked up another 30-point landing.
Third launch had Jeff with the long flight at 2:30. Neil was second at 2:16 minutes and a 20-point landing. Bob was third at 2:12 minutes and getting a 10-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had Jeff with the long flight at 4:54, finding some ridge lift above the gazebo and palm trees. Bob was second at 2:27 minutes and Dennis was third at 2:20 minutes. Neil picked up another 20-points on his landing.
Winners for the day:
Open Class: Neil Zhu 179 total points
Radian Class: Dennis LaBerge 128 total points
Bob Anson 73 total points
Jeff Struthers 72 total points
I would like to point out that Neil Zhu was awarded two “Lucky Dog” awards for making it back to the runway with the two shortest flight times; thereby doubling his time score. He also scored two 30-point landings and two 20-point landings.
You don’t need a super light, floating glider to compete in the Electroglide. Just know your aircraft, get the best flight time you can and hit the target circles.
Next Electroglide is scheduled for June 15th. 10:00 first launch.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
We had a surprisingly fun Electroglide last Saturday.
I say we were surprised because at the first launch, the skies were overcast, temperature was 63 degrees and there was a westerly breeze of 5 mph. Not the best conditions for creating thermal lift.
First launch had eight aircraft go up, Seven Radians and one Heron in the open class. Most pilots found some good lift, making for long flight times. Deric Knight, (Heron), had the long flight at 8:20 minutes and a 20-point landing. Scott Vance, (Radian), had the second longest at 7:37 with a 20-point landing. Dennis LaBerge, (Radian), was third at 6:40 minutes, also with a 20-point landing. Stephen Treger, Bob Anson and Fritz Logan, all picked up 20-point landings.
Second launch had our overcast start to break up and everyone headed for the same lift spot but the lift had gone away. Scott had the long flight at 3:00 minutes. Bob Anson,(Radian), was second at 2:24 with a 30-point landing and Deric came in third at 2:20 minutes with a 10-point landing. Stephen picked up a 30-point landing. Fritz had a 20-point landing, Scott an Dennis both picked up 10-point landings.
Third launch had clear skies over Mission Bay, the wind started to pick up a bit. Dennis and Bruce Driver, (Radian), shared the long flight at 6:10 minutes. Bob was second at 4:45 plus a 30-point landing. Stephen Treger, (Radian), was third at 4:39, also getting a 30-point landing. Deric picked up a 30-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had even stronger winds, making it hard for pilots to hit the target circles. Dennis had the long flight at 4:40 minutes and a 10-point landing. Scott was second at 4:20 and Bruce was third at 4:02 with a 10-point landing.
Winners for the day:
Open Class- 1st. Deric Knight 166 total points
Radian Class- 1st. Stephen Treger 166 total points
2nd.Bob Anson 161 total points
3rd. Dennis LaBerge 159 total points
Thanks to Frank Sutton for the great event pictures.
Next Electroglide is scheduled for May 18th. 10:00 a.m. First launch.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
We had a pretty fun Electroglide last Saturday. For three of the four launches, there was a good thermal lift column over the rotoplex area. Couple that with a mostly blue sky and a 6 mph southern breeze and you get a great time of glider flying.
First launch had ten aircraft take to the sky, seven Radians and three Open Class aircraft. Flight times were short though, maybe because no one had found the lift column. Scott Vance, (Radian), did find some lift getting a flight of 3:43 minutes plus a 20-point landing. Bob Anson, (Radian), had the next longest flight at 1:58 minutes, also getting a 20-point landing. Dennis LaBergh was third at 1:48 and a 20-point landing. Stephen Trager and Jon Vance, (both flying Radians), scored 30-point landings. Neil Zhu and Bob Stinson,(both flying Conscendos), scored 20-point landings.
Second launch saw an immediate jump in flight times with Neil flying the longest at 9:35 with a 20-point landing. Scott was second at 8:33 and a 20-point landing. Bruce Driver, (open class), came in third at 7:50 with a 10-point landing. Dennis and Stephen both had 30-point landings and Bob Stinson, had a 20-point landing.
Third launch had a bit shorter flight times. Dennis had the long flight at 8:23 with a 20-point landing. Scott was second at 7:41 and Neil was third at 7:16 with a 10-point landing. Stephen had a 30-point landing. Bob Stinson and Bob Anson both had 20-point landings.
Fourth and final launch had Stephen with the long flight at 6:30 minutes. Neil was second at 5:56 with a 30-point landing and Dennis was third at 5:41 with a 30-point landing. Bob Stinson picked up a 30-point landing and Bruce picked up a 20-point landing.
Winners for the day.
Open Class:
Neil Zhu 229 total points
Bob Stinson 215 “ points
Bruce Driver 105 “ points
Radian Class:
Dennis LaBerge 217 total points
Stephen Treger 176 “ points
Scott Vance 162 “ points
It was a sunny, fun day with some great flight times. Thanks to Frank Sutton for the event pictures. The next Electroglide will be on April 20th.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
It was an overcast and cool day for a glider contest last Saturday. A light breeze of 3 mph and the temperature was 59 degrees. We had seven pilots competing, five Radians and two open class gliders.
First launch had Neil Zhu, (Conscendo), get the long flight at 3:31 minutes with a 20-point landing. Fritz Logan, (Radian), and Bob Anson, (Radian), both tied for second at 3:23 minutes and both had 20-point landings. Dennis LaBerge, (Radian), was third at 2:44 minutes.
Second launch was again into quiet air with Jon Vance, (Radian), having the long flight at 3:38 with a 10-point landing. Neil was second at 3:30 plus a 30-point landing and Bob was third at 3:15 minutes.
Third launch had Neil and Daric Knight, (Multiplex Heron), finding workable lift. Neil found a thermal straight west of the runway while Daric found some ridge lift over the palm trees close to the boat launch area. Neil’s flight lasted 4:20 minutes plus a 20-point landing and Daric came back at 4:09 minutes with a 10-point landing. Dennis came in third at 1:35 minutes plus a 10-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had the magic lift disappear. Daric had the long flight at 2:30 minutes and a20-point landing. Neil was second at 2:13 plus a 30-point landing and Dennis was third at 1:55 and a 20-point landing.
We all know and respect the Radian as being a great glider but Neil and Deric piloted their open class ships with great skill. Finding lift where others didn’t try and landing in the target circles for extra credit always helps.
Winners for the day:
Open class – 1st. Neil Zhu 183 total points
2nd. Deric Knight 125 “ points
Radian Class – 1st. Fritz Logan & Dennis LaBerge 137 total points
2nd. Jon Vance 98 “ points
3rd. Bob Anson 41 “ points
The next Electroglide is scheduled for March 16th. at 10:00 a.m. Have some dreams of blue skies and plentiful thermals.
Jeff Struthers
The Electroglide season for 2024 started last Saturday. This being wintertime, flying conditions were not so great. Temperature was 60 degrees and the wind was from the Southeast at 9 mph and the skies were mostly cloudy.
I had my Radian up at 9:30 when there was little wind and actually found some lift off to the West of our field. By the 10:00 start time, the wind had picked up.
First launch had six pilots try their skills, five Radians and one Conscendo. Dennis LaBerge, (Radian), had the longest flight at 2:54 minutes plus a 30-point landing. Stephen Treger, (Radian), came in second at 2:44 and Jon Vance was third at 2:36 with a 10-point landing. Neil Zhu, (Conscendo), and Fritz Logan, (Radian), both picked up 20-point landings.
Second launch again had short flight times with Dennis having the longest flight at 2:30. Stephen came in second again at 2:23. Fritz Logan, (Radian), was third at 2:08. Neil Zhu again picked up a 20-point landing.
Third launch had a little bit longer flight times with Dennis again having the long flight at 3:30 minutes. Stephen came in second at 3:00 with a 10-point landing. Neil was third at 2:36 and a 20-point landing. Fritz also picked up a 20-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had almost everyone going to the area above the Rotoplex, the spot found for the third launch, but the lift was no longer there. Stephen tried the far western area of our field and found some good lift, giving him the longest flight of the day, a time aloft of 4:05. He also had a 10-point landing, just clearing the weeds at the edge of the runway. Second place goes to Dennis at 2:15, with a 20-point landing. Third place was earned by Neil at 2:12, also with a 20-point landing. Fritz picked up a 30-point landing.
I would like to point out how hard it is to park a glider, (dead stick), in the target circles while dealing with a South crosswind. The fact that so many pilots scored extra point landings Saturday is quite impressive.
Thanks go out to Alex Sutton for the event pictures.
Next Electroglide is scheduled for February 17th. The first launch being 10:00 a.m.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
The last Electroglide of 2023 was a pretty happy event last Saturday. The weather was not the best for a glider contest but those with a bit of skill were able to coax respectable flight times or score extra points landing in the target circles.
Adding to the fun, it was time to have the club sponsored raffle for all the Electroglide pilots. Three $ 100.00 gift certificates were giving away.
First launch had 12 aircraft climb up into a beautiful blue sky; (have a look at the event pictures).
Scott Vance, (Radian Class), had the long flight at 4:24 minutes with a 10-point landing. Fred Daughtry, flying a first generation Conscendo on a two cell battery, had the next longest at 4:06 minutes. Jon Vance, (Radian), was third at 4:00 minutes. Stephen Treger had a 30-point landing. Neil Zhu, and Daric Knight, (both flying open class) had 20-point landings. Jeff Struthers, and Dennis LaBerge, (both flying Radians) had 10-point landings.
Second launch was pretty much in the same weather conditions. Jon flew the long flight at 5:10 minutes. Daric was second at 5:06 plus a 20-point landing. Dennis was third at 4:25 minutes. Stephen, Neil and Bob Anson, (Radian), all had 20-point landings.
The North Westerly wind picked up a bit for the third launch. Jon had the long flight at 6:30 minutes. Scott was second at 5:15 plus a 30-point landing and Bob had the third longest flight at 4:31 minutes.
Neil, Stephen and Jeff all had 30-point landings.
Fourth and final launch again had Jon with the long flight at 6:15 minutes plus a 10-point landing. Scott was second at 6:06 and Jeff was third at 4:15 with a 30-point landing. Neil, again scored a 30-point landing. Stephen, Daric and Lewis Dotson,(Radian), had 20-point landings.
Winners for the Day:
Radian Class:
1st. Place Stephen Treger 181 points Total
2nd. Place Scott Vance 163 points
3rd. Place Jon Vance 142 points
Open Class:
1st. Place Neil Zhu 180 points
2nd. Place Daric Knight 148 points
3rd. place Jeff Struthers 147 points
Winners for the 2023 year:
Radian Class:
1st. Place Scott Vance 1396 points Total
2nd. Place Stephen Treger 1260 points
3rd. Place Dennis LaBerge 1247 points
Open Class:
1st. Place Neil Zhu 1243 points Total
2nd. Place Daric Knight 379 points
Congratulations to these pilots above and to all who come out each month to compete in a club event.
Thanks to Frank Sutton for recording these events too!
The next Electroglide will take place on January 20th. 2024.
Happy Holidays,
Jeff Struthers
Electroglide Results for September 2023
It was a cool, overcast day for a glider contest last Saturday. The winds were from the west, northwest at 9 mph. Temperature was 70 degrees. With these conditions, you would expect short flight times, which was the result.
First launch had nine pilots competing, eight Radians and one Conscendo in the open class.
Scott Vance, (Radian), had the long flight at 5:08 minutes plus a 10-point landing. Jon Vanlp,(Radian), was second with a flight lasting 4:33 minutes. Bob Anson,(Radian), was third at 3:17 with a 10-point landing. Neil Zhu, (open Class), Dennis LaBerge,(Radian) and Stephen Treger, (Radian), all had 20-point landings.
Second launch had Scott again with the longest flight at 3:36 minutes. Bob was second at 2:50 with a 30-point landing. Dennis came back in third place at 2:47 and a 20-point landing. Both Neil and Jon scored 30-point landings. Stephen scored a 10-point landing.
Third launch again had short flight times with Scott flying the longest at 3:41 and a 20-point landing. Bob was second at 2:39 with a 30-point landing. Dennis was third at 2:32 plus a 30-point landing. Stephen had a 20-point landing and Neil had a 10-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had the same flight times. Scott again had the long flight at 3:40 plus a 30-point landing. Jon was second at 2:59 with a 10-point landing. Stephen was third at 2:58 minutes. Neil picked up a 30-point landing, Dennis had a 20-point and Bob had a 10-point landing.
Winners for the Day:
Open Class- 1st. Neil Zhu at 165 total points
Radian Class- 1st. Dennis La Berge 161 total points
2nd. Scott Vance 157 points
3rd. Bob Anson 147 points
Thanks everyone for coming out on a marginal day for glider flying, you made it fun. Congrats to all the pilots who scored extra points from the target circle, that was hard to do.
Thanks also to Frank Sutton for the event pictures.
Next and final Electroglide for the year will be October 21st.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
We had a pretty fun Electroglide last Saturday. A south wind was blowing at 9 mph at first launch; this did have an effect on our flight times.
First launch had nine aircraft take to the overcast sky, eight radians and one open class glider. Neil Zhu, (Conscendo), had the long flight at 3:44 minutes plus a 30-point landing. Bruce Driver, (Radian), was second at 2:25 minutes with a 10-point landing. No other pilots scored due to off field landings, the wind being the problem.
Second launch had Scott Vance, (Radian), with the long flight at 2:51 minutes with a 10-point landing. Stephen Treger, (Radian), was second at 2:41 minutes and Lewis Dotson, (Radian), was third at 2:30 minutes. Bruce Driver, (Radian), picked up a 10-point landing as well. Again, there were some wind induced off field landings and thus, no time points earned.
Third launch had most of us finding some wind lift to the west end of our field. Flight times improved with the long flight earned by Scott at 5:54 with a 20-point landing. Second place was Stephen at 5:24 and a 20-point landing. Jeff Struthers, (Radian), came in third at 5:05 with a 20-point landing. Bruce picked up a 20-point landing as well.
Fourth and final launch had our wind lift blow away on us. Scott again had the long flight at 3:59 with a 10-point landing. Dennis LaBerge was second at 2:10 and Neil was third at 1:22 with a 30-point landing.
The south wind, played havoc with our on-field landings so congrats to all the pilots who made it back to the runway and the target circles.
Winners for the day:
Open Class, 1st. place Neil Zhu 129 total points
Radian Class, 1st. place Scott Vance 118 points
2nd place Jeff Struthers 98 points
3rd. place Bruce Driver 83 points
Next Electroglide will take place on September 16th. At the usual launch time of 10:00.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
We had a good turnout of pilots for this month’s Electroglide, eleven flying in the Radian class and two pilots flying in the open class. The weather could have been better; the winds were blowing at 8 mph. from the west with a mostly sunny 71 degree day.
First launch looked great with all eleven aircraft climbing up and still avoiding one another. However the lift was tricky to find, Scott Vance and Jeff Struthers, both flying Radians, managed to find it off towards the club’s North West boundary. Scott had the long flight at 5:17 minutes. Jeff was second at 5:06 minutes and Bob Anson, (Radian), was third at 3:38. Corey Nellis, (Radian), made a 30-point landing. Dennis LaBerge, (Radian), and Daric Knight, (open Class), picked up 20-point landings.
Second launch had us all looking for that lift in the spot where Scott and Jeff found it before. The wind may have increased because the lift was no longer in the same spot. Scott was able to find something and it gave him the long flight again at 4:31 minutes. Dennis LaBerge was close behind at 4:28 with a 10-point landing and Bob Anson was third at 3:15 with a 20-point landing. Both Neil Zhu,(Open Class), and Daric had 30-point landings and Corey picked up a 20-point landing.
Third launch had some pilots finding better lift. Scott had a time of 5:17 aloft with a 20-point landing. Bob was second at 4:34 with a 30-point landing and Corey was third at 4:00 minutes. Carl Cox,(Radian), had a 30-point landing and Bruce Driver, (Radian), had a 20-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had us all dealing with some stronger winds with little lift. Extra points via target landings were harder now as well. Scott again had the long flight at 3:43 minutes. Bob came in second at 3:06 and Corey was third at 2:45 with a 20-point landing. Dennis, Neil and Stephen Treger, (Radian), all had 30-point landings. Deric picked up a 10-point landing.
Like I mentioned above, landing in the target circles today was difficult due to the increasing winds. The fact that pilots were landing in the small 30-point bull’s eye circle is impressive. Sometimes just making our field was hard and as a result, there were a few “off field” landings.
Winners for the day:
Open Class:
First Place Neil Zhu 131 points
Second Place Daric Knight 108 points
Radian Class:
First Place Corey Nellis 145 points
Second Place Scott Vance 135 points
Third Place Dennis LaBerge 133 points
Thanks to all the pilots for coming out to another fun club event. Next Electroglide is scheduled for August 19th. 10:00 first launch.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
We had a pretty windy Electroglide this past Saturday. At the first launch it was blowing from the West at 7 mph, by 11:00, it had increased to 12 mph. There was the typical June gloom overhead but with 15 eager pilots on hand, we started the contest.
First launch had 12 Radians and 3 open class gliders climbing up and it really looked beautiful. Weather conditions dictated wind lift only so the flight times never went much over four minutes. The long flight was earned by Dennis LaBerge, (Radian), at 4:15 minutes. Jim Bonnardel, (open class), was second at 3:15 plus a 20-point landing, Bob Anson, (Radian), was third at 3:13 and a 10-point landing. Scott Vance picked up a 30-point landing. Alex Sutton, Stephen Treger and Jeff Struthers, (all Radians) had 20-point landings. Carl Cox and Bob Anson, (both radians), had 10-point landings.
I think we lost one Radian on that launch due to it looping on its climb out.
Second launch was into the same conditions but it felt like the wind had increased. Dennis had the long flight again at 4:13 minutes. Second longest was Jim at 3:40 plus a 20-point landing and third was Scott at 3:16, also with a 20-point landing. Neil Zhu,(open class),Carl Cox,(Radian),Bob and Jeff all had 20-point landings. Alex Sutton,(Radian), picked up a 10-point landing.
Third launch had Scott with the longest flight at 4:26. Jim was second at 3:50 and Dennis was third at 3:49 and a 20-point landing. Carl picked up a 30-point landing. Neil, Alex and Stephen all picked up 20-point landings and Bob had a 10-point landing.
I lost sight of my Radian on this launch. It was surprisingly an easy thing to do with so many Radians in the sky. The aircraft was recovered but it was damaged beyond repair.
Fourth and final launch was into some even stronger winds, still from the west. Scott had the longest flight of the whole event at 5:21. Bob was second at 4:32 and Jim was third at 4:30. Alex, Dennis, Neil and Carl all had 30-point landings; landing into stiff winds I might add.
Winners for the day:
Radian Class-
Dennis LaBerge 151 total points
Scott Vance 143 points
Carl Cox 138 points
Open Class-
Neil Zhu 146 total points
Jim Bonnardel 132 points
Thanks to all the pilots for coming out on a less than perfect San Diego day. Congrats to those pilots who scored extra landing points. Doing that while flying into this headwind, took skill. Congrats also to Carl Cox for getting one 10-point and two 30-point landings with his brand new Radian.
Thanks to Frank Sutton for the Event Pictures.
See Frank’s Electroglide Video Here.
Next Electroglide will be on July 15th.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
Well surprise, surprise. In spite of a cold, overcast morning, we still had a fun and competitive Electroglide contest.
The temperature was 64 degrees; and winds were Westerly at 10 mph with a solid marine layer. One would not see this as ideal glider weather.
Ten pilots were on hand for the first launch, seven flying Radians, two flying in the Open Class. Some pilots quickly found some wind lift over the Western palm trees and made use of it.
Scott Vance (Radian), had the long flight at 5:04 minutes, Dennis LaBerge (Radian), was second at 4:47 and Jeff Struthers (Radian), was third at 4:23 plus a 30-point landing. Some pretty good times considering the weather conditions. Bob Anson (Radian), also scored a 30-point landing and Deric Knight (Open Class), picked up a 10-point landing.
Second launch had the wind lift disappear on us. Scott again had the long flight, this time being 2:36 but he also scored a 30-point landing. Dennis again was second at 2:23 with a 10-point landing and Jeff was third at 2:20 with a 10-point landing. Alex Sutton and Carl Cox, both flying Radians, picked up 30-point landings. Neil Zhu (Open Class), picked up a 20-point landing.
Third launch was again into poor conditions with short flight times being the result. Deric had the long flight at 2:40 plus a 10-point landing. Dennis came in second at 2:34 and a 20-point landing. Scott was third at 2:29 with a 10-point landing. Bob Anson, Dennis, Neil and Jeff all scored 20-point landings. This made a pretty crowded set of target circles.
Fourth and final launch saw much better glider conditions. The long flight was had by Jeff at 9:15 with a 20-point landing. Scott was second at 9:06 and a 30-point landing and Dennis was third at 6:26. Alex, Deric and Neil all scored 30-point landings.
Winners for the day:
Radian Class
– Jeff Struthers 191 total points
– Scott Vance 187 “ points
– Dennis LaBerge 129 “ points
Open Class
– Neil Zhu 162 total points
– Deric Knight 123 “ points
Congratulations to all the pilots for making the best of marginal conditions. Yes, there were a few “Off Field” landings but also many target circle landings that demonstrated great approaches under windy conditions. Good job guys.
Thanks to Frank Sutton for the pictures and to Jim Bonnardel for Carl Cox’s launches.
Next Electroglide is to be held on June 17th.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
Click the pics below for the entire album:
This month’s Electroglide could be renamed, “Smash and Crash Day”. We had several off-field or hard landings, plus a dramatic mid-air collision. The North West winds would prove to be problematic throughout the contest.
Eight pilots were on hand at the first launch and after fixing a glitch with the speaker system, we got under way. With the mentioned winds, six Radians and two open class gliders took a steep, quick climb to altitude.
Dennis La Berge and Scott Vance, both flying Radians, battled for the longest flight. Scott came back to the runway at 4:36 minutes and Dennis at 4:30 minutes. Bob Anson, flying a Radian, was third at 2:45 minutes. Lewis Dotson, flying in the open class, was the only pilot to score bonus landing points (10-points), as well as earning the first down “Lucky Dog” award, giving him a respectable 34 points.
Second launch again had similar flight times with wind lift being the only lift available. Dennis had the long flight this time at 4:39. Both Scott and Stephen Treger, (Radian), came back at 4:31; Scott with a 20-point landing and Stephen picking up a 10-point landing. Bob came in third at 3:42. Lewis again earned the Lucky Dog award and a 10-point landing.
Third launch was I think where the mid-air happened. This involved two Radians with one having its tail boom completely severed. This resulted in the damaged aircraft doing an inverted “death spiral” towards the runway and pit area. We on the ground could only watch this happen and move out of the way if needed. I lost sight of my aircraft momentarily and I’m sure other pilots did too!
Bob had the long flight at 3:52 plus the only 30-point landing for the morning. Dennis came in second at 3:30 and Stephen was third at 3:06. Neil Zhu, flying open class, got the Lucky Dog and a 20-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had better flight times. Scott had the long one at 5:19 minutes. Dennis was second at 4:50 with a 20-point landing and Neil Zhu came in third at 4:35, also with a 20-point landing.
Top place scores for the day:
Radian Class-
1st. place, Dennis LaBerge 125 total points
2nd. Place, Scott Vance 108 total points
3rd. Place, Bob Anson 104 total points
Open Class-
1st. Place Neil Zhu 127 total points
2nd. Place Lewis Dotson 62 total points
It was a challenging day for all pilots and their aircraft, two gliders had to drop out due to damage and there were a few off field landings as well.
Congrats to the pilots scoring extra landing points. With the wind, it was a hard thing to do Saturday.
Thanks to Spring Zhu for the event pictures.
Next Electroglide will be on May 20th.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
Considering all the wet weather we have been receiving lately, it may be hard to believe that we had some excellent flying weather last Saturday.
The sun came out and warmed up our very green flying area. The winds were light with a slight south west component; things seemed primed to generate thermal lift.
Seven pilots were on hand for the first launch, six Radians and one Conscendo took to the blue sky on first launch. Scott Vance, (Radian), had the long flight at 5:55 minutes. Stephen Treger, (Radian), was second at 5:15 and a 30-point landing. Neil Zhu (Conscendo), was third at 4:47 and a 20-point landing. Bob Anson, (Radian), also picked up a 20-point landing.
Second launch had the pilots finding some great lift, North West of our runway. Stephen had the long flight at 9:56 with a 20-point landing. 10 minutes is the cut off for flight time scores, so Stephen timed that one perfect. Alex Sutton, (Radian), was second at 9:46 with a 20-point landing and Bob was third at 9:37 with a 10-point landing. Scott and Neil both scored 30-point landings.
Third launch had the lift disappear on us with Scott getting the long flight at 4:12 with a 30-point landing. Stephen was second at 4:03 with a 20-point landing and Bob was third at 3:32 minutes. Neil and Alex both scored 20-point landings.
Fourth and final launch had the lift tease us a bit, Scott had the long flight at 7:55 and a 20-point landing. Stephen was second at 6:51 minutes and Bob was third at 3:46, also with a 20-point landing. Neil scored a 30-point landing and Alex scored a 20-point landing.
Winners for the day
Radian Class: 1st. Place Scott Vance at 248 points
2nd.Place Stephen Treger at 237 points
3rd. Place Bob Anson at 180 points
Open Class 1st. Place Neil Zhu at 203 points
A fun (dry) day in San Diego, congrats to all the pilots for scoring so many bonus points with the landing credits and the great long flights on that second launch.
Thanks’ to Spring Tong (Neil’s Mom) for the event pictures.
Next Electroglide is scheduled for April 15th. 2023
See you then,
Jeff Struthers
We had a pretty fun Electroglide last Saturday. I didn’t think the weather would give us much lift but there were some longer than expected flight times.
We had nine pilots competing, eight flying Radians and one flying in the open class.
The sky was mostly cloudy, 60 degrees and a light 3 mph breeze.
First launch went smoothly and had us all looking for the lift. Jeff Struthers (Radian) and a few others headed to the west and found a little bit of lift coming off of the boat launching area. Dennis LaBerge (Radian) and some others found the lift to the east of our runway. That was a good choice for Dennis as he was able to stay in a narrow column of rising air for the longest flight of 9 minutes, plus picking up a 30-point landing. Jeff was second at 6:30 minutes with 20-point landing. Jon Graber (Radian), was third at 3:13 minutes. Alex Sutton, Stephen Treger and Fritz Logan (all Radians), had 30-point landings.
For the second launch, the lift pretty much disappeared. Dennis again had the long flight at 3:33 minutes with a 20-point landing. Bob Anson (Radian) had the second longest flight at 3:20 minutes and Stephen was third at 2:45 with a 20-point landing. Alex had a 30-point landing and Jeff and Fritz both had 20-point landings. It was a pile up in the target circles with a lot of aircraft landing at the same time. Have a look at the event pictures.
Third launch again had short flights. Dennis was first at 3:20 and a 30-point landing. Bob was second at 3:15 minutes and Stephen was third at 3:00 minutes with a 10-point landing. Alex again scored a 30-point landing. Jeff and Bob both scored 20-point landings and Stephen and Jon both scored 10-point landings.
Fourth and final launch had a bit longer flight times. Stephen had the long flight at 4:36 and a 20-point landing. Bob was second at 4:25 minutes and Dennis came in third at 4:20 with a 20-point landing. Fritz and George Sullivan both had 20-point landings. Alex and Jeff had 10-point landings.
Winners for the day:
Radian Class
Dennis LaBerge 222 total points
Alex Sutton 174 total points
Stephen Treger 158 total points
Open Class
Lewis Dotson 28 total points
Congrats to all the pilots for scoring so many extra points by landing in the target circles. You’re getting better and this is still the start of the season.
A thank you goes out to Frank Sutton for the event pictures.
Next Electroglide will be on March 18th. , usual start time of 10:00.
See you there,
Jeff
We had a pretty fun time last Saturday morning. Ten glider pilots showed up for the first Electroglide of 2023. Eight pilots flew in the Radian class and two pilots flew in the Open class.
The weather gave us a beautiful blue sky day, on the cool side at 57 degrees, but some thermal lift was there to be found. The Radians made the best use of this light thermal. Longest flight was by Scott Vance at a little over 8 minutes.
First launch had a midair collision resulting in the loss of one Radian and an event timer malfunction. We restarted that launch and all went well.
Dennis LaBergh and Stephen Trager both flying Radians, had the longest flights at 4:30 minutes each and both picked up 30-point landings. Scott Vance, also flying a Radian, had a flight of 4:15 min., and getting a 30-point landing. Jeff Struthers, Radian, was third at 2:35 min. Fritz Logan, flying a Radian and Bob Stinson, flying open class, both had 20-point landings and Alex Sutton (Radian) and Bob Anson (Radian) both had 10-point landings.
On the second launch, the lift was a bit harder to find. Bob Anson was first place with a flight of 4:21. Jon Graber, Radian) and Dennis both had flights at 3:30 and both picked up 20-point landings. Jeff was third with a flight of 2:51 min.
Third launch had some much better thermal lifts as the flight times jumped. Scott, (Radian), had the long flight at 8:29 with a 30-point landing. Stephen was second at 7:59 with a 10-point landing and Alex was third at 6:03. Jeff picked up a 30-point landing. Dennis, Fritz and Jon all had 10-point landings.
For the fourth and final launch, the lift had slacked off a bit; Dennis had the long flight at 5:40 with a 30-point landing. Alex had a flight at 4:42 and a 20-point landing. Fritz and Bob Anson tied for third at 4:10. Jeff had a 30-point landing. Stephen, Alex and Bob Stinson, flying open class, all had 20-point landings.
Point winners for 2023’s first Electroglide are:
Radian class:
Dennis LaBergh – 207 pts.
Stephen Trager – 165 pts.
Scott Vance – 137 pts.
Open Class: (only two pilots flying)
Bob Stinson – 111 pts.
Louis Dotson – 7 pts.
It is impressive that with all the rainy days and poor flying conditions during this past month, the glider pilots flew very well. Fight times were respectable for such gentle lift and there were a lot of extra points added from target circle landings. Nice going guys!
Thanks to Eileen for running the event timer and to Frank for the event pictures.
Next Electroglide is scheduled for February 18th.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
It was a pretty good Electroglide this past Saturday. Winds were out of the Southwest yet only blowing a mild 5 mph. Temperature was 69 degrees at first launch, with a partly sunny sky.
Six pilots took to the sky on the first launch and a few found a surprising column of lift just west of our runway. Neil Zhu, flying a Conscendo had the longest flight at 6:50 minutes and also scored a 30-point landing. Scott Vance, flying a Radian, was second with a time of 6:28 plus a 20-point landing. Third place on that launch was Alex Sutton with a time of 5:19. Daric Knight, flying a Huron, also picked up a 20-point landing.
On the second launch, the lift vanished and flight times dropped. Dennis LaBerge, flying a Radian, had the long flight at 2:33 and a 10-point landing. Scott and Bob Anson shared second place with a flight time of 2:10 and 30-point landings. Alex picked up a 20-point landing and Daric had a 10-point landing.
Flight times on the third launch wasn’t much better with Scott flying the longest at 2:55 minutes and also getting another 30-point landing. Dennis was second at 2:10 with a 30-point landing. Neil was third at 2:06 minutes. Alex picked up a 20-point landing.
The fourth and final launch again had low flight times with Scott flying the longest at 2:28 with a 30-point landing. Neil was second at 2:05 with a 30-point landing and Dennis was third at 2:00 minutes. I would like to point out that Alex landed first at 1:26, (earning the Lucky Dog Award), in the 30-point circle.
Yes, the 30-point circle is not very large so where did Scott and Dennis land their Radians? On top of Alex’s of course. Have a look at the event picture called “crowded landings.”
I think in the future we’ll need to quickly retrieve our aircraft from the target circles if possible.
So, winners for the day:
Radian Class:
1st. Place Scott Vance 195 points
2nd. Place Alex Sutton 154 points
3rd. Place Dennis LaBerge 113 points
Open Class:
1st. Place Neil Zhu 139 points
2nd. Place Deric Knight 74 points
3rd. Place Bob Anson 43 points
This was the last Electroglide for the year; we’ll take a break for the holidays and start up again on January 21st. 2023. However, I would like to announce this year’s total point winners. This is just based on point totals, not glider class.
1st. Place Scott Vance 1000 total points
2nd Place Dennis LaBerge 975 total points
3rd. Place Neil Zhu 961 total points
Congratulations to the monthly and years end winners. This takes piloting skill and a commitment to the sport of competitive flying.
On October 22 at 9:00, we’ll have a brief awards ceremony and raffle drawing for all of this year’s Electroglide pilots.
A special thanks to Frank Sutton for all the event pictures.
Jeff Struthers
The summer sun did not bless the Electroglide this past Saturday. We had overcast skies and a moderately strong south wind at launch time. This forced us to launch from the northern edge of our runway, and then try to find some clean air for wind lift. Flight times became short, so landing in the target circles would now carry much more importance.
First launch had seven aircraft, four Radians and three open class aircraft, in a steep climb into the wind. After ten seconds, all motors were shut off and it was a challenge to find clean air. Bob Anson, flying a Conscendo, had the long flight at 1:45 minutes with a 10-point landing. Stephen Trager, with a Radian, was second with a flight of 1:36 plus a 20-point landing. Daric knight, flying a Multiplex Heron, was third with a time of 1:28. Alex Sutton, flying a Radian, picked up a 30-point landing.
Second launch had a little improvement in the flight times. Stephen again had the long flight at 3:24 and a 20-point landing. Bob Anson was second with a flight of 3:08. Jeff Struthers, flying a Radian, came in third at 2:59 with a 20-point landing. Alex again had a 30-point landing, Neil Zhu and Fritz Logan both had 20-point landings and Deric had a 10-point landing.
Third launch had Jeff with the long flight of 3:56. In second place was Stephen at 3:32 and a 30-point landing. Third place was earned by Neil, flying a Conscendo, at 2:20 with a 20-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had the flight time’s drop back a bit. Jeff had the long flight at 2:20 minutes with a 20-point landing. Stephen was second at 1:42, also getting a 20-point landing. Deric was third at 1:31 with a 10-point landing. Neil, also picked up a 10-point landing.
Winners for the day?
Radian Class,
1st. Place, Stephen Trager with 154 points.
2nd. Place, Alex Sutton with 108 points.
3rd. Place, Jeff Struthers with 96 points
Open Class,
1st. Place, Neil Zhu with 93 points
2nd Place, Deric Knight with 41 points
3rd. Place, Bob Anson with 40 points
Yes, the flight times were quite short but we can’t control the weather. We can however, make up for poor flying conditions with our landings and many pilots were able to land within the target circles, despite the strong south wind. Good flying guys!
Thanks to Frank Sutton for providing the event pictures.
Next and final Electroglide for the year will be on October 15th, usual start time of 10:00.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
By Scott Vance
The August Electroglide had 6 pilots brave the overcast skies and a stiff south wind all day.
Round 1 had all pilots launching from the north weed line in a south west direction to avoid flying over the pits. It was a challenge for all to find wind lift. In the Radian Class, Stephen had the longest flight with 4:41 and a 20 point landing. Dennis had a 2:20 flight with a 30 point landing. Alex got the Luckydog.
Round 2 again had Stephen with the longest flight at 2:23 with a 20 point landing. Bob had 1:54 with a 20 point landing. Alex got the Luckydog with a 20 point landing. In the Open Class, Daric had a flight time of 1:52 with a 10 point landing. Neil had a 1:40 flight with a 20 point landing.
Round 3 saw the wind increase as did flight times. Bob had the longest flight time in the Radian Class, 2:41. Alex had a flight time of 1:59 with a 30 point landing. In the Open Class, Daric had a time of 3:26 with a 20 point landing. Neil got the Luckydog and a 10 point landing.
Round 4 had Dennis with a time of 3:49 and a 10 point landing that he really had to work for. Bob had a time of 2:29 with a perfect 30 point landing. Alex had a time of 2:19 with a 10 point landing. In the Open Class, Neil got the Luckydog and a 30 point landing. Daric had the longest flight time of the day at 7:25.
The big winners for the day are Stephen in the Radian Class with 133 points and Neil in the Open Class with 138 points. Congrats to all of today’s pilots for flying safely in very challenging conditions.
We had nine glider pilots competing in Saturday’s Electroglide. The weather conditions could have been better, but the pilots made do with the marginal lift and tricky ground turbulence that caused a few “off field” landings.
For those unfamiliar with the rules of this contest, any landing not done on the runway will cause zero points to be earned for that launch.
First launch had us all looking for the lift but only two pilots found anything. Bob Anson flying in the open class had the long flight at 4:41 minutes. Alex Sutton, flying a Radian, was second at 4:15 minutes with a 10-point landing and Dennis LaBerge, also flying a Radian was third at 3:40 minutes with a 20-point landing. Daric Knight also picked up a 10-point landing.
For the second launch, pilots found the lift to the west just beyond our runway. The long flight was earned by Dennis (Radian), with a time of 7:30 with a 20-point landing. Stephen Trager, (Radian) was second at 5:35 minutes and Jeff Struthers, (Radian) came in third at 5:30.
Third launch had us all looking around for the lift and not finding much. Stephen, (Radian) had the longest flight at 2:35 minutes. Bob, (open class) came in second at 2:22 with a 20-point landing and third place is shared by Dennis, (Radian) and Neil Zhu, (open class) at 2:20. Neil also picked up a 20-point landing and Carl Cox got a 10-point landing.
Fourth and final launch again had little to offer in the way of lift with the long flight earned again by Dennis at 3:20 minutes with a 20-point landing. Second place is shared by Daric and Neil, (both open class) at 2:30 minutes, with Neil again picking up a 20-point landing. Third place was earned by Alex at 2:19 with a 10-point landing.
The flight times were on the short side of things but we all still had fun. Next Electroglide is scheduled for August 20th.
Thanks again to frank Sutton for the event pictures.
Jeff Struthers
For the Electroglide this last Saturday, we had a South wind at 8 mph, and a temperature around 64 degrees. From these conditions you would expect short flight times and few extra points earned by landing in the target circles.
The pilots did much better than that with flight times up to 6:20 minutes and scoring several 30-point spot landings.
After a brief ceremony of handing out 1st, 2nd
and 3rd place medals for last month’s winners,
the contest began.
First launch had Scott Vance flying the longest flight with a Radian, at 4:25 minutes with a 30-point landing. Bob Stinson, flying a Conscendo, had a flight of 4:00 minutes with a 10-point landing. Stephen Trager, flying a radian, came in third at 2:30 with a 20-point landing. Neil Zhu also picked up a 20-point landing.
Second launch had Neil, with the longest flight, at 6:23 with a Conscendo in the Open Class. He also picked up a 10-point landing. Scott came in second at 6:10 with another 30-point landing. Daric Knight, also flying in the open class, came in third at 5:30 with a 30-point landing. Bob Stinson also picked up a 30-point landing.
For the third launch, the south wind picked up and disrupted the lift, so the flight times dropped. Scott had the long flight at 3:41 with a 10-point landing. Bob Anson, flying a Conscendo came in second at 2:30 and Stephen came in third at 2:20 with a 30-point landing. Neil and I both picked up 20-point landings. Bob Stinson and Daric picked up 10-point landings.
Fourth and final launch had Scott again with the long flight at 4:05 with a 10-point landing. Bob Anson came in second at 3:40 and Daric was third at 3:00 with a 20-point landing.
Winners for the day:
Open class:
Neil Zhu, 167 points.
Bob Stinson, 148 points.
Daric Knight, 145 points.
Radian class:
Scott Vance, 192 points.
Stephen Treger, 79 points.
Jeff Struthers, 76 points.
With the strong south breeze, there were several “off field” landings but as you can see from this report, also many extra point landings in the target circles.
Congrats to all the pilots for making do with the weather conditions, flying for good aloft times and getting extra landing points. This is what makes the Electroglide so fun.
Next Electroglide is scheduled for July 16th.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
The Electroglide for May was held last Saturday and unexpectedly, was quite fun. The weather conditions didn’t look favorable; 61 degrees, a 10 mph wind from the Southwest and overcast skies. At the pilots meeting before the contest, we debated then voted to begin the contest anyway. A little after the 10:00 start time, seven gliders took to the skies.
Surprisingly, the lift was there, high and slightly westward. The Southwest wind crossing the San Diego river channel, created some lift that the Radian gliders could make better use of.
Scott Vance, flying a Radian, was able to get the long flight of 6:26 minutes. Neil Zhu, flying a Conscendo, had the next longest flight at 4:43 with a 20-point bonus landing. Dennis LaBerge, also with a Radian, had the third longest flight at 3:26. I was able to pick up a 20-point landing.
One pilot had his glider get away from him and end up in Mission Bay. A thank you goes out to the friendly jet skier who returned the swimming aircraft to the pilot waiting on shore.
On the second launch, the secret was out. Most of the pilots headed to same high west spot that worked so well for Scott and Neil. Dennis made good use of the lift, flying for 7:06 minutes. Scott had a flight of 4:48 with an excellent 30-point landing. Alex Sutton came in third with 4:04 minutes aloft and a 20-point landing. Both Neil and I picked up 10-point landings.
Third launch had Scott again winning the long flight at 8:30 minutes. I was second at 8:21 with a 20-point landing and Neil was third at 4:40 minutes. Bob Anson nailed a 30-point landing and Dennis had a 10-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had the fun lift disappear on us. The long flight was earned by Scott at 3:16 with a 20-point landing. I had the next long flight at 1:59 and third place is shared by Dennis and Alex at 1:48. Dennis, Scott and Neil all picked up 20-point landings.
I would like to point out that getting any extra landing points via the target circles was a hard thing to do, what with the Southwest wind and ground turbulence.
Good flying everyone and kudos to those who made the small 30-point circle.
Thanks to Frank Sutton for again supplying the event photos.
Next Electroglide will be on June 18th. Ten o’clock, first launch.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
Here’s something to consider
Last Saturday during the Electroglide, I had a mid-air collision. This was during a launch where we all send our gliders up at the same time. If we all pay attention and spread out (I didn’t), we don’t have any problems.
I pulled my Conscendo into a steep climb and into the path of a Radian, also under a full power climb. It was over in an instant.
Take a look at these two pictures. The first is of the chunk of foam removed from the vertical stab of my Conscendo. The second picture is of the recovered foam pieces reinstalled into the stabilizer, notice the gouges caused by the Radian’s prop? Like I said, it was over in an instant, we only heard one loud whack, but those five gouges are caused by prop strikes. Rather impressive damage in a short amount of time, Eh?
Now, think of your fingers.
Jeff Struthers
Nine pilots competed in April’s Electroglide. Weather conditions were not so great with a 13 mph breeze blowing from the North West. This wind made for an exciting first launch. There was a midair collision between Alex Sutton and myself on the first launch.
My Conscendo pitched hard up. I wasn’t ready for it, so before I could react, I flew into Alex’s Radian. With a resounding “whack” a large bite appeared in the Conscendos vertical stab and a broken prop fluttered to the ground from the Radian. I was able to keep flying but Alex’s Radian was out of the competition, my bad Alex, sorry.
The long flight for the first launch was earned by Bob Anson flying the open class at 2:26. I was second at 2:07, also flying open class. Carl Cox, flying in the Radian class, was third at 1:40. Dennis LaBerge (Radian) and Daric Knight (open), both picked up 20-point landings.
On the second launch, Scott Vance, flying a Radian, had the long flight at 6:20 with a 20-point landing. Bob Anson, flying a Conscendo, was second at 5:45 with another 20-point landing. Carl Cox, with a Radian, was third at 5:20. Dennis LaBerge scored a 30-point landing, Bob Stinson and I scored 20-point landings and Daric Knight scored a 10-point landing.
On the third launch, Scott Vance again had the long flight at 6:50 with a 10-point landing. Bob Anson came in second at 5:47 and Dennis LaBerge was third at 3:33 with a 10-point landing. I picked up a 20-point landing.
Fourth and final launch had Scott again showing us how it’s done, flying for 6:52 minutes. Bob Anson was second at 5:05 with a 10-point landing and I was third at 3:20 with a 20-point landing. Both Dennis and Bob Stinson also scored 20-point landings.
Winners for the day:
In the Radian Class, First place, Scott Vance, 151 total points. Second place, Dennis LaBerge, 140 total points. Third place, Carl Cox , 42 total points.
In the Open Class, First place, Bob Anson, 146 total points. Second place, Bob Stinson, 100 total points.
Third place, Jeff Struthers, 96 Points.
Frank Sutton supplied the pictures of the event; check out the battle damage to the mid-air aircraft.
Next Electroglide is scheduled for May 21st. 10:00.
See you there,
Jeff
