By Jeff Struthers
We had a fun Electroglide last Saturday. I don’t think we could have had a better San Diego day. Lindbergh field’s 10:00 a.m. report shows 67 degrees, calm winds, partly cloudy skies with 10-mile visibility.
Eight pilots showed up, one Easy Star, one open class and six Radians took to the sky a little after 10:00.
First launch had us all looking for the lift. Flight times were modest. Dennis La Bergh had the long flight of 8:30, the rest of us were coming down in the mid 4 minutes. Jim Bonnardel and Electroglide newcomer Carlos Mercado both had 20-point landings, Jon Graber had a 10-point landing.
Second launch had conditions changing, a lot! Flight times jumped with five pilots flying beyond 8 minutes. Jim Bonnardel flew the longest for a 9:55 aloft. Roger Ball had a 9:46 and Scott Vance had 9:23 aloft. I got lucky with a 30-point landing. Scott had a 20-point with Jim, Roger and Carlos all getting 10-point landings.
Third launch again yielded some long flights. I had a flight of 9:43 and Roger Ball came in two seconds after me at 9:41. Tom Erickson coming back to the field at 9:17. Tom, Dennis and myself picked up 20-point landings. Jim, Roger and Scott Vance scored 10-point landings. Some good lift on the second and third launches.
The NW wind was picking up for the forth and final launch and made finding the lift a harder thing to do. Scott found some ridge lift near the palm trees in our NW flying area, gently working out the long flight of 8:28. Jim had an 8:02 flight and Dennis had a flight of 8:00. Jim, Scott, Dennis and myself picked up 20-point landings.
Top score for the day was Jim Bonnardel flying in the open class with 250 points. I was flying a Radian and got lucky with my extra point landings bringing me in second at 247 points. Scott Vance came in third at 237 points. Dennis LaBerge was fourth at 227 points. Both flying with Radians.
It was a great day to fly gliders in San Diego. Sunshine, Blue skies, high scattered clouds and thermals. The 10:00 start time is working out well, so we’ll do it again next month on March 17th.
See you then,
Jeff
