By Jeff Struthers
Woo Hoo! On Saturday the 18th, we had blue skies, sunshine and no wind. We also had a maximum altitude limit of 200 ft., so this event was a test of this limit’s effect on the Electroglide itself. I’m happy to report that we can still have a fun time flying within this altitude restriction.
Seven pilots were on hand for the first launch. Aircraft included four Radians, two Conscendos and one Easy Star. After a brief pilots meeting, with the announcement of a ten second motor run time, we started the contest.
On the first launch and such a short motor run time, pilots seemed to need more time to adjust to this lower altitude and yet still find some lift. Scott Vance had the longest flight at 3 minutes, 47 seconds. Daric Knight came in second at 2:30 and Alex Sutton came back at 2:22 with a 20-point landing.
For the second launch, pilots now were finding great lift. Daric had the long flight at 9:30, with Scott almost as long at 9:29 and picking up a 20-point landing. Alex came in third at 8:06 and picked his first 30-point landing for the day. All three pilots flying Radians. Neil Zhu flying a Conscendo, had joined Scott, Daric and Alex in that tight thermal column slightly north east of our target circles. Neil had a flight time of 7:46 plus a 10-point landing. As most pilots know, the Conscendo is not as good a floater as the Radian, yet Neil was keeping his aircraft aloft in a very competitive flight. Dennis LaBerge also had a 10-point landing and Bob Stinson picked up a 20-point landing for that launch.
Third launch had pilots returning to the same lift area, but the lift had diminished a bit. Longest flight was earned by Alex at 5:59 with another 30-point landing. Scott came in second at 5:35 aloft, plus a 30-point landing and Daric came in third with a flight of 4:00 minutes, plus a 20-point landing.
Forth and final launch had pilots finding strong lift again with Scott staying aloft the longest at 9:11, plus a 30-point landing. Daric came in second at 8:37 and Alex came in third at 7:44, while picking up his third 30-point landing for the day.
Winner for the day was Alex Sutton with 257 total points. Second place goes to Scott Vance at 250 total points and third place goes to Daric Knight with 153 total points.
To be sure, last Saturday’s weather made flying a glider a fun experience. The warm sunshine coupled with no wind allowed the thermals to form in several areas close to the runway. In the cool months ahead, we may have some days when no lift is generated, and the winning points will be made with the spot landings. As for the 200-foot altitude limit, it doesn’t seem to be a hindrance to us having a fun Electroglide competition.
Thanks to Frank Sutton for the event pictures. Next Electroglide is set for February 15th at 10:00 a.m.
See you there,
Jeff
