[QQ] Region 4 North particulars

Tue Sep 27 13:12:54 UTC 2022

Hey Piet,

I had a work event come up on Friday the 7th, so I'm out that day (I've
updated the spreadsheet accordingly). However, I was able to get the
4th/5th/6th off, so I can be there those three days. Lemme know if this
works.

Allison

On Thu, Sep 8, 2022 at 11:52 AM Piet Barber via QQ <qq at skylinesoaring.org>
wrote:

> I've updated the spreadsheet again, with new columns based on your
> feedback.
> I've put in a "Y" or "N" or "M" (for Maybe) based on my interpretations of
> your email responses.
> Please update the spreadsheet as appropriate.
> It looks like I'll have a few people for the beginning, and a few people
> for the end, and it looks like we'll have coverage.
>
> I'll warn you that I have terrible luck with contests.  I've never
> attended a contest where the weather was great.
> I've participated in 9 contests, every single one of them has had the
> dialog from the contest director: "Wow the weather is terrible this week.
> Let's see if we can scrape up a contest with several marginal days."   I
> can count on one hand the contest days that were truly excellent weather --
> days I reflect upon with fondness.
>
> I had a drug addict friend once tell me "Oh if you took LSD once and had a
> bad trip, you should *absolutely* have another LSD trip and if you keep
> doing it, you'll eventually have a good LSD trip"   I kind of feel like
> this with contests.  I keep showing up and the weather keeps disappointing
> me.  It's not that the weather sucks in these places, it's just that the
> timing for these is terrible. "Oh you should have been here [the three days
> before the contest / the three days immediately following the contest ]!
> It was the best soaring I've ever seen!"   I suppose if I keep flipping the
> coin enough times, I'll see a result I like.
>
> Here's my contest history:
> https://members.ssa.org/MyHome.asp?mbr=2269297242&show=achievements
>
> Truly good contest days in no particular order.  Funny how these are all
> at Mifflin.
>
> 5 hour ridge adventure with Todd Morris at Mifflin 2021.
> <https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=8378269>
>
> This was the one good day at the contest.  I made it out of the starting
> gate (lots of gliders didn't).  I made it to the ridge, got to the first
> two mandatory turnpoints, and then I made some poor decisions.  If I really
> wanted better speed, I would have gone back to that ridge and kept the
> speed up.  This was a Modified Assigned Task.  The MAT is essentially "We
> chose the first few turnpoints for you. Once you get to those turnpoints,
> go fly to a few others at your choice.  Once you get to the time limit, get
> home. He who gets the fastest course over his choice of turnpoints wins the
> day."   The MAT benefits the guys who know the terrain really well.  They
> know "Oh you don't go flying over that area, it's a swamp" or "Oh if you do
> this ridge system instead of that ridge system, the mountains are actually
> tall enough for you to use"   I hate them.  They are a uniquely American
> contest style.    When the Contest Director hands out the task, and
> announces that it's a MAT, I want you to look over to me and see the look
> of dread and disappointment on my face.   A buncha people landed out on
> this day.  Cathy Williams in her LS-8 landed out.  Tom Ward landed out in
> 9Y.  Dave Hart and Rob Cluxton landed out at the third turnpoint (this was
> the part of the soaring day when I really struggled, so it's cool that I
> dug it out)
>
> Good Thermal day with Pete Maynard at Mifflin 2016
> <https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=5068693>
>
> This was my first really good contest day at my first contest.  The
> thermals were great. I used all of them. The old guys who knew this area
> really well knew how to use the winds to make ridge runs. Karl Striedieck
> used ridge lift for this day (I didn't think it was possible).  I was just
> getting used to this flight computer, so I didn't really know how to do a
> final glide calculation yet.  I had a brand new computer installed in the
> glider the day before my first contest. <- not too smart!
>
> Excellent ridge day with JP Stewart at 20 meter Multiseat Nationals 2018
> <https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=6424270>
>
> The beginning of the task day was as marginal as you could imagine.  We
> launched the fleet with the expectation that the front would blow through.
> We had full water in the wings.  We had a 2000' AGL aerotow to the ridge.
> The ridge Just. Wasn't. Working.  We worked little nibbles of lift until
> the ridge started working.  You could see the front blow in.  Now the ridge
> is working.  JP and I scorched along to all of our turnpoints.  We had a
> great run on the ridges as fast as our ballasted glider could go.  We made
> a few good jumps in the transitions.
>
> Classic Thermal day at Albert Lea, MN 20 meter Multi-Seat Nationals 2019
> <https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=7162568>
>
> I was flying with Mike Hess.  This was a classic racing task.  All
> turnpoints were assigned. You fly the course, and the fastest time around
> the course wins.  I got skunked, but I enjoyed the day.  I think I came in
> last place that day, but I didn't land out!  There were two different times
> during this flight that I got low enough to switch to "desperate" mode.
> Once at Grand Meadow (when I dumped my water ballast) and once at Henry,
> Iowa.  This was when I got below the lift band.  Any lift at all was
> welcome.  Chris Norris was co-piloting with somebody in a different glider,
> and scooted along above us. "good byyyeeeee Piet!"  In fact, the whole
> group left me in their dust on that day.  It was still a fun day, and I
> would love to have more soaring experiences like that.
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 31, 2022 at 10:15 PM Piet Barber <piet at pietbarber.com> wrote:
>
>> This mailing list consists of:
>>
>>    - allisonvdiaz at gmail.com
>>    - cjones404 at gmail.com
>>    - cwuerker at me.com
>>    - good4us at solarservices.com
>>    - tbookwalter at juno.com
>>
>> This mailing list will be disbanded after the contest.
>>
>> The contest will take place in the first week of October 2022. I'll
>> probably drive up there on Thursday night, and start camping early.  I have
>> the day off of work on Friday before the contest, and they always seem to
>> have fun flying the days before the contest starts.  At least for the past
>> few years, they had the pre-contest flying, which was way more fun than the
>> contest days.
>>
>> Chris Jones, I'll need you to sign a special waiver indicating that you
>> won't consider this as flight instruction, won't log it as such, and won't
>> treat it as flight instruction.  This is for the purposes of the insurance
>> policy; they don't let me give flight instruction to non-rated pilots under
>> my current policy.
>>
>> Please reply-all which dates you are and are not available, and we can
>> make sure we have full coverage.  I'm keeping this spreadsheet to indicate
>> which days people can do which things.  You should have write access to the
>> sheet, so feel free to indicate what days you can and can't be there in the
>> "notes" section at the bottom of this spreadsheet
>>
>>
>> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/137bIse7RVcPr8iGzmGUia5bSXnCXVlWW16KdsiTqsf0/edit?usp=sharing
>>
>> --
>>
>> http://www.pietbarber.com/
>> http://blog.pietbarber.com/
>>
>>
>
> --
>
> http://www.pietbarber.com/
> http://blog.pietbarber.com/
>
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