[QQ] Region 4 North particulars

Tue Sep 27 14:04:37 UTC 2022

Right now it looks like it will be raining until Tuesday.  After all that
rain, all the fields are going to be soaked and not good sources of
thermals. I'm not sure if there's even going to be a contest, and I'm not
sure if it's even worth going to the contest.  I'll keep an eye on the
weather.

On Tue, Sep 27, 2022 at 10:01 AM Piet Barber <piet at pietbarber.com> wrote:

> OMG this weekend looks like a complete wash-out from the hurricane /
> tropical storm.
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 27, 2022 at 9:13 AM Allison Diaz <allisonvdiaz at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> 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/
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> QQ mailing list
>>> QQ at skylinesoaring.org
>>> https://members.skylinesoaring.org/mailman/listinfo/qq
>>>
>>
>
> --
>
> http://www.pietbarber.com/
> http://blog.pietbarber.com/
>
>

-- 

http://www.pietbarber.com/
http://blog.pietbarber.com/
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