January 16, 2013 - Day 6

Today (Jan 16) we fly again and soon I have to go to the grid, so only a short report about Day 6.

Our prayers finally worked and the weather god(s) presented us with a very nice and interesting day with the sky full of Cu's, with a few CB's thrown in just to make things more interesting.

I had a very enjoyable flight, finished 3rd for the day. The flight itself was uneventful with no low spots and a lot of good thermals. I tried to utilize the areas of reduced sink and that tactic worked. Also, there were a lot of other gliders around, so most of the thermals were marked.

Remarkably, I also managed to land out after crossing the finish line. Yes, I'm not kidding, I landed out for the 5th time in this competition. Finishing from the South presents a challenge because of the #3 road (between Cheves and Tres Arroyos) runs just before the threshold of the runway 36. After crossing the finish line at around 85 meters AGL (the minimum for the day was 70 m), and with relatively low speed, I encountered sink and decided to land in a stubble field south of the #3 road, rather than try to cross the road low and slow. Safety 1st!

Luis came to retrieve with his friend and we were back at the airfield before you can say "por favor" 3 times. We have become so proficient in de-rigging and rigging the Kilo-Yankee, thanks to a lot of recent practice, that we could probably do it blindfolded.

My flight trace and a few photos from Day 6 are below:

Day 6 flight and altitude traces

Luis (Marty) posing with the "De Lorean"

This is what a sky should look like!

Team Serbia (and Monte Negro)

Beofore the start

Flying towards the 1st turn point - luckily the CB is safely behind

On final glide, looking good!

Que pasa? Another outlanding, this time after crossing the finish line.

Tim Kuijpers from the Netherlands (AA) finishing the task

Simon Ruopp from Germany (6G) finishing the task

A nice shot of Kilo-Yankee and the gliders coming in from the murky sky

A well rehearsed retrieve went without a hitch (pardon the pun)

Argentinean party in the evening, after the tango show - awesome! 

Cartoon art by Luis