Too Much Drama
Yesterday's task was cancelled - too much wind.
And today happened to be a fairly interesting day...you know when you're sitting up at launch and things feel a bit funny? I wasn't really feeling into things today, but a task was set, and it was soon time to fly.
After flying around for about 15 minutes above launch, I suddenly saw a glider in a stable stall falling out of the sky. It was as if it was in slow motion, watching the pilot seem to be fiddling with something and after what seemed like an eternity, throwing his reserve. A pilot near me relayed his position to the people on launch, and as he landed fairly close to the take off, he was immediately found. Thankfully he was completely unharmed.
As this was unfolding, the start window opened, and pilots went on glide to the next turnpoint. I topped up a bit, and also went on glide, trying to take a buoyant glide under some clouds. As I neared the dreaded Rabies Ridge, I was not going anywhere quickly, and I was definitely sinking. Approaching it in low and in the lee wasn't the greatest position to be in and sure enough as I hunted around for lift, I had a 75% collapse. I was about 150 feet above some trees/bushes, and I managed to control it as it popped open, and I flew away. I thank my SIV courses in the past for staying calm, and simply leaning and turning the opposite way of the deflation. But hell, I sure was lucky I didn't end up in the trees today!
At that point I was low, and made my way back to the LZ. Even getting there was a bit gnarly as the wind had picked up, so I ended up landing in a field next to the main LZ. As on the other days, I was not the only one.
One pilot landed going backwards and as she did, a gust of wind picked up her wing and started dragging her towards a barbed wire fence and some trees. Thankfully some pilots ran towards her and collapsed her wing so she was unharmed, as was her gear.
When I got back to headquarters, one pilot had hurt his knee on launch and may have torn his ACL so I helped him hobble to a vehicle where he was to be taken to the hospital.
Some of the competition pilots who were leading the competition up until today were also at headquarters as they had a tough time today too. Apparently 3 pilots made goal - that's the last rumour I heard before leaving.
I'm kind of re-evaluating whether or not I want to do competitions anymore...flying in marginal conditions is not my cup of tea. I think too when you're flying a DHV 2 in such conditions, it makes it just plain frustrating. I'm tempted to say that flying a less serious comp with more serial class gliders is a direction I'm leading towards for next time. Anyway, we'll see.
One more day of the competition - a good task day would be nice, but who knows. This competition is ending just in time for me - I've kind of had enough. It's time to make flying fun again, and not just a task.
And today happened to be a fairly interesting day...you know when you're sitting up at launch and things feel a bit funny? I wasn't really feeling into things today, but a task was set, and it was soon time to fly.
After flying around for about 15 minutes above launch, I suddenly saw a glider in a stable stall falling out of the sky. It was as if it was in slow motion, watching the pilot seem to be fiddling with something and after what seemed like an eternity, throwing his reserve. A pilot near me relayed his position to the people on launch, and as he landed fairly close to the take off, he was immediately found. Thankfully he was completely unharmed.
As this was unfolding, the start window opened, and pilots went on glide to the next turnpoint. I topped up a bit, and also went on glide, trying to take a buoyant glide under some clouds. As I neared the dreaded Rabies Ridge, I was not going anywhere quickly, and I was definitely sinking. Approaching it in low and in the lee wasn't the greatest position to be in and sure enough as I hunted around for lift, I had a 75% collapse. I was about 150 feet above some trees/bushes, and I managed to control it as it popped open, and I flew away. I thank my SIV courses in the past for staying calm, and simply leaning and turning the opposite way of the deflation. But hell, I sure was lucky I didn't end up in the trees today!
At that point I was low, and made my way back to the LZ. Even getting there was a bit gnarly as the wind had picked up, so I ended up landing in a field next to the main LZ. As on the other days, I was not the only one.
One pilot landed going backwards and as she did, a gust of wind picked up her wing and started dragging her towards a barbed wire fence and some trees. Thankfully some pilots ran towards her and collapsed her wing so she was unharmed, as was her gear.
When I got back to headquarters, one pilot had hurt his knee on launch and may have torn his ACL so I helped him hobble to a vehicle where he was to be taken to the hospital.
Some of the competition pilots who were leading the competition up until today were also at headquarters as they had a tough time today too. Apparently 3 pilots made goal - that's the last rumour I heard before leaving.
I'm kind of re-evaluating whether or not I want to do competitions anymore...flying in marginal conditions is not my cup of tea. I think too when you're flying a DHV 2 in such conditions, it makes it just plain frustrating. I'm tempted to say that flying a less serious comp with more serial class gliders is a direction I'm leading towards for next time. Anyway, we'll see.
One more day of the competition - a good task day would be nice, but who knows. This competition is ending just in time for me - I've kind of had enough. It's time to make flying fun again, and not just a task.
posted by Veronica at 5:48 PM
1 Comments:
Peace fly from indonesia..
kinda new in blog thingy, n i stoned to read urs.. :P seems like non-stop flyin u have in canada..
back here, i still have to deal with jobs, kids, weather, bla bla..
while u re fightin race to goal, im stucked in spot-landing due to lack of PG knowledge.. :D
c u soon,
yoshi icaro
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