Region 5E contest - Bermuda High Soaring, South Carolina

Bermuda High Soaring was the organizer of Region 5E contest as part of the preparations for hosting the 18 m US National Championships in 2015 (http://bermudahighsoaring.com/index.html).

I flew in this area last year and I found the flying conditions to be very similar to conditions in Poland and I decided to use this as an opportunity to practice before the Worlds. Perfect weather was influenced by Bermuda High pressure during the whole contest. I was able to fly seven days in a row in different soaring conditions, from very turbulent blue thermals to a sky full of Cu's and rapidly cycling thermals under Cirrus clouds.

The Region 5E contest was smaller then Perry, but the weather cooperated fully and I had the opportunity to practice in different flying conditions each day. I won four days out of five and took first place in the 18 m class with a substantial lead over the second-place pilot. Canadians again finished at the top, taking first place in 18 m and 15 m classes. The 15 m class was won by Joerg Stieber, our 2008 and 2010 Worlds team manager.

Next week I plan to fly Region 2 in Mifflin, Pennsylvania, where the terrain and weather is different than in South Carolina, but flying in hilly areas will help me prepare for flying in Leszno which is just 100 km N of mountains which are part of the contest area and there is chance that the organizers will set tasks to the mountains as well.

Jerzy

Between Perry and Bermuda High Contests

Perry is the one of the most important contests in US as it attracts 65 top pilots from USA, Canada, Belgium and UK including current and former US World Team members.
  In 18 Meter Class we had 5 contest days and weather was challenging and similar to weather which we can expect in Poland.
After day one I started from third position and then moved to first place on day four with 92 points gain on second pilot.
I was able to keep my position on the last day of the contest and won Perry 2014 with 169 points lead over second place pilot.
Canadian pilots flying in Perry did extremely well this year as in 18 Meter Class we took first and third place , 15 Meter Class second and third place  ,  Sport Class second place and Open class third place. 
I think Perry 2014 was the best contest for Canadians in soaring history.
 
Next week I'm going to regional contest in Bermuda High South Carolina which has very close condition to Poland due to sandy soil and large areas of pine and spruce forests.

Jerzy

Home from Perry

The last day of the contest was another blue day and the lift was not as strong as was predicted.  I managed to get my self low several times and that cost me as I had to take weak lift to get back up into the working band.  I flew like a J3 cub - low and slow, but I was able to get around the course and prevent a major disaster in the scoring department.

Unfortunately, I was not able to hold-off FS who was 20 points behind me and he won the day and took over first place for the contest.

The weather was challenging for all the contest days.  Day 1 we had clouds that spread out and shut off convection around 4:30 to 5 pm and this caught about half of my class and resulted in mass land-outs.  The remaining 3 days were all blue with challenging thermals on some parts of the course and good thermals in other areas.

I am happy with my performance in the contest, I think the rust has now been brushed off and I am ready for the next contest in Cordele, GA.  I plan to get there a week early and take advantage of the tows offered by MGSA during their cross-country camp at the end of May.

Dave

The Training has started - Perry Region 5 North

Jerzy and I are currently in Perry, SC for the Region 5 North contest.  This is typically the largest contest of the year and there is a full compliment of 65 contestants in four classes - Sports, Open, FAI (combined Standard and 15M) and 18m.

The weather has not been normal Perry racing weather, but we have flown and the conditions have been anywhere from challenging weak and blue to strong cu-filled sky. 

Both Jerzy and I have placed well each day so far and after 4 days of flying, Jerzy leads the 18 m class and after 3 days of flying I lead the FAI class.  For me, this contest is about knocking off the rust after taking the season off last year.  I also need to re-acquaint myself with my LX9000 and learn about all the new features in the latest firmware that I just installed.

The 27 that I will be renting this summer is the same glider I flew the last two times in Europe and it will be upgraded to an LX8080, so while smaller than my 9000, it will functionally be the same and I'll have no learning curve for the computer in Europe.

Today is scrubbed due to weather, but the conditions look favourable for our last flying day tomorrow.

Dave

2014 Canadian Team Cross-country Soaring Seminar

The Canadian Team Cross-country Soaring Seminar will be held in conjunction with the SAC AGM in Ottawa this year.

When: Sat 1 March 2014
Where: Algonquin College - Ottawa (more details on location later)

Schedule:

SAC AGM 9 - 11 AM

Team Seminar

11 - 12: Pilot reports from the 2012 World Championships Uvalde and 2013 Junior Worlds Leszno - Dave Springford and Emmanuel Cadieux

12 - 1: Lunch

1 -2: Soaring Weather - Is tomorrow "the" day? - Joerg Stieber

2 - 3: Field Landings - How much time is available and how do you use it? - Pierre Gavillet

3 - 4: Finding and then optimising your climbs in thermals - Nick Bonniere

4 - 5: Optimising your speed - What to do between thermals - Willem Langelaan

The Team Seminar is a fund-raising event for the 2014 World Championships in Leszno, Poland and the registration fee for the event is $40 with all proceeds going to the Canadian Team Fund.

Registration for the Seminar will take place over the Lunch break and cash payment is preferred for ease of accounting.

I hope to see you all there for a great day of learning!