31 July

Nick flew about 450 km of the course; where there were Cu, it was a good day, but in the blue it was very smooth, and each time the course went into a blue area, it was a sled ride.  With the late start of convection, and starting at 3 pm, with about 100km to go in the blue, and the last leg into wind, he decided that it wasn't worth the energy it would require on a practice day.
The heat of the day seems to have affected his primary logger, which we'll have to figure a way to protect better from the sun.

Today's high is forecast to be 106F; heat index makes it a bit higher than that, but at some point, hot is merely hot!

Our motel antenna has been tested out to just under 100 km, with great results, so we should be in better contact, and the crew can spend a little less time in the tent, which is nice, but still the heat starts to wear you down after a week or so.  Air conditioning is better.

Dave modified his PowerFLARM brick installation yesterday, and is much happier with the look.  Jerzy also did final tweaking on his ASG 29. 

Two more practice days, then on Saturday, the opening ceremony and parade.

We expect all three pilots to fly today.

The Open class launches off the taxiway, and 15/18m from the main runway. Here's pic of the two operations in action. The main (furthest away) eases left after takeoff, the taxiway eases right...  In this case, the Open class is a self-launcher.

 The Hunter becomes the Hunted!


Here's a picture of Maria taking pics - a hot, dusty job that she does exceptionally well (go to Soaring Cafe). This area is just north of the taxiway, about 100 feet from our tie-down area (we get an hour-long daily airshow).  The wispy Cu are a good indicator of yesterday's skies.

 More after briefing.

Dan