The Race Is On

Our day starts pretty early like most contests, but the sheer size of this event and the number of really great pilots, makes this a must do event. There is the normal gang that wants to get their ships on the grid by 8:30am and spend the rest of the
time before the pilots meeting lounging around speaking with friends. Others do not show on the field until 9:00am since they need a little more sleep. Everyone has their set routine. Most of us have breakfast in the Little Bake Shoppe and Deli in the
center of town. This morning we were treated to a very special item on the menu. For one week only, they are offering “Gliders and Sliders”, your choice from 3 sandwich combinations. With the time left, I’m going to do all three.
The pilot’s meeting is held each morning at 10am under a big circus tent. We didn’t know if Al was making a statement on the type of people we are or just using good business judgement when he decided to stop renting the tent. Rhonda always speaks
to us about the fantastic volunteers, social events for the day, and any special instructions like black water dumping. She also covers the top three pilots in each class and makes them do a talk. Some talks are more interesting than others. Jason
Arnold won the day yesterday and told us that he had a scripted speech because he heard that made you look smart. Always good to start the day with a good joke. Marshall is up next as he goes thru the various groups that work the contest. Operations,
Chief Tow Pilot, Retrieve, and Scoring cover any issue that needs addressing. Safety is big in any contest. However, we did receive a note from a concerned pilot in the Safety Box. It seems this pilot saw our weatherman pacing back and forth early in
the morning talking to himself. He asked us to make sure Scott was ok.
One of our pilots flew his first contest day ever at this event. Nathan Taylor is flying E9, Fonzi’s old ship. It brings back a lot of memories from old contests and the Miami Glider Club. Nathan did a fine job on a very difficult day. I think
Fonzi may have been sitting in the cockpit with him yesterday.
Uncle Hank had a great comment about flying with Heinz and Karen yesterday in their Arcus M. He said that his ship had the same performance but for 1/3 the price. Hank had been working on the ship for several days in preparation for this contest. I
think he and Al are not only having fun but they are getting a lot of bang for the buck.
Of course, the best joke came from the weatherman’s t-shirt that said, “Dear Karma, I have a few names left off of your list.”
After the meeting we normally have a bite to eat and head down to wait for the first launch. Pilots and crews are all in groups by RV’s, cars and under the shade of trees. One of the crew noticed an older gentleman that was sitting in a chair behind
their RV with his feet on the bumper. She asked him how he was doing, being concerned for the relaxed nature of the person. Little did she know, that was Al Tyler, the most relaxed man on the planet!
Now about the flying. We have some of the best tow pilots around. Their routine, professionalism and landing patterns enable Larry (LT, Ops Head) to get the fleet safely airborne in minimum time. But we do have an issue with the JS-3 pilots. With that
little wing, being slow is not comfortable. Well, our tow pilots plan on this and are very keen to be at the right speed for towing. Today, FS was being towed by the Chief Tow Pilot (Martin). I guess he was a little slow and Fernando called. Martin
was heartbroken. This was the first time Fernando had ever asked him for speed in over 2 years. Everyone had a laugh.
The day was supposed to start a littler latter but go a little longer. Marshall called the same Assigned Task for the 18 Meter and Open Classes. Task A was given to the 18 Meter Class that sent them from Start 3 to Orangeburg, Twin Lakes, Barnwell,
Fogles and home. This was a total of 156 miles and we expected to be on course for less than 3 hours. The Open Class got off late and they switched to the Task B that substituted Ernies for Barnwell and reduced the distance by 16 miles. Ernies is
owned by a good friend of the Tylers and is noteworthy for the dog leg in the runway. The time I landed there, my tow pilot that came to retrieve me opened his window and with a big smile said, “Did you see that turn in the runway……cool!” The
18 Meter group took off in 3 different gaggles. KM and 1X were flying together and left fairly early. They were looking at JL and YO up ahead and were trying to run them down. But after awhile the big gaggle, that was made up of most on the top half
of the scoresheet, rolled right over them. That is a sinking feeling. In the end, Robin Clark came away with the win with a speed of 59.60mph with Bif Huss and Sergei Morozov finishing second and third. There was only .45mph separating Robin and Bif.
This was really a close race.
Towing an Open Class ship is a little more challenging than one of the kiddie gliders. Brian Glick says he loves towing Concordia since it is the only ship that the wings go beyond both mirrors. Heinz explained the Open Class race was pretty mondain
today. He also said the best part of the day was the landing at the end of it. What he didn’t know was an incident with a Pilatus that was departing Aiken airport. Apparently, he climbed right between AG and 98. It’s always important to look out
the window when flying. The big ships seemed to be in smaller groups that got together in the blue conditions to help each other. But the Concordia, and her pilot Dick Butler, took first place with a speed of 61.45mph only .80 mph faster than second
place finisher, Henry Retting. Sam Zimmerman of Team Perry West finished in third.
We did have a number of landouts and engine starts today. John Sumner landed in a field that was very populated with a herd of cows. Luckily, they had enough ground crew to keep them away during disassembly of the glider. At the end of the day,
everyone was back safe and no gliders were damaged.
FAI Combined and Sports Class were sent on the same Turn Area Task. They departed Start 4 and on to Bamburg, Aiken, Fogles, Dr Ross and Finish. Unfortunately, I do not have any inputs for their race and tonight I’m skipping the review on See You.
Needless to say, most had a great time. In Sports Class, Fabrizo DiStefano took first place with a raw/handicapped speeds of 43.11mph/41.82mph. Jason Arnold is still flying great, finishing in second with Glen Betzoldt closely in third. In the FAI
Combined Class, Werner Ruegger finished in first with a raw speed of 51.75mph. Jared Granzow had been practicing down at Seminole-Lake before the contest and it showed today. He finished in second with Tom Horroran in third.
Now that we have had two racing days in the books, it is time to look at the long game and who might be in contention. In all the classes except 18 Meter, the top three pilots are all within 100 points with 3 more days of racing. In the 18 Meter Class,
the top 6 pilots are all within 100 points. In Sports Class there is a race within a race. From 5th place to 9th place the pilots are only separated by 17 points! No time to be sitting back.
Tonight’s dinner was a low country boil with beer provided by Sam and Leigh Zimmerman. Thank you, Perry West. It was a nice way to round out the day. But wait a minute, I hear music. Seems like around the bonfire Glen Cole was playing a guitar,
Karl Striedieck was playing the harmonica and Gary Carter was playing the percussion jeans. It was a great night but the morning will come early so I’ll sign off now. Take care everyone and have a good night.
Rich Owen
ZO


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