SSB Contest Mentor Program --- 2004 Region 9 Hobbs, NM

Contest Mentor Program Overview

2004 Hobbs Region 9 Team

• Pedja Bogdanovich
• Dave Taylor
• Michael McLean
• Hans Von Michaelis

Daily Reports

Sat, July 3, 2004 - practice
Dave and Pedja

After an epic journey from Boulder at 51 mph, and getting stuck at UFO conference at Roswell, NM we finally got to Hobbs yesterday. The UFO conference was well-worth getting stuck at. If featured prominent speakers such as Stanton Friedman, the well-known author of, "Flying Saucers Are Real", the documentary "UFOs Are Real", and the award-winning video "Flying Saucers Are Real", and other interesting extra-terrestrial enthusiasts. The conference was highlighted by a special appearance by Charles James Hall, author of "Millennial Hospitality", "Millennial Hospitality II", and "Millennial Hospitality III".

Oh, yeah, let's not get carried away --- the contest. Yesterday was a short debugging flight and introduction to the locale. Today was an official practice day. Today we hopefully got all the remaining bugs worked out of the system and the team. The task of the day for sports was MAT with minimum distance of 72 miles and 1:30 minimum time. We flew little over 100 miles. If you took out our 3 worst thermals we would have had 80 mph speed.

A few points from Dave:

• There is no way to communicate the amount and importance of preparation and thought that goes into competition flying without actually doing it. It relates to safety and your ability to effectively compete. (The #$!@ map that Pedja made me finish 6am in the morning before I could leave town...)
• The emotional commitment of starting a task with the utter intention of finishing it is inherent in this competition business. You head of into the blue without easily identifiable sources of lift. Other gliders often mark good thermals, so it is imperative to keep track of them.
• To do this you have to have a good, competent, trusted team.
• Gaggle flying today was not as intense as I've thought it could be.

Sun, July 4, 2004 - day 1
Dave and Pedja

The contest director was not sure how the day was going to turn out so we got 1:30 minimum time TAT with nominal distance about 120 miles. The turnpoints were Lovington, Plains, and Seminole all with 10 mile radia. It turned out to be a good day. The pre start we climbed to over 12 Kft, well-above the start cylinder. (Ground level is 3.7 Kft MSL.) We went on the first leg to sniff it out and then came back for start. We had an excellent, well-executed start, if I may say so. We leached onto YF, Duo Discuss flown by Dick Johnson. We were glad that we could catch up with them on the runs, and even outclimb them in thermals. Midway through the second leg they were low and we were high, so we went with other gaggles. We flew quite a bit with Z on the second leg. On the third leg we could have gone deeper into the turnarea to pick up a promising cloud street. We conservatively stopped to tank up on the final glide and consequentially we finished quite high. Overall, we completed 132 miles at 67 mph.

A few points from Dave:

• We had enough altitude and time during pre-start to plan and execute a good start strategy.
• You can be more relaxed in your flying before the start, you want to save your energy for the task.
• We extensively used other gaggles on the first two legs (then we lost everybody).
• We had really good cruises with excellent L/D.
• It is tricky to figure out how conservative to be on a final glide.
• Checklists are very-very important. (Hotel checklist, assembly and preparation checklist, grid checklist, post-flight checklist, etc.)
• The pee system worked beautifully?

Mon, July 5, 2004 - day 2
Hans and Pedja

The day started with an inversion and 50+ gliders grided with quartering tailwind, so we waited and waited and waited on tarmac for CD to show up with the task, and the crew was there with water and emotional support. Eventually, the tail wind died down. The sky was deep blue, and everyone thought it might be that way for the day. However, at about 2 pm puffs started forming. Five towplanes did an amazingly efficient job in launching the fleet in about an hour and a half. The sports class got 2:30 minimum time MAT with 127 miles assigned distance: Andrews (03), Intersection 180/303 (15). The gate opened at 14:46 and we got going at 14:56, straight into a boomer up to 13 Kft. We took off to Andrews, and it was blue and completely flat up to few miles from the dry lake. There we caught up with the gaggle that started 5 minutes before us. The leg to Andrews was about 85 mph. From Andrews we went to Intersection 180/303 along with an obliging cloud street. That leg was 74 mph. We caught up with Dick Johnson in YF Duo there who started a couple of minutes before us. He was staying high and that worked well for the day. Then we went towards Seminole. That's where the battery started dying. Although it was fully charged the night before, Cambridge was showing low indication and started malfunctioning. We turned the L-NAV and radio off, and flew the rest of the flight on mechanical instruments. There was enough power for GPS-NAV so that we could at least use that for making sure we correctly round turnpoints. We got to Seminole at 65 mph. From Semionle we went back to Andrews at 70 mph XC speed, and from Andrews then we went down the cloud street to Lamesa along promising cloud street with no turning, 46 miles at 96 mph, at the cost of 3700 ft of altitude! (The actual cruise distance was 67 miles at 105 mph.) From Lamesa, now 2 hrs into the flight, we went due West home. This was the slow leg. We climbed to 14.5 Kft in a gap between the clouds, we went several thousand feet above the cloud base. We got carried away taking pictures of the clouds, and wasted a couple of minutes doing that. The way back home did not look encouraging from there, since it was all blue, and we were some 65 miles out. We took a conservative glide, especially since L-NAV was not working. We took some pretty weak stuff on the way back in the blue, and climbed conservatively high. We ended up being more than 1000 ft high in the finish. Overall we completed 230 miles at 72 mph. All in all, it was a great day!

A few points from Dave:

• Crewing is good for you, good for the soul, makes you a better person inside.
• Pilots should treat the crew with utmost respect and reverence.
• Crewing is hot work.
• A good crew member makes sure he shares his beer with the pilot(s).

Tue, July 6, 2004 - day 3
Dave and Pedja

The day started with a delicious Prairie Dog Omelet meal at the Prairie Rose Cafe. From there we went to do field for the now well rehearsed routine of getting KK ready for the race and gridding her. We got so efficient today that we had enough time to run to Wal-Mart before the pilots meeting at 10 am to buy nail polish remover and bananas. The forecast given at the pilots meeting indicated local climbs to 18 Kft @ 7 kts based on blip map. We were number 5 on the grid for launch. The launch got postponed a couple of times until we finally started launching at 13:30. The start high was optimistically set to 9 Kft AGL. It was an excellent takeoff roll, takeoff, and aero tow. The day was soft, and no one could break through 8 Kft. Gaggles were dense. The task got changed for all the classes after launch to MAT with Seminole as the only assigned turnpoint. The sports class minimum time was 2:30. Our strategy was to wait for the day to improve and let others go mark thermals for us. We flew for 1.5 hrs from release to start. After completing the first leg, we essentially went towards turnpoints where the conditions looked best. It was though work. The conditions did not significantly improve up until 4:30 when we finally managed to get to 11 Kft. We were carefully watching our flight time in order to optimize it. As the day started dying and we were about to meet our task time, we climbed in one last thermal to 10.5 Kft (7 Kft AGL) 33 miles away from home and shot a final glide. Overall, the task was Start, Seminole, Seagraves, Denver City, Seminole, Intersection 180/303, Finish, 146 miles. We completed it in 2:39 at 55 mph. It was a hard day with many landouts.

A few points from Dave:

• It makes for a long day when you cannot punch through a decent altitude.
• Finding that last thermal for the final glide is heartwarming.
• I am impressed how we can out-thermal 15M guys with water, but they beat us in a cruise by a noticeable margin.
• We have honed our team operations where we can quickly and efficiently navigate, fly, and reconfigure tasking in real time.
• I am learning to begin to get a feel for the final glide. Today was 33 miles, you could not see it in the haze.
• We need someone to invent an adhesive with a half-life of five hours.

Wed, July 7, 2004 - day 4
Hans and Pedja

Mike arrived last night. Since there were four of us now, getting the glider ready and gridded naturally took far longer, but we managed to get it done before the pilots meeting. The task for the day for sports was 2 hr minimum MAT with Lovington as the only assigned turnpoint. There was an extra towplane today, 6 total, so the launch was quick. The wind was stiff from the South at around 15-20 kts. As we were launching, there were people already dropping out and calling for relight, not a good sign. The gaggles were dense again. Dr. Jack lied, again. The day was weak, but it seemed to be improving. We could not get through inversion. The strategy again was to let other people go and mark thermals for us. However, thick cirrus layer was rapidly moving in from SW. We got going when we topped of at 9.5 Kft. It was an easy run to Lovington (17 miles) and back. On the way back we were trying to outrun the cirrus moving in, while thermals were weakening. From Hobbs we zoomed crosswind to Hamilton. It appeared we were going to land there. We did not see any prairie dogs, but we saw lots of prairie bunnies. Hans did the most excellent job picking out landing fields. We worked our way from one field to the next inching back home. Lots of copouts and landouts today. We completed 60 miles at 44 mph, we were almost 40 minutes under time. For dinner, we had Dennise's smoked brisket at the field, it was delicious.

Dave left today after we launched, hence no points from Dave.

A few points from Hans:

• As in life, we tend to spend too much time in weak thermals. Sometimes that's all there is.
• Don't give up getting home, as long as you are in the air there is still hope.
• In hindsight, maybe leaving early would have worked better for today because of the cirrus.

• Hans is a poet.

Thu, July 8, 2004 - day 5
Mike and Pedja

The day started with a delicious Prairie Dog Omelet, as usual. We efficiently got KK ready, including mandatory weighting. On the way back from the pilot's meeting, a tire on my car blew; I am glad that happened now so I have time to repair it. Today was Mike's day to fly. The launch time was pushed back a couple of times, as usual. The task for the day was MAT with Abandoned as the only assigned turnpoint and 2 hr minimum. Gaggles were dense again. Dr. Jack lied again. We topped off at 9 Kft and started towards Abandoned at 15:30 after two big packs got going. From Abandoned, we decided to go East to Seminole since we could see puffs starting to form some 30 miles out in the haze. We did not see any gliders in that direction though. We picked Hamilton on the way. We had to work some week stuff to get to Seminole, but once we got to there, things started working significantly better. We got to 11 Kft. There were still no other gliders to be seen. Going East was a good strategy that was now starting to pay off. From Seminole we followed puffs to Intersection 180/303, then to Seagraves, and back to Seminole. Someplace on the way the Prairie Dog had to be released back to nature. Back at Seminole, it was time to tank up and go home. This is when we finally saw a single glider thermalling just where we needed him. We got to 10 Kft, but it was topping off. We were still 500 ft below final glide when we left it. We hoped to bump it up or tank up on the way back home. But there were no bumps to bump... So we ended up in a field 5 miles out. The ground roll was 59 yards. Two ladies in their off-road high-heels came to check on us. Little later, Tom Jones with his family came to greet us. His field was most excellent, and he was very proud of that. Tom invited us and others to land there whenever, he would leave the gate unlocked, glider pilots just need to close it when they leave. Hans was a model crew. Hans brougt emotional support and beer and the trailer. We de-rigged, got back to the field, and rigged, Garret et. al. helped us in the rigging ordeal. Overall, we completed 122 miles at 59 mph. Too bad we did not get home...

A few points from Mike:

• Getting here a day early to acclimate and adjust was really beneficial, not only to get some rest, but also to help as a crewmember.
• You are very dependent on your flight computer and your interpretation of the information that it gives you.
• For my second landout as a passenger it was still intimidating, but it was well executed and it was a smooth landing.

• The information provided by the retrieve office was phenomenal.
• De-rigging was a piece of cake.

Fri, July 9, 2004 - day 6
Mike and Pedja

Weather changed, and tasks for all classes were changed on the grid. Task for sports ended up being TAT with Lovington 8 mile radius, then Seminole 8 mile radius with 1:30 minimum time. Dr. Jack lied again. It was another day of character-building weather, as Bob put it. Gaggles were dense again. We got going when we tanked up at 7.5 Kft. We made a mistake going too deep into Lovington. Lift was weak and broken low and it was not going high. It was hard work, yet we never got into trouble, but it was slow going. Gaggles were marking our thermals. We cruised blue lift streets. Only once we got to 9.5 Kft, the rest of the flight was consistently below 8 Kft, which did not give us much of a working band. We only nicked Seminole turn area since we were over time. On the final glide back, we found a 5 kt thermal, by far the best thermal of the day, just where we really needed it yesterday and in about the same place.

Overall, team SSB finished 6th in sports. Dave Leonard (ZL) won the 15m, Garret Willat (927) won the standard, and Bill Kaewert (BAD) won the sports. The award banquet was well attended.

A point from Mike:

• Being more aware of what was going on, today was even more fun than yesterday.

• The organizers deserve a huge amount of thank for exceptional, well-run event. With good organization came good safety.
• Today CR (DG-600-18M) landed out in 6 ft young corn, surprisingly he got away with no damage. But if it were not for his parachute left on the side of the field to mark the position, it would have taken many hours to find the glider, which now has green candy stripes.
• It also shows that dull weather can still make for a good contest.

Sat, July 10, 2004 - Moriarty, day after
Hans and Pedja

We arrived to Moriarty early afternoon so that we could take a local flight there. By the time we rigged and launched (3pm) it was starting to overdevelop. We were scratching around, Hans practicing working weak lift. Then a cell with tentacles started forming not too far from us and we did not feel comfortable landing near it. Safety first. There was already significant cross wind on the ground for KK in 20m configuration. We rode the steady 10kt lift in front of the cell to 14 Kft and run away from the storm. The plan was to either wait it out or do precautionary landout away from it. The cell grew big. It was smooth air in the outskirts where we got to since it rained there earlier from another cell. We chose a nice uphill field into the wind in someone's back yard and landed there. Sixtyeight yard ground roll this time. We exercised our skills being wiser after the event and decided we were thoroughly enjoying the day and, in particular, this adventure. A friendly power-flying type Tom gave me a ride back to the field to pick up the trailer. Tom told us that a few years ago his friend crash-landed in the same field when the engine quit in his Piper Super Cruiser, he hit the fence and had significant damage. We had a big retrieve crew, a convoy of 4 vehicles and 9 people, including most of the attendees of the US Team sponsored Junior Soaring and Development Camp. Derigging was a breeze inspite of the number of people helping.

A point from Hans:

• Little that we seen of it, Moriarty is a phenomenal soaring site.

Reflections and Conclusions

Dave

Having been back almost a week since the contest I have the following summary thoughts on the take-aways from the first CMP:

• Preparation required: pre-trip; day-to-day.

• Team work: harmony; efficiency; daily debrief and lessons learned; dedication.

• Rules: scoring; incorporation into strategy.

• Systems knowledge: ease of nav; flying; strategy; real-time reconfiguration.

• Blue holes: what is doable, finding that last little lift.

• Skill base: ease of flying, comfort in experience, expectations.

• Physical, emotional energy: rest; it's hot; endurance.

• Risk taking: final glide; strategy; turn point strategy; weather.

• Competitors: comradery; dedication; skill.


Having done this, there is no way that the experience can be communicated without actually being in the competition. No viewgraphs or lists can communicate the amount of preparation, work, skill or time required to successfully, enjoyably participate.

Lastly, having an excellent, skilled, experienced, sharing mentor is priceless. The experience gained and the setting of expectations for future contest participation is what this activity is about.

And, IT WAS FUN...

• Many, many thanks to Pedja for the huge effort put into the success of our Contest Mentor Program.

• The program helped clarify my near-term and longer-term soaring goals and direction, and provided pointers of aspects for more practice. This is a wholehearted endorsement of the SSB Contest Mentor Program.

• Given the average age of the people involved in the contest, I am still a spring chicken in the relative age.

• The new rules and the good organization of the NSF greatly enhance the safety.

• Big part of the key to success is good preparation, having all the homework done, being familiarized with turnpoints in advance, having equipment prepared and in top-notch shape. Our team demonstrated this! This was a big part of our mentoring.

• I learned of what my deficiencies were that I could work on before the next competition.

• We were learning the culture of the competition every day. It would take a long time to learn what we learned here if one had to do it by oneself.

• This experience reinforces my impetuous and intuitious decision to join SSB as the best soaring opportunity.

• Thanks for a most valuable week. It was tremendous fun!

• This was my first glider contest and it was nothing less than an eye opener. The contest was a rich experience that has made me look at this sport from a different angle. The fact of having predetermined turn points made flying very different from what I was used to in Boulder. Competing with a bunch of experienced pilots is a great enticer to exercise your skills and judgment with more passion.

• Comparing the results with others seems great way to identify what our weaknesses and strengths are. Exchanging stories of achievements and mistakes after a task was a pleasant way of socializing and learning with other contestants. The atmosphere was friendly and the crowd was diverse with pilots of all ages. The officials where well organized and colorful, which made the meetings quite interesting and fun.

• The mentor program has introduced me to a larger picture of the skies. It also gave me some new goals like doing some planned turn points on my future outings in Boulder. Special thanks to Pedja for passing on his experience and to all the devoted members who made this Contest Mentor Program possible.

• Bravo SSB!

• This was one enthusiastic team, everyone was keen to learn, keen to help and contribute with great dedication and camaraderie. Thanks Dave, Hans, and Mike for the great job!

• From day to day our performance improved and the scoresheet showed that. Team efficiency both on the ground and in the air was fine tuned, and we made fewer and smaller strategic and tactical mistakes in the race (sans the day when we landed out).

• The program was a huge success. Not only all team members were exposed all aspects of contest flying and learned a tremendous amount in a safe environment, but also the fun meter went off the scale!

• Big thanks to SSB for forward thinking and making the Contest Mentor Program possible!

Related Links

• 711 daily reports.

• Contest results on the SSA website.

• Soaring Society of Boulder Home Page

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