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Woke up, got out of bed, wash my hair and dried my head...
ALERGIES...were killer today in Delaware....25mph averages, my eyes felt
like they had been torched with a propane torch! Wind blowing, eyes
burning and watering....my flights reflected it too....ugly.
There was lift and Mike Lachowski was in it most of the day. He was
totally intuitive today and I watched every flight he made. Every once in
a while you see a flight that is pure music,,,that was Mike today.
Landings were totally unpredictable today, even Mike ended up short on
two.
My eyes helped me put my WHCSupra's nose just over the landing line
twice.
Once I got some pills and eye drops going, things changed!
Joe Melchoir, Delaware's top TD pilot, made the giant save of the day
flying his old Mantis (Vtail no less :-). There are a LOT of Mantis out
this way still flying well too.
He was stuffed, I was timing. I advised him to forget, come in and
make the landing at least.
It was smeg the whole way back to the zone, but as he approached from the
down wind side,
about 30' high, I saw the plane react to sweet smooth lift and told him to
take a wrap...he did and instead of a 3min flight he took it out for a
max!
One plane got into the trees, the flier likely had watering eyes too, but
he managed to get it down easily with no damage.
VERY few line breaks but to their credit, John K, CD allowed one pop off
per day...which allowed everyone a fair chance.
The wind was blowing, but I didn't hear one complaint about it. The
attitude out here is SOOO positive, and so thankful that they have such and
incredible facility (thanks Dick Dupont!), that their it makes it pretty easy to
keep a great perspective.
It was an 30min window to launch and the entire downwind side is a road and
subdivison, that is off limits,....which should have made us crazy, but we just
worked out patterns out in front.
I my last flight of the day was a 2:38 in a 7 min round :-( And I had
ballast in, hit the 93 and chalked the day up to some dumb thumbs and bad
decisions, thinking back on my flights and mistakes.
In the end it was Mike L, first place by a bunch, John Jenks in second,
flying a supra-esque home built, he was in the zone with it too, I managed
third, my host Bill, took fourth flying a Pretty Mantis.
Joe Melchoir brought up the rear with 5th place, and he hadn't flown for
nearly a year (he's been building a home and got married too!)
Yes I ballasted up the WHCSupra, it needed it.
This makes it the third time I have flown the plane, and have to tell you,
it really is that good of a plane. I don' t know the plane yet, so find my
self battling it when I should be listening to it. And yes it is the
prettiest plane on the field today :-)
Tomorrow's another day....so for now, sipping Champaign and eating
nachos...
Gordy |
