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The final day of the Flytec comps has arrived... Man this week has flown by, especially for me...
At the pilot meeting this morning it was announced that there would not be a task today... A forecast for little or no lift, high winds aloft from the South, and a strong chance of over-development in the form of thunderstorms this afternoon helped them make the decision... All in all I think most are more than happy with the 5 out of 7 days of flying...
Last night was the party... As you can see the PBR car was here again this year to bring some cold beer to the festivities... "Red Elvis" was not available this year so they found a new group to perform called "Off Kilter"... A Celtic version of "Red Elvis", David Glover said, so I guess they might be known as the "Green Elvis"... The lead singer played the bagpipe and penny whistle and the entire group was attired in Kilts... Good group, lots of fun and dancing...
This evening we will be having the awards banquet followed by the awards ceremony... Always a fun and hilarious time thanks to David... I will be hitting the road in the morning and making my way back to Lookout Mountain... Its been a fun week... Take care and have fun...
Keep-em-Flying,
Bruce...
21 April 2006
Today started clear and calm but Davis and the gang were not confident with what the weather guessers were saying about the day... An out and back task to the NNW was called for both the Rigids and the Flexies...
We set up launch to the South and shortly after the 12 PM start time, the first rigids were in the air... Just a few small clouds and some wispys at the start but by the time all the flexies were launched, the clouds had started to develop... When the start windows opened, the gaggles were off and running... By mid afternoon things were starting to over-develop to the North and we got some sporadic rain at Quest... One Flexie made it to goal, everyone else got stuck on the North side of the weather and landed out...
This morning at the Pilot Meeting, Drew & Mike received a most deserved standing ovation for their tireless efforts in making the meet a success... They coordinate and direct all the volunteers throughout the meet and manage to make it look easy, It is not !!!
The beautiful Pitts in the photo was on its way to Tampa when the Pilot decided to stop at Quest and wait out the weather... All the Tug drivers stood around it drooling on their sandals... For some reason, he didn't offer to let any of us fly it... Probably wouldn't make much of a tug anyway !!! Take care and have fun...
Keep-em-Flying,
Bruce...
20 April 2006
Day 5 and task 4 have been completed, again with another beautiful Florida day... All but one rigid made it to goal and a good percentage of the Flexie's completed the task... We used the diagonal runway for launch and the gaggle formed up basically over Quest waiting for their start windows...
At the pilot meeting this morning all the tug drivers were asked to come up front and received not only a standing ovation, but a beautiful Comp pullover... It was a very nice gesture... Everyone deserves the credit however, because without the organizers and the super ground crews none of it would be possible... It is indeed fun to be part of such a well oiled machine which of course includes all the competitors...
Lets see, the picture of the day... Could it possibly be the Tug of the future ??? It's called an Air Cam and dropped in for a short visit the other day... You never know what you will see show up at Quest...
As I type this, day 6 is about to begin... Looks like it will be another great day... Gotta run, Take care and have fun...
Keep-em-Flying,
Bruce...
I think this day must have been sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, especially for the Hang Gliding Community... The forecast called for light winds both aloft and on the ground with good lift and a reasonable ceiling... We were not disappointed...
We used the N/S runway for our launch area which made for a very smooth and efficient operation... No weak link breaks, and no relights, had both groups sitting in lift and ready to head out on course in just over an hour...
As can be seen from this picture that was taken at 5 PM, nearly everyone has made it back to goal... Forecast for the next few days looks good... I hope the prognosticators are correct... Take care and have fun...
Keep-em-Flying,
Bruce...
Hi Gang...
Day three started out sunny but quickly started to cloud over with the winds out of the WNW and forecast to diminish and go Northerly...
By the start of the rigid launch window, 12:30 PM, it was overcast with a cloud base between 2500' and 3000'... A 30 minute hold was called and just as it was about to expire, blue holes started to open up overhead... The rigid's quickly moved to the start line and the Flytec launch show began... With 10 tugs a tugging, the rigid's were quickly escorted to the waiting lift...
The flexi's started off and while many seemed to find lift and quickly got to cloud base, many found the abundant sink and headed back to the field for a relight... Eventually everyone was in the air and heading out on a Southerly task... Not sure yet how many made goal, but there were many that had trouble making it out of the start circle and landed out...
The rest of the afternoon was pleasant and many of the volunteers headed out to do some soaring of their own... I caught up on some reading, a nap, and a much needed shower...
Take care and have fun...
Keep-em-flying...
Bruce...
The morning began calm and foggy...Shortly after the Sun came up, the fog lifted to reveal rather low clouds and the start of a brisk breeze... By Pilot Meeting time the wind had freshened and the forecast was for light lift, low cloud base, and a strong inversion... Launch window was set for 1:00 PM... We launched a probe (Joe) who was subjected to a rather lumpy circuit... Launch windows were pushed out a half hour and the winds continued to build... Bobby went up to test the air and deemed it somewhat marginal... If Bobby finds it marginal, what is a mere mortal tug driver gonna do... The race committee got their heads together and decided that they would call the task... Their decision proved correct as the wind continued to increase as the day went on... The forecast for tomorrow looks more promising... I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on some reading and enjoying the nice, albeit breezy weather... Temps up around 90 but felt quite comfy with the wind... Mrs. Higbee and I had some quality time as well, which we both enjoyed... It's Wine Thirty so you all take care and have fun... Keep-em-Flying... Bruce...
Hi Gang...
Well the first day of the Flytec Championship is in the hopper... Only one rigid made it back to Quest, which was the final goal... Lots of headwinds to fight as the wind increased from the NW all day...
I was assigned my tug this morning, a Dragon Fly with an 85 HP Rotax... Being used to the 115 HP Turbo engine I expected to feel a bit under-powered... Pleasant suprise to find this ship up to the task of hauling the rigid and flex wings to the lift, albeit, a bit more slowly... This indeed is a ship designed to do one thing well, and that is to tow hang gliders...
Zach and I took a road trip in the afternoon to the Super Market and I replaced all the items that I failed to bring with me... Nothing earth shaking, save for a new tooth brush and a few things for the larder...
Time to set the alarm and get some shut-eye... Take care and have fun...
Keep-em-Flying...
Bruce...
It's showtime !!! One day before the start of the Flytec Championship meet at Quest Air, Groveland Florida... The day started slowly with competitors and volunteers rolling in at a steady pace... By mid day, the glider parking lot was starting to fill and a line started to form to get in some pre-comp practice...
Yours truly got signed up and headed out to the flight line to help with the launches... Pleased with how many names I was able to pull out of the fog... Really great to see all the Quest regulars and to swap tales of the last year... This will be a slightly smaller comp than last year but still should be near 100 people to launch each day... The weather prognosticators are calling for a better week than what they had for the Nationals, last week at Florida Ridge... Time will tell...
Mrs. Higbee is settling in and seems to be having a good time being with Dad... She is sitting next to me on her stand helping me do the blog... There is a party tonight at Wallaby Ranch but I think I will just stay in camp and enjoy the local group... Hotter than I have been used to and a Hat, Sunblock, and a Hydration pack are a must... Tomorrow, the cartoons will begin...
Take care and have fun...
Keep-em-Flying...
Bruce & Mrs. Higbee...
The final day of the Flytec comps has arrived... Man this week has flown by, especially for me...
