Today was just like many other soaring days. The pilots needed to gear shift to stay high and maximize their speed across the course. At launch, it was a slow climb for some folks to achieve 6,000ft. Others got off tow and had an easy climb to cloud base. The tow pilots and launch crew did an outstanding job getting everyone airborne in a safe and efficient manner.
Once airborne, the decision of when to start is always important. Today it seemed a starting point around 2:30pm was a good choice. The 3 classes all had different tasks which put them in different airmasses at times. Early on there were several storms to the east southeast that looked as if they would adversely affect all the classes. However, as the afternoon progressed, the high to the northwest prevented the bad weather from impinging upon the task area. Around 2:30pm climbs seemed to get better averaging 4-5kts up to around 6,400ft, but getting higher as the day progressed. As everyone approached the eastern edge of the task area, the weather seemed to get a little weaker. Final glides were a tale of two groups. The Open and 20 Meter classes had an easy run while the 18 Meter pilots had a little slower, weaker final glide. At the end of the day, there were smiles around the airport. The scores for the 18 Meter pilots were very close. We had a third-place tie between Sean Fidler and Sjaak Selen. They completed the task at a speed of 138.65/138.65 respectively and scored 994 points. The British team of Peter Harvey and Ian MacArthur finished the task at 139.23/139.18kph respectively.
In the 20 Meter Multi Seat class, third place was the Finnish team of Pasi Pulkkinen and Teronen with a task speed of 128.83kph. Second place was the Polish team of Rubaj and Matkowski at a speed of 131.69kph. Winning the last official training day was the Austrian team of Lutz and Janowitsch with a task speed of 133.81kph.
In the Open class, only 5 out of seventeen teams flew today. However, they did fly some very nice tasks. In third place from the French team was Francois Jenkinson at a speed of 138.28kph with Tim Jenkinson of the British team finishing in second at a speed of 139.12kph. Winning the day was the other half of the British team of Russell Cheetham, completing the task at a speed of 142.77kph.
If you did not notice, the British took the top 2 spots in 2 classes. Very well-done chaps. Today was not a typical Uvalde day but our speeds were still pretty good. Now that the training is over, it is time for the big show. However, tomorrow is the opening ceremony and the Uvalde community, and the teams are all looking forward to the parade and kick off party. Victoria Duhring has done a fantastic job of setting up this event by including residents adopting all the teams.
Well, that is all for tonight. We will see you tomorrow morning at the beginning of the parade route. Paul Remde will be out doing interviews and taking pictures. We hope to put a good amount of content on the social media platforms at the end of the day.
Cheers,
Rich
