August 24, 2024
We had something a bit closer to standard Uvalde soaring weather today: cumulus clouds that appeared in mid-morning, developed nicely by launch time, and covered almost the entire task area by mid-afternoon. Temperatures were again moderate (by Uvalde standards) – just over 100F.
A concept in competition task-setting is the "banquet task" – an easy one designed to get everyone home in time for a scheduled dinner event. In view of good weather and 6 straight days of long hours in hot cockpits, today's tasks were about 60% banquet, featuring straightforward flying over relatively short distances. Indeed, every pilot got home; the latest finisher arrived just after 7pm – almost an hour and a half earlier than yesterday. In all three classes, winners finished in under three hours, which causes the top score to be less than 1000 points.
Sean Fidler had another good result in 18-Meter class, covering 458 km at 149 kph, good for fifth place. Sarah and Karl really did it right, heading out alone then slowly closing the gap over earlier starters. Their final leg was from the south-southeast along what is known as the Holighaus Strasse*: if conditions are right and you're flying well, you should be able to do this at good speed without circling, gaining necessary altitude simply by pulling up in lift marked by fat cumulus clouds. In their case, one circle was necessary, the leg went as planned, and they managed to finish just a couple of minutes behind the earlier starters. The result was 151 kph over 408 km, good for first place.
The event this evening was International Night – not quite a banquet, though it did involve plenty of food and drink. Teams are encouraged to set up a table offering food and drink typical of their country. The US Team offering included margaritas (both dry and sweet), tacos, and fancy breadsticks dipped in honey produced by Sarah Arnold's bees (which favor nectar from sourwood trees, as all the best bees in Appalachia should). There was much to choose from, and the usual cautions for care when small quantities of drink from strange bottles are offered applied. I felt the food laid out by the Australian team was notable, though perhaps not typically Australian (e.g. several tasty varieties of what closely resembled Buffalo wings). Curiously, I didn't see the standard offering of Vegemite (very typically Australian, and seemingly not much favored elsewhere – except by me).
Named for Klaus Holighaus, Schempp-Hirth's great sailplane designer (and company owner from 1972 to 1994). He flew – and won – contests at Uvalde. He so enjoyed – and excelled at – the long run from the south toward home that it very properly acquired his name. The saying is that if you can turn your southern taskpoint high enough that your wing does not scrape the ground, you're high enough to get home without thermaling.
John Good