After a week of unseasonably wet and windy weather, Ma Nature came through with a beautiful weekend for RC soaring in Seattle.  It just doesn't get much better than that, even for the SASS HLG contests!  Thermal conditions were strong enough for the more experienced pilots to achieve all of their times, but they often had to work hard to get there. For the less experienced the lift was ideal, often challenging -- good conditions for learning and improving thermalling skills -- but not so difficult as to be frustrating.

A number of our friends from out of town -- Canada, Portland, Bellingham,  and East-of-the-mountains were able to attend.  We thank them for making our contest a lot more fun and competitive.

Highlights:
The glider-eating tree just south of the landing zone gulping down a number of ships which were trying to sneak back to the field at low altitude; Doug Buchanan scratching with his Stratos at 10 feet above the ground, and finally specking it out for a max; Guy Russo's and David Portwood's expensive European ships getting tangled while working the same thermal, and spinning down several hundred feet before separating and flying away unharmed; Tom Culmsee's "bright yellow banana" Dodgson Saber still brightening the sky after aaaallll these years; Tor breaking plane after plane but never giving up; David Anstead whomping dad, again; colorful  poly floaters lazily circling as they shrank to specks in the blue, blue sky; Pete Hinze and Hans Labrie sitting in the hot sun running the retrievers for hours on end with no complaints; 8 year old Mike Knight flying very well and winning his first trophy with his foamie TG-3; Janie Young slaving over the computer all weekend long entering our scores; Guy Russo "losing" his wallet, which suddenly appeared in the center console of his car after hours of arduous and emotional searching.

Thanks to all those who helped make the contest a success, especially Pete Hinze and the Youngs, Russ and Janie!

Final Standings | Detailed Pilot Scores

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