Arriving at the field shortly after 8 AM we found that it was still above water -- a good sign -- and none was falling from the sky. As preparations for the contest got underway, a steady stream of vehicles containing pilots and gliders began rolling into the parking area. It was very gratifying to see so many, sixteen in all, flyers willing to come out for a club contest in such unpromising weather. It has been years since this many pilots graced one of our TD contests! Of those in attendance, a pretty large percentage consisted of fellows who had not previously flown in thermal duration contests. This is exactly what we were hoping, since this was to be the first test of our new format for club TD contests, which places the emphasis on learning and improving our skills, rather than on competition.

Everyone dove in and quickly set up a couple of sets of winches and retrievers, as well as the landing lines. Once everything was ready for use the more experienced flyers began helping the new contestants with winch launching, as well as flying and landing techniques. The new contestants were very receptive to the help offered, and were obviously eager to learn. Russ Young, Bill Henley, Lauren Anstead, Bob Brewer, Dick McDonald, Sherman Knight, Dave Beardsley assisted (sorry if I forgot anyone).

Once the new flyers were comfortable with winch launching the "instructors" acted as timers and advisers while they flew a couple of practice rounds to get used to the process of flying a contest task from end to end.

After that we moved into flying regular contest rounds with 30 minute launch windows. The novice flyers were encouraged to use the experienced flyers as timers in order to benefit from their experience during actual contest flights.

Up to this point Mother Nature had been acting fairly benign. But, once the contest got underway the weather began to deteriorate. The club's big blue EZ Up canopy served us well on several occasions as dark squall lines moved through and tried to drench us. With Jay Allison timing I flew a 7-minute task through one of those things. Keeping the plane in sight over the ridge was a real challenge! We were pretty wet by the end of the flight -- thanks for hanging in, Jay. After each period of high wind and rain MN gave us a break with another period of gentler wind, generally good lift, and lighter skies when we could get some soaring done. The guys took advantage of these breaks that enabled us to get in three rounds of flying.

At about 2 o'clock it was getting late, and it appeared that we were fighting a losing battle against the worsening storm. As a result, the CD called the contest to an end. While the CD totaled the final scores everybody pitched in to put away the equipment. By 2:30 we had handed out awards and were on our way home for a well-deserved hot chocolate, hot toddy, hot bath, or whatever.

In spite of the far less than optimal weather conditions, the contest was a success. The new format seems to work. We were able to introduce several new faces to TD contests, while helping them improve their flying skills. By the way, those guys handled the wind really well. They are to be congratulated for flying very well during the day! Most of us experienced some good flying in between, and even during the rain squalls. All in all it was a fine day. More than that, it was a good start for our thermal duration contest season. If the enthusiasm seen at this event carries over to the rest of the contests, we will have a fun season!

My thanks to all who pitched in to help with the contest. And, thanks many times over to Pete Hinze. Not only does Pete do most of the work on our club facilities, he also keeps all of the launch equipment running and ready for use. Then he comes out to the contests and works harder than anybody else, even though he himself does not fly in the contests. Pete, you are too good to be true!

The final standings are listed below. But, before you look at them, please don't forget that SASS has the following contests coming up in May:

Saturday, May 12: Hand Launched Glider (HLG)

Saturday, May 19: Polyhedral Rudder/Elevator, and Novice Thermal Duration

Saturday, May 26: Thermal Duration

Final Standings After 3 Rounds:

1

2

3

4

5

6

1

2

3

4

1

2

3

1

2

3