We honor the Green pre-Saint Paddy's Day
Larry Bunner|PG|sailplane|weather|Wilotree Park
Greg Dinauer|Larry Bunner|PG|sailplane|weather|Wilotree Park
Greg Dinauer|Larry Bunner|PG|sailplane|weather|Wilotree Park
Flytec 6030|Greg Dinauer|Larry Bunner|PG|sailplane|weather|Wilotree Park
http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/2217308
https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:davisstraub/15.3.2019/17:16
https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/ranking-hg-national:US
Mick Howard, Greg Dinauer, and I decided to fly around the Green Swamp, 103 km, given the forecast for lighter winds out of the southwest. Larry Bunner had to be back early for a dinner engagement so he would only fly with us to the first two turnpoints.
This was the morning forecast:
https://ozreport.com/seweather.php
Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming south southeast around 5
mph in the morning.
Surface winds 7 - 6 mph, south southeast going slowly to southwest
HRRR 3, 1 PM:
Updraft velocity: 660 fpm
TOL: 5,600’
Wind TOUL: 3 mph, southwest
B/S: 10
The forecasts for the winds at TOL have been reduced substantially compared with last night. While the winds are still west or southwest they are in the 4 to 7 mph range to our west. So, a closed task around the Green Swamp could be possible. There will be cu’s.
Larry launched first given his pressing dinner engagement, got towed to 3,000' and headed out on his own. Mick, I, and Greg were next a little after 1 PM and we all got together and headed south. There were sailplanes every where as they are having their competition just to our south so we got to use them as thermal markers.
I was leading out and had to dig out from 1,500' on the third thermal as Greg and Mick joined me. Then we saw the sailplanes as we got up and two thermals later we took 500 fpm to 4,900' in a gaggle with five sailplanes. This was high enough to send us over to the southern section of the Green Swamp where there were plenty of cu's and a few sailplanes to keep us high.
The lift was broken with no solid identifiable cores that lasted for the entire climbs. The lift would average over 200 fpm, but vary between 400 and 100 fpm as you circled around. The wind was 2 - 4 mph out of the southwest. Mick and I had dropped Greg after getting the 3 km turnpoint just south of a sailplane port. We joined up with Larry who was heading back from the second turnpoint.
After climbing at 450 fpm to 4,900' 7 km from the second turnpoint at the intersection of highway 98 and 471 I went on glide to the next cu's just on the east side of the turnpoint. 1 km before I got to the turnpoint I found 150 fpm, weak lift and broken and climbed back from 2,600' to 2,900'.
I made the mistake of leaving this lift (wasn't it just 450 fpm) and heading for good looking cu's next to the turnpoint. I was so close. But they weren't working for me.
Down to 1,100' AGL I was checking out landing options west of the turnpoint while hanging out over a swamp in zero sink. I heard from Mick that he was climbing at 100 fpm, but I could not get him to describe what the land looked like below him. Finally I spotted him above to my north over the obvious white (sandy) field and came in under him at 900' AGL. The lift was indeed there and all three of us joined up with me on the bottom and climbed out, them much higher as I left at 3,900' and they were well over 4,000'.
Heading northwest across the swamp I stopped for 100 fpm when they were well ahead of me. Mick came back after not finding any thing. Greg struggled out to our west.
The lift was ridiculously broken and weak but we had to get up in something. It was already almost 4 PM and we were concerned about the day shutting down early as shown in the forecast.
I headed north and found 300 fpm to 4,500' and lost Mick in the process. Greg was northwest of us and climbing east of Dade City. I headed for him and found lift at 1,500' AGL as he circled at 4,200'. 113 fpm, broken and just a pain to fly in, but again I had to stay up and started pretty low. The wind was 8 mph out of the south southwest and I drifted three kilometers getting back to 3,300'.
Greg was near the turnpoint at Ridge Manor when his Flytec 6030 stopped working. He now had to rely on his backup, XCSoar on his phone. 8 km south of this turnpoint I found 300 fpm and climbed to 5,200'. Mick came in underneath me as I was climbing up and reporting my location and climb rate.
This was a big flat bottom cu, the first that we had seen all day. The lift was actually pleasant to climb in. There were more of these ahead as the day got later and things mellowed out a bit.
I headed for the similar looking cu north of the turnpoint but only found 100 fpm lift. But, I was patient because I had to be. There was a big chunk of swamp land to the east that I had to cross. There were other cu's a little off to the east that promised a bit of lift. The wind was now 5 mph out of the west southwest. Mick had again come in under me at the cu north of the turnpoint.
We headed east and I found a little over 200 fpm just southwest of the lumber yard, our last 3km turnpoint. That got me from 3,000' to 4,800' and the 6030 was saying I just would make it into goal. The tail wind helped a lot. Mick was just 500' or so below.
With goal at Wilotree Park just a 11:1 glide away I went on glide with the altitude at goal predicted to be over 1,000'. I headed for the cu's on the course line but I wasn't finding anything. The 6030 was still showing me making goal but there was a 2.5 km wide swamp just before the goal field that I didn't really want to go over low.
Down to 1,100' under a good looking cu and over a nice big landing field I found nothing. I decided that I could go a little further east and land at Osborn airfield just on the west side of the swamp if I needed to.
Down to 900' AGL and before I got to Osborn I found 140 fpm lift. I was able to climb to 1,700' AGL drifting toward Wilotree and came in with plenty of extra altitude as I got a 14:1 glide over the little swamp.
Mick came in just behind me. Greg had already made it in using his phone as his vario. It is always nice to have a backup.
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5 topics in this article: Larry Bunner, PG, sailplane, weather, Wilotree Park
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