Oz Report
topic: Rudy Gotes (49 articles)
Rudy Flying the New Wills Wing Falcon
In Valle de Bravo
Rudy Gotes|video|Wills Wing Falcon|Wills Wing Mexico|Wolfgang "Wolfi" Siess
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5 topics in this article: Rudy Gotes, video, Wills Wing Falcon, Wills Wing Mexico, Wolfgang "Wolfi" Siess
Wills Wing Start Up
First new glider from Valle
Rudy Gotes|Wills Wing Inc.
"Wills Wing" «info» writes:
What a big and historic week it's been! You may have seen our update on Instagram/Facebook, that we completed our first sail this week from the new Wills Wing factory and Rudy test flew it yesterday with great success! This beautiful Falcon 4-170 came out perfectly – flawless performance, straight flying, and no flutter in the sail, whatsoever. We are so proud of this important milestone and wanted to share the good news. This glider is the first of many, many more to come.
When we last emailed in October, we had just completed the move of all machines, equipment and inventory and were working hard to get everything set up. Since then, a lot has happened. Steve traveled down to Valle to begin formal staff training, equipment testing, and demo assemblies.
Electricity for the building came about two months later than promised by the electric company, but the team made do with a generator and we're happy to report that the factory is now up and running with full interconnection and power.
We also just received word from our tubing supplier that they are ready to ship now – a full month ahead of schedule! We've ordered enough tubing to make gliders through all of 2022. We've also begun cutting downtubes and preparing our inventory of spare parts for distribution to our dealers.
Regarding orders – as promised – we are ready to share a simple process to submit your order requests! A few things to note about this:
Booking Requests need to be submitted through our Wills Wing dealers, so if you are a customer, please contact a dealer and ask them to submit your order through this form.
When we are ready to process the request and turn it into a formal booking, we will reach out to collect additional details for the order.
This request form is intentionally simple – it's meant to move requests out of email, catalogue your orders and help speed up our inventory planning / ramp up.
For spare parts orders, please also use the form to write in your needs – we will follow up to confirm everything. We are working on the willswing.com store and will resume SKUs and orders through the dealer portal once it's up and running again!
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2 topics in this article: Rudy Gotes, Wills Wing Inc.
Wills Wing Progresses
In Valle de Bravo
Rudy Gotes
Rudy Gotes at "Wills Wing" «info» writes:
First of all, I want to thank you for your patience and continued support! It’s been a busy and exciting time at Wills Wing, and I wanted to send an update on our plans and timing for resuming operations.
I'm excited to share that all of our machines, equipment, and inventory have been moved to their new home in Valle de Bravo! We've been working non-stop to get everything arranged and set up. Staff training is underway and we are happy to have a very talented team in the sail loft and machine shop.
I'm sure you're anxious to know when we will resume taking orders. In the next month, we’ll share a simple process to submit your customer requests for gliders, harnesses, helmets, and reserve parachutes. While this is not a formal order, it will help with our inventory planning as we ramp up production. Once our new factory is fully up and running, we’ll follow up with you to collect more comprehensive details for the order. We expect to resume production this fall with glider delivery by the spring of 2022.
I will send an update each month through the end of the year to keep you in the loop on our progress, and you can always email me directly («Rudy») if you have questions. I've also included our FAQ here, that I hope will answer some additional questions you may have.
You are a crucial part of Wills Wing’s history -and our future- and we are so grateful for your support through this transition!
1 topic in this article: Rudy Gotes
Dinosaur 2015 - Predictions From the Organizers »
Dinosaur 2015 - Predictions From the Organizers
A pilot had qualms
Dinosaur 2015|Terry Reynolds|weather
https://www.rockymountainglider.com/locale.html
WEATHER
(1) While no one would be so foolish as to guarantee the weather for any hang gliding contest, the period scheduled for this meet should yield seven straight days of outstanding flying conditions. The desert area around Dinosaur is not affected by the high mountain weather which makes many mountain sites inconsistent. (2) While a high mountain site could have a solid week of virtually unflyable conditions, it is unlikely that there will be even a single day at Dinosaur on which a safe, valid task cannot be called. (3) During the post-monsoon period of this meet, pilots can expect a weather pattern dominated by high pressure, with light westerly winds aloft and blue thermals/small cumulus. Climbs above 17,000'msl are normal.
The numbers in parentheses and emphasis added.
The pilot writes:
Terry Reynolds and Crew, Jim and Amy Zeiset, and all those vested deeply in Dinosaur 2015 should be applauded and recognized for their enthusiastic and significant effort in putting on such a comp from scratch. Events such as this are a labor of love and demonstrate both a philanthropic and historical support for the sport of hang gliding. They are by nature cash negative.
However, when will event organizers properly recognize the importance of meteorological assessments and strategies? Pursuits which rely upon harvesting energy from atmospheric discontinuities which is both reliable and safe must fully understand the scope and impact of these parameters.
Reading the paragraph about the weather from the Dinosaur 2015 website in advance (see above), and being somewhat familiar with the area, meteorological patterns, and time of year for this event, I bit my lip, sublimated the skepticism, and hoped for the best.
The good (1) and the bad (2), bad (3). Unfortunately my concerns about the conditions proved to be only too well founded. Congratulations to Zippie on another top performance and extending something of a real roll! Congratulations to the organizers for putting on a very special event at a special site. It's unfortunate that the weather didn't run against historic patterns, but it didn't, and that's like crying over spilt milk.
The message: Make sure events, sites, and meet practice synch with meteorological realities. Time is precious, as are the best and well-meaning efforts and lives themselves.
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3 topics in this article: Dinosaur 2015, Terry Reynolds, weather
Dinosaur day 7 cancelled »
Dinosaur day 7 cancelled
Gail force winds force the end of the meet after three days of flying.
Bill Soderquist|Bruce Barmakian|Christian Ciech|competition|Dinosaur 2015|Jim Yocom|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|Jon Durand snr|Lawrence "Pete" Lehmann|Pete Lehmann|Wills Wing T2C|Zac Majors
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/results
Final:
# | Name | Glider | T 1 | T 2 | T 3 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Zac Majors | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 962 | 928 | 1000 | 1962 |
2 | Glen McFarlane | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 947 | 1000 | 945 | 1947 |
3 | Christian Ciech | Icaro Laminar | 987 | 916 | 730 | 1903 |
4 | Pedro Garcia | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 935 | 897 | 416 | 1832 |
5 | Jon Sr Durand | Moyes RX4 | 833 | 878 | 374 | 1711 |
6 | Rudy Gotes | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 576 | 969 | 442 | 1545 |
7 | Jonny Durand | Moyes RX3.5 | 880 | 472 | 448 | 1352 |
8 | Bruce Barmakian | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 556 | 102 | 709 | 1265 |
9 | Bill Soderquist | Moyes RS3.5 | 812 | 443 | 380 | 1255 |
10 | Pete Lehmann | Wills Wing T2 154 | 266 | 536 | 673 | 1209 |
Sport class final:
# | Name | Glider | T 1 | T 2 | T 3 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kelly Myrkle | Aeros Discus | 844 | 133 | 451 | 1295 |
2 | Beau Buck | North Wing Liberty 148 | 794 | 107 | 464 | 1258 |
3 | Nathan Grimes | Wills Wing U2 145 | 652 | 272 | 514 | 1166 |
4 | Brian Morris | Freedom 170 | 862 | 220 | 194 | 1082 |
5 | Josiah Stephens | Predator 142 | 450 | 114 | 468 | 918 |
6 | Rob DeGroot | Moyes Gecko | 321 | 477 | 265 | 798 |
7 | John Christian | Wills Wing U2 145 | 613 | 107 | 0 | 720 |
8 | Carlos Alvarado | Wills Wing U2 145 | 363 | 272 | 203 | 635 |
9 | Jon Lindburg | Wills Wing Sport 2 135b | 319 | 114 | 126 | 445 |
10 | Rick Maddy | Wills Wing U2 160 | 195 | 0 | 164 | 359 |
Kelley
Jim Yocom was the first of two ATOS pilots.
12 topics in this article: Bill Soderquist, Bruce Barmakian, Christian Ciech, competition, Dinosaur 2015, Jim Yocom, Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr, Jon Durand snr, Lawrence "Pete" Lehmann, Pete Lehmann, Wills Wing T2C, Zac Majors
Dinosaur day 6 cancelled »
Dinosaur day 6 cancelled
Forecast for unpleasant conditions
weather
NWS forecast for this afternoon, here:
Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. South southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
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1 topic in this article: weather
Dinosaur - today's forecast »
30 mph gusts again forecast
Dinosaur 2015
Forecast here:
Isolated showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. Breezy, with a southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
NWS hazardous weather forecast for today here:
SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON…WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FORMING OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE AREA. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF GENERATING HEAVY RAIN…SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 mph.
Forecast for Saturday:
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 5 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.
Forecast by Rich Jesuroga. Tomorrow looks worse.
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1 topic in this article: Dinosaur 2015
Dinosaur day 5 cancelled »
Dinosaur day 5 cancelled
Windy with gusts to 30 mph
weather
NWS forecast for this afternoon, here:
This Afternoon: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. South southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Glen sends:
And reports 30 mph gusts just as forecast. I wonder if there is anything to do in Dinosaur, Colorado.
From the cancelled day:
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1 topic in this article: weather
Dinosaur - Hazardous weather forecasted »
Thunderstorms for the Yampa
Dinosaur 2015
NWS hazardous weather forecast for today here:
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS MORNING AND SPREAD SLOWLY NORTH DURING THE DAY BEFORE DIMINISHING THIS EVENING. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF GENERATING HEAVY RAIN…SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 mph.
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1 topic in this article: Dinosaur 2015
Dinosaur - Thank goodness for the Sport Class »
So few open class pilots
Dinosaur 2015
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/pilots
There are only eighteen open class pilots flying in the Dinosaur competition. But, fortunately there are eleven sport class pilots and two rigid wing pilots. This with a competition that promised in advance $15,000 in prize money and had lower costs because there was no need for towing.
Without the sport class this would be a very poorly attended competition. It is also a warning flag to future meet organizers that they should be careful about how many pilots might want to come to their competition and how carefully they should encourage sport class pilots.
It wasn't that long ago that there weren't any sport class competitions in the US. We have worked hard to turn that around despite lots of discouragement from old fart pilots who felt that this was a travesty. It has turned out to be very favorable to competitions and has been a whole lot of fun.
It's great to see such enthusiasm from these newer pilots and the fast learning that is taking place.
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1 topic in this article: Dinosaur 2015
Dinosaur - day 4 »
The results
Bill Soderquist|Bruce Barmakian|Christian Ciech|competition|Dinosaur 2015|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|Jon Durand snr|Lawrence "Pete" Lehmann|Moyes Litespeed RX|Pete Lehmann|Wills Wing T2C|Zac Majors
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/results
Task 3:
# | Name | Glider | Time | Distance | Dist. Points |
Lead. Points |
Time Points |
Arr. Pos. Points |
Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Zac Majors | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 01:59:35 | 115.67 | 717.5 | 49.4 | 197.8 | 35.3 | 1000 |
2 | Glen Mcfarlane | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 02:04:37 | 115.67 | 717.5 | 42.8 | 167.6 | 16.6 | 945 |
3 | Dave Gibson | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 03:19:32 | 115.67 | 717.5 | 7.5 | 8.8 | 734 | |
4 | Christian Ciech | Icaro Laminar | 107.93 | 688.0 | 41.6 | 730 | |||
5 | Bruce Barmakian | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 112.99 | 709.2 | 709 | ||||
6 | Pete Lehmann | Wills Wing T2 154 | 105.07 | 672.8 | 673 | ||||
7 | Cory Barnwell | Moyes Litespeed RX 3.5 | 56.85 | 480.2 | 480 | ||||
8 | Aaron Rinn | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 53.12 | 464.5 | 465 | ||||
9 | Felix Cantesanu | Aeros Combat C 12.7 | 51.86 | 457.9 | 458 | ||||
10 | Jonny Durand | Moyes RX3.5 | 50.24 | 447.5 | 448 |
I'm quite certain that Christian was happier to get his leading points than not.
Cumulative (well here's a little different outcome):
# | Name | Glider | T 1 | T 2 | T 3 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Zac Majors | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 962 | 928 | 1000 | 1962 |
2 | Glen Mcfarlane | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 947 | 1000 | 945 | 1947 |
3 | Christian Ciech | Icaro Laminar | 987 | 916 | 730 | 1903 |
4 | Pedro Garcia | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 935 | 897 | 416 | 1832 |
5 | Jon Sr Durand | Moyes RX4 | 833 | 878 | 374 | 1711 |
6 | Rudy Gotes | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 576 | 969 | 442 | 1545 |
7 | Jonny Durand | Moyes RX3.5 | 880 | 472 | 448 | 1352 |
8 | Bruce Barmakian | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 556 | 102 | 709 | 1265 |
9 | Bill Soderquist | Moyes RS3.5 | 812 | 443 | 380 | 1255 |
10 | Pete Lehmann | Wills Wing T2 154 | 266 | 536 | 673 | 1209 |
Only the best two scores are used. Clearly, so far, Zac and Glen are disadvantaged by this elimination of the worst day (perhaps they'll have bad days later), while everyone else was advantaged, especially Christian.
Four sport class pilots made goal. Kelly Myrkle is in the overall lead.
12 topics in this article: Bill Soderquist, Bruce Barmakian, Christian Ciech, competition, Dinosaur 2015, Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr, Jon Durand snr, Lawrence "Pete" Lehmann, Moyes Litespeed RX, Pete Lehmann, Wills Wing T2C, Zac Majors
Dinosaur - day 4 »
Zac tasks wins task 3
Dinosaur 2015|Facebook
https://airtribune.com/play/995/2d
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/blog__day_4
Zac in first, Glen second, Christian lands 9 km short. No one else in goal.
Dave Gibson makes it in later in third:
Nice looking sky. Thanks to Glen for his on the spot (goal) reports.
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2 topics in this article: Dinosaur 2015, Facebook
Dinosaur - day 3 »
Just like the good old days
Dinosaur 2015|Facebook|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|photo
Jonny Durand «Jonny Durand» writes:
If you want to know why I was not in goal today it was because I was in front and at the last turnpoint I went to land because there was lightning and rain on course. Glen reports he flew through hail to make goal and win the day. I did the safe thing and turned around and landed away from the storm.
Every day of the 1990 Nationals at Dinosaur was like this. We didn't know any better then.
Good for Jonny making the safe decision. There is a reason I'm not flying at Dinosaur.
Photo from the first task.
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4 topics in this article: Dinosaur 2015, Facebook, Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr, photo
Dinosaur - day 3 »
The results
Bill Soderquist|Christian Ciech|competition|Dinosaur 2015|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|Jon Durand snr|Wills Wing T2C|Zac Majors
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/results
Task 2:
# | Name | Glider | Time | Lead. Points |
Time Points |
Arr. Pos. Points |
Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Glen Mcfarlane | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 01:52:45 | 85.1 | 340.5 | 60.8 | 1000 |
2 | Rudy Gotes | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 01:53:09 | 78.2 | 330.7 | 46.0 | 969 |
3 | Zac Majors | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 01:55:55 | 78.2 | 301.7 | 34.5 | 928 |
4 | Christian Ciech | Icaro Laminar | 01:56:22 | 78.5 | 298.1 | 26.0 | 916 |
5 | Pedro Garcia | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 01:57:21 | 72.5 | 290.7 | 20.1 | 897 |
6 | Josh Woods | Moyes RX3.5 | 01:58:15 | 66.5 | 284.4 | 16.1 | 881 |
7 | Jon Sr Durand | Moyes RX4 | 01:59:14 | 72.4 | 277.9 | 13.8 | 878 |
8 | Pete Lehman | Wills Wing Sport 2-155 | 03:11:37 | 9.4 | 12.6 | 536 |
Cumulative:
# | Name | Glider | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Glen Mcfarlane | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 1946 |
2 | Christian Ciech | Icaro Laminar | 1902 |
3 | Zac Majors | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 1889 |
4 | Pedro Garcia | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 1831 |
5 | Jon Sr Durand | Moyes RX4 | 1708 |
6 | Rudy Gotes | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 1537 |
7 | Jonny Durand | Moyes RX3.5 | 1350 |
8 | Bill Soderquist | Moyes RS3.5 | 1251 |
9 | Pedro Montes | Aeros Combat GT 15 | 1143 |
10 | Josh Woods | Moyes RX3.5 | 1119 |
Rob DeGroot was the only sport class pilot to make goal on a Moyes Gecko.
Brian Morris on a North Wing Freedom 170 (single surface) is in first place over all with Kelley Myrkle on an Aeros Discus right behind him. There is a handicap.
8 topics in this article: Bill Soderquist, Christian Ciech, competition, Dinosaur 2015, Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr, Jon Durand snr, Wills Wing T2C, Zac Majors
Dinosaur - day 3 »
Rudy second, Zac third, Christian, fourth, only seven in goal
Dinosaur 2015|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr
Jonny Durand, not in goal.
Discuss "Dinosaur - day 3" at the Oz Report forum link»
2 topics in this article: Dinosaur 2015, Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr
Dinosaur - day 3 »
Glen wins task 2
Dinosaur 2015
https://airtribune.com/play/990/2d
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/blog__day_3
Discuss "Dinosaur - day 3" at the Oz Report forum link»
1 topic in this article: Dinosaur 2015
Dinosaur - day 3 »
Watch live tracking
Dinosaur 2015
https://airtribune.com/play/990/2d
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/blog__day_3
Discuss "Dinosaur - day 3" at the Oz Report forum link»
1 topic in this article: Dinosaur 2015
Dinosaur - day 2 »
Christian 40 seconds ahead
Bill Soderquist|Christian Ciech|competition|Dinosaur 2015|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|Jon Durand snr|Wills Wing T2C|Zac Majors
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/blog__day_2
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/results
Task 1:
# | Name | Glider | Time | Lead. Points |
Time Points |
Arr. Pos. Points |
Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Christian Ciech | Icaro Laminar | 01:39:40 | 81.3 | 354.9 | 63.4 | 986 |
2 | Zac Majors | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 01:40:20 | 86.0 | 340.0 | 46.0 | 959 |
3 | Glen Mcfarlane | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 01:40:22 | 82.4 | 339.5 | 33.2 | 942 |
4 | Pedro Garcia | Wills Wing T2C 144 | 01:40:35 | 82.1 | 336.5 | 24.2 | 929 |
5 | Jonny Durand | Moyes RX3.5 | 01:47:25 | 88.7 | 278.3 | 18.4 | 872 |
6 | Jon Sr Durand | Moyes RX4 | 01:51:11 | 66.5 | 255.2 | 15.0 | 823 |
7 | Bill Soderquist | Moyes RS3.5 | 01:52:55 | 57.7 | 245.4 | 13.3 | 803 |
Notice that Arrival Position and Time points (the difference between the values given) are way more important than Leading points (where the differences are very small among the top five pilots).
Sport class: Most pilots not scored yet.
8 topics in this article: Bill Soderquist, Christian Ciech, competition, Dinosaur 2015, Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr, Jon Durand snr, Wills Wing T2C, Zac Majors
Dinosaur - day 2 »
Zac and Glen first into goal
Dinosaur 2015
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/blog__day_2
https://airtribune.com/play/975/2d
Discuss "Dinosaur - day 2" at the Oz Report forum link»
1 topic in this article: Dinosaur 2015
Dinosaur - day 1 cancelled »
Over development - just like in the old days there.
Dinosaur 2015
https://airtribune.com/dinosaur2015/blog__day_1
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1 topic in this article: Dinosaur 2015
Dinosaur 2015 »
Dinosaur 2015
Fees rising
Terry <<terryreynolds2>> writes:
Dinosaur 2015 (see http://rockymountainglider.com) is a maximum NTSS points (600) meet (+$10,000 prize money). Also, at least fourteen Sport Class ($5000 prize money) pilots have signed up and more to come. Entry fee goes up August 1. Pilots registering and paying before then get an embroidered fleece jacket instead of a t-shirt. So far all entrants are foot launching, so too bad we built Dinosaur International.
Discuss "Dinosaur 2015" at the Oz Report forum link»
Dinosaur 2015 »
Dinosaur 2015
150 million years of soaring
Terry <<terryreynolds2>> writes:
The entry fee for Dinosaur 2015 ( http://rockymountainglider.com ) goes up to $425 August 1.
As anyone who has been part of organizing a hang gliding comp could tell you, it would be much easier and better for all concerned if competitors were able to plan ahead and pay the earlier, lower prices ($300 for Dinosaur.) For pilots registered and paid before August 1, the “T-Shirt Size” requested on the pilot registration form is actually for a nice fleece jacket (or vest, as shown) with “Dinosaur 2015; 150 Million Years of Soaring” embroidered around a pterodactyl and hang glider. Entrants paid after that date - we have to place the order - will get a t-shirt. Extra jackets for family, crew, etc. can be ordered by paid up pilots, before August 1, for $55.
The event is non-profit and any money left over will go to the Cloudbase Foundation.
Discuss "Dinosaur 2015" at the Oz Report forum link»
Dinosaur 2015 »
June 25, 2015, 5:15:33 pm MST -0600
Dinosaur 2015
Fees rising
Terry <<terryreynolds2>> writes:
The entry fee for Dinosaur 2015 goes up July 1 to $400.
The comp was conceived last year to boost hang gliding through competition by providing a major foot launch meet in a proven location. (Although designed primarily as a footlaunch event, we built a runway just for this comp for those who prefer to aerotow.) While aerotow contests have evolved and been refined to a fine art, particularly through the work of Davis Straub and Jamie Shelden, large footlaunch comps in the U.S. seem to be a thing of the past.
Dinosaur 2015 aims to:
1) To attract the world’s top pilots - the World Champion and the U.S. Champion
are coming;
2) To bring back former regular competitors - “The Jeffs,” among others, are
coming;
3) To build on the well thought out efforts to encourage the Sport Class.
Most of the Sport Class pilots signed up thus far have never flown in either class of a major comp. Nothing changes the fact that only the individual pilot can determine what is safe or not for that individual pilot. That said, we are making special efforts to encourage and cater to Sport Class:
1) Ryan Voight, USHPA Instructor of the Year and experienced big air pilot, will
teach a free clinic, including video critique of launches, onsite Friday and
Saturday before the contest starts Sunday;
2) Sport Class competitors will drop their two low score days - bomb out or
choose not to fly and you’re still in the comp!;
3) Jim Zeiset has pledged $5,000 prize money (split $3K, $1500, $500) to the
class.
To register, and to see the answers to more questions than you thought to ask, please go to http://rockymountainglider.com.
Discuss "Dinosaur 2015" at the Oz Report forum link»
Dinosaur 2015 »
Dinosaur 2015
Entry fee rises soon
Terry <<terryreynolds2>> writes:
Reminder, the entry fee for Dinosaur 2015 goes up June 1. Please see http://rockymountainglider.com for more information and to register. Contact us at <rockymountainglider> with any questions, to volunteer, etc.
Discuss "Dinosaur 2015" at the Oz Report forum link»
Dinosaur fees to rise
Dinosaur fees to rise
March 31st.
Dinosaur 2015
Terry writes:
March 31 is the last day for the Dinosaur 2015 early entry fee. Go to http://www.rockymountainglider.com/registration-fees.html to fill out your Pilot Entry Form and pay before the entry fee goes up!
Discuss "Dinosaur fees to rise" at the Oz Report forum link»
1 topic in this article: Dinosaur 2015
2015 Dinosaur »
2015 Dinosaur
Registration is open
Terry <<terryreynolds2>> writes:
Registration is now open for Dinosaur 2015. Open ($10,000 First Prize), Sport ($5,000 prize money) and rigid classes. August 30 - September 5. Dinosaur, Colorado. Please see http://RockyMountainGlider.com for complete information.
Discuss "2015 Dinosaur" at the Oz Report forum link»
1 topic in this article: Dinosaur 2015
Dinosaur 2015 »
Dinosaur 2015
Terry is up and going for it
Terry <<terryreynolds2>> writes:
Tim Collard, longtime Colorado tow pilot, stood in for me with the Mayor of Dinosaur and a local rancher/county road grader artist building the new hang glider towing runway (1800' x 75') just east of town. While Dinosaur 2015 is being organized primarily as a foot launch contest, we want to provide an alternative for pilots who prefer to tow. The runway is within the same 10k start circle as the foot launches and a 2000' tow puts the pilot at the same altitude.
http://www.rockymountainglider.com/
Discuss "Dinosaur 2015" at the Oz Report forum link»
Dinosaur 2015 goes topless
Dinosaur 2015
No longer restricted to kingpost only
Dinosaur 2015
http://www.rockymountainglider.com
August 30 - September 5, 2015
Discuss "Dinosaur 2015" at the Oz Report forum link»
2014 Big Spring Nationals »
Day two
Big Spring Nationals 2014
https://OzReport.com/2014BigSpringNationals.php
http://soaringspot.com/2014bsn/
http://airtribune.com/bigspring2014/blog#!day_2
Replay: http://airtribune.com/play/273/2d
A 141 km triangle was called when the cu's start popping early. Due to uncertainty about the launch location the task was delayed with a start time at 2:50 PM. A very late task. We are moving the pilot meeting up an hour tomorrow to get pilots to be prepared.
Launch went briskly despite having to make multiple changes. I was just happy to be able to launch into the wind. I got off early and we climbed to over 9,500'. It was late in the day after all. The winds were light at 2 to 7 mph out of the east. The sky was full of cu's with plenty of lift under them.
We had a nice tail wind of 6 to 12 mph 62 km to the west to the first turnpoint. There was plenty of lift under the nice clouds. Not too much vertical development.
The clouds were thinning out as we headed northeast toward the second turnpoint and we had a cross or quartering head wind between 5 and 9 mph. I'd hooked up with the lead gaggle as we struggled a bit past the first turnpoint, but gradually lost a few of them as we pressed forward to the next turnpoint.
About half a dozen pilots got higher than me including Chris Zimmerman and Zac just before the second turnpoint, but we all got over 9,000'. The cu's were getting real thin as it was almost 6 PM.
We made the turnpoint and headed into the headwind going southeast back to Big Spring. The wind varied between 5 and 15 mph. I was on my own and so was Chris Zimmerman who got left behind in the thermal just before the turnpoint. Ahead there were very few cu's and a no cu area along the course line. Chris on his own headed south west of the course line (down wind) toward good looking cu's, and I headed east south east toward the wispies in that direction.
I essentially found a lift line jumping from cu to cu going 11 kilometers east of the course line. Chris was way to the west of the course line under thicker cu's. It sure didn't feel like I was going to make it in.
I was heading on a course almost perpendicular to the course line but I recognized it as a lift line as I wanted to stay high, find some good lift and get back over 10,000'. Finally after five 200-300 fpm climbs I found a thermal that took me to over 10,000' thirty kilometers from goal. Other pilots were struggling in the blue, while Chris was doing well under his clouds.
I headed off into the blue south toward goal. Goal looked reachable from that distance out and it went well at first as I hit a little thermal and climbed back up. At 10 km out I was down to 5,000' (2,500' AGL) and just barely on glide to make goal. Fortunately I found a very nice thermal in the blue and climbed up to 6,700' which was plenty enough to make it into goal. Of course, there was not that much sink after that so I came in at 4,200'. Again, Robin was right behind me, also high at 5,000'.
Chris was in first having taken a better route in. The pilots who left him behind in the thermal before the second turnpoint came in soon after him.
See the tasks and the scores at the links above.
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1 topic in this article: Big Spring Nationals 2014
2014 Big Spring Nationals »
Gregg Ludwig's trike
Big Spring Nationals 2014|Gregg "Kim" Ludwig|Jeffrey "Jeff" Lawrence Bohl|Mick Howard|Robin Hamilton|US Nationals 2014
He towed me up on the first day, no issues, just like last year.
Gregg Ludwig «Gregg Ludwig» writes:
Last Sunday I towed Robin Hamilton, Mick Howard, Jeff Bohl and Bob Fisher, who are all participating at Big Spring. One nice upgrade I did was to replace the 13.5 pound battery with a Lithium battery of similar capacity that weighs only 2.2 pounds.
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6 topics in this article: Big Spring Nationals 2014, Gregg "Kim" Ludwig, Jeffrey "Jeff" Lawrence Bohl, Mick Howard, Robin Hamilton, US Nationals 2014
2014 Big Spring Nationals »
Sport Class pilots go big
Big Spring Nationals 2014|Cory Barnwell|David Williams|Jeffrey "Jeff" Lawrence Bohl|US Nationals 2014|Wills Wing
Three sport class pilots made their goal then flew to the open class goal on the first day. David Williams, Jeff Bohl, and Cory Barnwell. Cory wrote:
Epic day today! Made the sport class goal and then kept going and made the open class goal too! Over 70 miles! Took me six and a half hours. New personal bests for distance, duration, and altitude gained (over 8,000 feet)! Woohoo!
He seems to be flying a borrowed Wills Wing U2 160.
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6 topics in this article: Big Spring Nationals 2014, Cory Barnwell, David Williams, Jeffrey "Jeff" Lawrence Bohl, US Nationals 2014, Wills Wing
Dinosaur 2015 »
Dinosaur 2015
$5,000 prize money for sport class
http://www.rockymountainglider.com/about.html
Terry<<terryreynolds2>> writes:
Jim Zeiset just kicked in another $5,000, designated for Sports Class prize money. This will be escrowed as will the $10,000 from us.
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Dinosaur 2015 »
Dinosaur 2015
King posted only - open and sport
http://www.rockymountainglider.com/about.html
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$300 payment due by June 8th for the Big Spring Nationals
$300 payment due by June 8th for the Big Spring Nationals
Thirty four pilots signed up so far, getting close to the limit
Big Spring Nationals 2014
http://ozreport.com/2014BigSpringNationals.php
Now that June is here, this is a reminder to let you know you only have a few days to get your entry fee to us and received by us.
Pilot entry fee and full on-line registration must be received by us in the following amounts given the dates below:
Before June 8th | Before July 6th | After July 6th | August 2/3 |
$300 | $350 | $400 | $450 |
We look forward to having you at the Big Spring Nationals and having the resources to make sure that you have a great time towing and flying.
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1 topic in this article: Big Spring Nationals 2014
2014 Big Spring Nationals now up on CIVL calendar
International Finance
Big Spring Nationals 2014|calendar|CIVL|US Nationals 2014
https://OzReport.com/2014BigSpringNationals.php
Nicky «Nicky» writes:
The sanction fee has now been received and the event is here: http://www.fai.org/events/events-calendar-and-results?id=34877&EventCalendarId=9273
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4 topics in this article: Big Spring Nationals 2014, calendar, CIVL, US Nationals 2014
Magic Wallaby
Andre Wolf|Wallaby Open 1999
Andre Wolf writes:
I came here last year to fly the Wallaby Open expecting just another normal hang gliding competition. What I found was much more. The atmosphere of the Ranch amazed me. I simply felt as if I had found the best place on earth to be. The friendship and happiness were immediately contagious. My first thought was that I could never miss this meet from then on. I also remembered something I read about the Ranch: “You may never want to leave.”
This year these thoughts have even grown inside me. I feel that, in years to come, when I shall retire from competition I will still find myself a one-man comp and for sure it will be Wallaby. Even later, when I could not fly anymore, I would like to be here to help people feel all these emotions that I am feeling now.
At last I would like to address Malcolm a few words and I think I will be speaking on behalf of everybody here in this meet, especially all the Brazilian pilots and families. Malcolm, thank you for creating this little paradise and sharing it with us. Thank you, Malcolm, for all you have been doing for the sport of hang gliding. But above all, thank you Malcolm for being this nice and gentle host we all know that you are.
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2 topics in this article: Andre Wolf, Wallaby Open 1999
Gibbo spins his own tale
Mark "Gibbo" Gibson|Mary Ellen Fennessey|Mike Eberle|Russell "Russ" Brown|Sarah Bowman|Steve Kroop|Wallaby Open 1999
Mark Gibson, <GIBBOGEAR1@aol.com>, writes:
March 9, 2000, was the day the Georgia boarder was finally crossed!! Flying my spaceship (Ghostbuster) near cloud base looking down at the St. Mary's River was a very special moment for me.
(editor's note: Perhaps Gibbo is remembering ruefully another space ship that took away first place from him on the last day of competition at the 1999 Wallaby Open.)
I'm so busy now in my Trike shop that I'm only able to get out and fly on 100+ mile looking days and so many other pilots can shoot for it daily, luck would be on my side today though!
Mike Eberle arranged a small Ghostbuster get together at Quest Air and 4 of us showed up. I was of course a little late. Mark P, Campbell Bowman and Steve Kroop were already set up and preparing their harnesses. I begged them to wait so we could fly together, but they just laughed at me.
The day was looking so awesome by now that all of us thought we had an honest chance of making the border. Mike Eberle put his money where his mouth is and announced he would pay $1000 dollars to every GB that made the crossing today. Hmm, $1000. Steve Kroop (Flytec man) upped the pot with $300 or a new map GPS for the pilot who used a Flytec vario. Wow, lets go!!!
Quest Air has been getting a large share of the long flights this summer, because pilots are able to get on the unseasonably dry plains north of the flight park earlier, and thus can fly on the fastest part of the course line longer. We were taking off a little before noon and the clouds to the north look like 3:00 PM!
(editor's note: These plains are usually known as swamps.)
I launched last, but quickly caught the other GB's after getting released in a 800fpm boomer straight to cloud base. I pull in the flaps and go on 45mph glide…wow I'm already flying faster then best glide and its not even noon? Slow down Gibbo, I warn myself don't get to excited this early and bomb out!!!
Campbell and I break away a bit, he's in a bit of a racing mood too, so our S2F stays high. We make time to Ocala only getting to 1500 agl once and on more then a few occasions flying wing tip to wing tip in 800 fpm lift right to cloud base (Love the sound of my screaming Flytec!) On one climb we both whited out at the same time. My last view of Campbell he was letting off flaps and retracting them preparing for a dive to the NW. I was doing the same and diving for the NE.
(editor's note: Campbell and Gibbo are big boys, and have the ballast to outrun the other two featherweights.)
After Ocala, Campbell and I split up, he takes a route pretty much over I-75 slightly to the west. I choose to fly even more to the west under a nice line of clouds. When I get to them I'm a little late and they have spread out shadowing the ground. I end up making a real slow climb from 1200 agl back to cloud base.
(editor's note: In a southwest wind Gibbo has positioned himself for a downwind run to the Georgia border.)
I get some good air after this slow point and find myself SW of Gainesville at the beginning of a convergence line that is directly on course to the Georgia finger. For the next 60 miles I pretty much stay between 6100 and 4500 ft! As I'm cruising, I keep looking back to see if any other pilots are making it too, but the clouds are drying up behind me as fast as the are forming ahead. I'm finally fast enough to stay on the front edge of the convergence, unlike so many other attempts when I missed it and bombed out in the blue.
I ask my Dad, Albo, to get ahead of me and check out the LZ's across the state line because on the map it looks like only trees. He reports palmettos and slash piles for LZ's - not really desirable for a carbon space ship!
Luck would continue for me though and I would stay pretty high until St. George, Georgia, at this point I'm down to 2000 ft and its blued out every where. I start searching for a LZ. To the NW of town I spot a green field, awesome! When I get there, of course, there's a power line running right thru the middle of it, well beggars can't be choosey. I pull on the flaps and set up for landing gently touching down 140 miles form Quest and at the top of the Georgia finger!
Awesome!!! Getting the record now means I can work in peace while cloud streets are forming over my shop! ha-ah. I would like to thank all the guys that make my flying possible: Mike Eberle and the guys at Flight Designs for building and supplying me with the most advanced rigid wing on the market today (GhostBuster), Steve Kroop for the best and most reliable Vario/GPS combination and the coolest bracket (Flytec), and Russell Brown for the bitchin' 914 tug and awesome flight park (Quest).
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7 topics in this article: Mark "Gibbo" Gibson, Mary Ellen Fennessey, Mike Eberle, Russell "Russ" Brown, Sarah Bowman, Steve Kroop, Wallaby Open 1999
Dave Sharp's ATOS report
ATOS|David "Dave" Sharp|Exxtacy|George Ferris|Peter Radman|Wallaby Open 1999
Dave Sharp is flying the ATOS in the Wallaby Open. He also works for Altair, the US distributor. He previously was the US factory pilot for the Exxtacy. He both flies the ATOS as a job and represents the ATOS throughout the US.
Here is his report on his experience so far:
So I've been holding off just a bit to tell everyone about this awesome new wing. I wanted to at least get some air time before hand. I can happily report that it should more than meet everyone's expectations.
We managed to get the Atos cleared from customs a day before the meet started. I was down in Miami at 10pm pried open the beefy wood box and found everything in tact with no damage with only one problem NO Sail ?.
I drove back to Quest to crash for the night, (2:30 am)
Saturday morning I met up with Peter Radman we both left for the Ranch right away hoping and praying Felix who arrived that night would have the sail. He did and we assembled the Atos at Quest in a hanger out of the pouring rain.
Felix test flew it, then I got to fly. Next George Ferris who drove 1200 miles just to check it out got to take her for a ride. I've been flying the Atos now for 3 days and have about 10 hours.
First the glider is really 73 pounds, The Carbon Fiber work is very slick. Felix uses a little different carbon fiber fabric on the D-tube the result is lighter and stronger and easier to work on.
The Atos is a foot or so shorter in pack down than similar wings. First you insert a foot long section of 7075 with a carbon fiber rib attached to it then you insert a fiberglass wand that plugs into a delron fitting.
The ribs swing out but stay internal and Felix has designed a very clever and simple pinky size cam that you can tension with the flick of a finger.
The spoilers and flaps attach directly to the sail with Velcro, no spoiler or flap sleeves. At first I did not like the idea of having to peel them on and off BUT you don't have to THEY STAY ON. You just fold over the sail and they lay on top of the glider, VERY NICE.
The sail work is very clean no proto type here !. The aspect ratios is incredible 12:1 and must be the sexiest hang glider out there.
Flying : off the cart it tracks very well with good pitch feed back. The control bar is several inches closer than what I was used to which I like as opposed to way out in front of my helmet. Bar Pressure is a little more than my last glider but I had no problem going 70 mph.Roll is slightly different , a sharp input will give a quicker roll when desired but normal type Exxtacy like handling can be expected.
Stall speed is a mile or two higher, and the glide is a little better with flaps on but still much less than a high performance hang glider. Flare feel is the same but is much lighter when you do the final push out. Glide is about what is claimed, I am consistently seeing a steady walk away from last years rigid wing models. Sink rate is the same but every day I'm getting more dialed into and finding my self on top more often.
In a few week I will be going up to Altair and we will be making an on line manual to show more details. Look for it on the Altair web page.
I have lots of photos of the ATOS , and will be publishing them soon. Even photographic evidence of the weight – 73 pounds.
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6 topics in this article: ATOS, David "Dave" Sharp, Exxtacy, George Ferris, Peter Radman, Wallaby Open 1999
Wallaby Open results
Wallaby Open 1999
Class II
This is my guess as to the results of day two. The preliminary results given to me by the scorekeepers appear to have a number of errors.
Dave Sharp
Felix Ruhle
Mark Gibson
Davis Straub
Jim Zeiset
Cumulative:
Mark Gibson
Dave Sharp
Davis Straub
Felix Ruhle
Brian Porter
Class I:
Oleg Bondarchuck
Jim Lee
Andre Wolf
Manfred Ruhmer
Dustin Martin
Allan Barnes
Ryan Glover
Sandy Dittmar
Kari Castle
Mike Barber
Cumulative:
Manfred Ruhmer
Oleg Bondarchuck
Jim Lee
Dustin Martin
Kraig Coomber
Ryan Glover
Kari Castle
Mike Barber
Sandy Dittmar
Paris Williams
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1 topic in this article: Wallaby Open 1999
Practice day for Wallaby Open rained out
Wallaby Open 1999|weather
It has finally rained in central Florida after more than three months of drought. We have had only one day of rain since we arrived here in mid-January. Forest fires were breaking out over the last few weeks, some destroying homes. Sun 'n Fun, the big air show in Lakeland, FL, just 30 miles from here, was partially evacuated on Wednesday due to a fast moving fire that threatened them from the west.
It has rained here at Wallaby Ranch about 2 inches in the last hour, and we are on the southern edge of the rain clouds as shown below:
Over most of the United States the skies are clear, but when we get to Florida, the radar and satellite photos show a much different story:
Those of us who have been here for a while are celebrating the rains, and look forward to getting rid of the haze which built up a bit over the last week. We expect slower going the next few days with the wetter ground, but with light northwest winds, we should be flying toward the drier areas.
The rains stop in the afternoon and a number of test flights are taken before dusk.
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2 topics in this article: Wallaby Open 1999, weather
Watch the race at home or work
Wallaby Open 1999|US Nationals 1999
The Wallaby Open and the Nationals will be netcast live, so that you will be able to track the race (at least the top five pilots and maybe the top fifteen). While the web site won't be active until Sunday afternoon (Eastern Daylight Savings time, which is 4 hours ahead of Zulu time), you can check it out in advance. You'll find it at http://www.wallaby.com/wallabyopen.
We are hoping that all the glider manufacturers tune in on their computers to see how their boys (and girls) are doing. Of course, the race results will also be published every day at the same site.
Please tell other people about this live netcast and have them tune in to see what is going on. It won't be the be all and end all of live hang gliding competition coverage, but it will be a start.
Also enter the contest at http://www.1800hangglide.com to win a Flytec vario. If you have read previous issues of the Oz report, you should have a pretty good idea of who will place well in the Class I category.
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2 topics in this article: Wallaby Open 1999, US Nationals 1999
One slot left for the Wallaby Open
Wallaby Open 1999
There is only one slot left available for the Wallaby Open. Apparently the Nationals are just about completely full also. Here’s whose coming to the Wallaby Open:
1. Zweykmeyer, Josef
2. Wolfgang (Austria)
3. Alden, John
4. Arai, Chris
5. Barber, Mike
6. Bezenover, Jose
7. Bolt, Mark
8. Bowen, Campbell
9. Cameron, Patty
10. Castle, Kari
11. Coomber, Craig
12. Cutts, Buddy
13. Davis, Gary
14. de Silva, Francisco
15. Funk, Dean
16. Furrer, Vince
17. Gibson, Mark "Gibbo"
18. Glennon, Mike
19. Glover, Ryan
20. Goodman, Bubba
21. Gotez, Rudy
22. Hagewood, Bo
23. Hamilton, Robin
24. Hildebrand, Judy
25. Jaramillo, Nicolas
26. Kendall, Greg
27. Kennedy, Nick
28. Lee, Jim
29. Martin, Dusty
30. Mulholland, Mark
31. Pagen, Claire
32. Pagen, Dennis
33. Porter, Brian
34. Posche, Johann
35. Rhumer, Manfred
36. Rizo, Carlos
37. Rizo, Luis
38. Rogers, Tip
39. Rossignol, Jerz
40. Rowleski, Steve
41. Ruhle, Felix
42. Sayer, Wayne
43. Scarli, Reto
44. Schmit, Betinho
45. Sharp, Dave
46. Shipley, Mitch
47. Simmons, Jack
48. Smith, Nancy
49. Straub, Davis
50. Thevenot, Gerard
51. Volk, Glen
52. Welch, Peter
53. Williams, Paris
54. Wolf, Andre
55. Yocom, James
56. Zeiset, Jim
57. Meier, James
58. Warren, Steve
59. Bondarchuck, Oleg
60. Nenno
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1 topic in this article: Wallaby Open 1999
Getting ready to come to ⁢Wallaby »
Mike Barber|record|Wallaby Open 1999|Wallaby Ranch
John "Ole" Olson|Mike Barber|record|Wallaby Open 1999|Wallaby Ranch
(?-i)John "Ole" Olson|Mike Barber|record|Wallaby Open 1999|Wallaby Ranch
John "Ole" Olson|Mike Barber|Patty Cameron|record|Wallaby Open 1999|Wallaby Ranch
John "Ole" Olson|Mike Barber|Patty Cameron|record|Wallaby Open 1999|Wallaby Ranch
If you are coming to the Wallaby Open on April 18th, or just to the Ranch in general, you should be prepared to really enjoy your time here. The Ranch is a bit big and its great to have a bicycle to get around from the pole barn/kitchen to the hangers and over to your trailer or tent. If you have a bicycle, bring it with you.
One custom mod that will make life just that much better, is to equip your bicycle (for the time you are here) with comfort pedals. Comfort pedals let you bicycle in the nude (at least as far as your feet are concerned).
Here’s a shot of the feet on comfort pedals, and the pedals themselves. Just $6.95 a pair.
There is a full-scale kitchen and restaurant (pole barn) at the Ranch now. Currently two meals a day are served, but there will be three meals served each day during the Wallaby Open (hopefully pilots will miss lunch).
Jeremy, the Ranch chef, now has two assistants, in order to handle the big load coming up. Meals are by donation. It is hoped and expected that you will like the meals enough to pay $5.00 per person per meal. You can pay any time and will be asked when you check out what you think that you owe for meals.
This arrangement is extraordinary, and it relies on people appreciating the food (which is great, by the way) and pitching in to pay for it. The kitchen is handling up to 40 meals a day now and will be doing more soon. Jeremy goes out and buys food in $500 chunks.
I sometimes get the feeling that Malcolm is not running the Ranch as a business and that he just enjoys feeding people and making sure that they have a good time. Please help out if you want to eat here.
Those of us on site are practicing for the upcoming meets by flying proposed triangles and out and return tasks (unless it looks like a record day). Today Patty Cameron had her best flight ever, a 50 mile triangle from Wallaby to Clermont, Quest and back. Here’s a shot of Mike Barber up close as we head back for the Ranch after making it to Gator, Quest and back.
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4 topics in this article: Mike Barber, record, Wallaby Open 1999, Wallaby Ranch
Wallaby Open turnpoints – the list
Wallaby Open 1999|waypoints
You can cut and paste the following lines (starting with Datum) into a text file on your computer and use Waypoint+ to open and read the file and then upload it into your Garmin.
Datum,WGS84,WGS84,0,0,0,0,0 WP,DM,LEEWAR, 29.050640108, -82.0193299942,03/21/1999,13:04:51,DAVIS WP,DM,COLEMA, 28.486730014, -82.0391101122,03/21/1999,13:04:51,DAVIS WP,DM,471-50, 28.333120054, -82.0328300215,03/21/1999,13:04:51,DAVIS WP,DM,17-92 , 28.063740003, -81.3868000746,03/21/1999,13:04:51,RYAN WP,DM,27-192, 28.208361578, -81.4044029262,03/21/1999,13:04:51,14-FEB-99 18:30 WP,DM,27-474, 28.222172809, -81.4103059318,03/21/1999,13:04:51,14-FEB-99 18:39 WP,DM,27-544, 28.048497629, -81.3898224380,03/21/1999,13:04:51,19-FEB-99 20:18 WP,DM,27-547, 28.094685268, -81.3840256479,03/21/1999,13:04:51,19-FEB-99 20:46 WP,DM,27-I4 , 28.140158367, -81.3903921392,03/21/1999,13:04:51,19-FEB-99 20:57 WP,DM,33-474, 28.225761604, -81.4940069463,03/21/1999,13:04:51,14-FEB-99 18:55 WP,DM,33-DS , 28.155086470, -81.4949950721,03/21/1999,13:04:51,14-FEB-99 19:54 WP,DM,471-98, 28.148938847, -82.0334356811,03/21/1999,13:04:51,19-FEB-99 17:55 WP,DM,557-I4, 28.109400940, -81.4464867856,03/21/1999,13:04:51,19-FEB-99 17:14 WP,DM,AVON , 27.354959893, -81.3165884759,03/21/1999,13:04:51,30-DEC-97 04:4! WP,DM,BOK , 27.561079978, -81.3467200264,03/21/1999,13:04:51,RYAN WP,DM,CEDARK, 29.080698586, -83.0288120534,03/21/1999,13:04:51,30-DEC-97 05:01 WP,DM,CHALET, 27.570429254, -81.3597795513,03/21/1999,13:04:51,30/DEC-97 04:40 WP,DM,CHERYL, 28.402861428, -82.0523098495,03/21/1999,13:04:51,29-DEC)97 23:26 WP,DM,CRYSTL, 28.520921540, -82.3445311572,03/21/1999,13:04:51,30-DEC-97 04:56 WP,DM,DS-ROK, 28.155504894, -81.5751298215,03/21/1999,13:04:51,14-FEB-99 20:17 WP,DM,DUNELN, 29.038028932, -82.2263583925,03/21/1999,13:04:51,30-DEC-97 04:58 WP,DM,FANTA , 28.100665522, -81.4843799617,03/21/1999,13:04:51,14-FEB-99 20:58 WP,DM,GATOR , 28.375461054, -81.4817986038,03/21/1999,13:04:51,18-MAR-98 00:52 WP,DM,INVERS, 28.485332918, -82.1878504541,03/21/1999,13:04:51,30-DEC-97 04:59 WP,DM,OCALA , 29.102150893, -82.1335485961,03/21/1999,13:04:51,17-MAR-18 03:22 WP,DM,PLACID, 27.151109862, -81.2479797151,03/21/1999,13:04:51,17-MAR-98 03:12 WP,DM,QUEST , 28.321120572, -81.5076314952,03/21/1999,13:04:51,14-FEB-99 19:23 WP,DM,RANCH , 28.151906443, -81.4108852889,03/21/1999,13:04:51,14-FEB-99 16:45 WP,DM,RIVER , 27.462981033, -81.1153294589,03/21/1999,13:04:51,31-MAR-98 17:09 WP,DM,ROK-98, 28.115831804, -82.0006859090,03/21/1999,13:04:51,14-FEB-99 20:26 WP,DM,WAUCLU, 27.308318424, -81.5292286422,03/21/1999,13:04:51,17-MAR-98 03:10 WP,DM,WILARP, 29.212811327, -82.2836793449,03/21/1999,13:04:51,30-DEC-97 04:35 WP,DM,WIMAMA, 27.395675826, -82.2622045066,03/21/1999,13:04:51,08-SEP-97 21:49 WP,DM,ZHILLA, 28.134559977, -82.0954499796,03/21/1999,13:07:04,MIKE WP,DM,ZHILLC, 28.131619991, -82.0917100079,03/21/1999,13:08:41,MIKE WP,DM,98-301, 28.194630009, -82.1125699833,03/21/1999,13:09:22,MIKE WP,DM,75-50 , 28.314010019, -82.1423999865,03/21/1999,13:10:10,MIKE WP,DM,TWOJJS, 28.271189994, -82.1246800061,03/21/1999,13:12:48,MIKE WP,DM,SG4 , 28.170720010, -81.4039999913,03/21/1999,13:17:17,RYAN WP,DM,SG3 , 28.155480000, -81.4585599951,03/21/1999,13:16:39,RYAN WP,DM,SG2 , 28.130469977, -81.4337200072,03/21/1999,13:16:00,RYAN WP,DM,SG1 , 28.155969989, -81.4338400025,03/21/1999,13:14:31,RYAN WP,DM,UMATIL, 28.553909995, -81.3910199773,04/01/1999,14:39:14,RYAN WP,DM,MIDFLA, 28.507880020, -81.3780599792,04/01/1999,14:39:53,RYAN WP,DM,AGRO , 27.396320009, -82.1734999988,04/01/1999,14:40:25,RYAN
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2 topics in this article: Wallaby Open 1999, waypoints
Netcasting the Wallaby Open
Duncan McBride|Kevin Frost|Lawrence "Pete" Lehmann|Mark "Gibbo" Gibson|Russell "Russ" Brown|Wallaby Open 1999
Over the last few days the Automated Pilot Tracking System (Oz Reports # 19 and #20) has been put to good use as Albo has been tracking right under us. Using one minute intervals works well, and now we’ll try two minutes. The system has been so successful that Albo is ready to buy one to track Mark (Gibson) at the Worlds in Italy
There is a small possibility that the Wallaby Open, and/or the Nationals will be Netcast with pilots using APTS to report their positions to a central computer at headquarters. We’ll see how far this effort gets.
Russ Brown has a few thoughts on these type of systems:
Maybe you guys will help me brainstorm a little thing that's been bopping around in my head. I mentioned it to Duncan McBride a couple months ago and now Ken Rosenberger has asked about it. We've got this capability in APRS to have our position picked up by any nearby digipeater that is "Igate" (internet gate) equipped. Then your icon is displayed on a US map atwww.aprs.net. If you zoom in on an area, thewww.aprs.netmaps are served from Mapblast.com. Other technical details onwww.aprs.netcan be found by searching the APRSSIG archives atwww.tapr.org.
Anyway, say we get our infrastructure all set up. Say every HG site in the country had an Igated digipeater (actually that would come in very handy if it were also hooked into the site's wind talker, but that's another subject) and everybody could log onto the internet on Sat night to view the log file of their favorite mailing list personality, sort of like what Davis has posted athttps://OzReport.com/Ozv3n17.htm.
To get fancy, you could use a product like Delorme 3D Explorer to deliver say, a real-time pilot's view of Pete Lawrence flying up the Owens Valley. Or you could see if Kevin Frost lands in the bomb range. You could go over the back of Frisco with David Taylor and second guess all his flight decisions. Hmm… I guess we'd need a cloud cover overlay from the weather service to second-guess all his flying decisions.
But now for the brainstorming part… If all these disparate, digitally-equipped pilots would want to compete against each other in a "Saturday Cyber League" of sorts, what would the handicap rules be? I was thinking maybe to get soundings from weather service sources nearest each competitor and then handicapping each flight as to thermal tops/cloudbase, tailwinds, strength of lift, etc. Also type of glider could be handicapped. These standings could be calculated instantly and the leader would have bragging rights for a week.
Whaddya think? I think Florida would be the ideal place to kick off a Cyber League since the state is already blanketed with Igated digipeaters and has at least one glider-mounted TH-D7A. The consistent topography in Florida would also make scoring easier, maybe start off with just a glider handicap. Maybe Kenwood could sponsor this and make it really cool.
And:
I plan on flying this Saturday but probably won't go XC since I haven't flown since Xmas (I re-injured a muscle below my scapula). I'll set my TH-D7A to 144.390 (call sign KB6LUD), set my SSID to "small aircraft" and set my path to RELAY,WIDE. I should easily hit one of the 2 IGated digipeaters in the LA Basin. Hey, I've got a 5000 foot antenna :-)
According tohttp://www.aprs.net/aprserve.dcc.htmlthe data is not purged for 12 hours so we should be able to race home and see our last position. The "Client connection" paragraph onhttp://www.aprs.net/aprserve.dcc.htmlprobably holds the key to gathering nationwide data that the Cyber League could use for scoring purposes. Know any programmers? Steve Dimse is a great guy, he would probably offer tech help.
Then, he reconsiders:
WARNING… Don't tune into 144.390 with your glider's GPS unless you want all your waypoints overwritten!! You can disable the NMEA input from the GPS to prevent this.
I think he means NMEA input to the GPS.
Discuss "Netcasting the Wallaby Open" at the Oz Report forum link»
6 topics in this article: Duncan McBride, Kevin Frost, Lawrence "Pete" Lehmann, Mark "Gibbo" Gibson, Russell "Russ" Brown, Wallaby Open 1999
Wallaby Open turnpoints
Wallaby Open 1999|waypoints
I’ve put up the official list of Wallaby Open turnpoints/goals on my web site. You’ll find it at http://www.davisstraub.com/Glide/wallabyopenturnpoints.zip. Just click this link to download it to your computer.
You’ll need to unzip it (http://www.winzip.com). It is in Waypoint+ (http://www.tapr.org/~kh2z/Waypoint/) format. If you download Waypoint+ (which is a terrific piece of freeware), you can upload the turnpoints into your Garmin 12 or III or whatever. You’ll need a Garmin/serial cable (http://www.blue-hills-innovations.com/products.htm#data).
I’ve also included a text version of the turnpoints below.
The turnpoint checking software to be used at the Wallaby Open and the Nationals will download your track log and your waypoints, including any that you created with Mark, and Enter during the flight. This is an example of what your flight will look like to the person viewing it on the computer:
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2 topics in this article: Wallaby Open 1999, waypoints
US Nationals »
G.W. Meadows|Quest Air|Wallaby Open 1999|US Nationals 1999
G.W. is going to be putting on quite a show up at Quest Air, right after the Wallaby Open. If you are thinking about flying in these meets, you had better sign up very soon. Because these are tow meets, there will definitely be a limit to the number of participants. Just because you sign up for one, doesn’t mean you will necessarily be able to go to the other.
You can sign up for the Nationals at http://www.justfly.com, and for the Wallaby Open, go to http://www.wallaby.com (there is no on-line sign up capability there).
Discuss "US Nationals" at the Oz Report forum link»
4 topics in this article: G.W. Meadows, Quest Air, Wallaby Open 1999, US Nationals 1999
GPS turn point verification at the competitions »
GPS|Wallaby Open 1999|US Nationals 1999
We are working hard at setting up the Wallaby Open and the US Nationals for GPS use. GPS turnpoint verification will be the order of the day, but we want to make sure that it works for every one.
Previously pilots used their GPSs to tell them when they got close to the physical turnpoint. Now they will be using their eye sight (and their GPSs) to tell them when they get near the virtual turnpoint. The GPS indicated turnpoint is the turnpoint. Hopefully it will be very close to the physical turnpoint.
I suggest that pilots take every opportunity to practice making virtual turnpoints.
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3 topics in this article: GPS, Wallaby Open 1999, US Nationals 1999
The Wallaby Open »
cost|Wallaby Open 1999|weather
The Wallaby Open dates are April 18th-24th. This is the week after Sun 'n Fun (April 10-17th). JC Brown is now the meet director. Malcolm is the meet organizer. The cost is $250. See www.wallaby.com for snail mail address. E-mail is «gloverdh».
BTW, there are money prizes at the Wallaby Open. $3000, $1500, $500 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd in Class I. None for Class II, but I guess if you can afford a Class II glider, who needs money. :-) I asked Malcolm about the weather and he didn't want to talk about it because he didn't want to jinx it. It's been too good for a month now. Last year with El Nino, it rained every day in the Winter.
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3 topics in this article: cost, Wallaby Open 1999, weather