2011 Senior Championships

That first time you find yourself in the middle of a glittering column
of 20-30 long wings all trying to get the maximum out of a thermal you
will start to understand.

When you see traces of a once world champion rejecting a 4m/s thermal a
500m and flying on to the dust devil below the tops of the grain silos a
couple of km away, you may start to wonder at the sanity...

At some point you start enjoying it - at whatever level of commitment is
right for you.

Personally I tend to head off once a thermal gaggle gets past 5 or 6
gliders, and am happy to keep it up on my own. Others seem to need a group.

Bruce

On 2011/03/09 3:41 AM, Walt Connelly wrote:
hretting;764946 Wrote:
The fighter pilot note was how a newbie might describe max effort
competition thermaling (are you confuse again?) is. Remember, you're
the virgin and unlike being shot at (hmmm, potential gig), this will
be a good kind of scared (read thrill).
Also, I want to acknowledge Doug Jacobs and others, like Karl, who
have allowed so many to see what so few are aware of. I failed to
mention that in a previous post. All the ride-a-long stories would
make a great read.
R

R. I can't tell you how much I look forward to losing my virginity. I
just hope it's a BIG day and Karl can KEEP IT UP all day long. I've not
heard the term "max effort competition thermaling" before but I am ready
to observe and learn.

I hope to be one of the few who gets to see much of what so many are
unaware. Guys like myself are thankful for guys like karl and Doug
Jacobs and others who make such things possible.

Hope to have the story of my ride along (loss of virginity) in SSA
Magazine along with pictures and my thoughts on condom catheters.

Walt





--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771 & Std Cirrus #57

[quote=BruceGreeff;765009]That first time you find yourself in the middle of a glittering column
of 20-30 long wings all trying to get the maximum out of a thermal you
will start to understand.

When you see traces of a once world champion rejecting a 4m/s thermal a
500m and flying on to the dust devil below the tops of the grain silos a
couple of km away, you may start to wonder at the sanity...

At some point you start enjoying it - at whatever level of commitment is
right for you.

Personally I tend to head off once a thermal gaggle gets past 5 or 6
gliders, and am happy to keep it up on my own. Others seem to need a group.

Bruce

Well the weather for Tuesday calls for partly cloudy with a high of 79 and a low of 55. Not sure what the difference between partly cloudy and partly sunny is but I will be completely disappointed if we don't get to fly closer to completely than partially.

I have investigated the wonderful world of the condom catheter with the requisite accoutrements such as additional tubing and a leg bag which I am sure would keep at least one of my ankles warm and cozy. Let's see, what else? Okay, my camelback will be filled with about 1.5 liters of H20, my camera battery will be charged, a couple of granola bars, maybe a roast beef sandwich and a bag of chips, a pocket knife, a space blanket, signal mirror, fire starter, inflatable boat, a pistol, 50 rounds of ammunition (I'm gonna be gone most of the afternoon.) Just kidding, I won't need 50 rounds of ammo. A note pad and a pen, I will be doing some note taking along with shooting some pics. I'm even beginning to dream of this adventure.

Walt

On Mar 10, 12:57*pm, Walt Connelly Walt.Connelly.
wrote:
I have investigated the wonderful world of the condom catheter with the
requisite accoutrements such as additional tubing and a leg bag which I
am sure would keep at least one of my ankles warm and cozy. *Let's see,
what else? *Okay, my camelback will be filled with about 1.5 liters of
H20, my camera battery will be charged, a couple of granola bars, maybe
a roast beef sandwich and a bag of chips, a pocket knife, a space
blanket, signal mirror, fire starter, inflatable boat, a pistol, 50
rounds of ammunition (I'm gonna be gone most of the afternoon.) *Just
kidding, I won't need 50 rounds of ammo. *A note pad and a pen, I will
be doing some note taking along with *shooting some pics. *I'm even
beginning to dream of this adventure. *

I hope you're not thermalling too close to another glider when that
bag of chips explodes!!

*Let's see,
what else? *Okay, my camelback will be filled with about 1.5 liters of
H20, my camera battery will be charged, a couple of granola bars, maybe
a roast beef sandwich and a bag of chips, a pocket knife, a space
blanket, signal mirror, fire starter, inflatable boat, a pistol, 50
rounds of ammunition (I'm gonna be gone most of the afternoon.) *Just
kidding, I won't need 50 rounds of ammo.

I hope you're not thermalling too close to another glider when that
bag of chips explodes!![/quote]

Bruce, I've taken a small bag of chips aloft in a 1-34 and at 4000 feet although it bloated a bit it did not explode. It would be interesting to know at what altitude that might happen. I have become a fan of Pringles though and I would have to use a baggie to avoid the tube. I would imagine that at some of the altitudes they can achieve out west in wave and perhaps even in thermals would cause such an event. My guess based on the recent cloud bottoms around here is that we will be lucky as heck to make 4 to 5K feet.

Walt

On Mar 10, 6:54*am, Walt Connelly Walt.Connelly.
wrote:
*Let's see,
what else? *Okay, my camelback will be filled with about 1.5 liters
of
H20, my camera battery will be charged, a couple of granola bars,
maybe
a roast beef sandwich and a bag of chips, a pocket knife, a space
blanket, signal mirror, fire starter, inflatable boat, a pistol, 50
rounds of ammunition (I'm gonna be gone most of the afternoon.) *Just
kidding, I won't need 50 rounds of ammo.

I hope you're not thermalling too close to another glider when that
bag of chips explodes!!

Bruce, I've taken a small bag of chips aloft in a 1-34 and at 4000 feet
although it bloated a bit it did not explode. *It would be interesting to
know at what altitude that might happen. *I have become a fan of Pringles
though and I would have to use a baggie to avoid the tube. *I would
imagine that at some of the altitudes they can achieve out west in wave
and perhaps even in thermals would cause such an event. *My guess based on
the recent cloud bottoms around here is that we will be lucky as heck to
make 4 to 5K feet.

Walt

--
Walt Connelly

My experience in the Cessna 421 was small chip bags explode at ~14,000
ft cabin altitude. And it really really gets your attention if you're
not expecting it!

My experience with the inevitable crumbs from chips, dry granola bars
and sandwiches is that you'll have mice in your glider the next day!

I suggest bananas and apples.

Originally Posted by Burt Compton - Marfa

My experience with the inevitable crumbs from chips, dry granola bars
and sandwiches is that you'll have mice in your glider the next day!

I suggest bananas and apples.

Tony, thanks for the info on potential chip bag explosion altitude. Quite confident that we will not approach 14K.

Burt, I bow to your greater wisdom, I'll dispense with the chips and granola bars. I really don't expect that much nutrition will be necessary during this event especially in that I am but a passenger. H20, maybe a banana and I will be good to go, thanks for the advice.

Walt

On Mar 10, 7:54*am, Walt Connelly Walt.Connelly.
wrote:
*Let's see,
what else? *Okay, my camelback will be filled with about 1.5 liters
of
H20, my camera battery will be charged, a couple of granola bars,
maybe
a roast beef sandwich and a bag of chips, a pocket knife, a space
blanket, signal mirror, fire starter, inflatable boat, a pistol, 50
rounds of ammunition (I'm gonna be gone most of the afternoon.) *Just
kidding, I won't need 50 rounds of ammo.

I hope you're not thermalling too close to another glider when that
bag of chips explodes!!

Bruce, I've taken a small bag of chips aloft in a 1-34 and at 4000 feet
although it bloated a bit it did not explode. *It would be interesting to
know at what altitude that might happen. *I have become a fan of Pringles
though and I would have to use a baggie to avoid the tube. *I would
imagine that at some of the altitudes they can achieve out west in wave
and perhaps even in thermals would cause such an event. *My guess based on
the recent cloud bottoms around here is that we will be lucky as heck to
make 4 to 5K feet.

Walt

--
Walt Connelly

Walt,

Take a dramamine before the flight, and take a couple of barf bags
along in case the dramamine doesn't work as well as it should. Even
very experienced soaring pilots get airsick in the back. I rode with
Doug twice a few years ago, and took a dramamine each time. Never had
a problem with airsickness, but didn't want to find out too late that
I did! ;-).

Frank

I would recommend Bonnine ( Dramamine II ) which is Meclizine, also
known as anti-vert. Used for motion sickness or for inner ear
problems. Not sedating like regular dramamine.

Either way, if you are going to take one of the other, try them
sometime on a day before the flight to find out how they effect you.

Some non sedating meds will sedate some people, and some meds like
dramamine will REALLY make some people very sleepy.

Kevin
192
92

On 3/10/2011 5:12 PM, kevin anderson wrote:
I would recommend Bonnine ( Dramamine II ) which is Meclizine, also
known as anti-vert. Used for motion sickness or for inner ear
problems. Not sedating like regular dramamine.

Either way, if you are going to take one of the other, try them
sometime on a day before the flight to find out how they effect you.

Some non sedating meds will sedate some people, and some meds like
dramamine will REALLY make some people very sleepy.

Kevin
192
92


I use ginger. If I have a root, I cut off a small section, peel it and
place between my check and gum like chewing tobacco.

If I don't have a root, a bottle of ginger capsules is under $10.

Tom