Also making life very easy (particularly if you ever tried to navigate the Eastern European websites for contest results) is the SOARING SPOT website run by Erasem Polutnik (as part of Naviter - more well known as SeeYou). There you can find the latest results as the various contests unfold - see http://www.soaringspot.com/
I may add that our very own Christine Burki, flying in the Swiss Standard Class Nationals placed third today with some 46km - unfortunately not a enough for a scoring day. We keep on rooting for her.
At the British Overseas Nationals the ASG29's are domineering - but I can see some of the serious Rieti contestants also flying there (and where do i wish i was?)
(If you are interested in Spot Messenger - see my previous post - the link is http://www.findmespot.com/home.aspx)
Regards
EY
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
SPOT (me) in Italy
SPOT messenger is a very neat personal beacon - it sends messages via a satellite comms network to designated cell phones, emails or S&R agencies - using an "OK" "Help" or "911" button. The message gives the co-ordinates of the sender, his ID and a link to Google maps. It also allows tracking (displayed on Google Maps). Very neat for outlandings, and, in general, allowing others to follow you. Understandably it is really taking of in the States and Europe. Most online shops now carry them.
I will be using one in Italy, particularly as it is very easy for me to tell Christelle and the kids back home that i have arrive safely back at Rieti (I always let her know when I am back on terra firma). It may be a way to communicate to Ulf as I round each turnpoint - and he will be able to track me as well.
Spot has a shared page which the public can access - I will set it up and post the link.
Technology is really advancing in leaps and bounds - Flarm also has a Flarmnet page with, if i understand it correctly, a tracking capability.
EY
I will be using one in Italy, particularly as it is very easy for me to tell Christelle and the kids back home that i have arrive safely back at Rieti (I always let her know when I am back on terra firma). It may be a way to communicate to Ulf as I round each turnpoint - and he will be able to track me as well.
Spot has a shared page which the public can access - I will set it up and post the link.
Technology is really advancing in leaps and bounds - Flarm also has a Flarmnet page with, if i understand it correctly, a tracking capability.
EY
Friday, 23 May 2008
The report on the JS1 at Mifflin from Leo Benetti-Longhini
Extracts from a report by the USA agent of the JS1 - Leo Benetti-Longhini (with some photo's)
.jpg)
Crossing the finish line
"Dear Jonker Sailplanes personnel,
Excellent news from across the Atlantic and much to be thankful for - Bill Elliott of Huntsville, Alabama is the new 18m USA National Champion! Thursday 22nd May was the final day of the 10-day contest. It was the fifth day of racing due to wet and very challenging weather that saw several ridge tasks due to strong winds. The scores going in to the final day placed Bill at the front of the pack with a mere 4 point lead over US team member and former World Champion Doug Jacobs (DJ) [and the winner of the final day in the 2006 WGC in the standard class in Sweden - if i may add ;-). Up and coming Devin Bargainnier (OO) held third.
Roy McMaster, Bill Elliott, Doug Jacobs
Bill Elliott with the JS1
The final race-day brought more rain and strong winds. Many believed that we would not fly and some humorously teased Bill about doing a rain dance so that he could be assured of a win by having another no-fly day. Contest manager John Good had other ideas - pilots were instructed to rig and get ready. A pilot meeting was called on the runway at noon, a turn area task (TAT) with nominal distance of 205 miles was declared, and the launch was underway at 12:20.
The day’s grid resulted in JS1 launching first. Pilots faced a strong almost 90 degree crosswind. Multiple rain showers blew through, but the ridge was working, and other than the launch crews waiting for lulls in the gusts, the launch proceeded. Cumulus clouds were 4000 AGL. Some wave was present to lure contestants to try alternate ridge-jumping strategies. The weather cycled rapidly with rain-showers blanketing many areas of the task. Choosing a start time was definitely a roll of the dice.
Bill left the start gate early at 13:11 (unusual that he did not shadow DJ as a strategy). The first leg was a southwest ridge run of about 60 miles to a turnpoint about 7 miles off the end of the ridge out in the valley. This required three thermals to climb up sufficiently, step out to the valley, and to get back to the ridge. From there it was a northeast run past Mifflin County to a turnpoint called Mifflintown. This included a 10 mile run in heavy rain. Before being able to go to the next turnpoint (Wagner Gap) located about 25 miles downwind, Bill had to backtrack 20 miles to get clear of the rain in order to safely leave the ridge and fly downwind using thermals. From Wagner Gap Bill flew into the 30 mph headwind deviating from the course back to the finish line by 45 degrees to avoid new rain showers. Bill made it home first and this time his radio call “Juliet Sierra One, four miles” was music!
...
Bill came in 4th for the day, mostly driven by a less-than-optimum early start and the backtracking because of the rain showers. When the flight logs were in, a major reshuffling of the players became evident. The day’s weather was some of the most technically challenging I have ever seen. Contest positions were decided by whether pilots were even able to make it around the course and the day’s speeds were dictated by phasing with the tricky weather phenomena.
....
It was quite gratifying that the other contestants were definitely cheering for Bill and the JS1. The whole atmosphere at Mifflin was decidedly positive and humorous in spite of the damp weather. It is definitely a contest to recommend (for the location, the organizers, and the competitors). This summer (northern hemisphere) is definitely off to a fantastic start building on Attie’s success at the SA Nationals back in January. The next few weeks will see some major decisions regarding upcoming contests with this glider. Congratulations and thanks to you all for building a winning machine!
Leo"
EY
.jpg)
Crossing the finish line
"Dear Jonker Sailplanes personnel,
Excellent news from across the Atlantic and much to be thankful for - Bill Elliott of Huntsville, Alabama is the new 18m USA National Champion! Thursday 22nd May was the final day of the 10-day contest. It was the fifth day of racing due to wet and very challenging weather that saw several ridge tasks due to strong winds. The scores going in to the final day placed Bill at the front of the pack with a mere 4 point lead over US team member and former World Champion Doug Jacobs (DJ) [and the winner of the final day in the 2006 WGC in the standard class in Sweden - if i may add ;-). Up and coming Devin Bargainnier (OO) held third.
Roy McMaster, Bill Elliott, Doug Jacobs
Bill Elliott with the JS1
The final race-day brought more rain and strong winds. Many believed that we would not fly and some humorously teased Bill about doing a rain dance so that he could be assured of a win by having another no-fly day. Contest manager John Good had other ideas - pilots were instructed to rig and get ready. A pilot meeting was called on the runway at noon, a turn area task (TAT) with nominal distance of 205 miles was declared, and the launch was underway at 12:20.
The day’s grid resulted in JS1 launching first. Pilots faced a strong almost 90 degree crosswind. Multiple rain showers blew through, but the ridge was working, and other than the launch crews waiting for lulls in the gusts, the launch proceeded. Cumulus clouds were 4000 AGL. Some wave was present to lure contestants to try alternate ridge-jumping strategies. The weather cycled rapidly with rain-showers blanketing many areas of the task. Choosing a start time was definitely a roll of the dice.
Bill left the start gate early at 13:11 (unusual that he did not shadow DJ as a strategy). The first leg was a southwest ridge run of about 60 miles to a turnpoint about 7 miles off the end of the ridge out in the valley. This required three thermals to climb up sufficiently, step out to the valley, and to get back to the ridge. From there it was a northeast run past Mifflin County to a turnpoint called Mifflintown. This included a 10 mile run in heavy rain. Before being able to go to the next turnpoint (Wagner Gap) located about 25 miles downwind, Bill had to backtrack 20 miles to get clear of the rain in order to safely leave the ridge and fly downwind using thermals. From Wagner Gap Bill flew into the 30 mph headwind deviating from the course back to the finish line by 45 degrees to avoid new rain showers. Bill made it home first and this time his radio call “Juliet Sierra One, four miles” was music!
...
Bill came in 4th for the day, mostly driven by a less-than-optimum early start and the backtracking because of the rain showers. When the flight logs were in, a major reshuffling of the players became evident. The day’s weather was some of the most technically challenging I have ever seen. Contest positions were decided by whether pilots were even able to make it around the course and the day’s speeds were dictated by phasing with the tricky weather phenomena.
....
It was quite gratifying that the other contestants were definitely cheering for Bill and the JS1. The whole atmosphere at Mifflin was decidedly positive and humorous in spite of the damp weather. It is definitely a contest to recommend (for the location, the organizers, and the competitors). This summer (northern hemisphere) is definitely off to a fantastic start building on Attie’s success at the SA Nationals back in January. The next few weeks will see some major decisions regarding upcoming contests with this glider. Congratulations and thanks to you all for building a winning machine!
Leo"
EY
711 reporting
Tom Kelly has made some observations on the JS1 in his very informative blogg
see http://711reporting.blogspot.com/
EY
see http://711reporting.blogspot.com/
EY
The score board at the USA 18m nationals
The scoreboard (top 20) looks like this
1 3435 JS1 Elliott, Bill JS1A 7 694 76.17 208.44
2 3173 1 McMaster, Roy ASW-27 3 765 84.05 208.57
3 3149 DJ Jacobs, Doug Ventus 2CX 19 412 167.50
4 3083 MD Sullivan, Corey Ventus A 5 741 81.39 203.58
5 3041 SM Seymour, John ASW-27 11 634 69.59 204.62
6 3032 97 Sullivan, Monty Ventus 2CX 8 678 74.47 206.37
7 2971 5E Nelson, Erik Ventus 2AX 4 749 82.32 207.30
8 2963 711 Kelley, Tom ASG-29 12 630 69.21 203.41
9 2954 XC Murphy, Sean Ventus 2B 15 595 62.55 206.35
10 2918 W3 Welles, Tim Ventus 2CX 14 596 63.14 205.99
11 2917 UH Nixon, Hank ASW-27 17. 18 454 174.73 AB
12 2842 OO Bargainnier, Devin Ventus 2B 23 368 149.64
13 2773 HH1 Wirz, Nick Discus CS 9 645 70.88 208.10
14 2771 P7 Ittner, Gary ASG-29 21 394 160.29
15 2728 TW Kramer, Dale Discus CS 16 581 54.55 198.94
16 2689 KS Striedieck, Karl ASW-27 20 398 151.64 AB
17 2497 MC McCarron, Mike ASW-27 24 335 136.42
18 2356 8H Tyler, Al ASG-29 26 0 0.0 W, F
19 2305 18H Banarhall, John Ventus 2AX 26 0 0.0 W, F
20 2276 11L Oldershaw, Paul Ventus B 1 25 231 93.95
EY
1 3435 JS1 Elliott, Bill JS1A 7 694 76.17 208.44
2 3173 1 McMaster, Roy ASW-27 3 765 84.05 208.57
3 3149 DJ Jacobs, Doug Ventus 2CX 19 412 167.50
4 3083 MD Sullivan, Corey Ventus A 5 741 81.39 203.58
5 3041 SM Seymour, John ASW-27 11 634 69.59 204.62
6 3032 97 Sullivan, Monty Ventus 2CX 8 678 74.47 206.37
7 2971 5E Nelson, Erik Ventus 2AX 4 749 82.32 207.30
8 2963 711 Kelley, Tom ASG-29 12 630 69.21 203.41
9 2954 XC Murphy, Sean Ventus 2B 15 595 62.55 206.35
10 2918 W3 Welles, Tim Ventus 2CX 14 596 63.14 205.99
11 2917 UH Nixon, Hank ASW-27 17. 18 454 174.73 AB
12 2842 OO Bargainnier, Devin Ventus 2B 23 368 149.64
13 2773 HH1 Wirz, Nick Discus CS 9 645 70.88 208.10
14 2771 P7 Ittner, Gary ASG-29 21 394 160.29
15 2728 TW Kramer, Dale Discus CS 16 581 54.55 198.94
16 2689 KS Striedieck, Karl ASW-27 20 398 151.64 AB
17 2497 MC McCarron, Mike ASW-27 24 335 136.42
18 2356 8H Tyler, Al ASG-29 26 0 0.0 W, F
19 2305 18H Banarhall, John Ventus 2AX 26 0 0.0 W, F
20 2276 11L Oldershaw, Paul Ventus B 1 25 231 93.95
EY
JS1 takes US 18m nationals
Word on the internet has it that the JS1, at the hands of Bill Elliott, took the USA 18m nationals!!!
The Jonkers could not have asked for a better start to an international career for their ship.
EY
The Jonkers could not have asked for a better start to an international career for their ship.
EY
Monday, 19 May 2008
JS1 Day 3 - no fluke
The JS1, at the hands of Bill Elliott, flew to first place on day 3 of the USA 18m Nationals. He beat Doug Jacobs by 6 points to take the overall lead by 4 points.
The results reads as follows
Cumulative Name Glider Rank Day Points Speed Distance
-- ---- ------ ---- ------ ----- -------- ---- -------- ------
1 2206 JS1 Elliott, Bill JS1A 1 426 117.69 154.83
2 2202 DJ Jacobs, Doug Ventus 2CX 2 420 116.04 155.10
3 2121 8H Tyler, Al ASG-29 13 397 109.90 155.01
4 2082 KS Striedieck, Karl ASW-27 5 407 112.54 151.74 MT
5 1964 OO Bargainnier, Devin Ventus 2B 5 407 112.49 151.52 MT
6 1954 UH Nixon, Hank ASW-27-17. 11 398 110.12 155.52 MT
7 1926 P7 Ittner, Gary ASG-29 8 403 111.45 151.95 MT
8 1923 1 McMaster, Roy ASW-27 14 393 108.82 154.95 MT
9 1897 SM Seymour, John ASW-27 9 400 110.52 151.68 MT
10 1857 97 Sullivan, Monty Ventus 2CX 16 381 105.47 153.61 MT
http://www.ssa.org/members/contestreports/ContestResultsFullDetail.asp?contestId=&ContestDetailId=3529&ContestName=18+Meter+Nationals
Great going against a formidable field ;-)
EY
The results reads as follows
Cumulative Name Glider Rank Day Points Speed Distance
-- ---- ------ ---- ------ ----- -------- ---- -------- ------
1 2206 JS1 Elliott, Bill JS1A 1 426 117.69 154.83
2 2202 DJ Jacobs, Doug Ventus 2CX 2 420 116.04 155.10
3 2121 8H Tyler, Al ASG-29 13 397 109.90 155.01
4 2082 KS Striedieck, Karl ASW-27 5 407 112.54 151.74 MT
5 1964 OO Bargainnier, Devin Ventus 2B 5 407 112.49 151.52 MT
6 1954 UH Nixon, Hank ASW-27-17. 11 398 110.12 155.52 MT
7 1926 P7 Ittner, Gary ASG-29 8 403 111.45 151.95 MT
8 1923 1 McMaster, Roy ASW-27 14 393 108.82 154.95 MT
9 1897 SM Seymour, John ASW-27 9 400 110.52 151.68 MT
10 1857 97 Sullivan, Monty Ventus 2CX 16 381 105.47 153.61 MT
http://www.ssa.org/members/contestreports/ContestResultsFullDetail.asp?contestId=&ContestDetailId=3529&ContestName=18+Meter+Nationals
Great going against a formidable field ;-)
EY
Friday, 16 May 2008
JS1 Day 2
The JS1 placed 4th on day 2 - and is only two points behind the leader (in an illustrious field).
Also great to see Dale Kramer back and racing.
EY
Also great to see Dale Kramer back and racing.
EY
Flying in the USA 18m
The JS1 placed second on the first day of the USA 18m contest being held at Mifflin.
Herewith a posting from Rand Baldwin
Flying in moderate conditions over a 232 mile assigned speed task, Al Tyler of Perry, SC (ASG-29), and Huntsville's Bill Elliott managed a 1-2 placing, finishing only seconds apart with 6 points separating the two pilots.
Bill said that he was able to outclimb everyone in the South African JS1 Revelation, including the open class ships, and was beating the opens in the run!
Twenty-five registered contestants and four guests are competing.
The scores are posted at
http://www.ssa.org/members/contestreports/contestresults.asp
, as are the flight logs of the top three pilots.
Rand Baldwin LS-8a "NN"
A great start to an international career
EY
Herewith a posting from Rand Baldwin
Flying in moderate conditions over a 232 mile assigned speed task, Al Tyler of Perry, SC (ASG-29), and Huntsville's Bill Elliott managed a 1-2 placing, finishing only seconds apart with 6 points separating the two pilots.
Bill said that he was able to outclimb everyone in the South African JS1 Revelation, including the open class ships, and was beating the opens in the run!
Twenty-five registered contestants and four guests are competing.
The scores are posted at
http://www.ssa.org/members/contestreports/contestresults.asp
, as are the flight logs of the top three pilots.
Rand Baldwin LS-8a "NN"
A great start to an international career
EY
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
A super fast magnificent flight
This is a belated post (it was stuck in the blogg editor)
The beauty of soaring is also to be found outside of the contest arena - on the 2nd of February I was privileged to fly with Martin Gruenert on a training flight in a DG500M - we joined up with Alan O'Regan in hsi LS 8, X32 and had one of the most amazing runs I have ever experienced, straight from Worcester to Klawer 220km at 145kph, without turning once - Alan's trace is at http://www3.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-520879654
We were only able to download the flarm trace later and i will post it separately
Play the two flights together and see how we rushed down the Klawer gutter at 200kph plus, 1000ft amsl (the surface is a little higher than sealevel ;-) and spot the mistake coming back (KS is right - "all ridge runners will face low energy / weak lift situations at some point in almost every flight ... never put yourself in a situation where your plan has to work." - see http://miffling.soaringweb.net/ridge.htm ).
We then had another amazing run down the Porterville ridge and spot how Martin races neck and neck with Alan. As Alan said, it was the best he has experienced on the front ridge. Speaking for myself: it was my first ridge flight to Klawer and it rates as one of the most memorable flights I ever had - we ended it off with some convergence flying on the way back from Ashton and (suspected) wave almost to 8000ft - advising X32 that the valley was working when the Witzenberg failed him (see his trace for his low energy point ;-)
EY
The beauty of soaring is also to be found outside of the contest arena - on the 2nd of February I was privileged to fly with Martin Gruenert on a training flight in a DG500M - we joined up with Alan O'Regan in hsi LS 8, X32 and had one of the most amazing runs I have ever experienced, straight from Worcester to Klawer 220km at 145kph, without turning once - Alan's trace is at http://www3.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-520879654
We were only able to download the flarm trace later and i will post it separately
Play the two flights together and see how we rushed down the Klawer gutter at 200kph plus, 1000ft amsl (the surface is a little higher than sealevel ;-) and spot the mistake coming back (KS is right - "all ridge runners will face low energy / weak lift situations at some point in almost every flight ... never put yourself in a situation where your plan has to work." - see http://miffling.soaringweb.net/ridge.htm ).
We then had another amazing run down the Porterville ridge and spot how Martin races neck and neck with Alan. As Alan said, it was the best he has experienced on the front ridge. Speaking for myself: it was my first ridge flight to Klawer and it rates as one of the most memorable flights I ever had - we ended it off with some convergence flying on the way back from Ashton and (suspected) wave almost to 8000ft - advising X32 that the valley was working when the Witzenberg failed him (see his trace for his low energy point ;-)
EY
Monday, 12 May 2008
NEW ASW 27 TIPS
Hi all
Reporting from the 18 USA Nationals being held at Miflin, 711 posted this picture of UH (Hank Nixon - if i recall correctly, fondly also known as Admiral Nixon)'s 27:
With the comment: UH has added something new to his ASW 27.........look at the tip section.........is it a bug collector or will it really work? Is this a 27 with 2cx enveeeeeee???
the blog is at https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIug-U0GMhQMPzBUR4nGYYmYzb6GJeexd87HmrL_4zOgVsbdUuAJbnAFly7Gtl6J-rSN4RL_EMiiDVn8U3v5uuEyu5M_GipVfApXCFjpiBAk9Nc2sfTNowuLBKztOujq0lfZkcdVg0oCdq/s1600-h/Image010.jpg
(and it is a really nice blog).
The score sheet reflects the 27 as 27 17
http://www.ssa.org/members/contestreports/ContestResultsFullDetail.asp?contestId=&ContestDetailId=3493&ContestName=18+Meter+Nationals
is the link to the contest results (so far only practice day 1, so this news from 711 is really fresh)
It would be interesting to know: what the performance difference is? If it is an approved mod? (and how much it costs).
AND what i wouldn't give to be able to fly in that contest!!!
regards
Sven
Reporting from the 18 USA Nationals being held at Miflin, 711 posted this picture of UH (Hank Nixon - if i recall correctly, fondly also known as Admiral Nixon)'s 27:
With the comment: UH has added something new to his ASW 27.........look at the tip section.........is it a bug collector or will it really work? Is this a 27 with 2cx enveeeeeee???
the blog is at https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIug-U0GMhQMPzBUR4nGYYmYzb6GJeexd87HmrL_4zOgVsbdUuAJbnAFly7Gtl6J-rSN4RL_EMiiDVn8U3v5uuEyu5M_GipVfApXCFjpiBAk9Nc2sfTNowuLBKztOujq0lfZkcdVg0oCdq/s1600-h/Image010.jpg
(and it is a really nice blog).
The score sheet reflects the 27 as 27 17
http://www.ssa.org/members/contestreports/ContestResultsFullDetail.asp?contestId=&ContestDetailId=3493&ContestName=18+Meter+Nationals
is the link to the contest results (so far only practice day 1, so this news from 711 is really fresh)
It would be interesting to know: what the performance difference is? If it is an approved mod? (and how much it costs).
AND what i wouldn't give to be able to fly in that contest!!!
regards
Sven
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Segelflyg April 2008
This arrived in the post, unannounced, but very welcome, the JS1 on the front page of Segelflyg and a very nice article on the Dust Devil ;-)
(if only i could understand it all)
Thank you to all the Swedish supporters.
EY
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Day 7
Day 7 was compressed into day 6 and, at short notice, the prize giving was advanced 24hours. We sat down for dinner on Friday night, with a decidedly cold air and rain outside, with more predicted for Saturday. Oscar took home the winners cup in the 15m - and hats of to him again. I finished third behind Laurens. It was as always a delight to fly the contest and I look forward to be back next year.
On Saturday it was the long road back to Cape Town - mostly (and unusually) in rain.
In the meanwhile the preparation for Rieti is going into overdrive ;-) and this contest really helped (at least i hope so).
Tomorrow, once i am back behind a desktop, i hope to post some pics from Welkom - not that i took that many photo's.
EY
On Saturday it was the long road back to Cape Town - mostly (and unusually) in rain.
In the meanwhile the preparation for Rieti is going into overdrive ;-) and this contest really helped (at least i hope so).
Tomorrow, once i am back behind a desktop, i hope to post some pics from Welkom - not that i took that many photo's.
EY
Friday, 2 May 2008
Day 6
Well, the bad weather has moved in, and briefing has been postponed to 16h00 this afternoon. It is cold and windy with intermittent rain. The outlook for tomorrow is also not the best.
EY
EY
Thursday, 1 May 2008
Day 5
Despite an optimistic outlook from the NOAA forecast with 12000ft cloud bases and 3ms it quickly became clear that it was going to be blueish, cool and difficult. I snuck of early, as part of a game plan to get ahead, but I did not connect to the strong climbs under the enticing climbs at Alanridge, and down to 700m I took some weakish climbs before i connected to some good lift 40km short of the Bothaville, the first turnpoint. Oscar started behind me, but turned back for a strong climb and a restart some 10 minutes later. I rounded Bothaville with the blue sky waiting towards Hoopstad and the gaggle gathering around. Just as the clouds ended OG was with me - and after Hoopstad the two of us were a little bit too conservative and Laurens grabbed the opportunity to finish ahead of us and take the day. Well, my little plan did not work, and if only i could have glid to the massive dusty i saw on the first leg - but that was out of reach and hats of to Laurens.
EY
EY
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