Rat Race folks

The 2010 Rat Race begins this week in Ruch, Oregon.

This paragliding competition is a great event that is geared to the newer XC pilot who wants to experience the competition scene in a less intense and more instructive environment.  A mentoring program pairs experienced pilots with those who are new to the sport.  Safety is emphasized and tasks are designed to provide challenging but safe routes through the Oregon hills.

Unfortunately my work schedule doesn't allow me to fly this comp in 2010.  Fly Safe and have fun!

For those of you looking for a map of the waypoints in the Woodrat area, HERE is one I built a few years back.

If you haven't seen it yet, I've written an article geared to newer XC comp pilots and it can be downloaded HERE.

I wrote and article for the Rat Race Pilot Handout a couple years back (not sure if it's still included) and it can be read HERE

The official Rat Race Website is HERE.
Official Rat Race Results are HERE

I hope the week is as instructive and enjoyable for you, as every Rat Race I've flown has been for me.

Tim
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2009 Rat Race Blogging -

The 2009 Rat Race begins June 28th and runs through the 4th of July. I am not able to fly the Rat Race this year, but here are the RESULTS and some links to good blog resources:

Brett's Blog
ridethecore.com

Alex Colby
http://http://2009ratrace.blogspot.com//

Reaper's Blog
http://hawaiipete.blogspot.com/

Jeff Farrel's Blog
http://blog.superflyinc.com/


I hope a safe and enjoyable event is had by all.

Tim

WCPC Day 5 - Task Canceled due to winds

Click on photos for larger version

We met at WCPC-HQ at 9AM while rain fell under overcast skies. Jeff Huey (Safety Director)talked a bit about safety and, I think we've coined a new moniker for his position - "Director of Danger" ;-)

We met Lucas, a local student from the Ruch area who was the recipient of a scholarship resulting from donations by pilots at last year's WCPC and Rat Race. He talked a bit about his aspirations and thanked the collective for our generosity. The Rogue Valley club is doing an amazing job of interfacing with local land-owners and residents. We actually feel welcome in the valley, which is very nice.

It was determined that the weather forecast showed potential for a late task this afternoon. We agreed to meet again at 1PM at the HQ.

We headed up the hill to launch only to be greeted by a rain shower on top. Soon it began to clear and a task was called.
A few pilots launched, but the wind at launch came up and I got popped when I tried. I killed the wing and decided to sit it out until the wind decreased. Launch closed for about 15 minutes and the task was canceled due to winds (at altitude - not launch) at 30 minutes before the start.

I launched to free-fly when the winds decreased and enjoyed a nice, short flight. I landed at the Longsword Winery with many other pilots. We were met by lovely Charlene who offered a glass of wine to those who landed in their LZ.
Tomorrow looks very weak, but flyable. Saturday looks great.
Below is a view of launch when a rain shower caused a rainbow over the LZ this evening.

Tim

WCPC Day 4 - Task Canceled - Due to O.D. (again)

Click on photos for larger version

When we arrived at launch the skies looked good in three quadrants. The view to the South of launch indicated we were destined to have large dark clouds early in the day however.

The task was a 34Km flight from Woodrat Pk. to Grant's Pk. to Trovin (a nice LZ located adjacent to a winery that is pilot-friendly). It was very similar to the task we tried to run yesterday.

I launched with 30 minutes before the start and was scratching in front of the 'mid-launch' when the discussion among the weather pilots and Mike began. "It's a 2" - "The cell is starting to rumble already." - "It's not IF, but WHEN you are going to cancel the day." With about 15 minutes to the start time, the task was canceled. Many relieved pilots landed in the LZ below launch and we were sprinkled by rain as we packed up. The call, again, was the right call. This is the view from the LZ, looking at the launch hill, just before it began to sprinkle.
Ironically the clouds that had appeared so ominous, suddenly dispersed and the skies over the launch and LZ became very friendly looking. Some pilots headed on course to Grant's Pass, and I wouldn't doubt that they have great flights, but my experience with Thunderstorms (capitalized due to some major respect) is that they are best left alone. They are unpredictable and fast-moving. When I'm strapped to a paraglider, I am anything BUT fast-moving. If I'm going to avoid T-storms, I go for the head start, every time. Below is a very short video of what the weather looked like when we packed up.

So, with four days of flying behind us, we only have 2 tasks scored and they each were less than 700 and 800 point days respectively. The Friday and Saturday forecasts look good, so I'm expecting to have at least 4 days scored this week.

Scores can be found at http://www.flyxc.org/2009WCPC.html

Tim

WCPC Day 2 - Task 2

CLICK ON ALL PHOTOS TO SEE LARGER VERSION

The task today was another great task. I think this may have been the most 'FUN' task that I've ever flown here - and that's after flying many comps and making goal - which I didn't do today.

Only one pilot (Matt (Farmer) Beechinor) made goal, but there were many of us that were within 6k of goal when the East valley winds kicked in and the sun was blocked by an intimidating super-cell to the South West. But I'm getting ahead of myself -

The day looked bleak from the moment we got to launch. Clouds at many altitudes were visible. There were scuddy clouds below hilltop level and some imposing buildups to the North. Here's a view from launch around 11AM.The task committee called a 42.5 Km task from Woodrat Pk (2K exit cylinder)- 20K to Bald Hill, - back to Rabies, then 9K to Jacksonville LZ. The day looked like it would be weak until it went off (assuming surface warming) and then just a matter of 'when' the clouds would OD.

I launched early again and soon was working with the gaggles to get and stay high. We were only able to get a bit above 5000' so the transition to Rabies (on the way to Bald Hill) would be another sketchy glide. Although starting a few minutes late yesterday worked in my favor, I found myself in a good position and high enough to head across 10 seconds after the start time. The reception at Rabies was about as 'homey' as yesterday. A few got nothin' and ended in the LZ after making valiant efforts to get up. In my case, I was down to 300-400 feet above the LZ when I dug into a thermal that took Andy, Brett, Paul and me back into the race. We got high enough to get into Rabies again and found some good lift that got us on course - a full 35 minutes after the start.We headed on course with an impressive view ahead. The photo below is of Josh, as we followed him on course. We didn't see any weather that was sinister looking until the last leg of the task. As we approached Rabies, prior to the turn East to Jacksonville, the development to the South was very scary looking. Because the course took us East, and because the weather wasn't moving rapidly, it allowed many to scoot along courseline to goal. The problem was the low-altitude winds had picked up and thwarted all but Farmer on the glide to goal.

I had my very own, personal roadblock - my brain quit working while on the way to goal. I had a field on my instrument programmed to give me (I thought) the glide ratio to goal required. . . I didn't do the math to check the indication so when I was approaching Rabies, the last turnpoint before the short leg to goal, I realized that I was too low to make goal and had to find a climb before going into the tiny valley between Ruch and Jacksonville. To make a long story short - I decided to end my flight with Tom in the Bishop LZ 10 minutes before the task was stopped due to the approaching weather. 30 minutes later we felt the gust front roll through the area with 20-30 kt gusts.

As I wrote earlier, only Matt Beechinor made goal with at least 12 others within 6Km of goal. Tom and I are probably in 12th-15th for the day.

This task was a lot of fun because it started with a very low save that took me from resigned defeat to running with the leaders for the next 30Km. I doubt that I'd have been able to make goal even if I hadn't brain-farted, but I would have been in the J-ville area rather than on the Ruch side of the hills.

Scores will be here: http://www.flyxc.org/2009WCPC.html
I just got a look at the scores. Here are the Cumulative top five in each category:
Open Class:
1 Mattew Beechinor 655 758 1413
2 Matt Dadam 632 653 1285
3 Josh Cohn 618 616 1234
4 Paul Murdoch 500 653 1153
5 Nate Scales 621 514 1135

Serial Class:
1 Peter Warren 375 607 982
2 Brett Hardin 353 618 971
3 Steve Young 350 582 932
4 Tim O'Neill 341 514 855
5 Melanie Pfister 149 544 693

Women:
1 Melanie Pfister 149 544 693
2 Nicole Mclearn 149 468 617
3 Meredyth Malocsay 303 218 521
4 Veronica Dubak 149 192 341

I'm in 11th overall and 4th in the Serial class.
My flight is HERE.
The weather for the next few days looks doubtful . . . I hope we get to do more flying.

Tim

WCPC - Practice Day 2

Today looked unstable early and we all knew it would over-develop before the day was done. The cell above was 20 miles East of us, near Medford, and it was late in the day before any over-development affected the Ruch area.


I launched early again today and got up easily. I headed across to Rabies and soon found a great thermal to 8,500 ft. Most of the collective wanted to go to Grant's Pass again, but I wasn't that motivated to fly the route again. I headed on course but turned and went to the West to make a triangle. I ended up an the Longsword Winery and enjoyed a nice red after packing up. My flight is HERE.

Tonight was sign-in for the WCPC and it looks like most of the regulars are here. Tonight the skies opened up with a very active lightning display and gully-washer rain, so the weather for the week is in doubt. I'm hoping to see some good short tasks early in the week and longer stuff when the instability eases. Wish me luck.

Tim

Woodrat Practice Day 1

Today was a great day in the Applegate Valley. I met up with Andy Palmer, Rob Sporrer, Nick Greece, and Matt Beechinor at the LZ. Tim drove us to launch and it looked good with cumulus clouds popping all around us. A couple students were in the air for a while and managed to find some lift at launch elevation, but it took an hour or so for the cycles to start, weakly, coming up the face of launch.
I launched first and managed to find a weak thermal that teased me as I drifted around the area trying to get up. I was able to hang for 15 minutes when I found a bubble that took me to 4500' and gave me the freedom to look around for a boomer. Meanwhile Farmer and Nick had launched but they immediately had to deal with a down cycle. Rob and Andy and (the other)Tim launched a few minutes later and also had problems getting up.

I was fortunate to be high enough to hang in the weak lift until Farmer worked his way up. We headed across to Rabies Ridge where we contacted some well formed convergence based lift. At this point Farmer headed out & I stayed with the lift until it topped out at 8600'. The clouds were still North and East of the direct course to Grant's Pass, but that's where we were going. I spent the next hour about 1/2 a thermal behind Farmer as we flew towards Grant's Pass. I feel bad because I really didn't contribute much to the flying, but it was a fun outing. We turned just short of Grant'sPass and decided to try to get back to Ruch. I was low man & wasn't willing to hike far (with my bum ankle) so I headed for a likely thermal trigger nearer the main road to Ruch. I got low and landed in a great field across the road from the Noble Dairy. After 45 minutes next to the road, displaying my 'GLIDER PILOT NEEDS RIDE' sign, Hector stopped to offer a ride. It was a fun day with a 24 mile flight in warm conditions. My flight track can be viewed HERE.

Tomorrow is registration day for the West Coast Paragliding Championships so I'll need to get back in time for that.

Tim

Dipshit

As in, "Tim can be a dipshit at times!" - I hope the reference isn't the 'despicable' definition!

I just returned from a working trip to Sydney and am preparing to head North to the WCPC (West Coast Paragliding Championships) in Ruch, Oregon. While on my layover in Sydney I had an embarrassing 'slip & fall' accident that caused considerable chaos within the confines of my left ankle. I had an xray done and today my Ortho-guy (yeah, I have a guy) gave me the good news that I did, indeed cause a small fracture where the tendon pulled away from the bone, but it will heal well and all I need to do is wear a splint to inhibit any further damage while it heals. He prescribed walking and said I'll be good to go hiking in a week. So, I'm using the DS word to describe me injuring myself this close to the comp - not my intention to fly it ♣


What this means to me, is that it's "GO" for the WCPC next week.

I'll be flying my Gradient Avax XC2 in this comp because I have had only two short flights on my (newly purchased) Boom 5.

I enjoy flying the Woodrat area because the flying is very technical. Pilots need to plan the flight and read the conditions as they change throughout the period of the task. Valley winds, areas of convergence that run for miles, and massive areas of sink, are all variables that can either make or break you. I've flown 3 or 4 comps in the area now and am looking forward to it.

The Ten-Day-Forecast for the Woodrat area looks a bit wet. I hope that this is an indication of great clouds, rather than a week of rain. It still looks good enough to get some flying in early and mid-week.

I'll be blogging as usual.

Tim

Competitions This Season

Well the season schedule is beginning to solidify for the coming year. I'll be flying in the first round of the U.S. Nationals in Dunlap, CA (April 27th-May 2nd) and then heading North to the West Coast Championships at Woodrat Mtn. (May 31 - June 6th). Finally, I'll be flying the second round of the U.S. Nationals in Utah (Aug.16th - Aug. 22nd).

In between these competitions I'll be flying as many BAPA XC league and SoCal XC league events as I can.

I've been a bit frustrated for the last month because the weather and my UAL schedule have conspired to make it impossible to attend any of the league events, so far. I've been doing some virtual flying (reviewing my past flights at Woodrat and Dunlap) and reviewing my XC Competition Tips from PGForum.com compiled and Lessons Learned from my first few Comps.

I'm looking forward to seeing everybody at the hill. It's always good flying, a good group & good times.

Tim

Lessons from the WCPC

This Blog Entry has been edited for inclusion in the 2008 Rat Race Book. It is now an article entitled "Lessons I've Learned From my First Few Comps" and can be downloaded HERE

I got home late last night after a 10 hour drive. The pop-up trailer was very comfortable and made the week of flying enjoyable. . . I figure that having the 20-yr-old camper saved me approximately $700 over the 9 days I was in Jacksonville. I ate well & had fresh, strong coffee each morning while laying in my bed - Life was good, even when the temps dropped to 40F at night.

The flying at Woodrat was classic Rat. Nice buoyant areas of convergence that are accompanied by strong (sometimes nasty) turbulence. The tasks were very well suited to the conditions as they changed over the week. This competition attracted most of the top 50 pilots in the US and I was very happy to watch & learn. Josh, the Erics, Dean, Brad and many others were always willing to offer advice. Jug and I had a lot of fun flying together and watching as our different styles still had us meeting up at the next turnpoint or thermal, wing-tip to tip.

Lessons I learned are below - Some are repeats of lessons listed in prior comps. I never have said that I learn quickly or efficiently - Just that I'm learning. . .

Be ready to launch early. Then Launch early.

I launched at least 35 minutes before, and usually 50 minutes before the start. I am now confident that I can stay in the air if anyone can. This confidence allows me to sample the air, explore the start cylinder for lift, and try to make my own start rather than chase the gaggle.

Get a GOOD START

I had 4 really good starts and a couple of marginal ones this week. A big lesson I learned is that being with the leaders, but low-man, as you cross the valley is not as competitive as being behind and high. Go fast by slowing down if the climbs haven't come at the right time.

Stay with the Gaggle.

It's not easy to stay with the comp wings on my Avax XC2, but I MUST try. If I get dropped, the second gaggle is an excellent place to be. It is easy to drop back (actually let them catch me) to the 2nd gaggle and be the 'high-guy' when they get to my thermal. It is sometimes amazing how close the second gaggle is (in time) to the leaders when getting to goal. More than once this week the leaders raced themselves into the ground, allowing the next batch of gliders to tip-toe through the weak patch & make goal.

Don't get low - or alone.

My two worst moments were the desperate last ten minutes of flights where I hadn't heeded the prior rules. I found myself low & alone. Without help, the chances of finding a low save are very small. It's all about making high probability decisions. - Even bold moves must be done with good odds. It's like playing poker & knowing all the odds - Going all-in looks bold to someone who doesn't realize the hands showing are in your favor 75% to 25%.

Don't Give up - Until it's time to give up.

On the last task I had goal almost made. I glided into Boaz Peak low, hoping to get to the 1k circle and then glide into the goal cylinder 1.75k (about a mile)away. As it turned out, I turned away from the 1k cylinder with 750 feet to go because I was heading downwind, into steeply rising terrain, in crap air, and I heard my inner voice say, "Tim - You are not going to get extra attention from the ladies, or rich, or famous, if you make this turnpoint. Do what's smart & fly the jet." So I did what I knew I should, turned & made a safe landing on my terms in a nice field. No fame ;-) but I get to fly another day. If I'd pushed it, I might have made goal, but it would have put me in 24th place overall, instead of 27th - worth it when the down-side was ugly? Nope. . .

As it was, I landed about 100 meters from where Marty had thrown his laundry when his wing went away at 50 meters in the air. He used up some luck & walked away unscathed. His luck was compounded when he made goal by a couple feet while he hung in the tree! Welcome to the Caterpillar Club Marty.

To summarize - I'm learning the game. Fly fast enough to stay with the gaggle but be ready to change gears and slow down when conditions warrant. My speed system was not set-up to allow me full bar & this hurt at times. A.J. flew his 2/3 with the comp wings by aggressive use of bar & pulled it off day after day. He's an excellent pilot and will go very far.

I had a great time at the WCPC. My flying wasn't as consistent as I'd like, but I am really understanding what's going on. When I make a bad decision, I'm realizing the consequences much sooner than before. I hope to be able to use these lessons to avoid the bad decisions in future flights. On an up note - I felt like I flew really well for portions of a couple tasks. My attention waned, or fatigue set in, or something - but for a while, things were really clicking.

Next comp is the BAPA comp in Dunlap next weekend. Then the Chelan XC Open in Chelan WA.

WCPC Day 7 - Task #6

The final day of the WCPC is over and, in my opinion, today was some of the sweetest flying of the week. Lift was abundant and convergence lines made for some extremely fast transitions. Jug & I had a fun day, trading leads (with respect to each other) and helping each other stay in the game.

The task was a 66k task with many valley crossings before the long leg down to Boaz Pk. and then Purcell.

The task was won by Greg Babush with Jack Brown in second and Marty Devietti in third. Marty had the distinction of crossing the goal cylinder under reserve. He said that as he came to rest hanging from the tree, he heard the Flytec "song" indicating he had crossed the goal. Fortunately he was completely unscathed in the incident.

This comp has been an extremely enjoyable one for me. The guys & gals that compete in the US are a small group & we depend on each other for guidance and council. I have had and given both & really enjoy the interaction.

Scores are HERE.

Thanks Mike & Gail, for another great week!

WCPC Day 6 - Task #5

Today's conditions were much like yesterday's. A blue day with low tops and an inversion around 5K and light N-NW winds that would freshen in the afternoon.

A 68K task was called to Grants Peak - Applegate - Donato (near Talent). It took a while to get cooking but the thermals were much less turbulent than yesterday. The start was a bit lazy since many were still trying to get max altitude before the crossing to Rabies. The first two gaggles set up well & we were off. The leader gaggle found a sweet thermal over the last ridge before the turnpoint & got high while the second gaggle broke up looking for similar lift. It took a bit of patience and tenacity to hit the first turnpoint, but once it was tagged - it was all downwind to the goal.

Dean Stratton placed first with Bill Hughes, Nick Greece & Josh Cohn close behind.
Marty Devietti and Greg Babush are 21 points appart so today should be exciting.

I had the kind of day that I would be happy to throw away - All week the name of the game was lee-side thermals. Today I got into a strong sinker in the lee & had to dive downwind to provide ground clearance. This was the end for me and my priority became a safe landing. I only got credit for 14km and placed 38th for the day.

A good buddy had a landing incident not far from my landing & broke his pelvis. He's doing well & I'm glad he'll heal soon.

Results are HERE

Today is the last day & I hope to fly better today.

Tim

WCPC Day 4 - Task #3

The third task of the WCPC was a 63k task that took us over Rabies to Billy up valley towards Grants Pass then back to Jacksonville (Cemetery) then to the Woodrat Peak then an upwind leg to Applin.

The winds were generally North with the normal forecast for valley winds and the incumbant convergence areas. Today Woodrat got its pound of flesh by slapping & booting us in many places along the route. The first two legs across the valley & up to Billy were straight forward with some strong climbs over the high ground. The turbulant lift and strong sinky areas forced some into the lee at low altitudes. The long leg to Cemetary was challenging as the sink took many of us into the hills East of Burnt low. Many good pilots raced to the dirt here either into or returning from the Cemetery turnpoint. I had a low time with Jug and Babush but we were able to get up & back into the race.

As we headed to Woodrat Peak over Burnt ridge, we encountered a violent and strong left line along the convergence of the NE and the WNW valley wind. We got a nice climb and Jug & I tagged the Woodrat Peak turnpoint. Only one more leg to goal but a 16km.leg upwind made me wonder if a line along the convergence I had just flown over Burnt might be the route to goal. I didn't like the look of the flying I was seeing in the lee of Rabies and the fingers East of the Peak so I decided to give my idea a try. Jug didn't come with me, instead he flew a more direct line into the sinky lee of the ridge.

My route almost put me on the ground. As I approached the Burnt Ridge I encountered very strong sink and reached the ridge below ridge height in very turbulent disorganized air. I slowly worked towards the NW end of the ridge where I have had low saves before and manged to hang around for 10 minutes (it seemed like an hour) until a sweet but rowdy thermal took me to 7200'. I showed 10:1 glide to goal but had a headwind so I knew I'd need at least one more climb so I headed for the high ground over Rabies Peak.

Many of the leaders were grovelling at low altitude in the lee of the peak and on the foothills but I looked like I was in much better shape - or so it seemed. . . I saw Jack B. circling low but climbing so I headed for him (He was climbing in the turbulent lee - but I had to get up) As I approached Jack he was climbing much better & the sink I was encountering was really strong. I tried to find his ripper but had to settle for some rough lift. The late thermals were the kind where you thermal 1/2 of a turn and then sink for 1/2 turn, only to be blasted up 75' in the next 1/2 turn. I saw many impressive collapses today as the Rat bitch-slapped each of us. Fortunately I didn't get anything worth mentioning. My Avax XC2 handled beautifully in the challenging conditions.

It was at this point the wind really started howling from the NW down the valley. I saw 25 km./hr. at altitude and 20km./hr. at 1000'. I saw some really good pilots setting up to land & decided to join them. It had been a good flight of almost 4 hours, but I don't like scratching in winds of this velocity and turbulence of this ferosity. I landed in a big field with Brad G. and Dave W.

Marty won the day by a good margin, but my heros are the 4 Serial Pilots in goal - NICE JOB GUYS

I placed 17th today which puts me at 6th in the Serial Class & 24th overall. My starts have been very consistant and the bad decisions I've made have been easy to identify - which I hope means I won't repeat them. . .

Scores are HERE

Day 5 - Task 4 looks like it may be a bit more stable and light NE winds. . .

Tim

WCPC - Day 3 - Task 2

The weather forecast was for 20k winds from the NW & N at altitude but a short task was called that would have all competitors down before 3:30pm.

We had 20 kids from the local school on launch & fielded many great questions from them. The task was a quick tour of the Ruch Valley from launch to Rabies Peak to Squires Peak to Burnt & out East to Cemetery then down to Donato. I'm sure the kids had a great view from launch of the first 20 minutes of the task.

This was a very fun task. It was very cold at altitude with fast (sometimes rough) climbs to cloudbase. The wind never became a problem so some great racing was had. A few of the top guys dirted prior to goal but there were at least 20 in goal with a good scattering along the last half of the 31k task.



I had another good start & made generally good decisions. I misjudged my approach to one of the turnpoints but generally am very happy with the flight. It was a lot of fun to race with Jug.

Scores are HERE

Tim

WCPC - Day 2 - No Task

No fly today. A dry front is forecast & Hayden says it's gunna blow. A great day to hike & tell lies.

Gail & Mike at cooking hamburgers for the pilots at 6pm.

Good flying conditions are forecast for tomorrow and the remainder of the week.

Tim

WCPC - Day 1 - Task 1

Today's task distance 63K.

The first task of the WCPC is over and it was a great day of flying. A 63kilometer task was called to Grants Pass then East to Gold Hill and back to the Ruch area to land at the Longsward winery. Winds were forecast to be northy but very light.

I launched as soon as it looked like folks were staying up and spent 45 minutes in the air prior to the start. I had great luck as the start time approached and was at the top of the stack right at the edge of the cylinder when my GPS sang its song * the race was on. This was my best start ever.

Rabies was working and soon there were three gaggles working to get up & on course. I was going to be conservative so I stayed with some lift longer than many did. This put me behind but able to see how the gaggles were doing ahead. I may not be so conservative in future tasks since getting behind doesn't seem to help as much as hurt,..

I made Grants Pass and dirted 3k before the Gold Hill turnpoint. 20 gliders or so made goal with many on the ground near my position. Babush & Devietti were first to goal. Results are HERE.
My flight is HERE.

I'm going to have to push harder to stay with the gaggle. Being conservative is only useful if you have help around & I was in the bad position of being alone & low when I dirted.

It was a great day though & everybody had fun.

Monday is forecast to be windy but we may fly a short task. . .