- Flying to Long Beach, CA
Jul 2010 - Flying the CH701 and RV-7
Jun 2010 - Soaring in the Taurus
May 2010 - Ephrata Dust Up
May 2009 - DG-1000 on TV
Apr 2009 - Flying the A36 Bonanza
Dec 2008 - Soaring in the ASH-25 Mi
Nov 2008 - Flying the Cessna 340
Sep 2008 - Flying the Stearman PT-18
Sep 2008 - Northwest Soaring & Flying
Summer 2008 - Flying the Kitfox on Floats
Jun 2008 - Flying Old Yaller in Alaska
Apr 2008 - Flying the Chang (Pt2)
Jun 2007 - DG-1000 in Australia
Mar 2007 - Father/Son Soaring
Dec 2006 - Flying the Nanchang CJ-6
Dec 2006 - Soaring in Australia
Dec 2006 - Soaring in the DG-303
Nov 2006 - Soaring in Poland
Jun 2006 - Soaring in the 304 CZ
May 2006 - Flying the Lake Renegade
May 2006 - Soaring in Hemet, CA
Apr 2006 - Flying the Cessna 120
Jan 2006 - Flying the Jet Caproni
Jun 2005 - Warrior Flying
2004-2005 - DG-1000 Soaring
2003-2005 - Ridge Soaring in Hawaii
Mar 2005 - Flying the 1946 Swift
Nov 2004 - Flying the Goodyear Blimp
Oct 2004 - Flying the Cirrus
Sep 2004/Aug 2006 - Soaring in New Zealand
Mar 2004 - Check Out in the DG-1000
Sep 2003 - Ephrata Encampment
Jun 2003 - Flying the Stemme S10-VT
Oct 2002 - Darrington Expedition
Jul 2002 - Winter Soaring in Florida
Feb 2002 - Flying the T-33
Oct 2001 - Soaring in Ireland
Aug 1999 - Soaring in the U.K.
May 1999 - Flying the F-15 Eagle
1978-1987 - Other Fighters
1975-1985 - Flying the Phoebus
May 1976
Ephrata Dust Up - May 2009
I have always heard discussion that "contests are a great way to learn", or "I picked up more in that one contest than months of regular soaring". While I believed there was some truth to those comments, I also attributed some of it to competition euphoria. Having never personally competed in a soaring contest, due primarily to lack of a personal sailplane and/or schedule conflicts, I was very interested when Bruce Bulloch sent out the invitation last Spring for the Ephrata Dust Up 2009. The timing was right, and I was able to easily convince Lynn Weller, who I often fly with in his DG-1000, to join me as a team entry.
We had a blast in the three-day contest in May, with outstanding soaring conditions on the first two days, and challenging but fun weather for those who decided to fly on the third non-competition day.
Here are a few of my "lessons learned":
- Even with 26 sailplanes along the course, there were often long periods with no other sailplanes visible. I expected to see the sky littered with these 26 sailplanes marking each thermal, but although we did see other sailplanes now and then, it was the exception rather than the rule.
- You really get to know your equipment. Even though I had about 80 hours in DG-1000s before the contest, I experienced and learned a lot, especially about the high-speed performance of the bird. Although we often had impossibly shallow glide angle views heading home, we invariably made our final run at 100+ knots and still made it back fine.
- You really get to know your instruments/GPS/nav system. I had previously used the LX-7000 in the DG-1000 for rudimentary navigation information, but Lynn and I really delved into the details, and by the second contest flight we had all our turnpoint circles depicted, valid glide information presented and a much better working knowledge of our true capabilities.
- Competition is fun. We had a blast in the preparation, out on course as we crossed other's flight paths and observed their strategies, after the day's competition as we "told war stories", compared results, and generally developed more camaraderie with our flying mates. I highly recommend entering your next available local contest. You WILL learn a lot, and have fun in the process!
I'm already looking forward to Ephrata Dustup 2010!
