US Nationals Day 6

A 4 hour AAT was set over some of the most inhospitable terrain I have yet witnessed here. They never distribute the task until pilots are on the grid - so it is a bit of a rush to enter into PDAs and mark up maps. However I must say that I'm very impressed with the new Oudie - it is extremely easy to read compared with the old PDA I am used to. Now I just have to get used to SeeYou mobile!


The start tactics are quite different from Australia because of the option of starts out the top of the cylinder. A 5 mile cylinder means you are likely to find the best thermal somewhere well inside. But if you find it at over 5000 ft it is no use to you - you must pull brakes to be under 5000 for more than 2minutes - and ensure you dont exceed 70kt during that time. Today i had 3 attempts before getting one right. 

The task took us over some real boonies. There were a couple of times i had to make major deviations just to stay within range of a landable area. Others trusted a greater authority and got away with it. Thermals were broken and short-lived but it was good to have a decent flight after yesterday, especially since tomorrow looks unflyable. 

Bugs are really bad here - the leading edge was almost black. Here is a photo of the terrain we were flying over - sorry about the glare. 



There was a woopsie in the briefing this morning - someone dropped the Nationals trophy (it was made of glass)