Last minute retask!

After the Comp Director looking at webcams to the North, we had a rebrief at the front of the grid. Decision was taken to set a new task -

TASK C - Stokenchurch (SOS) - Oxford East (OXF) - Chilbolton (CBN) - Didcot (DID) - Booker Finish 1 (BF1) = 183.3km.

This turned into a bit of a "Treasurer's Special" for a few pilots who didn't make it through the start, relight, retried, landed, relight again and so the "kerching!" of the launch fees eventually stirred up enough of a thermal for a few late re-re-re-starters to at least head off to Oxford.

Eventually three pilots didn't start, a few didn't complete the task but everybody made it back to the airfield. We await the results.....

Friday tasks

The Comp Director announced the tasks today as:

TASK A - Stokenchurch (SOS) - Northampton (NOS) - Andover (AND) - Booker Finish 1 (BF1) = 243.7km
TASK B - Stokenchurch (SOS) - Buckingham (BUC) - Andover (AND) - Booker Finish 1 (BF1) = 201.6km

Currently we're going for Task A, with first launch not before 11:30.

Bump charts updated

Ed Davies has updated the bump charts for Day Four.

Here's a pic of Ashley (944) and his retrieve crew, eight year-old Alice, in a field yesterday.

Extra points if you can spot Stokenchurch mast in the background. A comment from Ahley sums it up:

"It was the perfect field - with a pub in the corner...shame it was only 4.1 nm from BOO!"

We're off for a curry!

First off all, well done to Denis (370) who made it around the task. Great performance. Results are now available on the main comp website page.

This evening we went for a curry. This was very well attended with around 24 of us going along. With an eye on the weather the majority of us steered clear of the Vindaloo and Madras! Let's see in the morning if it's worked.

Showers B* showers

They (we) started just as a shower arrived in the vicinity of the start sector and for some it kinda went downhill from there! 732 & K4 headed back to the airfield and sat on the bus 'tactically waiting' for the showers to go through and the weather to massively improve (which it didn't). Both relighted in the hope that the day had sufficiently recycled. Subsequently K4 landed out and 732 scuttled home.

Everybody else set off on task and either landed out or started their engines except for 370 who we haven't heard from yet. Here's hoping he's made it around!

Anyway, we're off to go and retrieve 'WD' out of a muddy field now!

Thursday task

Task A - Stokenchurch (SOS) - Wantage North (WNW) - Mursley (MUR) - Newbury South (NES) - Booker Finish 1 (BF1) = 225.4km.

Task B - Stokenchurch (SOS) - Wantage North (WNW) - Mursley (MUR) - Pangbourne (PAN) - Booker Finish 1 (BF1) = 180.6km.

First launch not before 12:00, currently aiming for Task A.

Vini Vidi Scrubby

The Comp Director did as promised and went off on a sniffer flight to Reading and back (loads of lift, straight line to Reading and back, blah, blah)....He came, he flew, he scrubbed......Strong winds and weak enthusiasm combined with showers to the West convinced him that it wasn't really a taskable day.

So, briefing 10:00 tomorrow morning.

Bump Charts now available

Ed Davies has kindly created Bump Charts for this year's comp. Gives a different view on progress. They've been added to the useful links section as well.

He's not letting the day go yet....

The Comp Director/Met Forecaster/Task Setter has had a conversation with himself and concluded that there may yet be a slot to fly a task. So, the plan is that he's going to act as a sniffer between now and 14:00 and if he can stay airborne in a K-21 he'll land and set the task at the front of the grid. So, could be an afternoon to sneak around the task whilst other competitors have disappeared off for the day :-)

Is it an AAT ?

Matt describes tactics of planning how to fly an AAT while we wait for the rebrief at 12:30