Santa Cruz Flats Race 2011

Brett's Cool Video

2011-09-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Hanggliding Unplugged from Brett Hazlett on Vimeo.
Here's a great little video by Brett Hazlett. It's a fantastic sampling of the landscape around the Santa Cruz Flats.

Prize Giving

2011-09-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Wills Wing boys cleaned up with Jeff O'Brien in first, Dustin in second and Mitch Shipley third.

Day 7

2011-09-24T19:25:00.001-07:00

Wild day in sky today. We set a 92km out and back task and headed out to the tow field. But, once we arrived, the sky starting looking very strange. There were little gust fronts in almost all directions and just before the opening of launch, a few blew through. They were short and not all that strong, but the fact that they were all around us was a big concern. The sky was full of cool clouds with virga falling from many of them. Johnny Thompson took the tug up for a little test flight and reported some of the scariest and most turbulent conditions he had flow in in quite a long time. So, we held the open of launch to watch conditions for a while. By about 1:30 the safety committee was finally talking about possibly opening things up again. There were still some small sections of virga in the distance, but we realized that we just couldn't get everyone in the air in time for a start before conditions shut down, so there was little hope for a fair task. In the end we had to cancel.

OB wins the meet - and gets the traditional bucket of ice water over his head.

The rest of the afternoon was spend blowing the dust out of all of our equipment, washing gliders and watching more dust storms roll through. Now we're off to the prize giving.

Protection

2011-09-24T11:56:00.001-07:00

This is what Glen had between his hands and the freezing cold at 15,000 ft yesterday ;-)

Final Day

2011-09-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

.....and an entirely different sky yet again. What will the day bring?

Task 6

2011-09-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

Epic day on course today. The first half was slow and difficult, but things picked up in a huge way. Pilots were reporting lift over 15,000ft. The first gaggle coming in had a 50km final glide for 45 minutes....they were complaining of freezing fingers - hard to imagine with the 108 degree record high temperature on the ground.

Only seven flexies in goal, but several landed just short (probably about 2 kilometers or less). Mitch Shipley had his first day win!! Brian and Steve in the Swift class made it in. Steve said that was his longest flight ever - both time and distance - and his highest altitude.

Goal - Day 5

2011-09-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Many in goal today after a slow and low start. It looked at first as though we would have many relites, but about halfway into the launch cycle everyone started to slowly climb out and head on course. There were at least 15 or so in goal with Robin and Kraig coming in first, but probably not winning the day as they were on an early start. Rumor has it that Joe Bostik took a half hour later start, coming in around the same time, so he will likely win the day.

Here's a shot of the gaggle from the Brian Porter in the Swift.

Task 5

2011-09-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day in the desert. This time we have clouds!!! They're all off on a 114km task around the flats coming back here to the Francisco Grande.

Pictures Day 4

2011-09-22T07:34:00.001-07:00

Midevening at the Oasis

2011-09-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

Beautiful sunset at the Francisco Grande last night. Other than Davis, no one seemed to be too terribly upset about what turned out to be a bad task call. It was unfortunate that the desert to our north and east wasn't effected by the storm and in hindsight, of course, we could have called a task that direction. Most everyone took it in stride and came back to the resort in a party mood with water balloons, fire crackers and margarita mix.

So now we have a slightly redesigned task committee and hopefully everyone will be happy with the task choices ;-)

Task 4

2011-09-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

We finally get a day with some clouds.....unfortunately in the end, we got a little too much. They called a out task to the El Tiro sailplane port to the southeast. But, it wasn't long after everyone launched that we started seeing quite a lot of development and virga to the southwest. We watched for a while and then got with several pilots on radio to see how it was out on course. Everyone was reporting that it was alright at that moment, but that the gust front looked to be moving toward goal. After about 15 minutes, we decided to stop the task.

Several pilots landed at the Eloy drop zone. Some tried to make it back to the Francisco Grande. But, by the time they got close, the gust front was moving through the resort too. There was a big wall of red dust moving through the sky with mamatas out on top. It wasn't as spectacular a site as some Arizona gust fronts I've seen, but it was still cool. I love the desert!

Cool Blogs

2011-09-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

You can find see more of what's going on here at the Francisco Grande at these blogs:

Jochen's blog
OB/Wills Wing blog
Ben's blog

Task 3

2011-09-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Only five in goal today. It was really tough for many as the window of decently soarable conditions was very very short today. If you got into the air early, apparently the day was quite good. But, being down one tug, the launch line was slow and hot and those at the end missed out and just had nearly no chance of making it around :-(

Dustin was amazingly fast today, flying the course in about two and a half hours - beating the Swift pilots by more than twenty minutes.

There should be quite a shakeup in the overall standings with Robin, Kraig, Brett and Joe Bostik not making it into goal.

Watch Live

2011-09-20T15:34:00.001-07:00

You can watch Davis' flight live here.

Just about briefing time....

2011-09-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

96km task all around the flats and back here to the Francisco Grande. Looking like another great day!!

Pictures - Day 2

2011-09-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

Task 2

2011-09-19T18:19:00.001-07:00

Another blue day, but still plenty of happy pilots in goal...I think about 18 or so. Brett, Joe Bostik and Kraig were in the top three spots, with Dustin and OB close behind.

The rigids and Swifts opted for an early launch today and went ahead of the flex class - that worked out well. Both Swifts made it in and half the rigid class as well.

Photos - Day 1

2011-09-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

Scores will be up in the morning. Meanwhile, here are some pics to browse through.

Calcutta, Committees, Clouds

2011-09-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

The Cloudbase Foundation raised over $2220 last night.

Task: Dustin, Coomber, Bunner
Safety: Mitch, Volk, Dinauer
Protest: Jochen, Robin, Allen

No clouds today and probably none all week.

The Calcutta Teams by Row

Martin Russek Kruse Solomon
Coomber Goldsborough Allen   Kaemerer
Hamilton Filipchuk Cuddy Branger
OBrien Shipley   McCulloch Dietch
Volk   Dinauer   Cizauskas Chipman
Hazlett Soderquist Kendall Venturini
Bunner Zimmerman Reynolds Guillemette
Bostik Gibson   Gotés Barker
Stinnett Dunn   Olsen Devorak
Zeischka Straub   Heilman Fierro

Task 1

2011-09-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

Great start to the comp. We were a bit slow with the towing because we were down half a tug. But luckily we didn't have a single re-lite...that always makes things easier.

James Stinnett blazed in and won the day - he was about 15 minutes or so ahead of OB who came in second and Davis third. In the end, there were eight in goal.

Year Five

2011-09-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

We've once again converged on the Francisco Grande for the fifth annual Santa Cruz Flats Race. We had heaps of pilots arriving early this year to soak up the hot dry sunshine. We had a bit of practice towing, some margarita drinking and pilot registration all day.

By evening we settled down for dinner, the first pilot briefing and the calcutta that raised over $2000.

Today's conditions are looking beautiful already...relatively cool in the morning with temps reaching near 100 this afternoon.

2011 Race Dates

2011-05-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

Because of a conflict at the resort this year, we have moved the dates of this year's Santa Cruz Flats Race to September 18th - 24th. Same great location, same great flying!!

We recommend contacting the Francisco Grande Resort as soon as possible to book your room - http://www.franciscogrande.com/ 800-237-4238. The entire courtyard is taken by another sports group this year, but they are offering a special rate of $69/night on Tower rooms.

Registration opens here, Sunday morning, May 22nd, noon eastern time.

Entry fee is $300, due at the time of registration to secure your spot. Towing fees will be determined based on pilot/tug numbers and we will inform by email.

Moyes Boys Take First, Second & Third

2010-09-19T21:56:00.001-07:00

Day 7

2010-09-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

The super light, powdery dust around here makes the invisible thermals visible much of the time. Thankfully, unlike most dust devils, these don't seem to cause much harm.

The goal finishes today were fantastic to watch from the tower deck. The boys like to see who they can scare off the roof, then they land down on the driving range below.

Jonny did his best to take back his lead, winning the day and coming in to goal about five minutes ahead of Kraig in second. We have to wait till the scores are in to see if he did it. Heartbreak for Robin who landed at the first turnpoint fairly early on. Carl will move into third making it a MOYES 1-2-3 finish yet again this year!!

Day 6

2010-09-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

The task committee was split on today's task. Dustin wanted to head out to some new scenic territory that unfortunately required an 8 mile unlandable final glide. Jonny wanted to come back to the pool and margaritas. They ended up voting at the briefing and the country club task won out.

Goal finish today was the best! Joe Bostik and Dustin came in first with Joe just edging out Dustin for the day win. All of the seven final glides were quite low and close. Jim and Brian on rigids were next. Brian tried his best to take both his wings off barely squeezing between two trees. Next were Kraig and Carl just eeking it into the goal field - Carl finally had a big smile (apparently he does well on little sleep ;-). Robin was last in just a few minutes behind them. Poor Jonny boy didn't quite make it in and landed about 200 meters short of the one kilometer goal cylinder. Dustin hopped in a tug and flew over to tow him back up.

Another great one and another good forecast for tomorrow. Looks like we'll get 7 out of 7 days flying!

Day 5

2010-09-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

Another great task yesterday. Light wind so we had a little triangle back to the resort. 20 back here at goal with Jeff Shapiro winning the day for team Wills Wing. Bill Soderquist landed just 6 feet short of the goal cylinder out in the desert :-(....we retrieved him with a golf cart.

Goal Day 4

2010-09-16T00:16:00.000-07:00

At last we have a racing day! 15 or so in goal after really nice conditions with cloudbase above 11,000ft! The Moyes boys did quite well with taking up the top four for the day - Robin, Jonny, Kraig and Derreck.

I had a nice little ride in the dragonfly before launch and got to enjoy the cool air for a few minutes and get some shots of the whole operation from above.

Day 4

2010-09-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

Gary Osoba is doing weather for us from afar (thanks Gary!!) and he's predicting better conditions today with lighter wind. So, they've set a 72km square task with goal out in a small airfield about 30km from the resort. Hopefully like yesterday, we'll have plenty in.

Speaking of yesterday, Grant Emary, one of the sport class pilots had a fantastic flight to the sport class goal then continuing on all the way (in his kingposted glider, with the Swifts!) to the open class goal. And, speaking of Swifts, Steve Morris, one of the designers of the Swift and Millenium, flying his 3rd competition task ever, made goal for the first time yesterday!! Go Steve!! Lots of happy pilots here.

Goal Day 3

2010-09-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

Although the towing was quite difficult with so many re-lights and a late start (around 1:30 before everyone really started going), turns out the day wasn't so bad after all. There were about 12 or so at the RC field goal. Kraig and Zippy got their birthday flights in a day late coming in first and second.

A few others had a more difficult time with retrieve in the middle of the desert ;-)

Day 3

2010-09-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

87.7km downwind task to the RC field we've been to every year. Launch conditions were really tough with super light lift and heaps of re-lights. They finally all got away, but many are down already.

Just in....

2010-09-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

Jonny just rang. They hit a headwind and many are down around 50km from goal - Jonny, Kraig, Robin, Ben and several others all together. Carl was 500ft off the deck just a few kilometers in front of them and another guy (perhaps hot pilot Larry Bunner?? ;-) was fairly high going over their heads. Should be interesting!!

Update on Today's Task

2010-09-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

There are cu's in the air today, not many, but something anyway and none of the high cloudiness that we had yesterday. 5-10mph wind out of the north which means they should be coming into a bit of a headwind. Tug pilots reported over 1000fpm lift during launch!!...much nicer than yesterday except for the extreme heat for us on the ground.

We're getting reports that a few of the top guys have landed short already. Glen Volk and Dustin Martin are down. Don't know where exactly, but they've been down for nearly an hour now. No word from the Moyes boys on radio yet, so they must still be pushing on.

Day 2

2010-09-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

116km out and back task to the south over some of the smaller mountains. Lift is expected to be much nicer than yesterday as we won't have the high cloudiness and the temperature will be a scorching 101 degrees!

Top 15 from yesterday:
1. Jonny Durand Jr. Australia Moyes Litespeed RS 3.5
2. Larry Bunner USA Will Wing T2C 144
3. Robin Hamilton GBR Moyes RS4
4. Nils Henden Norway Moyes Litespeed S4
5. Kraig Coomber Australia Moyes Litespeed RS 3.5
6. Dustin Martin USA Wills Wing T2C-144
7. Ricker Goldsboro USA Moyes Litespeed 4
8. Eduardo Oliveira Brasil Wills Wing T2C 154
9. James Stinnett USA Wills Wing T2C
10. Greg Dinauer USA Aeros L-13
11. Jeff Shapiro USA Wills Wing T2C 144
12. Glen Volk USA Moyes RS4
13. Chris Zimmerman USA Wills Wing T2C 144
14. Carl Wallbank GBR Moyes Litespeed RS3.5
15. Davis Straub USA Wills Wing T2 - 144

Scores are at www.soaringspot.com

Jonny pulls it off again!

2010-09-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Just one pilot in goal today...yep, Jonny boy! Hot pilot Larry Bunner was a very close second landing just about 20 meters short of goal. Kraig, Robin, Dustin, and Nils were all just a few kilometers short. Turns out it was quite a tough day. Jonny said he was in the air over four and a half hours.

Photos from Day 1

2010-09-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

2010-09-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

Looks like it was a pretty tough one. The high cloudiness shut things down a bit and many pilots are on the ground already. Carl, Glen, Derrek, Ben, Joe Bostik, Davis, Ricker, Bill Soderquist and many others are back here at the resort after landing short. Rumor has it that Jonny, Kraig and Dustin are still on their way in, but many think no one will make it.

Task 1

2010-09-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

96 km "bowtie" task with goal back at the Francisco Grande today. Quite a lot of high cloudiness that kept things pretty light all through launch. At one point Davis radio'd down that there was no lift and guys should wait. It picked up anyway and everyone got airborne and on course.

A few good guys have landed short already - Big Jon, Derreck and Carl. On radio they're sounding like it's not gonna be an easy day.

Practice Day

2010-09-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

Great looking weather conditions shaping up for this week. So far, the forecast is calling for light winds for the next several days....that means nice tasks coming back to the resort! Quite a few guys were towing up today for a bit of practice. The Norwegians were finding over 800fpm climbs even with a bit of high cloudiness blocking some of the sun. Not too terribly hot today, but we're expecting 106 degrees by Sunday.

As usual, we're taking over the resort with gliders in every corner.

Drivers

2010-08-10T01:34:00.001-07:00

If anyone is in need of a good driver, contact me at naughtylawyer@gmail.com. I have a few people that are looking for teams.

Registration

2010-05-17T01:37:00.001-07:00

September 12 - 18

2010-05-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

One of last year's most popular competitions has changed dates to benefit from lingering monsoonal moisture that will hopefully bring cumulus this year. The dates are September 12 - 18 with a practice day on the 11th.
As usual, we will be staying at the Francisco Grande Hotel http://www.franciscogrande.com/ 800-237-4238 Please reserve your rooms ASAP, we have reserved a limited block of rooms that may not accomodate everyone.

Registration opens here, Monday morning, May 17th, 9 AM eastern time.
Entry fee is $300, due at the time of registration to secure your spot. Towing fees will be determined based on pilot/tug numbers and we will inform by email.