And then we rested

Here's what we did on the rest day today - almost nothing! It was great. We had been flying for 7 straight days including practice days, so I was ready for a break. We had a leisurely breakfast and headed out for a nearby lavender farm...yes, you heard correctly...a lavender farm in the volcanic rock countryside of northern California. It was very nice to wander through the rows and harvest a bunch of lavender for myself.

The flying has been pretty good considering the heavy smoke (see Tim's blog for more about that). He has been very frustrated with winpilot, which is known as a good program, but he has never used it before. This has made for many errors, some of which have cost him points. But if you aren't looking at the scoresheet, as he claims not to be, this shouldn't be a problem, right?

Any way, he is having fun flying the Sparrowhawk. The baby is having fun watching that firebomber and visiting her favorite tow planes. She is partial to the yellow husky for some reason.

The weather looks to be heating up into the 100s for the next few days. We'll let you know how they turn out...
Susanbb

Sports Class Nationals Day 1

Hi Everyone!
It's blogging time again - from the Super 8 in Yreka, California where it’s hot and smoky as all get out. Not smoky from the two dozen truckers who have their rigs parked out in the lot. I mean smoky like smoky the bear (only you can prevent forest fires and you really fell down on the job because now much of northern california is burning smoky).

We were lucky enough to have Greg & Neva Cole offer Tim their personal sparrowhawk to fly in this contest. It’s different from other gliders. First of all, it is yellow, like a flower or a ray of sunshine. Second, it weighs 215 lbs empty. This vs. the SZD 55 we have at home which weighs 499 lbs dry. It’s kind of like a pocket glider, or a ‘fun size’ glider, you know, like those mini candy bars. Tim has been enjoying it so far. Unfortunately he found himself calling me on the cell phone from someplace called Butte Valley about 5:45 this evening. Oh well!

The baby is enjoying watching all of the gliders and airplanes. She often points at gliders and says ‘da da’ which is either cute or sad depending on your point of view.

More later –
Susan

December 21 Contest Day 3

Today is the third contest day and we are getting ready for launch. The weather looks nice again, so we'll see what the day brings. The only way is up for Tim, who had a tough day yesterday - but clawed his way home in true Tim fashion.

One of the funny things about this area is how early everything closes. We walked to the town last night after 8 pm to get an ice cream and found everything except the one pub to be closed! Most dinner places close at 6:00. You have to be organized to get your dinner. Our hotel does serve later, so we're getting fed, never fear!

Tonight is the Biscuits Bark Up at the same local pub. This annual event brings together local sheepdogs in a comp to see how loud they can bark. I am thinking of entering the baby. She is pretty loud sometimes!

Susan

December 17, 2007

Omarama - it's one of those little gliding towns. If you've been to a contest, you have been to a town just like this somewhere. It reminds me of a small Walden, CO or Pagosa Springs. It has everything you need, though - a few hotels, a few restaurants, two gas stations, and a 4-Square, which is a small grocery store. Most importantly, it has fabulous gliding conditions - usually. They did fly yesterday (Tim's flights are posted on the OLC if you are inclined to look at them).

We survived the trip OK, and the baby is doing great.
More soon,
Susan

Tim Arrives in NZ

Tim arrived in NZ yesterday (well, it is the yesterday that is my today...I think. The whole dateline thing is a bit confusing.) He is there. The area around Omarama is really beautiful, he says. Everyone is very nice in NZ, too. So he's getting settled in and taking an orientation flight around the area.
Do you have any tips on traveling with a baby? If so, feel free to post them as comments below! I could use all of the help I can get!

Tim is on his way to NZ

Tim is on his way to NZ tonight. In a mere 24 hours after leaving Dallas, he will be in Christchurch, with only a 4-5 hour drive on the wrong side of the road ahead of him! His blog is www.echoyankee.com, so check out his reports as well.
I am excited to add another sponsor to our team: Nielsen Kellerman. Thank you for your support!

Susan

Rain, Bowling, Contest Complete

The rain overnight continued without a break all day. It was pretty obvious there wouldn't be any chance to fly today, so the day was cancelled, making this two-day contest nonetheless valid. The results were:
1. Victor Panafutin 18 pts
2. Tim McAllister 14 pts
3. Vladimir Bessarabov 13 pts

There was actually a tie for 3rd place, but Vladimir was determined the 3rd place pilot by a tiebreaking method in the SGP rules.

So Victor and Tim have qualified for the 2007 World Sailplane Grand Prix in New Zealand. It's quite a long way off, though, scheduled for December 2007. It's an exciting prospect. However, it doesn't ease our dissapointment with the weather here. Tim said that he had really looked forward to flying in Russia, almost more than the French Alps. Maybe we can come back some day? The people have been great, and we have had a good time here. The weather, well, what can you do? Everyone says it is really unusual for this time of year to have any rain. I have to say to Sabine Prasser - I think I am winning the rain competition!

So a bunch of us went bowling this afternoon at the nearby mini mall in Protvino. I took a bunch of pictures then promptly deleted them instead of copying them. So I am sorry, but no pics of bowling. It was a real American Brunswick bowling system, all computerized and fancy. I think I took last place with several frames of zero points. Well, someone has to be last!

After the closing ceremony tomorrow at noon, we will travel to Moscow for a few days before heading back to Dallas. Seems like a good idea to see some of the major sights other than the Drakino Airfield, although it is very nice.
Susan