FSS 8 Sunday – Christmas Field 12/16/2012

The Gordon Report Sunday
With the sun shining through as we set up at the new field it was clear we were going to be treated to a beautiful sunny winters day. Yesterday’s fog and really low cloud had blown away and the forecast saw a little light rain and a wind from the south to be all we would have to contend with. Raed the CD called the first round at 6 minutes with the remaining rounds for the day to be 8 minutes. Lewis Grey brought out his beautiful Sailaire and it was truly magic to see that huge bird lumbering around in the lifty early air. We also had David join us from Gainesville and some time was spent before the contest helping him set up his launch mode for a better result.

The contest got underway a little late as a shower passed over and it was evident after the first round that with such perfect thermal conditions the day may well be a landing contest.
Once again Jody Miller set the standard in early rounds with precision landings as he and Dillon opened up a small lead over myself, Paul Mittendorff and Jeff DuVal. The Pompano crew including Jamie Mercado and Dan Johns flew consistently good times but didn’t quite match the landing scores of the top group. Clearly with some concerted landing practice these guys would be very hard to beat. Once again the new location saw a bunch of visitors arrive to observe the contest and one very interested onlooker is also on the verge of purchasing a sailplane to join us. The proximity to highway 50 is definitely a great advantage for the Buzzards club.

By round 5 the clouds had congregated to create a little precipitation and as we launched in light rain the remainder of the group began lunch. The shower soon passed and round 5 was completed. Round 6 saw a change at the top as I found the damp conditions a little soft and scratching to make time, fell 15 seconds short and missed the LZ with a rookie error. Mike Naylor also had a small mishap in the LZ and failed to score landing points.With conditions still perfect for soaring round 7 was completed with Jody retaining the top spot and Dillon in second with Jeff DuVal in 3rd. It was great to see Raed fly his new 4M Xplorer into 4th place.
The sportsman class was won by Mike with David in 2nd and Lewis 3rd.

The contest was over early to allow our visitors plenty of time to return to their homes in Sth Fl and Gainesville but everyone who attended this inaugural contest at the Christmas field agreed that it was one if the best FSS TD events ever.
That is the final contest for 2012. Thanks for a great year. See you all in 2013.
Gordon
PS. Thank you Lewis for taking some of the photos.

Scores Full Round by Round 2012 – FSS8 Sun Full

Scores Final Standings 2012 – FSS8 Sun

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