Sunday

Starting to wake up after the 10 hour time change!  Today was a long day!  Some of us started early to get a jump on the registration process.... OMG I guess I'm pretty spoiled with the PWC which usually takes less than half an hour!  After 4 hours and counting, the FAI folks got together and decided that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to check, one at a time, every pilots harness back protector and helmet, and then match the glider serial number to a signed photo of the same serial number submitted prior to the 30 day deadline.  Instead they will be doing a random selection of equipment checks throughout the competition.....

We finally made it up to launch around 12:30 or so to find nice cycles moving through, a nice enough sky, and plenty of gliders soaring.....  Today was all about the speed system for me and getting things dialed in once and for all. I'm not so sure that going pully to pully was as critical in the past as it is now....  The R10 and the R11 have introduced a whole new world of stability on full speed which is kind of a game changer.  I fully anticipate that if the next climb is a sure thing, that gliders will be transitioning faster than ever before.  I'm thinking that if you give up your position to max out a climb with this crowd... hmmmm, lets see - probably just once on a full on racing day it will be game over!!

A single piece of 5mil Mammut Pro Cord running continuously from the speed bar up through the riser pullies was the ticket for me.  Never have I had such easy access to all the speed so here's hoping I can respect it at all the right times!

We landed just in time for the MANDATORY pilot meeting where we were taught 2 liner safety by Russ Ogden, along with some good local info.The organizers along with the city of Piedrahita made us feel very welcome with a great crowd and a fun Olympic type of parade nation by nation.  The official speeches were mercifully short and then on to the cultural entertainment, food, drink, and more entertainment, which at 3am is still going strong!

Being an afternoon site with an easy 20 minute drive to launch on a nice paved road, we are treated to bankers hours and don't have to show for the buses until 11:00-11:30!  Tomorrow is not just the official warmup day, but the official warmup task.  I'm thinking I'll just see how it goes and enjoy the flight without too much of a physical drain.  It's quite possible that we could fall into a favorable weather pattern and fly 10 to 11 race days... I know that XC Skies is happy for the next few days anyway.....

Jack