F5J Diggers Rest 20 Feb 2022
This was the rescheduled RCGA f5j event for Digger’s Rest from last week,
and the forecast this time was for relatively cooler conditions, and not as windy. The grass is getting high so we need to take care.
Eight of us rocked up, unfortunately several pilots had clashes with the rescheduled event, so could’ve had a few more attend.
A light northerly greeted us on arrival and many including me setup light and heavier planes as a backup in the vain hope of light conditions. Temperature was in the mid twenties, with substantial high cloud.
Of course as we walked out the for the start of the first heat, the wind suddenly shifted to the west with some strong gusts.
Westerlies are somewhat less common than the northerlies or southerlies we usually get, and I think the ravine to the west of us has a greater effect, at least it worked for David Pratley, who punched forward in the first two rounds to great effect, when the lift was patchy.
The other pilot who flew very consistently was David Millward, and always managed to cover the field, even in the patchy conditions when people weren’t making their times.
By the end or round 2, the wind was averaging about 20 kph and gusting to 42kph, making for some tricky flying, and turbulent landings. Two pilots decided it was a bit much and pulled the pin after 2 rounds. The gusty conditions stayed until the last 2 rounds when the wind abated and swung to the south.
I had a pretty crappy event, caught my canopy on the first launch, and had forgotten my mp3 player, so the timing track i dug up was a bit rushed leading to the start of a heat. So was doing a bit too much running around, anyway better prep next time.
I think Hugh had a bad run where his motor unwound from the gearbox, but otherwise I don’t think there were any other incidents despite the wind.
Finally it was good to see Rod Watkins doing well with his new Prestige 2pk’s finally sorted.
Anyway Congrats to
1st David Milward
2nd David Pratley
3rd Rod Watkins
rcga_f5j_feb_2022_flight_scores.pdf
Thanks to all for helping setup and pack up,
regards
Jim Houdalakis
RCGA