[NSRCA-discussion] Update from the US Team

[Derek Koopowitz]

Courtesy of Mark…

 

Thursday was NOT a repeat of Wednesday as we planned! We wanted it to be, but alas, the pattern gods didn’t cooperate.

We woke early in an attempt to get a jump start on the day at the practice site and get some flights up before all the other teams started to arrive. That part of the plan was flawless. Unfortunately the wind decided to get an early start too and it was blowing 20+mph and increasing throughout the morning. This is wind I typically choose NOT to fly in. EVER. I’m pretty sure I saw a duck in a high speed stall and spin out of control. BAD wind. 

The team flew. Not once, or twice, but all morning. P-17, F-17 and it all looked great. There were a few go arounds on some landing approaches but no one damaged anything and all in all the high winds were handled and handled well.

Today we flew with Lassie Nurila from Finland, along with the Brazilians and Argentinians again, and late in the morning we were joined by the team from Taipei. 

The level of talent here is noteworthy and watching everyone handle obscene wind just furthered that point. 

Somewhere around 1pm though the skies started to change. A squall line formed in the distance and it was very clear that our flying time was about to come to an end. The squall formed a cloud that went horizon to horizon (see photo) and was moving our way quickly. Joseph was mid flight (a good one I might add) when Andrew suggested, and we all chimed in our concurrence “um Joe… I think you might want to land. Yeah… now”. We packed up in a hurry and were on the road before the rain began.

We headed back to town for lunch (about a 25min drive) only to discover that the area was without power and everything (yes, including McDonalds) had closed. AC and Chuck managed to find a small place with a gas powered deep frier willing to serve us some salads and fried chicken and fries which turned out to be a nice find not far from our lodging.

>From there took a trip to the official site to pick up our schedules We process tomorrow at Noon and our Official practice is immediately following from 1-2pm. By now it was getting late and we head back “home”. 

Some of the photos I’ve included today, not necessarily in this order since I can't figure out what order FB chooses to put them in. - A few pics of where we’re staying, along with the outdoor table and chairs which serve as the only place to get a WIFI signal. It’s a tough toss up… stay warm, or stay connected. Team photo at the field where you’ll see we're all toasty warm. A shot of Lassi and his caller and Bi-Plane. Andrew and one of our canine friends getting his morning rub down. A panorama of the practice field. Mariano from Argentina flying with his team watching carefully. Another of AC flying with us doing the same. The squall cloud. What looks like dirt… but is actually water. (the marsh comes right to the edge of the field). The stadium seating we've created in the spare room we have after unbolting and removing all the seats from our vans. And last but not least, a not terribly rare photo of a Chuck in it's natural habitat.

 

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