Engineered Systems Ltd

Programme and Project Management by Ed Johnston

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Ed.Johnston@EngSyst.co.uk

EGC 2011 Pociunai

Serious Racing Days

4th August: Fantastic, Frustrating!

Again a bright clear morning with all the promise of a great soaring day ahead which was duly delivered. I was at the front of the grid and launched in the first wave, promptly soaring up to 5000 at 5..5kt average. We had 520 to the southwest and northwest, but things didn’t really work out for me this day. We set off well enough but immediately I wanted to go different routes and speeds to my team mates, then took 3 turns in a strong thermal while they went on and climbed in a better one still.

G9 Finish after a great but frustrating day Although I nearly caught up on 3 or 4 occasions, Russell and Gary were flying really well and always found a stronger climb that I could at the critical moment. We were running at 95+ and climbing at up to 6kts in some cores, but the clouds were large with small cores. I was in a pretty useless gaggle that I dragged along and didn’t really help, while the others seemed to work well together and with their gaggle. I then made a bad error going into the North turn and lost time climbing slowly, just to add to my woes. In the end I had a good run home to limit the damage, but 120 points that I won’t see again took the shine off a really exceptional day, with winners doing 130 and me coming in 13th with a 521Km in 4h15.

We have now been warned that the grid will close at 10am tomorrow so we are expecting some bigger tasks still!

A paraglider with power buzzed the airfield in the evening, gently cruising 10ft above the ground across the airfield, in front of the hangar and then round and away. Supper at the airfield with uncooked chicken too!

Competition Day 5

For the crew having nice long tasks means that we get rid of the pilots or four hours and then we can then frolic and have fun. Today was another fine day and the task distances were again increased. The 15m and 18m were both sent South pushing into Poland, with 500 and 520km respectively. The open-class were set a bit further, although in a different direction, heading North around the Kaunas restricted airspace.

he downside of not having the pilots around is that there is very little drama to keep us crew entertained. As such, it was a pleasantly uneventful day. The only particular news is some mid-week crew changes. Unfortunately Nick Tillett's wife and daughter, Robin and Emily, left this evening, and will be missed. Also an arrival: Chris Luton flew in last night, and he will replace Russell's current crew, Dave.

Across the board results for the day were middling, although Russell and Gary did well in the 18m class, coming second and third respectively, just a couple of km/h faster than first place. In the overalls this pushes Russell ahead of Ed, into 3rd and 4th place.
The wing of the Nimbeta franken-glider is unmatched in elegance.
The organization have said that tomorrow the grid will open even earlier, from 0800. There is much speculation over the marathon task that will be set; some are hoping for a 750km day. People are turning in early, ready for the early start; pilots are looking forward to an epic flight and crews are looking forward to another day of choc-ices and poolside antics.

5th August: Damage Limitation

Yet another fantastic day’s flying with 6000 ft bases and 4-5 kt occasionally 7. However it was intensely frustrating for me. Again I lost contact with the team very early in proceedings and simply could not make the glider run at all. It seems to just drop out especially when pushing above 95kt and although I regularly out-climbed those I was with, I continually found others catching me again after the glide, if not overtaking me as if I was standing still.

None the less a fantastic 660km flight round the TMA again, but very worrying and frustrating that I simply don’t seem to be able to make the glider go at these higher speeds of the last couple of days.

Spot the deliberate mistake: Russell winning the day but...No only that, Russell won the day at a fantastic 130kph, blistering round without mishap or problem. Except of course for the last 50 yards which were done about 9in below the standard height- he forgot the wheel.

A great evening with the Anglo Dutch barbq organised by the ever-present Baldrick and his drinking buddies from the low countries.

Competition Day 6

This was a stonking day. The grid opened early and the misty start of the morning didn't seem so promising. The competition organization predicted otherwise, and the longest yet tasks were set, ranging from 630km for the short wings to 680km for the grown-up gliders. Although short of the hoped for 750km.

At the briefed first launch time there was a big blue hole over the airfield. Launch was delayed by 15 minutes while things developed, and then another 15 minutes. By this time things were looking excellent.

Perhaps the pretties finish photo The British team had a storming day, with a number of winners. Russell came first in the 18m class and Pete & Steve came first and second in the open class. Overall this bumps Russell up to third place, with second and first being only a few points away. Ed is in 6th place and Garry is in 9th. The open class boys are middling in the ranks whilst the 15m pilots are languishing near the bottom.

The bad news was that in his excitement at romping round the task, Russell forgot to dump the water or lower the wheel before landing. It looks like the damage is mainly cosmetic so hopefully he'll be back in action after the undercarriage doors have been reattached.

In the evening a joint Anglo-Dutch BBQ was held, and an excellent time was had.

Tomorrow the grid is scheduled to open at the same early time as today. However, some fronts seem to be moving in, so it is doubtful that today's tasks will be matched in length or speed.