Greater Detroit Soaring and Hiking Society

August 2008 Club Contest

Contest Director – Jim Marcicki

The day started with the weather looking very promising, almost no wind and bright sunny skies. Dick, my Dad, and I set the winch up to the northwest since that seemed to be the prevailing wind direction. We had eight flyers overall including some newcomers to the contest scene which is always good to see. Dennis volunteered me as Contest Director in place of Jack who was still in Muncie at the NATS. I called a “Lansing Special,” that is a 4-6-8 minute contest, call the time when you land with graduated 100-point landing tapes.

The air wasn’t quite cooking in the first round, as most flyers opted for their 4 minute flight. It was good to see the Schnur’s out at the field with Joe getting the hang of launching on the winch. Mike Jones also had a good showing using the winch and managed an 8 minute max. Roger had some good flights with me launching his EZ Glider on the winch. I never realized how easy those things go up the line! Dennis had the sole 8 minute flight of the first round.

In the second and third rounds, the air improved considerably but there were still patches of sink moving through for those who weren’t careful. It also seemed as though there was sink around lift which made the air deceiving. My dad finished on top, despite having to scratch for time on his 8 minute flight. He was a little downwind of the thermal but Joe Schnur had it cored. My dad noticed this and came back a ways to hook up and save the flight. What got him the victory, however, was his performance in the landing circle where he led the pack with the most landing points. It was no coincidence that the top two flyers in the contest hit all three of their landings!

It was good to see Dick and Ken Rogus keeping the scratch building alive in the club! Keep up the good work guys.

Flyer	Score
Gerry Marcicki	1269
Jim Marcicki	1210
Dennis Kozak	1184
Ken Rogus	1035
Dick Stratton	1029
Mike Jones	821
Roger Van Elslander	670
Joe Schnur	300