Postscript

Pilot and Glider in better times

The Empire Team achieved great results:-

15M: Leigh won, Dane second
Standards: Coutts first, Ben, Jay
18's: Afandi fourth technically, second morally

Personally I can't say I enjoyed the last few days, particularly not the landout that broke my beloved T6, but there were some great moments prior to that. Another time there's a number of things I'll do differently...

Huge thanks to Contest Director Franca who worked incredibly hard and was great to have running the competition...



The hard working contest director, Franca

The glamorous Met lady...

Why can't UK comps have met people like this?

and the ground team including Emma, Alex, Martyn and Bex

Leigh's crew - Martyn and Bex

The grid launch underway...

Arrivederchi Rieti

Day 6

Dick Daninson demonstrates the approved Kiwi salute

We launched early at 1230 today and into a moist sky with a relatively low cloudbase of 8,000' over Terminillo. The NE wind is still blowing making things less predictable and that combined with cliudbase coming down to 6500' at the first turn made things a little uncomfortable. Leigh and Dane cazme out back up the second leg well and ran the West side of the ridges up to the last turn at Gualdo. Dane got the day at 114kph in the 15's with Leigh second: nice work.



Aaaaghh! My eyes!!

Day 5

Another amazing pilot who's also a good guy: John Coutts

The cold front went through last night but there was a lot of cloud hanging around to the South East and hence it was time for another blasted AAT.

The 15kt NE lent a tempting hint of wave so we spent a good hour or so trying to get in it - without success. Most of us set off within 15 minutes of each other and turned early in the overcast first sector, halfway up the second and third, clipped the fourth and fifth sectors. 5 sectors for an AAT: hmm.

The penultimate sector was blue and stable and virtually the whole field congregated on East facing ridges 40kms out. Lots of scratching around before limping over the final ridge and home around 1900hrs. Only 5 of the 12 in our class got back, most of the landouts happening on that last ridgeline from the look of it.

Rest Day

Today was forecast for rain and storms and a rest day was announced 24 hours in advance: good move.

It was indeed overcast but fine for bike rides, floating on lakes, lying by pools and chilling out.

In the evening Alex invited us to his uncle's house in a hilltop village near Rome. It was beyond outstanding. Trestle tables set out in a piazza high in Montilibretti with risotto and suckling pig: fantastic and thank you Alex.

The hero of the day: Alex Trovalusci

Day 4

Overkeen at attention: flying brilliantly for his experience, He'll go far in the next couple of years.

A day of two halves.

For the clubs, 15's and standards it was excellent. The 18's and Opens were scrubbed which seemed very harsh indeed. The launch was delayed to 1415hrs for the clubs and then a 10 minute break before the 15's and standards went. Launching at 1440 for a 356kms task felt a little daunting and the first climb off tow was naff. A risky glide out behind the Terminillo mountain paid off and I was able to climb up to where Leigh was waiting with Riccy Brigliadori. A brief wait and we were able to set off from 11,200' and glided 45 degrees left off track onto the Gran Sasso range to link with a booming cloudstreet. From that climb I had a 205km glide at 415:1 into the first turn and back to Castellucio at 175kph. Back up to 10,000' here and it was off to Gualdo Taldino and onto the ridges for a less marginal run through the soft and fluffy valley of fun and home. 356kms at 161kph is a personal best: yeehah!

Jay had a nightmare and finally landed at 2015hrs having manfully struggled home exploring hitherto unknown ridges in the valley of fun. Epic perseverance!


Dinner was takeaway pizza  for most of us, but the sophisticates (Dane and Coutts) opted for fine dining and went offsite for the extra large with fries. Classy.

Day 3

Leigh: ridiculously good AND an all round nice guy: Bastard.

What a difference a day makes. After yesterday's disaster, today was fabulous fun. Leigh rocketed around 460kms at 143kph in a 3 hour AAT and won the day by a big margin: superb. I didn't fly today, but I did sit in my glider as it was towed around by Leigh. To be fair, I did manage to repay some of his earlier kindness with a bit of moral support on the ridges later in the flight.

We had a great run South setting off with Jay Rebbeck and John Coutts and our second climb behind Vellino saw the average at 13.4kts and looking back at the trace the instant vario peaked at 19.7kts. Not a bad climb! Further down track we were delighted to bump into Riccy Brigliadori and assumed he'd show us the way for the rest of the flight. We turned deep in the first sector and ran back the way we'd come to avoid the rain to our East. Back up at 11,000' over Vellino we lost sight of Riccy and set off for the Assergi bowl, looking enviously at a motorway of clouds on our East. We assumed that was where Riccy had gone, and looking back at his trace that was indeed the case, but  it didn't work out for him and we overtook him here. The last bit of the flight was on the ridges for 150kms in the 10-12kt SW breeze. Riccy got down to 400' above ground and stuck near Foligno but we were a little higher and able to push on into the valley of fun, following Jay Rebbeck.



It's always good to be in a start gaggle at 11,000'

I have been warned not follow Jay on marginal final glides and this was the buttock clenching example of why not. That's unfair - we went through pretty low and it was barely working but it got us home fine.

Afandi won the 18's (brilliant), Coutts got a hat-trick with another win in the standards (outstanding) so all in all a great day for the team!

Day 2

The waterboy and daughter Emma: our support superstar.

The first rule about Day 2 club is we don't talk about Day 2 club.

Lots of rain, lightning and thunder around - which Dane took excellent advantage of, and stormed (poor pun I know) around at 140kph. I blew it totally and landed out half way round. Fortunately there's only a little cosmetic damage so on to day 3.

Day 1

Gorringe teases us with his belly button again

Our resident weather guru, Dane, stuck his head out of his tent first thing this morning and declared the day would be no good as it was 4 degrees too cold. We laughed

At the briefing, the met lady took us through lots of slides and demonstrated that the trigger temperature would be 40 degrees and we'd only get to 36, so it would be 4 degrees too cold. We laughed.

The launch was delayed half an hour and initially they only threw the club class into the air, but once they stayed up we all launched.  10,300' on Terminillo,and  some 7 kt climbs to the airspace limit of FL115 later we'd done c400kms at speeds of 128 to 145kph on a 3 hour AAT. We laughed.

Hopefully Dane will forecast another naff day for day 2.

The Empire team had a good start - Coutts won the standards, Leigh won the 15's and Afandi came 4th in the 18's. Owen did bloody well with 4th in the standards too.

As for me - only in Rieti can you do 420kms at 128kph and feel pissed off that you were too slow knowing where you could have found 15 minutes of wasted time! I did however display committent by not leaving a good climb when a lightning bolt hit the ridge 500-1000m away from me. I did however turn the radio off as a concession.

Sunday: the day of rest

Rieti virgin Afandi about to lose it

A day off today, and time to walk up mountains, lounge by the pool, or linger over a long lunch. The opening briefing at 1830 was classically Italian with some impassioned voluble challenges from the floor but the implacable contest director, Franca, took it in her stride.

Practice Day 3

Our Glorious Leader and the Architect of the entire entreprise: Ben

No surprise really that the day started hot and blue with a cloudless sky. It took quite a while to cook up and the 1300hr launch was delayed until a couple of cumulus appeared over the release area.


The benefits of a big Arcus wing: more shade to sit in

 Once again it was not straightforward to get away: the first climb on Termenillo was tricky to find and needed patience to grind round in less than a knot until it built. Once up though we started as a pack of four shortly followed by Leigh and Perley. A run down the ridges and the long glide across the plain took us to the yellow ridge where there was 6kts to the cloudbase of 10,500'. Around the turn at Shittifarti we dropped the turn at Gay Orchard (Campo Grovo in the local parlance) and instead ran back to the yellow ridge and North where it again started to go more blue. A good 7kt climb back up to 10,000' at Castellucio put us on glide round the last turn and home through the fluffy valley for another 350kms day out.

The evening was filled with dinner and a show: barbequed meats and the spectacle of Coutts and the Belgian Chav trying to put their tents up in the dark. Quality Entertainment.

Excitement reaches fever pitch in the stalls seating area

Practice Day 2

Geoff Tabbner showing the way

Well I say practice day, more of a bimble round the hills with some mates. The practice days at Rieti are characterised by stereotypical Italian behaviour. To get a launch one has to purchase a ticket. This is not a simple task. It involves standing in front of a glass window while the official spends 30 minutes chatting to her mates, selling tee-shirts to the bloke behind you, taking a few phonecalls, wandering off for a drink etc etc. At the launchpoint it is similarly chaotic. The aeroclub tugs are separate to the gliding club tasks and there's a third category I don't understand. Matching the glider to the ticket to the tug is complex, but eventually we got away.
Once launched there were good climbs to 7500' above the release area but on Terminillo the climbs were affected by North Easterly wind shear again. However, we got together and set off as a couple of gaggles and ran South to Roccarsolo (pronounced Rockyarsehole ). There were good climbs to 9000' and Cu to mark them most of the way. The run North to Nocero Umbra (Italian for Night-time Umbrella) saw the Cu petering out and eventually most people turned 14kms short. Despite the NE flow the wind was a light NW in the soft and fluffy valley of fun, and we all ran through it comfortably.

Running into the final valley at a very comfortable height for once

Rieti Copa Internationale del Mediterraneo 2013



Looking South into the Rieti plain with the airfield centre shot

 
 




















Here we go then.

The team are gradually assembling and we have established base camp in the camping ground. I have to admit the addition of fairy lights has made the place so much more festive. We have a good showing this year with 11 gliders from the Empire Team taking a good chunk of the 82 glider grid with:-

Standards: Ben, Overkeen, Jay
15's: yours truly, Leroy, Dick Daninson, Coutts
18's: Geoff, The Good Lord, Afandi
Opens: The waterboy

Geoff and I flew yesterday and the 7kt climb straight off tow was enough to remind me the drive is worth it. After that though the conditions were patchy and took a long time to get going properly, and even then suffered from wind shear with a stiff NE breeze at height. A wander down to Celano and back up to Spoletto was sufficient for day 1 and we landed early-ish. Friday and Saturday are both practice days and with a rest day on Sunday the comp starts in anger on Monday. Let battle commence!

Looking North towards the soft and fluffy valley of fun

Day 7

Today was a good day.

The Tabbner goes wave flying

The wind was forecast to be strong and before launch the live feed from Mt Ventoux showed 100km/hr Northerly, it was certainly brisk on the ground! We launched at midday onto Arambre and from 5000' a push forward into wind into rotor climbs took us to 7000 and a push further forward dropped us into 6-7kts of wave behind Aspres ridge. Up to 11500 here and across to Pic de Bure took us up to the airspace limit of FL195. We congregated here and set off North into the Ecrins and finally contacted good wave again just in front of Mt Pelvoux. Back up to FL195 again and off to Bardonecchia where the cloud cover became 8/8 and further progress was denied. We therefore did a downwind dash back to Pic de Bure, climbed up to 13000 and pinged off South East to the convection. East of Par Cours the wind changed from the 40kts NNE we'd been seeing to virtually calm. A run back up a convergence took us back up to Blayeul and an easy glide across to Chabre. Geoff and Ben went in to land, I ran out West to Rosans and was back over site by 1830hrs. The landings were pretty sporty thanks to the rotor over site but everything was tucked away nicely in time for dinner. At 2100 Klaus finally came in to land - the guy's a superstar!

Baron Broomhandle, Rachel and GA 

Day 6

Mt Pelvoux

Baron Broomhandle prepares his trusty steed

Much better weather today, with a higher cloudbase and a 10-15ktWNW to keep things mixed up. We had an easy start on Arambre then went South onto the Lure and started towards Ventoux. The ridge wasn't working that well as the wave was dumping on it so we turned and ran East to just short of Aups. A good line of energy took us up to the Par Cours and on past Prachaval to Briancon. We ran across to look at the Glacier Blanc but the downdraughts here were still not helping.

So  much nicer when the cloudbase is 12,000'...

We finished off at Col de Cabre and landed relatively early in time for the usual €15 five course meal on site. 426kms by OLC standards - not such a bad day out and tomorrow promises to be a good mistral wave day.

Looking good for tomorrow?

Day 5

Andy Perley in the Nimbus 4

In defiance of the weather forecast the day started bright and clear. It was clear though that there would be showers and possible thunderstorms so an early start seemed wise. We launched at 1130 and were all able to release low and climb away in therms in the middle of the valley: this was a typical british day, not an alpine rockpolish. Once congregated we ran South East and headed for Aiguines. Leaving the Lure where cloudbase was 8,000amsl we ran above and amongst cloud towards the lower cloudbases and turned Aiguines at around 5,500'.



lac de Ste Croix with Aiguines on the near left



Turning round to head back towards home it was clear the showers were moving in and as we reached Beynes the fat raindrops smacked the canopy. We all turned out South towards Puimosson where I really did not want to land after my last encounter there. I headed for the Asse valley where sadly the wind was canalised at low level and running straight up the valley rather than onto the ridge so to cut a long excuse  story I landed out. 4 hours later the cavalry arrived and we were back nicely in time for dinner on site.



T6 in the air





T6 not in the air.



Day 4

Day 4 was a very wet scrub. A visit to Gap town yielded Salade Paysanne for lunch and an hour wandering around a Decathlon store. Perley and Rachel then bid for Masterchef status with a lamb tagine and we wrapped up with a marathon game of poker. Modesty forbids me to name the player who effectively pulled 5kts out of the weeds to final glide to glory…

Yes, I would photoshop out the loo but can't be bothered

Enough scrubbing - we’re here to fly. Weather Gods: make it so.

Day 3

And on the third day the Tabbner showed up. The wind had dropped, it was warm enough to take off the third sweater and the sun had his hat on. We launched at 1200 onto the local hot spot and most of us soon popped up to 8000'. One of us in an open Class supership had to light his turbo to speed things up but eventually we were on our way. A run east past La Motte and onto Dormillouse then up the East of the Durance and into increasingly good conditions. At Pitman ridge we made 12,000' and moved on over the top of Bardonecchia, into the Sollieres valley and up to the limit of the Cumulus where cloudbase was up at 13,000'.



Running back across Sollieres airfield



On the way back South we ran round the West end of the Ecrins and made our way down the side of Serres Chevalier and Les Deux Alpes ski resorts. The views here were stunning with ice fields, crevasses and super scenery.

Yours truly in the ASW27

Rare sight: The Bus in a turn

Day 2

Ben and Rachel joined today with the Duo Discus. The NW breeze of 20kts again made for easy launching and after Ben finished swearing at the ClearNav and we persuaded him not to rip it out and drop kick it across the field we got in the air and congregated above site. The ridges South made progress easy and we ran all the way down to Fayence in good therms with 8kt averages to 10,000'. From here we had a great view of  Cannes and the Mediterranean coast and considered a final glide and beat up at the Monaco Grand Prix but thought better of it.

The seaside!

 A run up the Vars ridges to Barcelonnette was all very straightforward though the volume of snow still around is clearly making things take a while to get going. Lake Brice was frozen and snow covered but from our vantage point of 11,500' this was academic. We ran as far North as St Crepin and then returned over the Ecrins. Whilst the others went in to land I made use of the Northerly wind and ran out to Aubenasson on the Western edge of the alps and then back home on the ridges. All in all a very pleasant day out so I could justify a maxi Entrecote at the Hotel du Nord!

Running home over the Ecrins

2013 edition

This was not the sight we wanted to see the first morning:-

Bugger off snow

Fortunately within a couple of hours the picture had improved and with a brisk NW breeze it was obvious the wave had set up and the therms were popping.

Wave over Rosans

Andy Perley in the Nimbus 4 "Z2" and I launched mid afternoon for a warm up flight and after a relight (oops - perhaps pulled off too low?!) had a pleasant 4 hours running round the Lure, Blayeul and Gap town. On the way back I diverted to Pic de Bure and while Andy went in to land, climbed in the rotor and popped up into the primary wave. This was humming and the climb to 14,000' peaked at 13kts. Climbing at 1300' a minute is always impressive and this was made better by the vertical wall of cloud alongside. The wind dropped off at height so this was like riding a tube in surfing parlance, so when the wave broke at 14,000' I should have expected it to be rough but oh brother!

Primary wave behind Pic de Bure

The view from 14000'