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Here we go again...
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Little Ted (P3)
Gorges de Verdon
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The grid of twenty competition gliders was dispatched within
an hour, and we took the next launch on RW36. There was a frisson of
excitement as the sturdy tailwind kicked in, but we managed to hang on for a
release somewhere near Jouere. Storms were already building so we flew south
in reasonable conditions to the Lac St Croix, where we turned the Pont
d'Aiguines.
We had a good run to Cheval Blanc and along the parcours
as far as Dormillouse. Ahead lay dark clouds and as we were being rained
upon, we decided to retrace our route back to the south again. Cloudbase as
we passed les Trois Eveches was about 9000ft, and lowered as we reached
Vinon to about 6000ft, which was comfortable over the relatively low
flatlands.
A spell of experimentation by P1 ensured that we got
very close indeed to a landout at St Auban, but we quickly found that the
chemical factory next door was also generating thermals, and we selected a
one knotter to save the day.
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Flarm
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A note about Flarm: We installed the system into 220
specifically for this visit, as most other gliders in the area already use
it. We found that it worked extremely well and we found that we were getting
accurate contact information throughout the flight. In the instances where
Flarm located the glider before we did, the direction indicators helped us
to find the target in good time to avoid a conflict. Occasionally it shouted
at us as we joined other thermalling gliders but I can live with that.
Although it is not yet mandatory at Sisteron, it seems such a useful bit of
kit that the decision whether or not to fit one is, as the "suits"
would say, a no-brainer.
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Trois Eveches
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