Day 3, PM Flight

Two tasks tonight. A Pilot Declared Goal was first, with four pre-determined intersections to choose from.  Unlike the in the US, pilots here aren't challenged to choose their own spot on the map for PDG tasks.  The Director provides a very limited selection (usually 3-4) to choose from.  It ends up being like a Hesitation Waltz where you need to declare your target before taking off.  And on that note, all the declarations here need to be in before the green flag, not before an individual's take off.  When asked about this, the Event Director indicated that it's done this way so that pilots who choose to launch later don't have an advantage by watching those taking off ahead of them before choosing a goal.  It's one reason why common launch areas are used more.  In a situation like tonight where the launch time unknown, pilots are given just 5 minutes warning (the yellow flag time period) that their declarations are due.  So everyone is always running to the signals point to turn in a sheet.

The second task was a 3D Shape Task of the wedding-cake variety.  The bottom layer was a bit "thicker" than usual, rising from the surface to 3000' MSL.  The second layer spanned 3000' to 3500', with the top section reaching 4000' MSL.  Al and Brad earned every dollar of their salaries tonight, monitoring the shifting winds and providing data that allowed the whole team to change to a more appropriate PDG/3DT combo just minutes before the declaration period closed.

On the ground, the chase was probably more interesting than the flight.  Erica and I personally witnessed one vehicle accident (spectator car to balloon trailer), one red PZ violation, one yellow PZ violation, a pilot wearing a helmet land in 8' tall corn, and about a dozen vehicles stuck in the mud.  It's amazing what some people think is passable with a van.  We got to do a little mud-running on the retrieve, but nothing close to getting stuck.  However I bet I drove 2-3 miles in reverse tonight.  Oh, and we ate some trail mix.



Tomorrow morning will be busy, 5-6 tasks. Paul might actually break into his fourth tank.  Setting the alarm at 4:00am for the fourth day in a row, but today for the first time I actually took a nap (about 60 minutes total).