Monday, October 4, 2010

Day 1, PM Flight

A two-task evening: Pilot Declared Goal and 3D Task.  For the PDG competitors had to pick between three provided targets.  However, unlike a Hesitation Waltz each had to declare the goal she/he would be scored to prior to launch.  The 3D Task was a cylinder shape that extended from the surface to the blue PZ at 9000 MSL, with the goal being to fly as much distance within as possible.  Each pilot declared the center of his own cylinder, which could be placed anywhere on the map.  I believe that most (including all of Team USA) defined their cylinder such that the PDG was within the scoring area, and set it up so that they entered it very soon after take off.  The Americans did a good job of "bending" their flight around the donut-shape, including ascents to 8500+ feet.  However, the word is that some German pilots had incredible tracks, weaving back-and-forth through nearly half the shape.

Of the six tasks flown on the first day, only 3 have scores posted as of now.  So there's no way to tell who is doing well yet.  And it's especially unfortunate that no results have yet been posted to the event's website, despite the fact that they've been on the notice board for 10+ hours.  At the Austria Worlds of 2008 they excelled at having both the task sheets and scores posted online at nearly the same time as they were on the official board, and it's hard to believe that 2 years later we're taking a step backward...

Unfortunately I can't get a single photo to upload tonight.  The competition center has decent wireless, but if I don't have time to work there I have to rely on the hotel.  I'll try to catch-up tomorrow.

It looks flyable in the morning.  Today Paul and I guessed nearly every task call correctly, and my predication for tomorrow is four Judge-Declared variants and either an Angle or an Elbow.

Gas



Refueling here in Hungary is done at an stadium near the local university.  As you sit in line on the street waiting to enter, there a zoo right next to you.  Giraffes and monkeys are close enough that you can see them, and at night strange noises emanate from within.  It's not clear how old the facility is, but the juxaposition of the rubberazed track and shiny John Deere tractor with the bleachers is interesting.  The photo below shows the "premium" seating with wood surfaces - in the corners it's just cinder steps.  Like many overseas events we have to remove our tanks from the basket and haul them into the refueling area.  However, unlike Austria and Japan we fill them ourselves.  They have four large holding tanks, each with a manifold setup consisting of 12 Cameron-style fittings.  Today it took us 1 hour and 10 minutes from the time we got in the line until the time we pulled out.  After a quick lunch (in the hotel room, chips/salsa and a turkey/cheese sandwich) we're now getting ready to head back out to the 2:45pm evening briefing.

 

Day 1, AM Flight

Hesitation Waltz, Land Run Task, Hesitation Waltz, Judge Declared Goal from a common launch area and flown in any order. We took off on the south side of town, then flew north and northwest. Driving through the morning rush hour really slowed Erica and me down. Fortunately Larry and Andrew (in the lead vehicle) were able to assist at all the targets. When our van finally did get in the area of the balloons we had trouble finding a "road" that was passable (photo below was what the Nuvi said to do).  The Americans got lots of markers on the ground, but there's tales of some killer Land Run results by others.  Need fight for fuel with 118 other balloons, then get some dry shoes and be ready for a 2:45pm briefing.  We're going to try to get some lunch in there as well, but it might be trail mix and water.  Probably two more tasks tonight would be my guess, but who knows...