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| Volume 3, Issue 6 |
July, 2004
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REGION 7 CONTEST REPORT Ron Clarke and I flew in the Region 7 soaring contest in early June hosted by the American Polish Aero Club based at the Freeport, IL airport. There were about 20 pilots in the contest, and a highly skilled group I might add. Ron did very well coming in second in the sports class, only behind a multi-time World Champion from Poland. We won’t dwell on my performance, okay? Rather than show the usual grid lineup of shiny white gliders I have chosen something different. Pete Detore, we took the first photo just for you. This serious cooking station is a Polish Army surplus unit that barbecues, cooks or boils whatever morsels you throw at it. It’s built to last a thousand years, and every glider club should have one! 
The second photo should bring back memories to many of you. It’s our former Pumpkin, 635 Hotel. Tied outside along a tree line shielding it from the northern winds, it appeared to be in good shape. I’m told it’s been a dependable trainer for them, and based upon the skills of the Polish glider pilots I observed, I’d say they’re getting superb training. 
But the thing I was most impressed with and the point of this article is the performance of the two PW-5s in the sports class. The two guys that flew them were from Poland (I knew that because there were hardly any vowels in their names) and were quite experienced. In fact one had 1500 hours, much of that in the PeeWee, and was a veteran competitor in his home country. The two pilots finished 3rd and 5th in the Sports Class. The tasks averaged between 2 hours and 3.5 hours. The first day was extremely weak, and there were a few landouts and a couple no-starts, but not the PW’s: they comleted the task. The next three days were much better and they raced between 100 and 140 miles each day at speeds averaging 38 mph. It was truly amazing to me how many times I’d look over my shoulder and there would be a PW-5 bearing down on me. I was reminded of the old “Little Nash Rambler” song……..I could almost hear a PW-5 horn going “Beep Beep Beep”. Flying with them in thermals required continuous adjustments because they flew in very small circles and at speeds slower than the heavier ships. By doing so they were often near the top of the gaggles. I’m not quite sure how they were able to consistently achieve such good speeds, but my guess is they were very skilled at avoiding sink and flew aggressively, not topping out thermals on course and flying fast between them. I was highly inspired by their performance and was reminded of just what those little ships are capable of it put in the right hands. Now that Darren has his own ship, our own PW will be more available to the rest of the club. Some of you should start to exploit its performance and get it out on some small triangles to start with and learn to fly it efficiently. Get familiar with its polar curve and speeds to fly. I bet that under the right circumstances CISS could make it available to fly in a sports class contest sometime. By the way, the non-flying part of the contest was great also. Twice they flew (via Cessna 172) in catered authentic Polish dinners from Chicago, delivered by two highly spirited young ladies who were a laugh a minute. There was also lots of Polish beer and even Vodka one night. In the evenings they lit a huge bonfire and we all sat around telling lies and exaggerating or making excuses for our accomplishments earlier in the day. Next year, I think the contest will move to Minnesota where the flavor may be more Scandinavian than Polish, so one or more of you (team flying is permitted in the sports class) should learn how to get the most out of our PW-5 and take it up there. I know I’ll be going. Don Taylor |
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