August 26, 2024
A significant change in weather today, forecast to persist for several days. It features lower temperatures, more moisture, and much higher chances of afternoon rain and thunderstorms.
Today, it led to an early launch and short tasks (3.5 hours for all classes) featuring large turn areas that avoided the eastern part of the task area, from where the troublesome weather was likely to come. And come it did, but not before all pilots in all classes were able to complete their tasks. Pilots did not delay their launches to the extent that’s common on reliable-weather days.
As pilots flew toward the finish, a gust front approached the airfield. All the late landers had “sporty” conditions for their pattern and landing, dealing with a troublesome crosswind. More than a few were unable to keep their mainwheel on the pavement, veering east into the wind as they slowed to a stop. But no damage was reported, and rain at the field was never worse than a few drops.
Sarah and Karl had a solid flight which included catching and then overrunning several gliders – it was good for 5th place. But three gliders took advantage of the variance in conditions typical of a day with complex weather and a task with large turn areas, achieving excellent speeds and scores.
We’ve been warned about an unwelcome feature of the Uvalde airport should any significant rain fall: mud. The ground here is mostly a dry dirt with the consistency of fine powder; in normal weather it can produce notable amounts of dust, especially when the wind blows. (It’s said that when crews wipe down glider wings after a flight, a few dollars’ worth of Texas real estate is removed.) When this dirt gets wet, the mud that results is extraordinary. Vehicles – even those with 4-wheel drive – struggle to move. If you walk in it, just a few steps will collect several pounds on each foot. Gliders can be stuck past the point of help. A pilot who lands on the pavement and then rolls off it to make room for another landing behind may find the glider’s momentum insufficient to roll even a fuselage length in the mud. 30 minutes lying on the ground with a hose may be needed to clear accumulated mud from the landing gear well.
The chance of rain at landing time led to publication of a possible mud-avoidance procedure: if announced, all landings would take place on the runway; gliders would roll to its southern end, then be moved onto the connecting taxiway where they’d be tied down for the night: no wheel need ever roll into the mud. This sounds good, but doesn’t address the case of the pilot who finishes early and is able to roll across dry ground and tie down at his trailer – thus to be marooned there by a sea of mud between glider and the nearest pavement.
John Good