Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 2: February 2014 | Page 66

THE 1

by HENRY BAKER

We know there was a day when it all worked for you. When your training clicked, the conditions were perfect, the stars
aligned, and you soared to new heights (real or imagined). Send in your tale of “The 1” flight you'll never forget, and we'll
print it right here. You'll be entered into the annual drawing for a USHPA soft shell jacket!

After four days of rain, task 1 of
the Sprint group at the 2013 Rat Race
was called: 42.3km—a long one, via
turnpoints Squires, Burnt, SugarLoaf,
Burnt, Cemetery, and goal at Donato’s.
We were advised not to race, but just to
fly the course, which was excellent advice
for us Sprint pilots.
As I was standing in line on launch, I
could see Fiasco wineries, the spot where
I had landed out on a sled ride the day
before. In the LZ, I hadn’t been able to
find the exit gate. So I stepped over the
wire fence and received a startling shock
that went through the family jewels. I
didn’t know it at the time but I would
soon discover that shock had unleashed
an unsuspected super power, that would
last for exactly one day.
Here was my simple plan for the Rat
Race tasks: 1. Launch late to conserve
energy and brain power. 2. Don’t push
hard. 3. Top out on every thermal.
After launching, I hooked a small
thermal as it was drifting back fast over
launch. I could feel the lee-side thermals
mixing, creating an extreme up-anddown carousel. And with so many pilots
in the air, I needed to see everything. I
didn’t get as high as some, but my ears
were popping and it was getting cold. I
knew I was high; my mouth was dry, so
I started sipping water.
It seemed time to head toward the
start cylinder. I watched my Flymaster
count down, as I went on glide with 1/3
bar. As I approached the start cylinder,
pilots were turning around and leaving.
They were headed straight at me from
different heights and angles, reminding

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

me of the Star Wars movies. As long as
they didn’t realize I was coming at them
and try to avoid me, I could maneuver
in between them. Hint: Don’t follow
close behind a gaggle when approaching
a waypoint.
On my way to Burnt, gliders surrounded me, and all were doing their
own thing. I could kind of make out two
gaggles, one on the left and the other
on the right, both with a cloud developing behind them. As I was climbing,
other lower gliders were pushing out
to SugarLoaf, but not gliding well.
Consequently, I decided to take a different line, one that was deeper and curved,
following the higher terrain.
On my way back, I was a tad low
over Rabies Peak when I saw another
cloud start to develop in front of me. I
needed more altitude to reach it safely,
so I started milking the first thermal
that found me and rode it as high as I
could. Then I was off to the cloud and
traveled up again. This time, several gliders joined me, and we became a happy
gaggle, in the large, smooth lift.
As we approached cloudbase, I
drifted downwind, where I needed to be.
I could taste the cloud. As I approached
the edge, I pushed full bar to escape and
leaned my head back to look back and
forth, but nobody was above or below.
Did those other gliders get sucked into
the cloud? Nothing I could do but
follow my navigation pointer.
On glide, 1/3 bar, to Burnt again,
and below me were several other gilders
in a small gaggle; it was the race group.
I flew over them, searching for one more

climb before going over the back. I didn’t
find a thermal, so I sped off on 1/3 bar.
I needed a climb to make Cemetery.
My glider kept turning left, so I weight
shifted right to correct. Am I being
sucked into another thermal? Is a convergence pushing me out? I glanced at
my risers and noticed only my right riser
was on speed. I laughed at myself and
corrected my bar.
While still on glide to the Cemetery
turnpoint and over the Cascades, I
noticed a big house atop a knoll in the
center of a small valley; I flew towards
it, and found the thermal I needed. I
was climbing slowly but didn’t care,
especially since there was no one with
whom to race or compare better climbs.
I topped out and went on glide, 1/3 bar
to Cemetery and then on final glide to
goal at Donato’s field.
Only a few kilometers away from
goal, my glide to goal was 15-to-1 with a
mountain ridge in the way. I needed one
more climb and had no problem finding
it. Again, I was not in a hurry; I hadn’t
seen anyone for half an hour. After
getting an 8-to-1 glide to goal, I was off
again. Guess how much bar?
As I approached goal, no one was
there, just a windsock, a port-a-potty
and some ice chests. I had screwed up.
Jug had checked my Flymaster before
launch so, of course, I was cursing him.
Then I realized it: I had just completed
the one perfect flight—I won the task by
20 minutes!
Check out the task simulation by Iain
Frew: http://vimeo.com/m/69631385