Tuesday, 2/23/2021

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Tuesday, 2/23/2021

Postby sd » Thu Feb 25, 2021 10:25 pm

Ayvri Group Link for Tuesday, 2/23/2021
https://ayvri.com/scene/g0jg73pnjo/ckllwatow0000256iu58dhdg9

Plus KMZ for Carter Crowe (longest flight of the day?)
Note: Carter's IGC has 2 sections that have bad or missing data (marked by placemarks)
2021_02-23_carter_crowe_ej_to_topa_bluffs_to_birnam_wood.kmz
Carter Crowe EJ to Topa Bluffs to Birnam Wood
(358.51 KiB) Downloaded 423 times

Carter launched from EJ at 9:56 PST and flew westbound to a start point at La Cumber Peak at 10:00 PST
then eastbound 35.6 miles to a turnpoint at the Topa Bluffs (east end or the Ojai Valley),
then westbound 30.1 to landing on the west side of Birnam Wood (Montecito) at 3:43 PST
65.7 miles total SLOFD around 1 turnpoint
11.7 mph average speed from 10 am start to 3:38 pm end (5.633 hrs)
___________________________________
SD Monday Morning quarterback comments:
Carter’s Tuesday flight was impressive, but I don’t recommend emulating his route lines or altitude choices. Although Carter likely had a high airspeed on full bar for many of his glides, his progress was slow? He was flying fast but going slow due to tactics, or perhaps he was simply meandering around or choosing routes and altitudes based on the ambiance?

There were times Carter got high but would have made better time staying low on eastbound legs in Ojai to avoid upper level wind from the east while it was from the SW down lower (Chiefs to the Bluffs), and there were times he powered ahead on his westbound return leg when he could have spent more time trying to get high to get over the lower level west wind (the Back Step)?

I haven’t spoken with Carter about his flight, but I heard rumors that he turned around because he was encountering substantial headwind from the east. He got to 8K at the Bluffs and his Ayvri track clearly shows wind from the east at higher altitudes, but his Ayvri also indicates he had a tailwind from the west down at the lower altitudes. Also note that when Carter got to 8K at the Topa Bluffs he was flying downwind on his westbound return leg, but he didn’t stop to work the lift. He dolphined through it. The better strategy might have been to stop and work the lift on his downwind westbound leg to get as high as possible because you want to get into and stay in the upper level flow from the east striving to go over as much of the lower level west flow as possible?

The lower level Santa Clara River flow was offshore in the morning and persisted offshore east of Piru, but the station reports indicate it pulled hard upriver from the ocean past Fillmore. Carter likely could have reached Santa Paula Peak if he had taken the lower front point route through Ojai, then he could have gotten high at Santa Paula Peak and tried to stay high on the westbound return leg?

There were occasions where Carter opted to detour on a longer route to follow a back ridgeline when it might have been faster to cut across and go direct (eastbound from the Thermal Factory and westbound from Chiefs to Nordhoff).

Despite my less than rosy critique, congratulations for launching early, landing late, and going further than a bunch of other accomplished pilots.
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