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Award Winning Instruction
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2009 Monarca Open - Task 4
It was evident after the pilots meeting that the day could prove to be very challenging. None of the first pilots to launch were getting very high. There were less pilots launching early during the free window as they waited for things to look better. Pilots waited as long as possible, but it seemed like things were not going to change. This would prove to be a day of minimal altitude gains, and very little picture taking. You had to focus the entire flight because we rarely got above 9,000 feet. The start gaggle has been manageable the first three days of the competition. People have been able to launch and get a couple climbs before making a move for the Peñon and The Mesa area. Things were far more hectic in the start today because nobody was getting very high. Everyone was hoping to get higher before making a play, and potentially coming in too low to the Peñon area and decking early. The gaggle got a bit stressful for some, and others just decided they would make a play without getting any higher. After a while it didn’t seem like we would get much more altitude, so most folks left lower than they have all week to make the connection at the Peñon area. Most pilots did connect, but the climbs were weaker than previous days, and the thermals were smaller. The Peñon, The Wall, and Crazy Thermal Mesa were all scattered with pilots who were much lower than previous days. Pilots needed to fall off the Crazy Thermal Mesa since it wasn’t working and there was not enough terrain clearance to wait for something to release. Eventually, pilots got high enough to stay on the mesa, and festered at the back side of Crazy Thermal waiting to get high before making the jump to Maguey. After some time thermaling, pilots realized the heights weren’t getting any better. This was going to be a day to test your patience. The start had come and gone and nobody had made a move for Maguey. Somebody realized it wasn’t going to get much better anytime soon, and led out toward Maguey. The armada of pilots in this group followed, and they became the lead gaggle. Pilots came in lower than usual to Maguey, but most managed to get established. Pilots pushed towards Divisa along the ridge fighting the wind. It was basically a big ridge soaring festival all the way to Divisa. There were a few turns here and there in some decent cores, but pilots were not getting to the altitudes they have become accustomed to on the way to the Divisa turn point. Pilots were lower than ever getting the Divisa turn point. Some got high enough to fly over the rock formation then ridge soar the bowl around to the turn point. The ridge soaring festival continued as pilots headed back toward Maguey to get a good climb before making the jump back across the valley. Pilots needed to connect and get altitude before making the long haul to the Llano turn point. Pilots circled patiently at the mesa in front of Maguey. They hung in there and waited for the big pulse to come. They patiently waited for something to release for quite some time. They got a good climb and made a move with just above 9,000 feet. A couple pilots went for the knife ridge and played in the shade trying to ridge soar to get over the top and onto the other side. Most made the move for the end of Espina. A couple pilots went around the corner too far at Espina. It was hard to determine which side was the lee, and what side was going to be the windward at the knife ridge at Espina. It turned out the shady side was windward, and the side with full sun was the lee. Pilot’s who went too far around the corner to the sunny side could not make it back around and had to fight from down low in the lees to hang on. Other pilots pushed out in front of Espina in the direction of Diente and did get some good climbs. They took this altitude and all went on glide for Llano. This was the lead gaggle, and the majority of the field took this line. The pilots who had gone too far around the corner at Espina managed to stay alive, but they fell back to the Peñon in hopes of finding something to give them the kind of altitude they would need to make the big glide to Llano. These pilots go the best climb of the day at the Peñon, and had a great line and a buoyant glide all the way to lead gaggle who were trying to get established on the flats on the way to Llano. Llano was a ridge soaring festival as well. Pilots came in very low here and managed to stay in the game. Pilots battled the wind as they ridge soared and pushed into cores hoping for something big which would take them up and away, but they never got the big climb. Most pilots left with far less altitude than they had hoped for after being so patient to wait for something good to release. Pilots left Llano and put it on glide toward the ridge that leads to Mesad. The pilots who took this line did get a good climb after gliding for a while. Other pilots made a play back for the area in front of launch, and the Piano. Many pilots decked here trying to hang onto scraps and stay in the ballgame in order to make the connection that would get them back to launch or the Peñon. There were some who had heroic saves and got up which let them make a play back to launch and get high. The group who had made a play in the direction in the Mesad ridge and connected also flew into the area that was going off over launch. This was the lead group. All reunited at launch after over 3 hours of racing with two turn points left before goal. The gaggle finished the climb, and most of the group left launch and took a line which kept them on the mesa instead of taking a line for Sacamacate. They were holding the high ground hoping for something to happen. Brad Gunnuscio made a play for Sacamacate instead and he ended up getting a nice late day bubble, which the other pilots were too low to get to. Yassen was turning in something and the pilots who had made a play for the Mesa saw him and headed toward him to join. Just before the gaggle arrived Yassen left to join Brad in his thermal, and by the time the gaggle arrived to work the lift Yassen had been climbing in there was nothing left. This group ended up landing on the way to the Jovan turn point. Brad, Yassen, and Stefan were working the weak lift before the Jovan turn point. They were climbing slowly when Brad made a move for the turn point. Yassen and Stefan followed, and the group headed back to find the lift they had been working before leaving to get the turn point, but it was over. Brad was on top of Yassen and Stefan at this point, and he maintained his altitude advantage. He continued on a flight path toward the final turn point Iglesia with this altitude, and Yassen and Stefan had to eventually peel of to find safe landing zones since the glide path toward Iglesia is a forest of pine trees. Congratulations to Brad Gunnuscio for winning the day, and to everyone who flew far on this long and challenging task in weak conditions. Nobody was able to make goal today, but this was by far the most challenging day of flying we have seen at this Monarca Open, and any of the prior events from what I can remember. The only picture we had to post was the small LZ the winner Brad Gunnuscio made work. Rob Sporrer reporting from the pit 
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