Tom’s thoughts:
2022 JWGC and from the Czech Republic. David and I rose to a perfect morning and soaring day here in Tabor. The plan was to fly the glider, get the kinks worked out and learn a bit about the area. The plan was a complete success. As we were enjoying our morning coffee in a local cafe we received word the contest folks had declared a task for the 25 or so pilots and crews that are currently residing on field. It turned out to be a 460 km speed task. No better way to get things started. The glider was gridded and ready to go about 11:45 am. As David explored the country side i began to put together our camp which will consist of a proper radio antenna and USA flag so everybody knows where to find us. More to follow on our camp. So long for now and hope you can join us again tomorrow.

David’s thoughts:
After all of the glider work we did yesterday when I lined up on the grid I was half expecting all of my instruments to be silent and my flight to be short. To my amazement right away my airspeed and ClearNav came alive singing like a bird! I want to thank the gracious and wonderful folks at William’s Soaring for lending me the latest version of the ClearNav Vario. Rex and Ben Mayes were pivotal in helping us install this brilliant piece of equipment. Being my first flight in an ASW-20 I was a bit hesitant to set off on the 465km racing task… Fortunately all of my time in the ASW-27 transferred rather nicely and after the first thermal, I was settled in and ready for a RACE! I set off on my own with a lovely line of clouds directly into the wind. I began working and bump – bumping until I found myself 100km away and still 40km from the first turnpoint. There I was haunted by a big blue hole that I thought it best not to cross, certainly not with 300km of flying left to be done. Rather than risk my first landing here (and in a 20) be a landout, I turned around and set my focus on turn 2 which was a daunting 180km away. Leg two went well for the first half and at about the halfway point I zigged when i shoulda zagged and got stuck on the slower path. At the second point I finally saw another glider. Eager to get some practice flying with others I joined him in the thermal. When he decided that he had had enough for the day and pointed towards home it was tempting to follow. However, with only 20km remaining to snatch the last turnpoint I opted to leave my sky buddy and finish the rest of the task. At this point the day was getting weaker and the crosswind was increasing which made getting the third point tricky. After limping to get the last point secured, my final glide was nothing more than picking up one last 3kt thermal and dolphining home. 5.5hrs and 400km in the books!