Parowan, Soaring Mecca

Herb Kilian

• • • • • • • • •

OLC Soaring Camps?

Not a Contest Not sanctioned by SSA Not about all-out competition Goal is to provide a reason to fly your butt off Location must be attractive Triangles are the thing to do for optimizing OLC points Weather must be likely to cooperate Place must have OLC presence Means one thing: Illinois is no contender

Why they are becoming more popular

• • • • • • • • Out West they always have been, not much was publicized Were seen as inferior to racing meets Contest flying seems to be declining, OLC-type flying on the increase every year No task is set, you go where you think the going will be good Less pressure, more fun?

Aging glider population seems content with racking up OLC points Easy bragging rights if you are doing well (Hey, I was second on OLC yesterday, WORLDWIDE!). You will be noticed by some of your peers.

Cost of weeklong contests prohibitive considering long drives across the country, some camps last 2 + weeks.

Scheduled Camps for 2015

• • • • • • •

Seminole Lake Florida, XC Racing Camp, March 22-29 Ionia Michigan, Midwest OLC Championship, May 24-30 Moriarty New Mexico, OLC Camp, June 1-15 ASA Camp Parowan Utah, June 16- 27 Nephi Utah OLC/XC Camp, June 27 – July 5 Reno Nevada, OLC/XC Camp, June 13 – 20 Ely NV has always been a prime destination for June-July for a long time

Cost and Benefits, What do these camps offer?

• • • • • •

Not much, but they can cost up to $250 for 6 days Mostly some infrastructure such as towplanes, water, oxygen, tie-down space Most have a pilots meeting with weather and turnpoint recommendations, review of previous day’s flights No scoring (other than OLC), you have to upload your flight No points toward SSA pilot ranking list Pick launch time at your convenience, within limits

How To Get There (Hope you like Nebraska…)

My Parowan Story

• • • • • • • • • Read it on Soaring Café or The Air Bubble: On Getting What You Deserve Best Soaring Vacation I had in 35 years of gliding Exceptionally lucky with the weather, 9 very good days out of 11 53 hours and 3,600 mi Bring your oxygen system, fly with water Friendly FBO, all services provided at reasonable cost Utah Canyon-Lands just a short drive away Made many new friendships Realized that motorgliders have some advantages

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Things That Were Good

Motorgliders all self-launched, we had about 7-9 pure gliders and one tow plane Could have launched earlier but left mostly around noon Nobody needed a relight throughout the camp Only 2 retrieve tows necessary during the entire camp Thermals worked until around 8 PM, sometimes later (after clouds had disappeared) About half of the days had working altitudes 15-18k No rain for the entire time but virga at altitude On the 2 non-flying days we had tons of choices for activities Prepared meals at airport for low cost EVERY Night Shared a condo with Mike McGlothlen from IA, perfect setting Motorglider pilots are surprisingly nice people Lots of public airports and landing fields throughout main flying area

Anything Negative?

• • • • • Parowan RW direction is 04/22 sloped downhill on 04. Winds mostly from the SW made for mostly downwind takeoffs on 04.

Motorgliders had no problems but some glider pilots not familiar with situation did drop a wing and had to release. We launched on 22 on two days due to excessive tail wind.

Marginal tow plane (Cessna 172) Lack of emergency landing fields when launching on 22 Couldn’t find fresh eggs one morning, limited shopping, also no-one had heard of Prosciutto ham, even in Cedar City! (can you believe it?)

Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore

• Some advice on what to bring to the Wild West – Bullet-proof Oxygen System (you will die without one) – Mechanics and Electrics reliable, very good batteries – Plenty of drinking water on board – Emergency Kit, Emergency Locator – Warm clothes, consider insole heaters (more batteries required) – Good physical condition, long flights await day after day – Power-Flarm is not required at Parowan, may be mandatory at other camps (good thing with 50+ gliders) – Mountain flying experience, be comfortable with rock polishing to make it up to altitude

Not a Bad Day,

860 km

Should have made this 1,000 km but let caution prevail (806 km)

#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 2014 OLC Champion USA and Canada

Name

Jim Payne (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Mitch Polinsky (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Keith Essex (US / R8: AK ID MT OR WA) Uwe Kleinhempel (CA / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Thorsten Streppel (DE / R12: CA-S) Michael Higgins (US / R4: DE DC MD VA WV) Ramy Yanetz (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Brian Collins (US / R2: NJ NY-S PA-E) Russ Owens (US / R12: CA-S) Darren Braun (CA / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Rolf Siebert (CA / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) Danny Sorenson (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Dennis Tito (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Doug Levy (US / ) Tom Serkowski (US / R12: CA-S) Garry Dickson (US / ) Tom Kelley (US / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) Mark Grubb (US / R12: CA-S) Mike Abernathy (US / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) Michael Mitton (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV)

Club

Perlan Project Minden Soaring Club Alaska Mountain Soar Minden Soaring Club Southern Sierra M-ASA Mid-Atlantic Soaring Assn Northern California Soaring Ass.

Ridge Soaring Irregulars Warner Springs Gliders Soar Truckee Albuquerque Soaring Las Vegas Valley Soaring Association Perlan Project 126 Association Southern Sierra 126 Association White Sands Soaring Association Southern Sierra Albuquerque Soaring Minden Soaring Club Michael McGlothlen (US / R7: IL IA MN MO-E ND SD W) Blackhawk Soaring Club Randall Acree (US / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) Tucson Soaring Club Wilfried Krueger (CA / ON/Q) Eric Rupp (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) York Soaring Association Hollister Gliding Cl Walter Rogers (US / R12: CA-S) Bruno Vassel (US / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) Pedja Bogdanovich (RS / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) Vitek Siroky (CZ / R8: AK ID MT OR WA) Herbert Kilian (US / R7: IL IA MN MO-E ND SD W) Robert Spielman (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Southern Sierra NUTSO Soaring Society of Boulder Cascade Soaring Society Chicago Glider Club Air Sailing Nevada Martin Eiler (US / R12: CA-S) Tom Bjork (US / R12: CA-S) Duncan Cumming (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Kevin Wayt (US / R12: CA-S) Tom Seim (US / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) David Leonard (US / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) DAVID VOLKMANN (US / R11: CA-N GU HI NV) Robert Macys (US / R7: IL IA MN MO-E ND SD W) Southern Sierra Hole in the Wall Minden Soaring Club Southern Sierra Auxiliary-powered Sailplane Assn.

Black Forest Soaring Air Sailing Nevada Chicago Glider Club Whitney Ganz (US / R12: CA-S) Robert Caldwell (US / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) Nicolas Bennet (US / ) Ian Spence (CA / BC/A) Bill Hill (US / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) Robert Templin (US / R2: NJ NY-S PA-E) Steve Dee (US / R9: AZ CO NM UT WY) Southern Sierra Soaring Society of Boulder #NAME?

Canadian Rockies Soaring Club Albuquerque Soaring Aero Club Albatross Auxiliary-powered Sailplane Assn.

sum

9561 7076 6692 6267 5933 5909 5900 5878 5768 5581 5490 5395 5196 5163 5158 5002 4956 4921 4863 4859 4308 4298 4289 4267 4265 4239 4220 4813 4803 4671 4638 4595 4573 4570 4555 4521 4488 4483 4418 4398 4388 4352 4343 4319 4311

Flight 1 Flight 2 Flight 3 Flight 4 Flight 5 Flight 6

2007.16pt. (29.03) 1862.40pt. (06.03) 1583.53pt. (22.04) 1500.45pt. (25.04) 1304.60pt. (02.07) 1303.11pt. (25.03) 1376.96pt. (03.07) 1295.84pt. (04.05) 1205.12pt. (02.07) 1140.36pt. (05.07) 1065.26pt. (04.07) 992.76pt. (25.07) 1144.94pt. (05.07) 1126.12pt. (25.03) 1121.59pt. (09.06) 1112.27pt. (12.07) 1095.67pt. (30.08) 1091.72pt. (02.06) 1222.30pt. (02.07) 1191.61pt. (03.07) 1010.01pt. (04.05) 968.70pt. (30.06) 1196.90pt. (24.06) 1173.23pt. (23.06) 1016.64pt. (25.06) 991.11pt. (22.06) 1384.33pt. (23.04) 1013.43pt. (05.04) 996.84pt. (23.05) 1034.43pt. (07.06) 1030.99pt. (04.07) 997.66pt. (05.07) 884.18pt. (14.06) 981.27pt. (22.06) 959.69pt. (12.07) 890.38pt. (27.06) 821.99pt. (08.11) 971.18pt. (06.07) 914.30pt. (07.06) 665.18pt. (06.09) 808.37pt. (22.09) 884.13pt. (23.06) 1592.39pt. (23.04) 1165.29pt. (26.03) 1127.25pt. (09.04) 821.74pt. (05.04) 1055.79pt. (02.07) 1017.30pt. (05.07) 954.98pt. (22.06) 932.56pt. (24.06) 1106.80pt. (03.07) 1092.43pt. (05.07) 987.23pt. (04.07) 1126.31pt. (03.07) 966.98pt. (22.06) 953.27pt. (25.06) 1147.65pt. (05.07) 1042.94pt. (04.07) 883.14pt. (21.06) 1015.80pt. (18.05) 1015.23pt. (16.06) 934.16pt. (09.05) 854.95pt. (12.07) 856.08pt. (24.06) 860.28pt. (22.06) 804.08pt. (28.05) 975.02pt. (06.06) 938.29pt. (05.07) 1117.09pt. (07.06) 823.00pt. (22.06) 1012.04pt. (05.06) 990.86pt. (07.09) 1038.21pt. (03.07) 996.73pt. (05.07) 911.80pt. (04.07) 816.82pt. (04.07) 851.12pt. (07.06) 954.88pt. (02.07) 885.97pt. (10.08) 810.16pt. (05.07) 825.82pt. (13.07) 800.08pt. (13.07) 893.80pt. (25.06) 981.37pt. (30.06) 969.51pt. (02.07) 882.99pt. (02.07) 857.86pt. (22.06) 839.29pt. (20.06) 880.03pt. (09.06) 828.69pt. (03.09) 834.51pt. (22.06) 780.03pt. (13.07) 800.15pt. (24.07) 810.05pt. (23.06) 632.12pt. (08.11) 932.35pt. (01.07) 777.57pt. (07.06) 821.74pt. (23.06) 844.27pt. (07.06) 762.13pt. (30.08) 728.86pt. (20.06) 798.24pt. (13.07) 665.54pt. (06.06) 595.91pt. (25.05) 766.29pt. (24.06) 699.23pt. (24.06) 707.59pt. (18.08) 539.15pt. (08.04) 875.40pt. (25.06) 761.52pt. (14.09) 765.37pt. (05.07) 616.47pt. (06.09) 664.79pt. (25.06) 722.84pt. (07.06) 792.53pt. (14.09) 656.79pt. (12.07) 569.73pt. (30.08) 717.91pt. (05.07) 695.83pt. (21.06) 698.00pt. (04.06) 911.15pt. (24.06) 983.35pt. (30.05) 898.14pt. (23.06) 908.23pt. (22.06) 1069.00pt. (03.07) 928.97pt. (22.06) 921.62pt. (05.07) 908.22pt. (04.07) 976.08pt. (09.08) 889.32pt. (22.06) 968.18pt. (08.06) 855.47pt. (04.07) 1025.05pt. (01.06) 780.94pt. (28.06) 818.05pt. (31.05) 799.63pt. (22.06) 874.75pt. (23.06) 854.78pt. (24.06) 1125.49pt. (04.05) 891.93pt. (15.02) 931.52pt. (05.07) 870.76pt. (04.05) 906.98pt. (09.08) 755.81pt. (12.04) 1002.92pt. (03.12) 853.83pt. (25.04) 947.75pt. (06.06) 912.51pt. (14.09) 800.54pt. (02.07) 835.12pt. (01.06) 810.15pt. (10.06) 868.19pt. (02.07) 798.01pt. (22.06) 764.57pt. (06.07) 773.38pt. (09.06) 798.63pt. (05.07) 835.54pt. (10.08) 942.30pt. (04.07) 829.10pt. (20.06) 829.22pt. (11.06) 786.01pt. (13.07) 784.49pt. (02.07) 750.19pt. (27.08) 735.39pt. (22.06) 801.84pt. (22.06) 762.99pt. (03.09) 1137.15pt. (09.04) 791.84pt. (28.08) 872.58pt. (22.06) 796.97pt. (24.06) 836.27pt. (29.06) 871.80pt. (24.05) 876.98pt. (24.06) 780.44pt. (06.09) 828.61pt. (13.09) 796.14pt. (02.07) 710.44pt. (04.05) 766.49pt. (27.05) 764.14pt. (29.06) 652.24pt. (29.03) 758.87pt. (17.08) 722.98pt. (25.06) 732.45pt. (18.08) 908.81pt. (13.07) 751.81pt. (05.07) 756.44pt. (29.06) 722.41pt. (11.06) 743.93pt. (23.06) 711.10pt. (22.06) 658.06pt. (19.07) 731.64pt. (23.06) 715.39pt. (29.07) 724.48pt. (29.06) 785.79pt. (24.04) 717.38pt. (23.06) 781.25pt. (27.06) 756.58pt. (03.05) 613.03pt. (28.08) 717.69pt. (06.07) 707.73pt. (13.07) 772.80pt. (06.07) 705.41pt. (19.05) 754.42pt. (11.06) 734.39pt. (22.06) 618.12pt. (27.02) 718.65pt. (14.09) 707.74pt. (07.06) 640.03pt. (09.08) 853.79pt. (06.09) 731.96pt. (13.07) 729.41pt. (05.07) 694.34pt. (18.08) 691.89pt. (22.06) 675.77pt. (17.08) 639.87pt. (01.06) 700.29pt. (26.08) 703.68pt. (06.06) 721.87pt. (30.06) 650.38pt. (03.11) 682.80pt. (29.06) 773.78pt. (22.06) 648.13pt. (23.05) 604.61pt. (01.07) 679.40pt. (03.07) 597.06pt. (14.09) 653.10pt. (03.07) 678.60pt. (10.04) 712.71pt. (20.05) 726.58pt. (28.06) 600.12pt. (06.03) 641.67pt. (02.07) 689.07pt. (12.06) 617.71pt. (02.08) 764.82pt. (13.09) 644.44pt. (24.06) 662.87pt. (03.05) 684.05pt. (06.06) 632.89pt. (03.07) 664.01pt. (07.09) 637.88pt. (16.08) 649.43pt. (25.08) 647.58pt. (11.05) 627.25pt. (21.08) 461.47pt. (22.09) 613.74pt. (25.06) 612.37pt. (28.06) 634.49pt. (05.04) 578.14pt. (02.07) 630.26pt. (14.09) 517.44pt. (01.07) 605.98pt. (31.05) 669.37pt. (27.05) 703.63pt. (06.06) 566.43pt. (25.06) 600.00pt. (14.02) 524.81pt. (22.06) 672.05pt. (20.08) 550.97pt. (03.07) 625.06pt. (29.06) 594.85pt. (06.08) 634.77pt. (04.06) 575.66pt. (24.06) 635.50pt. (27.07) 635.83pt. (29.06) 628.22pt. (20.08) 636.17pt. (30.05) 626.37pt. (28.05) 412.07pt. (11.08) 536.09pt. (07.07)

Cost Considerations

• • • • • • • Total gas cost was about $800, would be $600 today (8cyl. 4x4 SUV) 9 tows, oxygen and airport tie-down: $800 Condo for 13 nights, food and incidentals: $800 2 nights in motels on the road: $150 You’ll have to budget about $2,000 - $2,700 for a 2 week trip if the flying is good. Tows are now around $60 to 2,000’, higher in places like Ely The high cost of travel a reason to extend your stay Who said this was a cheap vacation?

Why Would You Want To Go?

• • • • • • It took me 9 years of flying in N. IL to get a 500k, in Parowan my shortest flight was 426 km Chances of good weather much stronger than in Central and Eastern US (disregard what Ray Konrath and Mark Akerly will tell you) Completely different environment, new challenges, great rewards Chances of really long flights, locals will inspire you to go long Adventure! Road Trip! Siren Song of the West!

Karl Striedieck quote: “this is what our gliders were made to do”