Page 26 - Demo

25The event was set on the calendar for the Kings weekend which meant we could have a spare day if required. Entries were a little lower than usual and the weather for the Saturday forecast wasn%u2019t great, but we planned to push on anyway. There were a total of 6 pilots in each class: discus hand launch and electric hand launch. Due to work commitments Peter Williams had to withdraw his entry at the last minute, we were disappointed but got over it and the show went on. Saturday was a great day when we started out but we were aware wind was forecast. 2 1/2 rounds of F5k were managed before it really blew for the rest of the day. Pack up was around 11ish which freed the pilots to pursue less competitive activities - lunch out! Meanwhile the ladies were enjoying a long morning tea at Birdwood Cafe in Havelock North thus regrettably missed making it to the field. Saturday was the last day of May which allowed all of us to enter NDC scores for F5K all be it a little short with the last round not possible due to the increased wind speeds. The evening meal was held at the Hiscock%u2019s. It was a great catch-up as most of us had travelled overseas together for recent (Japan) and past (Singapore) APO%u2019s (Asian Pacific Open competitions) The next morning Hawkes Bay weather was back in order with a spectacular day. We decided to carry on with Electric hand launch until we completed 8 full rounds. The conditions were some of the best we have had for this discipline, and it was great to fly electric for a complete day without chopping and changing. We didn%u2019t bother setting up the timing boards and just ran manual working time which allowed us heaps of flying and fun for all. The following day (Monday) we started out changing to F3K (discus hand launch) with an almost frosty, wet grass morning. Launching in gumboots was a little challenging. The day was spectacular but lift was very light. Early flights were around 2 minutes and there was not much action in thermals until about round three. With the small number of entries, we powered through the rounds and got to round eight just before lunch. During the day the air became better for lift although still fickle at times. With our fantastic planning we were able to once again put our Hand launch scores into NDC as it was now June for event #420. After the events on both days, we had heaps of all up last down practice which really added to mix of competition and fun!North Island F3K SeriesF5KF3KF5KF3KF5K Hawkes BayMay/JuneKevin BotherwayClockwise from left: F5K Yoda electric model, Preparing to launch into blue sky!, Steve Warner in full wind-up launch mode, Come to the Bay!!!!!!BeloLunchtime in the horrible Hawkes Bay weather, note the long shadows 1st day of winterThe grand spread presented by the Hiscocks & Campbells with dessert by Steve WarnerThanks so much to everyone for making the effort %u2013 full results on Glider score:https://gliderscore.com/OnLineScores.aspxWe will take into consideration the long weekends when setting next years calendar as this worked as a huge advantage having a one day as a reserve.