Midwest Slope
Midwest Slope
Challenge Challenge
Four days of slope soaring fun centered in the Midwest of America!
PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVE GARWOOD S 32
lope Soaring is all about wind and hills. With the famously impressive winds common over the Kansas prairie, all that’s needed are hills to
stage an epic slope flying event. The hills to seek are found surrounding the Wilson Lake Reservoir in Lucas, Kansas, located 67 miles from the geographic center of the 48 states. The expanse of US heartland from North Dakota to Oklahoma is often called “The Saudi Arabia of Wind Energy” and every year we see more wind turbines spinning and generating electricity. Clean energy. The new windmills on the Kansas prairie are a view of the future. The 19th Midwest Slope Challenge was
held May 17–20, 2012 by the Wings Over Wilson (WOW) soaring club, based in Lucas, Kansas. Within the four-day event schedule, Thursday is intended as a practice day with
pilot registration on Thursday evening. Four competitive slope events are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, with Sunday held in reserve in case we need to wait for wind. There was no waiting for wind this year.
Thursday: practice day A travel day for some, and a practice day
for others. Skies were mostly sunny. High temperature was 89 degrees. It was breezy, with a south wind 23–26 mph gusting to 38 mph.
Early arrivals enjoyed flying fast slope sailplanes in great lift and catching up with old friends from on the “main hill” at Lucas Park overlooking Wilson Lake. Pilots from nine states and one foreign country regis- tered for the event Thursday evening (Col- orado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and the Bahamas).
Friday: competition event day 1 The National Weather Service forecast: “WIND ADVISORY. Mostly sunny, high near 93. Windy, with south wind between 28 and 31 mph. Winds could gust as high as 41 mph.” With terrific wind conditions we ran the One Design Race, the Unlimited Race, and the Foam Warbird Race on Friday. The Wings Over Wilson club crew set up
the markers while the pilots tested the lift. A slope race course is set up along the ridge with turn points at each end. Turn markers are sighting devices which “define a plane” perpendicular to the length of the race course. To complete a lap, the nose of the air- craft must “cross the plane” at both ends of the race course. Far turns are called by a group of four turn judges or “flaggers.” Near turns are self-called and verified by near turn judges, who also keep the official lap count.
SEPTEMBER 2012
By Dave Garwood
2012
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