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We were very fortunate to have Bill Holbrook and Ed Byars attend the meet and give us some of their insight on cross country and competition soaring. Cole Frantz graciously lent Ed and Bill her LS-3 so that they could trade off flying and observe/coach the contestants from the air. Each morning at the pilots meeting, Ed and Bill would give us their observations regarding the previous days events. They pointed out the competitors mistakes, and they also pointed out the solutions and better tactics for flying cross country. Ed and Bill were also available to speak with individual pilots and help them with particular aspects of cross country soaring.
May 17th, 1996 - Day 1 - Weather conditions started off with a heavy layer of haze in the morning that burned off by noon. Wispy cumulus clouds were scattered over the course by mid afternoon. The clouds were only mirages of lift, proving to be completely unreliably as indicators of thermal activity. Consistent thermal lift did not start working well until late in the day, favoring late starters. The assigned task was the sand plant, sheep shed, sand plant, sheep shed, and return to NCI. Cole Frantz was the only pilot to complete the task. The conditions were very weak. The average thermal strength was between 1 and 2 knots with heavy sink in between. The sheep shed made a difficult turnpoint because it is roughly 1000 feet higher than the sand plant.
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Single Place Class (L33 Solo) - DAY 1
Completed Trnpts Daily Total
Pilot(s) or Speed Score Pl Score
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Cole Frantz 29.7 mph 800 1 800
Jim Dobberfuhl 3 600 2 600
Charley Shuffler 2 400 3 400
Roland Monette 1 400 3 400
Bill King 1 400 3 400
Curt Lewis 1 400 3 400
Bruce Fox 1 400 3 400
Eliel Depaz DNC 0 4 0
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Two Place Class (L23 Super Blanik & L13 Blanik) - DAY 1
Completed Trnpts Daily Total
Pilot(s) or Speed Score Pl Score
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Steve Devinney 1 400 1 400
& Dave Cole
B.B. Brown 1 400 1 400
& Penn Smith
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May 18th, 1996 - Day 2 - Weather conditions were sunny and hot with no
clouds in sight. The assigned task was the sheep shed, sand plant,
Lawrence (pvt. airfield), sheep shed, sand plant, and return to NCI.
Total task distance was 31 miles. Late starters were the favored
group again. Conditions were relatively weak, with thermals averaging
between 1 and 2 knots and relatively heavy sink in between. There
were the rare 5 knot thermals, but they were difficult to find and
surrounded by heavy sink.
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Single Place Class (L33 Solo) - DAY 2
Completed Trnpts Daily Total
Pilot(s) or Speed Score Pl Score
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Roland Monette 26.1 mph 1000 3 1400
Charley Shuffler 16.6 mph 617 3 1017
Jim Dobberfuhl 4 600 2 1200
Bill King 2 500 3 900
Bruce Fox 2 500 3 900
Cole Frantz 2 500 1 1300
Curt Lewis 0 0 3 400
Eliel Depaz DNC 0 8 0
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Two Place Class (L23 Super Blanik & L13 Blanik) - DAY 2
Completed Trnpts Daily Total
Pilot(s) or Speed Score Pl Score
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Steve Devinney 2 500 1 900
& Dave Cole
B.B. Brown 1 400 2 800
& Penn Smith
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May 19th, 1996 - Day 3 - Weather conditions were sunny and hot.
Thermals did not start working well until late in the day, again
favoring late starters. The assigned task was the sheep shed,
Lawrence (pvt. airfield), sand plant, sheep shed, sand plant, and
return to NCI. Total task distance was 31 miles. Temperatures
reached 96 degrees Fahrenheit; a real shocker for Virginians in May.
The thermals were weak early in the day, but things improved
significantly by 4 pm. Five knot thermals were common with a couple
of ten knotters to be found. Thermal tops were up around 7500 ft MSL.
This was the type of weather we had hoped for.
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Single Place Class (L33 Solo) - DAY 3
Completed Trnpts Daily Total
Pilot(s) or Speed Score Pl Score
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Jim Dobberfuhl 46.5 1000 1 2200
Roland Monette 43.4 933 2 2333
Bill King 33.9 730 3 1630
Curt Lewis 26.0 599 4 999
Cole Frantz 0 0 5 1300
Charley Shuffler 0 0 5 1017
Bruce Fox 0 0 5 900
Eliel Depaz DNC 0 5 0
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Two Place Class (L23 Super Blanik & L13 Blanik) - DAY 3
Completed Trnpts Daily Total
Pilot(s) or Speed Score Pl Score
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Steve Devinney 34.9 1000 1 1900
& Dave Cole
B.B. Brown 34.2 980 2 1780
& Penn Smith
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FINAL BLANIK MEET SCORING
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Single Place Class (L33 Solo) - FINAL
Pilot(s) Final Score
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Roland Monette 2333
Jim Dobberfuhl 2200
Bill King 1630
Cole Frantz 1300
Charley Shuffler 1017
Curt Lewis 999
Bruce Fox 900
Eliel Depaz 0
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Two Place Class (L23 Super Blanik & L13 Blanik) - FINAL
Pilot(s) Final Score
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Steve Devinney 1900
& Dave Cole
B.B. Brown 1780
& Penn Smith
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The 1996 Blanik Meet also received support from several other people
and the LET factory. Vitek Siroky of Blanik America flew in from
Washington state to attend the event and give his support and
encouragement to the pilots and crews. He had lots of helpful advice
regarding LET (Blanik) sailplane maintenance and available options.
Blanik America and the LET factory helped sponsor the event by
providing t-shirts to the pilots and crews, as well as, hand held GPS
units to the winners of each class (one unit per class.) The runners
up received museum quality scale model Blaniks. The Frantz' also
helped sponsor the event and had everyone over for a delicious supper
Friday evening.Thanks to some good weather, great sponsorship, and a lot of very enthusiastic people, everyone had a wonderful time. We are already planning next year's Blanik Meet. Get your trailers ready and start talking to your club. This event is one that you don't want to miss.
Page last updated on Tue Apr 23 09:41:02 2024 (Mountain Standard Time)
1996 BLANIK MEET on gei.geichhorn.com
Dr. Günther Eichhorn Travel WebsiteSoaring website