Sparrowhawk visit [Colorado Front Range Area]

The Sparrowhawk is going to be at Colorado Soaring Association, Tues & Weds. If you haven't heard via your info pipeline, you're welcome to come and visit.
www.soarcsa.org

I haven't heard whether plans have been firmed up to visit Boulder later this week but will update later.

If you're not familiar with this composite, ultralight glider, see http://www.windward-performance.com/

Frank Whiteley

Copied from the OZ report http://www.davisstraub.com/OZ/Ozv6n144.htm

SparrowHawk World record

Having been frustrated by the lack of even reasonable conditions in Zapata this year (except for the one day that Mike Barber beat Manfred’s world record, and the next day were Will Gadd set the world record) Gary Osoba went back to his home site in Yoder , Kansas .

As you know, the extended week in TX was a wash for me. Seeing the 'writing on the wall' with only a few days left, I returned to KS where the northern extension of the dry-line often is working. It’s very dry there.

I had Friday and Saturday to attempt a closed course speed record (not enough room weather wise to go north for distance). Experienced canopy damage on the Sparrowhawk on Friday when I moved into position to launch. Prop blast and unsecured canopy. Doug Taylor was up all night repairing things. So that left me with Saturday to make something happen.

Declared a 190 mile speed triangle in spite of 25 knot winds aloft. Conditions started around 11:30pm and were decent by 1:30pm when I launched. Through the triangle, conditions slowly deteriorated due to warmer temps aloft moving in from the OK and TX panhandles. Final leg, quite into the wind which was up to 30 knots at times, went blue and the top of the lift dropped about 3000'. I got pretty slow.

Made it around in a little over 3.25 hours for a new World Record. This beats the existing mark set by an Apis last year by 32%. There was a little question about my finishing altitude and the position marks but reading the code all appears fine.

If things hadn't fallen apart on the final leg or if the wind had been relatively light, I believe I could have flown it about 50% faster than the existing record. So, for the extended week I got one flyable day and a little success. The Sparrowhawk folks are quite pleased.

Might join you at Big Spring for a distance attempt since the tugs will be there and that part of the state is still dry.

My recent World Record in the prototype Sparrowhawk originated in Kansas , but not Yoder. I was west of there.

SparrowHawk has moved along to Boulder.

Stop number two for the SparrowHawk in the front range area is the Colorado Airshow at the Loveland-Ft. Collins airport. It will be on display with the EAA group and their planes. Special thanks to airport manager Fred Anderton for his interest in the SparrowHawk and getting us into the show!

Hope to see you there,

Doug Taylor