Comment

Comment by David J. Beaulieu on June 30, 2020 at 10:33am

Jason was key in making this happen and for the next one scheduled on 11 July.  Kudos to Jason!!  The combined distance difference between 1st place and 3rd was approx 109 feet. I didn't practice for this but after having participated I can think of a few different things to improve (besides practice) performance results.  I was surprised by the amount of rolling resistance on grass versus asphalt or hardpack dirt.  Winds were about nil below treeline and takeoff distances seemed long I think due to these two factors.  For landings, I wasn't even on the stall tone I had just recently calibrated for zero flap stalls.  I will recalibrate for half flaps and use that tone as an aid for holding flying speed on short short final.  My fuel state was heavy...I can get rid of at least 15 gallons for the next event which should help as well.  I did take the doors off and pax seat out, but that didn't really help to visualize the threshhold as I had hoped by doing so.  I  did pretty well on touchdown points, just too much speed overall and relatively poor braking performance on grass with my wheel/tire setup.  Overall, it was a fun event/learning experience and I'm looking forward to the next one to attempt improvement.