Another day of flying ahead, although it looked like it could be out into the blue! Again the grid was opened at 8am with Dan moving further towards the front. Briefing at 10am and ‘A’ task was a 178km with the longest leg heading east. CAX-ACB-ELM-STD-WTB-GRL.
Getting on the grid (Sally Hender)
The call was made 11:55am for the first launch, and the grid was airborne in a record time of 34mins, with approx ten tug planes involved, what a spectacle! The start line opened at 12.52pm with very few taking the challenge. However, an ever-impatient Dan was again in the group starting early, crossing the start line at 1:14pm.
He made good progress through the first two turn points, leading the pack again and making his own choices. After turning Elmswell W (ELM) however, things changed, struggling to find lift his height dropped to 900ft, and we were biting our finger nails at this point, as he was at the furthest point from the airfield and it would have meant an hour and a half drive to get him! But he saved it again and got his height back up to 3000ft!
Completing the task - no penalties today (Sally Hender)
The fourth leg was also a difficult run with some more low points on his trace and flying close to Cambridge Airport. The last run was a dash for the finish, hitting unexpected sink along the way. He was the first of the competitors back to the airfield, with a final placing for the day, at time of writing, of 22nd, and overall 23rd. An improvement on his previous flights. - Sally Hender
