5/21 last morning at Mifflin

Super humid and heating up. Looks like another steamy contest day. Tim won the day in Club Class yesterday! Good job Tim. It's going to be an exciting day.

5/21 waiting on the grid

Waiting for the launch while Karl Sniffs.

5/20 at Mifflin

A tough day but only a few land outs. This could be our last competition day because tomorrow doesn't look that promising.

Last dinner tonight in the hangar. We thank Joanie and Janine who have been crewing AND preparing fantastic meals. Lots of us pitch in with salad prep etc. But these two are the key organizers. The warm and friendly atmosphere here makes it worth the 1300 mile trip from Big D.

5/20 out on task

After waiting for a while we launched the fleet for a short 1.75 hour task. It's gotten humid and bathtub-like on the ground. The ceiling is not that high, but things look sustainable. We shall see...

Monday 5/20

Grid squatting today waiting to see if the fog will clear out. The sun is coming out periodically and the ceiling is lifting a bit. More soon...

Day 6 back side ridge

Standing on the grid karl says back side ridge looks d I able si here we go.

Day 6 at Mifflin cloudy and cool

Weather forecaster Richard Kellerman isn't too optimistic about today,  but we plan to grid at noon. It's just cool, overcast, and with light winds from the south southeast...well, we shall see. It's Mifflin and it can change throughout the day. More soon.

Day 5

Oops! Pilot and glider safe and sound.

Day 5 lots of land outs

The nittany valley around state college is proving to be a sink hole with 14 gliders landed out so far. One pilot who is back now mentioned that he saw others on his way back that were at 8000 feet. So it isn't a total bust.

Day 4 lots of happy pilots

Lots of happy pilots back safe this afternoon. Havent seen scoresheet yet. Am still out on the trailer area. People look like they had fun!

Day 4 May 16

Looks like an interesting day. It's much warmer and windy, with an interesting forecast.  The winds later should be shifting to be favorable for the end of the task. Both tasks are open now and most are headed out. Here is the typical Mifflin scene of the launch crew waiting to get started. We even saw the Amish farmer harrowing the field right next to the runway with his team of 6 draft horses. This place is truly a gem in the soaring world!

Rest day!

It's crew's choice today and we are going to the Belleville auction to buy a cow. High winds aloft out of 255 (the wrong direction) and better forecasts over the next days make this a good point for a break from flying.

Chili dinner

At least my pilot made it home! Chili dinner at the hangar in mifflin. Thanks to Joanie and all of the cooks! It's the volunteers who make Mifflin so special.

Cold and cloudy

Waiting for folks to return. Clouds have covered the area as predicted. It's cold and windy right now. A few are back having bailed on the task. A few are landed out. Chili dinner tonight. I think those who make it back will definitely need that, plus some beers, and maube electric socjs to warm up!

Day 2 complete

Most made it home today. Now it's very cold. Around freezing tonight. So we will see what knid of weather we get tomorrow. Definitely hat coat and gloves time!

Day 2 at mifflin

Windy and colder today. We are expecting a frost tonight! The pilots reported that yesterday was rough, as in bumpy, with lots of folks being jostled around in the cockpit. For Tim, this led to applesauce on the left wing when a pouch of gogo squeeze got away from him while trying to eat it!

Today is another ridge mission. I am enjoying hanging out at the Lewistown ford dealer having a fuel leak fixed, so keep your fingers crossed that Tim doesn't land out in an Amish farmer's field!  or if he does, he will have a little while to wait. More soon. Susan

Day 1 meeting

Uncle Hank giving a safety talk about how to safely "fall off" the ridge. Everyone is ready for day 1 to begin. Its windy out of the nw, shifting to more westerly later on.

Making our way to Mifflin County

As our family makes the "hard shift" from rowing coaching season to soaring season, we are excited about returning to Mifflin County Airport in central Pennsylvania for the Sports Class Nationals. Practice Days are May 10-11 and the contest runs May 12-21. 

If you have never been to Mifflin, you are certainly missing out! Not only is the ridge flying superb, but the people, scenery, and down-home food are wonderful. Tim has already sampled some of the famous pie from Harry Leach's food truck (apple) and I heard that a world-famous pilot enjoyed not one but two pieces of rhubarb custard. 

The weather today was rainy enough that it was a head to the grocery store rather than fly kind of day. Saturday may also be rainy, so we will likely start the contest with zero practice days. Oh well. I imagine that the local farmers are happy that the glider pilots have brought the rain as usual.

More news soon.