Heading to America for the Race and Rally

                        What a trip.

The lead up to the Race And Rally was hectic to say the least, i picked up a short pack glider bag that i had made to help protect my glider especially after what happened to Dave and Kathryn's gliders at the hands of the United neanderthal baggage handlers, I didn't get my new pass port until the afternoon of the day before i flew out, another thing, I was supposed to take a new Carbon Leading Edge over for Dave's glider, again that didn't happen, the new LE was lost for 4 days, TNT had no idea of where it was, i got a phone call from TNT Couriers 15 minutes before i drove to the airport saying that they had a part to deliver, needless to say it was a bit late.(they finally delivered it on the day i got back from the US) When i finally got to Brisbane airport i was starting to feel excited and a bit more relaxed as it was the beginning of another adventure, The next hurdle thrown in my path was when i landed at LAX, for some reason, the baggage handlers couldn't work out how to get my glider from the baggage area under the terminal to me in the baggage arrivals haul, it wouldn't fit in the lift, I waited for over 2hrs, obviously too hard a problem to solve, i had less than an hour before my next flight when the guy i was dealing with said that i should catch my flight, he assured me that my glider would be FedEx'd to me in Orlando Florida, so with a lot of hesitation i caught my next flight, when i arrived in Orlando i made a few calls to see what was happening with my glider, The story now had changed to "There are additional cost" to send my glider, $1060 USD worth of extra costs. Not happy Jan.... I tracked down a number for Kraig Coomber who was still in LA, I explained my predicament, Kraig said he would see what he could do, So for the next 15hrs i still didn't know what was happening with my glider or where it was, the baggage manager i was dealing with seamed to be trying to sort out the problem but he didnt know what was happening either, At around 6 that arvo i was finally reunited with my glider thanks to Kraig, he really stepped up to solve what was a shit start too my holiday. Thanks heaps Kraig, i owe you..

What an adventure this trip was with high stress and rewarding flights during the R&R, i got to see some amazing parts of America that i wouldn't normally have seen, meet and fly with some awesome people. All in all it was a great experience, one thing.. Traveling with a glider isn't much fun at all. The return trip back to OZ was uneventfull, everything just worked out perfectly.

My ride to LAX

Leaving daylight as we flew east.

One hour out from LAX

Love Bugs, till death do us part

                When i unpacked my glider i was relieved to find it undamaged, i also found this inside the bag, they cut my padlock off to search my glider.

              Before the comp started i had a test flight of my glider to make sure everything was as it should be. I took a few shots of the surrounding area around Quest

Looking down at Quest.

Nice rig..

Day 2, Live Oak to Moultrie 115km task

Rope burn on Louie's side.

Fire Ants, these little buggers bite on mass

Tow Line at Suwannee Community Airport, Live Oak

Day 2 Goal was to Moultrie Georgia, 115km task from Suwannee

Local Fuzz, nice ride..

Climbing out over Moultrie airport with a nice 600fpm climb

Looking down on Moultrie Airport from around 5000ft

Americas Georgia, Charles Lindbergh learnt to fly here.

Tow line at Americus

Alex McCulloch with his "First Goal' speed sleeves prize (120km task)

We had a lay day at Americus Georgia due to a tow accident, I'm glad to say that Julia wasn't seriously injured, just a few bumps and bruises.

On the side of the main runway we came across around 20 old crop dusters, just forgotten rusting away and in some cases being taken over by nature, I'm not sure what sort of aircraft these are, the instruments all had German labeling and a Germain flag on the tails. We had a close look at a few, We were able to turn the engines over with the prop which was a surprise as these old girls looked like they had been forgotten for a long time.

Day 4 takes us to Vidalia Georgia, 192km task east from Americus, the weather wasn't looking too good to the west so the task committee sends us east, for me it was an awesome flight, it's been a while since i flew for 5.5, i got low a few times and had to dig myself back up to cloud base, the last leg from the turn point, Cochran  to goal 70km was hard as the day was turning off, 16km from goal i found a solid 400fmp climb that a left with a 10-1 glide, After struggling for most of the last leg, making goal was an awesome feeling.

Ben with his new friend  Yumoin, the sweet Vidalia onion

Last task before the rain set in was Vidalia Georgia to Aitkin South Carolina

Local gun shop in Aiken

My ride back to Quest thanks to Campbell Bowen , well for half the way back, we managed to load 7 gliders onto the rack, 6 people in the cab and 2 in the back with all the harnesses and gear.

At around 4hrs into the drive back to Quest I realised the Quest trailer wouldn't be back for at least 2 days maybe longer if the weather turned bad, I had my short pack gear in the trailer, the thought of waiting 2 days for it turn up wasn't what i wanted to think about so I rented a van at Jacksonville to drive back up to Aitkin, I eventually got to the trailer at midnight after driving through some scary back country towns, got my short pack bag after searching the trailer with the light from my mobile phone then started the 8hr drive back down to Orlando, After a mammoth drive with the aid of many Red Bull cans I got to Quest at 8:20am, short packed my glider my glider in record time, sorted my gear, showered then headed off to catch my flight to LAX. In my rush i managed to forget my trailing edge carbon inserts. That trip and being awake for around 30hrs knocked me around for a good few days.

Presentation was in a little park on the outskirts of Aiken.

Savannah River separates Georgia and South Carolina

This was my last photo, from this point on things started to get hectic again, as i started a mammoth drive to get my short pack gear, i dint even have time to take a photo of the Van i rented with my glider tied to to roof (no roof racks)