Sunday wind fest.

[Fence Sence]

Hold on to your hats today boys. It’s gonna suck.

[Fence Sence]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

That sort of begs the question of who is getting cancelled today?

[wadeh]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

So far, STOL drags and biplane gold are cancelled.

We’re heading back north on 395 with two motorhomes and a camper after the unlimited gold race, and there is a wind advisory on that corridor all night. That’s going to be “fun”.

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

I'd say we got lucky. My tent was trying to blow away about 2am Sunday morning. Seriously, had I not been in the tent, it would have departed the property. I didn't even get up for the sunrise shoot thinking there was no way anything would be out (bad choice since the sunrise was epic, and the wind died down.) I actually figured the races were going to be canceled for the day due to wind. I was quite surprised when I woke up and there was nothing more than a light breeze blowing.

Will

[Leo]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

On the ramp in front of the stands it was actually pleasant...

[wadeh]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

Yup.

It was pretty comfortable in the stands yesterday, and there were no further cancellations beyond the ones that I mentioned above.

The conditions on 395 were also much better than forecast. All of my family and friends are safely back in the Seattle area today.

[Fence Sence]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as everyone (forecasters) said it was going to be. It really seemed to keep a lot of people at home though.

[Bigger Al]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

The winds at Stead were really no more harsh than usual. It's expected, really, that it'll blow a bit in the desert.

The ride home down I-80 over Donner Summit got a little sporty at times, with the bike getting pushed around quite a bit. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.
We really liked the cloud cover, as the temps were sooo much nicer than Saturday.

[flyboycpa]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

As one of the pilots that was cancelled (Biplane-Gold), I can say without a doubt that we (as a class) were very bummed about it, but understanding.

In an effort to give Biplanes "more exposure" to the fans (given that most don't show up until after we run), we were scheduled for the 11:00am takeoff slot. Our class had to make the call by one hour prior (10:00am) if we were going to race, or not.

I'm not in the leadership of our Biplane class, but was present at the end of the K-rail, adjacent to the T-hangars, as the President, VP, and Secretary were all monitoring the Tower frequency to hear the wind call-outs. Generally, right up to 10:00am the winds were around 170@16G24. At exactly 10:00am the winds were still being called by the tower at that velocity, which matched the AWOS, so they cancelled us. By the time we rode the golf carts back to the Biplane/IF1 hangar, we heard tower call the gust at 32 knots. Our Biplane class limitations impose a maximum wind velocity (which includes the gust) of 20 knots, regardless of direction.

The insult to the injury was that one hour later (race time...11:00am) the flags on the stands were nearly limp for a short while. It still wouldn't have been smart (or safe) as the winds picked back up within a few short minutes.

Big bummer as the "added exposure" sure backfired. It looks like we'll happily be going back to the more normal (and calm) times in the morning with the IF1's.

Sam Swift
Biplane #3
Smokin' Hot™

[Guest]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

As one of the pilots that was cancelled (Biplane-Gold), I can say without a doubt that we (as a class) were very bummed about it, but understanding.

In an effort to give Biplanes "more exposure" to the fans (given that most don't show up until after we run), we were scheduled for the 11:00am takeoff slot. Our class had to make the call by one hour prior (10:00am) if we were going to race, or not.

I'm not in the leadership of our Biplane class, but was present at the end of the K-rail, adjacent to the T-hangars, as the President, VP, and Secretary were all monitoring the Tower frequency to hear the wind call-outs. Generally, right up to 10:00am the winds were around 170@16G24. At exactly 10:00am the winds were still being called by the tower at that velocity, which matched the AWOS, so they cancelled us. By the time we rode the golf carts back to the Biplane/IF1 hangar, we heard tower call the gust at 32 knots. Our Biplane class limitations impose a maximum wind velocity (which includes the gust) of 20 knots, regardless of direction.

The insult to the injury was that one hour later (race time...11:00am) the flags on the stands were nearly limp for a short while. It still wouldn't have been smart (or safe) as the winds picked back up within a few short minutes.

Big bummer as the "added exposure" sure backfired. It looks like we'll happily be going back to the more normal (and calm) times in the morning with the IF1's.

Sam Swift
Biplane #3
Smokin' Hot™

Proof once again that the most well intentioned plans can go sideways. We felt putting the Bips at this time slot was a a bit of gamble but one worth the possible downside. Getting more exposure to a greater number of fans is a worthy cause. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. Unclear how this will be addressed in 2020 but to your point...the call in real time was a good one as we must always error on side of safety and caution. Winds were all over the map to some degree. In fact, some discussion RE: whether or not the TBirds would fly as they will not launch if there is a planned divert. We were working plans to recover the team at KRTS in the even the winds changed during their performance and they could not RTB to RNO due to winds.

All in all...a classic Gold Sunday at Stead. Regrettable indeed.

[wadeh]

Re: Sunday wind fest.

When I saw the schedule as I arrived on Sunday morning, I was surprised at the 11:00 slot for the Biplane Gold. I was wondering if it might get bumped earlier, but I'm not sure how much difference that would have made.

In any case, I agree with prudence in deferring to conditions.

We'll be there bright and early each day next year to see you guys race!