3rd day of WC.
A beautiful day with virtually zero wind created us at the field at 8:00am when we arrived. The sun had just cleared the mountain and it’s shadow was racing eastward across the flying field.
We set up two bungees out on our own and Jeff, Noah and Stoil spent 40 mins practicing landings together from a 30sec count. By the time we finished the air was just starting to become active. The USA team has a nice area of shade on the western side of their tent where all the models rest between rounds.
Daryl was up in the second group of the day and like the 1st group the gaggle headed west to where the sun had worked longest and gradually started big turns in the softest of soft lift. 9 minutes later he swooped low over the ready box (where we were waiting with Jeffs models and dropping into the Lane 1 LZ for a precision 9:56.5-99 and 1000.
Jeffs flight had the benefit of a bunch of european “flippy birds” (Purple Martens in Florida). These little fellas flip here and there with very little flapping and catch insects being carried up. Great thermal guides. After an easy ride gaining a couple hundred feet over the 9 mins Jeff returned and landed in the reverse direction to DP for a 9:56.1 Jeff’s landing hit the 100 but Lane 1 is hard ground and his X3 bounced back a lot for a cruel 99 and 997.8 points.
Jim was last of the seniors in Rd 4 and took a good time to easy air right over the LZ. He made a routine approach and on the hard well mowed area of lane 1 hit a 9:55. 7-98 for a score of 997.1.
Final results of Round 4 see Team USA solidify 2nd place just 2.9 points behind Germany and 13 ahead of France. In individual positions. DP is 4th, Jim 6th, Jeff is 26th.
Next up are two rounds of Juniors so I will see y’all on the other side.
All the juniors flew magnificently and scored really well. Stoil put in some excellent turns in light air and strategically moved from one thermal to another. Dillon took no rusks but did his job to grab a couple more 1000’s and Noah is starting to look like an old hand. Max Fink of Germany was taking a little risk with some very short tows and his 9:59.0-100 really hurt what should have been a good score by our Junior.
ROUND 5
During lunch Noah was practicing landings with Jeff out front of the USA tent and for only the second time in his life he threw into lift and got out. A great moment for the kid.
Jim was our first pilot to fly Round 5 after lunch. Conditions hadn’t changed much from earlier in the day with zero wind and easy reads taking entire groups out in multiple thermals. Jims flight ended with a perfect landing with the nose right on the pin. His score of 9:56. 5 -100 gave him just 996.9 as another pilot took a lot of risk with a short tow in the prelims.
Jeff flew well to take air back down the valley and pushed the clock to make a 9:57.2-99 and take the 1000.
DP 9:56.6-98 for 996.8
Overall results after Round 5 was compete saw DP in 4th place 7.5 points behalf and the leader Arijan Hucaljuk. Jim was in 7th 9 points behind 1st and Jeff had crept up to 21st 23 points off the lead and just 13 points out of the flyoffs group.
The USA team is still in 2nd place to Germany just 6 points behind.
ROUND 6
Jeff was first up in Rd 6. With considerable increase in wind from the west towards the mountain we didn’t really have a read and we tested the air downwind if the gaggle until they hooked up. As it turned out we were a long way toward the mountain and had to travel a long way to the right before we found their air. Jeff flew one of the scariest flights I have seen as he travelled along the mountain to the North often unsighted for many seconds as we called what his model model was doing. He finally completed the thermal flight a long way toward the rock Face and turned for home. One of those flights to remember. His time was 9:55-99 as he landed a second early for 998.7
Daryl’s launch was a good one and he simply floated around on the downwind side if the launch area tasting the air until he found a good patch to use up the clock. His landing floated a little at the end 
Jim scored 9:53.9-99 for a 997
At the end of Rd 6 the USA team remains 2nd place about 15 points behind Germany.
Jim is in 9th
DP is in 11th
And Jeff is in 19th.
The final 2 rounds (6 flight groups) of juniors began pretty late in the day with flat conditions and a cross of about 5mph toward the mountain. Noah was up in Rd 5 Group 1 and although he tried valiantly to make his model stay up in two separate pieces of air way downwind toward the mountain he finally landed at 6 minutes but not quite close enough to get a score and we had to relaunch him. His resulting time of 2:54 and a 98 is definitely his dropper.
