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had to be within 5 miles (flex) or 3 miles (rigid) from Wallaby at one of the start times to score. I liked the flexes out in front of the rigids since they provided plenty of thermal markers on course! It also cut down on the size of the gaggles.
A highlight of the Wallaby Nationals for me was spending some time with Felix Ruele, the designer of my rigid wing, the Atos. Felix met with all the pilots flying the Atos and we had a roundtable discussion on maintenance, flying and caring for these rigid wings. I was able to see him repair some small and one very substantially damaged wing. The Atos C is very nice and some improvement over the standard Atos, but there was some disagreement among pilots about just how much improvement it offered.
The primary difference I noticed among the 30 rigid wing pilots was their attention to drag reduction. Those with sleek harnesses, instrument pods and ballast performed much better on long glides. I was too head up,initially, but once I changed my hang loop, I immediately noticed a better glide.
The week following the Wallaby Nationals was the Flytec Championship at Quest. Having two meets back to back is a little tiring, but very convenient for all of us who travel there to fly. These two meets have become must fly events for anyone aspiring to make the US World Team. There are so many highly ranked national and international pilots that more points can be earned here than at any other US meet.
I tent camped at Quest near the lake, nestled under the shade of several small trees. Every evening I thoroughly enjoyed reading in my tent while the sun when down, looking across the water. There were also two alligators in the lake this year, both about 4 ft long. I also saw several three legged dogs that had encounters with alligators!
This year Quest hired a caterer to prepare meals. Every breakfast and dinner featured vegetarian and
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