Asado

The word simply means "roast." But there is so much more to the Argentine tradition of Asado than can be contained in a one-word translation.

A proper asado consists of cuts of beef or sausage flame-roasted on an iron rack, arranged vertically at just the right distance from an open fire.  The racks are stuck into the ground and tilted at a slight angle so that the meat is cooked uniformly. When the chef determines that the cooking is complete, the racks are quickly stripped and the meat is handed, still sizzling, through a window into a hangar full of hungry glider pilots.

Combine that with wine and folk dancing, and you have "Argentina Night" at the 2nd PAGC.

Today's activities

Phil's trailer gremlins don't give up easy.  Today he's debugging the lights.

Fernando and his crew are securing the tables, chairs, and awnings at US Base in preparation for the afternoon zephyrs.

Most of us are headed to the charming town of Tres Arroyos to do some tourist shopping.

Juan will present his film "A Fine Week of Soaring" at 7pm, and the Argentine team will host us for dinner after the movie.

Day cancelled

No Tasks today. There will be a Briefing at 1000.

Pic dump

Mouse over for photo credits

The rest of the story

Apparently, W crew passed VN crew on the road as they were both returning from their outlandings. Fernando noticed that the other trailer was sagging a bit at the bow, and he signaled Phil to pull over.

The trailer tongue had suffered a major failure and was about to let go. Phil limped into a service station and was referred to a welder.  John Good and Juan Mandelbaum arrived from Chaves to assist.  They brought Juan's empty trailer in case it was needed. The welder arrived and declared that he could fix it - back at his shop. So the boys got to work and removed the trailer tongue, gave it to the welder to repair, and repaired to the local diner.

A while later (not sure how much later), the welder returned with straightened and reinforced part, and following its reinstallation, the crews were back on the road.

They arrived in time for dessert at the hotel.

Never pick up a stranger

On the road again

Every morning after Briefing we have a team meeting to discuss the task and weather. At the beginning of today's meeting Fernando put his finger on the map on the task sheet and said, "I'll be landing here today." He based his prediction on the forecast time of arrival of an intense ridge of cold high pressure air from the Pacific.

The Task Setter gave the same task to both classes, a 2 hour AAT, and we had an atypically early launch into a southwest wind. The obvious strategy was to get out of town while the getting was good, and that is exactly what everyone did. The Standard Class, who went first, escaped before the weather changed. The 15 Meter start gate opened just as the mini-frontal passage occurred, and some of the gliders were able to climb above cloudbase before the start. Others weren't so lucky. On the ground, the wind picked up, and the temperature took a dive.

Robin and Juan were overrun by the stable air and were trapped at home. Phil and Fernando met the same fate on course and came to earth just after making the first turn. Phil landed first. His crew had some trouble hooking up the trailer. Something didn't seem right at first, but they eventually got it attached to the car, and they departed.

Meanwhile, Fernando hung on just long enough to reach his predicted landing spot.

Al and Ryszard, who had a slight head start on the new weather, flew 90 degrees to their courseline in order to get even farther away from it. This tactic worked, and they stayed in the air the longest of all.  They probably got minimum distance.

There were 21 outlandings today, so the scorer doesn't have much to work with. We won't know if the day will be valid in either class until much later.

All but one of our pilots are on the road home now. We promised to keep the light on for Phil, who has stopped along the way to get his trailer tongue welded back together. Maybe that will make it easier to hook up to the car next time.

International night

Juan and Fernando served the burgers.

We had the most popular table, by far.

Wheat loss

It's a long walk from US Base to the grid on Runway 31.  I have to make the trip twice each morning, and I'm lucky to have access to the team bicycle.

Yesterday I stashed the bike by the side of the runway, opposite Juan's pickup truck, where I could find it later. Then, just before the launch, Juan's crew moved his truck, and I spent the next half hour wandering in the wheat wondering how much a bicycle costs in Argentina.

Today we'll be using Runway 18, which is even farther away from base.  I'll be more careful today.

Late to the party

It was relatively easy to get started today. Our gliders were already assembled at their tiedowns, full of water. The only thing easier would have been to tie them out on the grid last night, which probably would have been allowed.

We've had a temporary change of accommodations. Five of us have been staying at a ranch house 5 km north of the field. At the time of our original reservation, we were told that it had been booked by another group for this weekend.  No problem. I am typing this report in a very familiar place, the Hotel Paris cafe, in downtown Chaves. The last time we were here we held morning team meetings over coffee and evening team debriefings (okay, story telling sessions) over beer and pizza.

The day started, yet again, with a weather briefing that featured the possibility of storms.  This time it was airmass thunderstorms, not a squall line, but who's keeping track? Trigger temperature was to be 27 degrees, and if it reached 33, the sky would blow up. The time of first launch was optimistically set at 1100. We have not seen 27 degrees at such an early hour since we've been here.

For the second day in a row the Tasks for the two classes were the same, except for the different start points. This is allegedly done to separate traffic, but as was the case yesterday, the start lines touched each other.  The Tasks were 2-hour AATs, with the first leg into wind.

The grid squat lasted until 1300, and the 15 Meter Class was first to go. Our guys started early, before the Standard Class had finished launching. There was a problem with towplanes, and the Standard Class gate opening was finally set for 1438. With eight minutes to go, their Task was cancelled, for reasons that have not yet been officially stated. Ryszard and Al landed and got their planes into the trailers.

The 15 Meter Class could not be recalled, of course. Juan, Robin, Fernando and Phil fought their way upwind to the first circle, which they barely touched. While they were deciding what to do next, they blew all the way back to Chaves, and the path across the wind to the second Area looked hopelessly blue. All four landed back home, with several others.

The Argentine team took a run at the second Assigned Area and disappeared. At least that's what our friend Sergio Reinaudo said when he came by our camp while we were submitting flight log files.

We assume that they've been located by now, and that crews are on the way. This will definitely delay the "International Night" party this evening.

The scores still aren't posted, so we don't know if we have a valid day. Some have suggested that the Scorer went on a retrieve.