Voiniagovo - Gorno Yabalkovo (201 km)
Date: 09.07.2003
Pilot: Nikolay Yotov
Equipment: Expert/Nova; AVA sport Race; Brauniger/Basis
Take off: Voiniagovo (N42 32' 53.8" E24 45' 06.7); 13.00 h
Thermals: 2 m/s average; 5-7 m/s maximums
Cloudbase: 2400-2600 m amsl
Wind: 7-8 m/s NW
Landing: Tzarkvishteto - 2 km north from G. Yabalkovo (N42 06'
31.1'', E027 07' 09.9''); 19.05 h
Distance: 201 km
Duration: 6 hours and 5 min
Average speed: 33 km/h
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By accident I was free this day and decided to
have some flying for my own pleasure. After writing e-mails in the morning,
I took a look outside to see the first cumuluses already developed and
the wind started to increase (later up to 30 m/s at Botev) after
the night calmness. I was wondering wether to fly at Sopot because the
wind seemed like clear west but decided to trust the forecasts for NW
and went to Voiniagovo with Itzo and Jorgen. The way to the tower is Moskvich-accessible
and the take off is relatively protected from Stara Planina and suitable
for not very strong W, N and NE winds (lately in lighter winds we made
few nice XC and strong thermals). Take off needs more cleaning so
until I waited the sun and wind to come Itzo was sorting the tangled lines
in the grass (later he couldn't take off because of too strong wind).
About 13.00 the shadows in front of me cleared and soon the
first gust came (up to 7-8 m/s) and I took off. After a climb 50
m above take off I flew SE to the next ridge which worked again and I
climbed 300-400 m more.
Then thermals disapeared and I was forced to fly downwind. Above Pesnopoi
I caught few strong bubbles (up to 7 m/s) and climbed to 1900 m
amsl.
Despite the classic cloud streets above Stara Planina and
Rodopi, it didn't looked promising ahead because of the huge shade from
a piece of alto stratus cloud. The cumuluses were vanishing and until
I was sqeezing 0.5-1 m/s thermals, the shade moved S and I continued parallel
to the slopes of Sredna Gora. It seemed that I rushed too much because
there weren't any thermals above obvious thermall triggers (sunny fields,
hills, plateau). I sank desparetely low and about 50 m above ground I headed for landing next
to a cow farm of some village. Sooner I realised I'll have problems with
landing in the strong wind from WNW, when few strong bubbles blowed me
more and more backward. I thought I won't manage to land before the village
and decided to use them, fly backwind and land after the village safely.
The climbs appeared to be good so I bit them like a pittbul
without paying attention to the shoutings of spactators bellow. Soon I
was at 1200-1300 m at the begining of Chirpan foothills (below I noticed
a beginning forest fire which I couldn't report because I didn't know
my exact location). Big shadows formed after me but at the downwind
side of a big sunny hill I climbed to 2100 m and quickly recognized Stara
Zagora (where I landed once from Sopot).
The picture ahead was classic - vast field with isolated clouds
S from Sredna Gora and bigger and more street-like cumuluses more S. Probably
because of lower parts of Stara Planina and Sredna Gora the wind here
truned from WNW to NNW.
The rest of the flight was easy - I had the feeling that I
was in a phase with thermals because just after finishing a climb (2200-2300
m) a shadow was forming and following below.
Despite the wind wasn't very strong (at moments I was flying
woth 60-62 km/h) I felt that my average speed is high and I started
thinking about flying for record.
Above the moon lanscapes of TEC Maritza I climbed max to
2500 m and more and more used short cloud streets on the way. As always
I was very well equiped for the coldness (it was 3°C at Botev)
- with sandals and thin sport suit and despite there weren't serious turbulence
and collapses, the wing was shaking often from my shivering.
South of Yambol I became worried not to enter Turkey and started
to correct the direction of flight i.e. with more side wind. This reduced
my XC speed but I felt like it helped for finding next thermals and saved
me from some street shadows.
The day started to die away and few times I sank to 1000 m,
but the clouds appeared to be of the type which works well until late.
I felt happy every time I saw a church (mosque could mean
I'm already in Turkey) in the more rare villages bellow and finally
calmed down when recognized the state border and started my final glide
by crossing to the other side from time to time. The wind was straight
from left but I knew that I had flown a few kilometers more than Mitzo's
record of 188 km and decided to fly to the last possible landing place.
Such appeared to be a small meadow 2 km east from G. Yabalkovo and 0.5
km from the border.
As usual good things inevitably end and at the last moment
of my landing approach a rotor's downdrafts sank me down and power lines
appeared from nowhere. Without thinking I made a sharp turn and find myself
landed on a tree. And such a tree - huge venerable oak (named by locals
The Church). A sheepard helped me to go down and the mayor of the
village gave me a telephone (no GSM connection in radius of 20 km),
a ladder and a rope. Later in the evening Galin and Ventzi came from Burgas
to help and few hours later we felt asleep around the fire. Next day there
was a 2 hours alpine operation for getting the glider down and when we
arrived in Burgas I found out that I had flown 201 km.
Despite the sea water was cold for bathing, I was very happy
because I set the new Bulgarian PG record and proved the potential of
Voiniagovo and flatland XC flying. I'm also convinced of the potential
of Bulgaria and with an earlier take off and ignoring state borders I
find a 300 km flight possible.
Still the records are set to be broken!
Nikolay Yotov