Round Valley Dome report

From: Jake Palmer <82.jake_at_gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2019 09:47:55 -0700

I've had multiple people ask me privately, so I thought I would make a
public post about my experience flying F1D at the Round Valley Dome.

My biggest concern was the air stability, and it is a challenge if you fly
at the wrong time. The dome has large windows in the ceiling that let in a
lot of sunlight. This sunlight heats the floor unevenly which creates very
noticeable thermals. From my point of view it's almost impossible to fly
something like F1D while these thermals are present. Fortunately as the
sun begins dropping in the sky, the light entering the windows becomes more
diffuse, and the conditions in the building improve dramatically. Both of
the days I flew, the air started settling down after 3pm. By 4pm the air
was pretty good, and by 5pm the air was really good. The air stayed good
until some time after 7pm when it started to degrade slightly, but it was
still very flyable until the contest ended at 8pm.

Of course the air density is lower due to the elevation, and this lowers
the maximum times achievable. I believe F1D flights of 23-24 minutes are
possible during that magic window from 5pm to 7pm when the air is the best.

There were some challenges this first go around regarding the schedule and
helium, but I believe these issues will be resolved next year. I plan to
go back next year and make a run at 23+ minutes.

Regards,
Jake
Received on Tue Jun 11 2019 - 09:48:28 CEST