The Sparrowhawk and I
My incredible Sparrowhawk adventure started in May when Chip Garner called me at work and asked if I’d be interested in flying a Sparrowhawk at the 13.5 Meter Super Regionals in August. Well, of course! I had given a little thought to the contest but had pretty much decided against going due to vacation time constraints. This offer was just the motivation I needed.
I read everything I could and talked to everyone who had Sparrowhawk experience, including KSA locals Richard Boone and Gary Osoba. After helping Richard rig his glider and sitting in it, I knew comfort would not be an issue. The cockpit easily accommodates my 6’1” height. Gary spent a lot of time discussing the glider’s performance and how to get the most out of it.
Picking Up the Glider
My month with the Sparrowhawk started when I drove to Bend, Oregon to visit the Windward Performance shop and Greg Cole. I spent a day admiring the Perlan and a couple of Duckhawks in the hangar. Greg gave me the rundown and I launched late in the afternoon for about an hour and a half of local flying. My impressions were all positive: quick control response, rapid roll rate, and no feeling of being unstable—a highly desirable combination.
Fully loaded for takeoff I was flying at about 420 lbs, working out to 6 psf wing loading—not much lower than my Standard Cirrus dry. It can’t circle as tight as a 1-26 even though it weighs 200 lbs less, but I found I could climb even with most of the 1-26s at the contest. Between thermals the glider doesn’t mind speeding up. It picks up speed fast and is incredibly clean. I was often running about 70 knots between thermals and flew most final glides at around 80.
Moriarty in August
Moriarty at the end of August is not the same as Moriarty in June. Something strange had been happening in New Mexico: it had been raining. The entire Estancia Valley was green. Dust devils that marked every thermal in June were completely missing, and cloudbase was 12,000–13,000 feet instead of the 16,000–18,000 we’d found in June. Four days of flying before the contest helped me get comfortable with these conditions.
Contest Day 1 was a learning experience: two big circles, one south and one north. I stayed in the valley while everyone else went to the mountains and had a great day. I landed out at Zorro Ranch. Only two others stayed in the valley, so I was at least not at the bottom of the sheet.
The rest of the contest was a mix of struggle and improvement. By Contest Day 3, things clicked—nice streets in the valley, I finally “got high and stayed high,” and for the first time felt completely comfortable in the glider. I was 2nd for the day. By Day 4 I ran a 56 mph task only to find that Ron Schwartz beat me by 0.5 mph in his 1-26D. He described his flight as one of the top 3 of his career.
The Final Day
Contest Day 7 was the final day, run in parallel with the 1-26 “Champion of Champions” invitational. The task first went north toward Lamy Junction, then Clines Corners, Willard to the south, and a last turnpoint about 15 miles north of Moriarty.
I started side by side with Bill Snead in his PW-5. Coming out of the Willard turnpoint, neither of us wanting to give ground to the other, we both left lift too early. I found myself at 1500 AGL over Estancia about to turn for the airport—when I saw the flash of PW-5 wings off to the left. A quick reversal and I was climbing under Bill at about 1.5 knots. Saved! Thank you, Bill Snead!
We worked back up together and found a good cloud line into the last turnpoint. I grabbed extra time by working nearby turnpoints west and southwest of the airport and finished 48 seconds early. I ended up 2nd overall and brought home a very nice trophy.
I cannot thank Greg Cole at Windward enough for giving me the opportunity to fly his glider for two weeks. It showed great confidence and generosity. I’m glad to have earned a trophy as a result.