This past weekend my Dad and I flew in the 2012 South West Classic in Queens Creek, AZ. We both flew in the Woody class with Atomics (I borrowed my Uncle’s – Chris George’s Atomic for the weekend) When the Arizona dust had settled over the weekend I won the Woody class and my Dad took second not too far behind me, capping off a great and very challenging weekend of flying in the desert.
I would like to touch on a few points regarding the flight characteristics of the Atomic in light of the challenging conditions that we flew in at the 2012 SWC.
-First off the plane is very docile and feels like a feather when you’re flying it. The Atomic wing plan form allows us to cover more distance over most Woody class planes.. There were a few flights with wind up to about 8 mph. Adding 8 ounces (226 grams) of ballast allowed both Atomic’s to cruise very well in search of lift in active conditions. I carved some really sharp thermal turns traveling downwind with strong thermals needed to make each flight time When it was time to “come home” back upwind the ballast really came in handy in helping it to penetrate.
-When I say conditions were tough during many flights I’m talking about thermaling at about 30-50 feet off the ground for like 3-5 MINUTES often times! To be sure, we may not have made all of our flight times like the Open class ships, but we came awfully close for the Woody class! I’ll be the first to admit that flying at that altitude for a good part of a
...Continue Reading