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2015 United States National Championship
July 21-26, 2015 Longview, TX REPORTED BY Joe Zvada Johnny Petrehn Wins the 2015 National Championship after a Four Task Final Flight!
July 26, 2015 Going into the final flight of the 2015 National Championship Johnny Petrehn held a 600pt lead over second place Jonathan Wright and third place Rhett Heartsill. Four tasks waited for pilots when the briefing doors opened at 6am Sunday morning; FIN, GBM, HWZ, HWZ. The FIN and GBM were placed on the main field at the Longview airport along with the cash pole grab. Winds flowed to the east with left on the surface and a right turn with altitude, the most standard Longview pattern we'd seen all week. Pilots launched from familiar launch sites west of the airport and road the mid level winds to the target. The scoring area for the GBM were two triangle shapes laid out west of the target, markers dropped in the triangles were measured back to the X. Chase Donner was one of the first balloons through and won the FIN with a 0.09m score. Bill Bussey won the GBM with drop very near the point of the triangle scoring area. Johnny Petrehn and Rhett Heartsill approached the target together. Rhett leaned on Johnny pushing him further right, but a good throw got Johnny a 3m result on the FIN. Rhett followed with a great throw to 0.11m and second on the task, applying the pressure to Johnny going into the final two tasks of the Championship. |
The first HWZ gave pilots the choice of three intersection targets with results scored by the loggers. Johnny Petrehn responded to Rhett's pressure with a 0.0m result and 1000pts, gaining much of the points he lost on the first two tasks.
The final task of the Championship, HWZ, gave pilots three targets to choose from which were scored by marker result. Scores were incredibly tight with the top twelve pilots under one meter. Steve Mitchell won the task, but all eyes were on Johnny and Rhett who came in on the target together. Rhett approached first, leaned over, and with a gentle toss scored 0.27m. Johnny missed judged the left turn on the deck and cut in front of the target. He watched Rhett throw, waited for him to clear the target, and wound his baggie for a 3.22m result. The pair landed just passed that target and watched the approaching balloons come in. Rhett would need as many baggies between his and Johnny's as possible in order to gain enough points to claim the victory. A few tense moments passed in the remote field southwest of Longview as balloons made their passes. When the last balloon passed, there were 18 results between their two markers, not enough for Rhett to make up his deficit. Johnny Petrehn held on to win his second National Championship in a row!
The final task of the Championship, HWZ, gave pilots three targets to choose from which were scored by marker result. Scores were incredibly tight with the top twelve pilots under one meter. Steve Mitchell won the task, but all eyes were on Johnny and Rhett who came in on the target together. Rhett approached first, leaned over, and with a gentle toss scored 0.27m. Johnny missed judged the left turn on the deck and cut in front of the target. He watched Rhett throw, waited for him to clear the target, and wound his baggie for a 3.22m result. The pair landed just passed that target and watched the approaching balloons come in. Rhett would need as many baggies between his and Johnny's as possible in order to gain enough points to claim the victory. A few tense moments passed in the remote field southwest of Longview as balloons made their passes. When the last balloon passed, there were 18 results between their two markers, not enough for Rhett to make up his deficit. Johnny Petrehn held on to win his second National Championship in a row!
Flight Two - JDG, XDI, HWZ, FON, XDI
July 25, 2015
High winds kept the competition grounded on Thursday and Friday, but finally let up Saturday enough for a five part flight. As is usual in Longview, the competition shifted to the airport for the weekend. The JDG and first XDI were located on the airport grounds along with a $5000 cash pole. Winds flowed from the southwest with right turn in altitude until about 5000' when it turned back left.
Pilots took off on roughly a 60 degree line to the airport and road the mid layer winds into the target. The XDI was laid out as two large triangles in which a pilot had to throw the XDI marker. The best result was the marker furthest away from the X while still inside the triangle. Outside air temp is HOT, and winds became variable quickly as the sun rose. Many pilots missed the target completely when caught by an untimely shift. Those that timed it right had the opportunity to gain a lot of points on the two tasks.
The HWZ was set 3km from the airport and gave pilot two target options to choose from. Pilots road the lowest winds to the target looking for the most left possible. It again was all a matter of timing with the shifts. Those that road them patiently and well were rewarded with a good score, but could have just as easily been blown off course at the last minute.
Pilots had four goals to choose from for the FON. Declarations could be made at briefing, by the crew at a specified point, or on the tail of the previous marker. Most chose the furthest right goal and tried to ride the low winds to it again battling shifting/variable winds.
The final task of the morning was an XDI that had pilots fly out of an virtual box. Results were the pilots exit point from the box, back to a common reference point as described on the task sheet. The best result was achieved by exiting the box in the northeast corner. Pilots climbed to about 5500' to find the turn that would take them to the best exit. Results should be tight here with many pilots exiting very close to the corner.
There is one more flight window Sunday morning and will be very much any ones Championship to win among the top pilots. Stay tuned!
July 25, 2015
High winds kept the competition grounded on Thursday and Friday, but finally let up Saturday enough for a five part flight. As is usual in Longview, the competition shifted to the airport for the weekend. The JDG and first XDI were located on the airport grounds along with a $5000 cash pole. Winds flowed from the southwest with right turn in altitude until about 5000' when it turned back left.
Pilots took off on roughly a 60 degree line to the airport and road the mid layer winds into the target. The XDI was laid out as two large triangles in which a pilot had to throw the XDI marker. The best result was the marker furthest away from the X while still inside the triangle. Outside air temp is HOT, and winds became variable quickly as the sun rose. Many pilots missed the target completely when caught by an untimely shift. Those that timed it right had the opportunity to gain a lot of points on the two tasks.
The HWZ was set 3km from the airport and gave pilot two target options to choose from. Pilots road the lowest winds to the target looking for the most left possible. It again was all a matter of timing with the shifts. Those that road them patiently and well were rewarded with a good score, but could have just as easily been blown off course at the last minute.
Pilots had four goals to choose from for the FON. Declarations could be made at briefing, by the crew at a specified point, or on the tail of the previous marker. Most chose the furthest right goal and tried to ride the low winds to it again battling shifting/variable winds.
The final task of the morning was an XDI that had pilots fly out of an virtual box. Results were the pilots exit point from the box, back to a common reference point as described on the task sheet. The best result was achieved by exiting the box in the northeast corner. Pilots climbed to about 5500' to find the turn that would take them to the best exit. Results should be tight here with many pilots exiting very close to the corner.
There is one more flight window Sunday morning and will be very much any ones Championship to win among the top pilots. Stay tuned!
