New Distance-to-Goal World Record and U.S. Open Distance Record by josh Cohn Conditions looked pretty good in Zapata, Texas. There was 2/8 cumulus at about 4,500 feet and a moderately strong south-southeast wind. On the second tow ftom Michael Osoba, son ofthe famed weather guru and pilot Gary Osoba, I got away. After several turns in 15-20 mph winds you're committed.
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he thermals felt more like real cores than usual; you could actually crank it in a few of them, although there was still plenty of the usual waffling. While making crosswind glides to the east to skirt the Laredo airspace there was plenty of time to spot the places I'd bombed out on previous days. Coming over the San Ygnacio road at 2,300' (1 ,800' AGL) I could almost make out the horrible little clearing I'd attempted to land in the day before. At 10 miles out, this road is the only paved road on the first 40 miles of the route. It exerts a powerful pull when you start to get low. But coming in under a cloud it worked this time and I was soon happy again. I listened enviously on the radio to Kari aerotowing to the east of the airport. The landscape below is mesquite brush, marked by a grid of dirt roads oriented to
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something very different from north with radiating pipelines connecting natural gas wells. What is not obvious from the air is that nearly all of the dirt roads are separated from public roads by locked gates. However, I'd had pretty good luck with hitching rides out from these areas, other than one three-mile hike. At 25 miles out I passed over the dirt part of the San Ygnacio road where it snakes back under the course line. Next was the seven-mile section of tiger country that I'd walked out of earlier, and a blue hole just as big. I radioed to Kari that she should catch up to me and we should help each other get through the blue hole. She replied that she was going around it to the east. With this reminder to avoid the death glide, I waited under the clouds in light lift until finally some cu's started to pop in the blue ahead. The little wisps never really worked,
PARAGLIDING