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FLY MINDEN

The Minden Standard Courses are a set of 17 pre-defined and well described courses for the use of soaring pilots who fly from Minden-Tahoe Airport.  

Course distances range from 100 km to 1000 km and meet the FAI prescribed course definitions for triangle, out & return and 3 turn point badge and record attempts.

  1. Course A - 300km Out & Return
  2. Course B - 300km FAI Triangle
  3. Course C - 300km Flat Triangle
  4. Course D - 300km 3 TP Distance
  5. Course E - 500km Out & Return
  6. Course F - 500km FAI Triangle
  7. Course G - 500km Flat Triangle
  8. Course H - 500km 3 TP Distance
  9. Course I - 750km Out & Return
  10. Course J - 750km FAI Triangle
  11. Course L - 1000km FAI Triangle
  12. Course M - 1000km 3 TP Distance
  13. Course N - 100km FAI Triangle
  14. Course Q - 500km Out & Return
  15. Course R - 750km FAI Triangle
  16. Course S - 1000km FAI Triangle
  17. Course T - 750km Out & Return

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Minden - Standard Course "L"

1000 km FAI Triangle

Course Design: Bob Semans

Waypoint / Turnpoint and Task Files

NOTE: All tasks & waypoints are in the SeeYou minden-courses-0916.cup

  1. Download SeeYou file: minden-courses-0916.cup
  2. Download SeeYou file without tasks:  MindenSC.cup
  3. Download standard dat file, also works in SeeYou: MindenSC.dat

 

  Name  Latitude Longitude Elevation
Start Pt. Sunrise Start Pt. (S05), NV 39º 01.120' N 119º 40.080' W 5191'
TP 1 Cerro Gordo Pk -R/F- N Pk, CA 36º 33.000' N 117º 48.190' W 9280'
TP 2 Eureka-Int. Main St & Ruby Hill, NV 39º 30.750' N 115º 57.600' W 6500'
Finish Pt. Sunrise Start Pt. (S05), NV 39º 01.120' N 119º 40.080' W 5191'
 

 

Leg Km Smi Nmi % True Course
1 319.45 198.48 172.49  31.6 148°
2 366.47 227.71 197.88  36.3 026°
3 323.64 201.72 175.29 32.1 261°
Task Dist. 1010.56 627.92 545.66    

Task / Course Map from SeeYou

Minden L XC Course
Click Map for larger image

 

Typical Flight Path:

The usual tactic on the first leg is to head for Boundary Peak on the north end of the White Mountains, a significant deviation to the east of course line.  Leaving Bald Mtn. #1 (at the south end of the Pine Nut range) reach for East Sister Peak at the north end of the Sweetwater range, then to Bald Mtn. #2 (at the south end of the Pine Grove Hills).  Then reach for the high ground south of Aurora Mine or the range south of Lucky Boy Pass, then across the flats to the low escarpment at the north end of the Owens Valley and on to Boundary Peak..

On the Whites, fly down the range, deviating a bit to the east at Westgard Pass, and on south on the Inyo range to the first turn.  On the second leg return up the Inyo's and across Westgard Pass.  Work to the east side of the White's (where they are broad at the south end) and jump across the Fish Lake Valley to the Silver Peak range.  Work past Coledale, across the wide flat area, toward the south end of the Toiyabe range.  According to cloud indications, jumps east to the Toquima range and then to the Monitor range are required while working north along these ranges.  Additional jumps are then needed to the Park (Antelope) range and/or Fish Creek range while continuing to work north east to the second turn, a few miles northeast of Prospect Peak.

On the third leg, the range jumping is reversed to the south west.  From the middle of the Toiyabe range fly toward Gabbs by jumping to the Shoshone range and the Paradise range.  At Gabbs, as clouds may dictate, a choice is needed between: A) a course nearly straight west across Gabbs Dry Lake and the north end of Walker Lake to the north end of the Wassuk range; or,  B) a deviation south west to the Gabbs Valley range and then the Gillis Range to cross Walker Lake at the south end to reach the west side of the Wassuk range north of Mt. Grant.

The Wassuk can yield the final climb allowing for final glide through the gap on the Pine Nuts north of Mt. Siegel.  Otherwise, use a southerly deviation to use high ground at the Pine Grove Hills and Desert Creek Peak to reach the gap south of Bald Mtn.   Note: Cloud patterns often dictate significant deviations from this "typical" flight path.

Airports along the course (keep at least one in reach):

Flyin' Mouse, Sweetwater Strip, Flying M (Hilton Strip), Bryant Field (Bridgeport), Hawthorne, Bishop, Independance, Lone Pine, Circle L, Tonopah, Hadley, Kingston, Eureka, Austin, Gabbs, Luning Dry Lake (not an airport), Hawthorne, Flying M, Yerington, Rosaschi Dusters.

Some possible weather peculiarities:

Convergence line around the east side of Mono Lake may be useful on first leg.  This convergence often drifts east during the afternoon.  The lift band over the Whites may be displaced east or west of the ridgetop depending on the shoving match between air masses on the two sides of the range;   A southerly wind on the east side of the White & Inyo ranges can bring a hot but dry and stable air mass north out of Panamint and Death Valleys (this results in a large cu-less area east and north east of the White Mtn. range).  Watch for Cu-nim blow-off from the Sierra and other high ground; cool, stable airflow at lower levels south of Walker Lake; strong southwest wind at lower levels at Wellington and Smith Valley late in the day.

Traffic cautions:

High speed, head-on glider traffic in the lift band over the White and Inyo Mtns.,  any day  ... but worst on Saturdays.  Before flying in the "White Mountain Corridor," brief yourself on (and print out ) PROCEDURE ALPHA ver C.  [ http://pacificsoaring.org/documents/ProcAlphaMap-and-card-Vers-C.pdf ]   When not flying over the White or Inyo Mountains, and you hear position reports from pilots flying over these ranges, switch to another frequency or use 123.5 very sparingly! 

Southern part of course transits BISHOP MOA, SALINE MOA and OWENS MOA. Third leg transits AUSTIN 2 MOA, GABBS SOUTH MOA and GABBS CENTRAL MOA..

Course Design: Bob Semans