We arrived to the last day of the stage: I knew it already that it will be a complicated day and the weather forecast at 9.30 am confirmed it. It was expected to have 25-30 km/h wind (N, NNE) above 1500 m and some severe turbulence zones at several places where we usually fly. The task was the following: Laveno - Sette Termini - Cornizzolo - home (Calcinate del Pesce). It is not a long task, but I was sure that it will be challenging because of the special weather conditions (thermals mixed with strong wind). 

The flight started quite well: I did immediately 1676 m at Campo dei Fiori so I went to Monte Nudo. Here I passed a bit of time until I found a wonderful thermal (laminar lift?) which let me to start the task at 2100 meter! I passed above Monte Pian Nave on my way to the first waypoint, Sette Termini. It was not a nice glide as I arrived near the waypoint only at 1600 m. Yes, only very close to the first waypoint and I did not touch it: I was not careful enough when I entered the task into my Kobo (it is an e-book reader with XCSoar on it) and I put the waypoint in Lugano CTR (and it is an extra difficulty to do the radio communication with Lugano Tower when you are low and you do not find any lift). My bad! I should have checked the whole task on the ground and verify the location of every waypoint. 

I was quite frustrated at this point and I needed to glide back in the direction of Mt. Nudo as I did not find any lift at Sette Termini. But at this height (1300 m) the wind was not strong enough to help me - so I continued my way in the direction of the airfield. The flight becomes at this point a game of patience: I am only at 800 m above the city of Varese. And another unpleasant surprise here! There is wind from SSW (12-15 km/h), I see it clearly when I check the shape of my track on the map. 

Finally I did it, what a win! I am very happy when I restart the flight with the max. altitude (1676 m) in the direction of the second waypoint. I am slow and careful - I know that the conditions are tricky, I don't know at which altitude I will feel again the NNE wind. I follow the standard way to the east: Mt. San Giorgio, Generoso. I hardly find normal (circle) thermals, I find some weak lifts in lines near the ridges. The sky is blue with some high clouds, I feel it too complicated to go until the second waypoint so I decide to return home much earlier. Especially because I have already lost a lot of time above Varese. 

I have mixed feelings about this flight: I did some mistake with the task setting, I did not complete the task (of course it was possible to complete it) but it was a small win that I could "re-start" the flight after that low point above Varese. 

All in all the whole stage was a great occasion to learn about distance flying, flying in groups and task setting, thanks again for the organization for Margherita Acquaderni & Stefano Ghiorzo. A special thanks also to Alfio Lavazza for the wonderful flight on Day 1 and to all my fellow Flypink ladies for the support & the fun together. 

If you want to see my flight on OLC/weglide, you can find it here:

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 30.03.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

93 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 03/30/2025 (weglide.org)