Florida Ridge: Day Five

A short downwind barbecue task to the Lake Placid airfield was called today so we could get back in time for the awards ceremony and a nice dinner prepared by the folks from the Gator Bait bar and restaurant we often visit. The winds were so strong early this morning that I quit setting up my glider. However, by 11am the gusts disappeared and the winds slowly relaxed. I continued to push myself to be more aggressive so I decided to take the first start gate today even if no one else did. I launched early and quickly climbed to the top of lift that wasn't much higher than tow height. I soon had the entire field bobbing up and down at the top of lift with me while we drifted away. The start clock flipped over and no one immediately left. I was going to go, but I wanted some company on this mostly blue windy day with a low ceiling. Oleg finally headed out and his little squad followed. I expected to see Oleg turn around and hopefully trick a few into going without him. However he kept going. We glided over the swamp and forest north of the Florida Ridge that is definitely not inviting. Everyone was zig zagging around looking for lift. We would fine little bumps, but nothing that most of us wanted to turn in. I saw a cloud form and quickly dry up over a quarry so I decided to check it out. Oleg and a few of his group also headed towards that area. After a couple of turns Oleg and his followers left, but I stayed with to other rigid wings and was rewarded with a strong climb that turned on just a few moments after the other group left. The rest of the field was groveling down low as we passed over head in the now rapidly forming clouds. I stopped for a climb that probably wasn't strong enough and Oleg started to catch up. I pressed on for a long climb towards goal. About 2/3 of the way through the glide Oleg passed by me 500 feet over my head! Oleg later told me that I took a bad line and he caught up by staying more east directly under the forming clouds instead of the upwind of the clouds like I did. One more quick climb and I headed into goal. After landing just short of goal yesterday, I wanted some more altitude in the bank before I left but not so much that I would come into goal with too much altitude. I left when the machine said I had 500 feet. Unlike yesterday, I was hit with strong lift just before the end of the runway. It was too turbulent to fly really fast, so I couldn't convert the lift into speed.

I was second flexie for the day behind Oleg. Linda and Mark both made goal. It was Mark's first trip to goal. Lauren, flying in the sport class also made goal for the first time today.

From the beginning, I viewed this meet as a practice competition. My main goal was to fly more agressively, especially on final glide. (I am tired of arriving at goal late and with several thousand feet of altitude). I pushed myself and came in second only to Oleg on two of the three days. I pushed too hard and landed short of goal on the second day, but it was good to see how far I can really push. I am already looking forward to my next competition to see how much I really (re)learned.

Florida Ridge: Day Four

The weather finally cooperated today. Haze domes and wispy clouds started appearing about 1 hour before the noon launch window opened. We had a task that took us north northwest to a point west of Lake Placid, then northwest to an intersection and then into the wind back to the airport Avon Park. Most of us took the first start clock and began our journey. The lift was mixed today; some climbs were weak and broken while others were smooth and strong. The wind from the south southeast continued to increase during the day and probably accounted for some of the broken lift late in the task. Almost everyone got slowed up somewhere today. I was very low south of Lake Placid and warned Monica that I might be landing. I found a nasty little thing that slowly turned into something useful, but I lost the lead gaggle in the process. Once I got back into the game, I lost GPS reception and had to circle back after passing the first turn point. I had another slow climb and then things improved. I ran a nice line of haze domes to the second turn point and then turned into the wind. The first half of the last leg was fine, but then the bottom fell out. I got hammered with serious long-lasting sink and was soon struggling to just stay in the air. Once again I radioed to Monica that I was low, drifting from field to field about 15 km west of Avon Park. I did anything to just stay in the air. I was drifting away from the airport, but was slowly climbing. I finally had enough to make a run to the airport. The flight computer said I had goal by 400 feet. I actually believed it this time. About a mile from the airport I got slammed with heavy sink and it became obvious I wasn't going to make it. I did my best to sweet talk my glider towards goal. I end up landing at the end of the runway on the airport, but was 1300 feet short of goal. Crap.

There were more happy people at goal today, including Bo who offered some sound advice on getting the most out of a marginal final glide. I just heard that Linda landed 5 miles short of goal and Mark landed near the first turnpoint.

Florida Ridge: Day Three

Everyone was ready to fly this morning, but the wind started picking up and you could tell pilots were concerned by the way the talked and kept looking up whenever a gust would come through. However, Davis was convinced the winds would back down later in the day and they did. The task committee called for a late 3:00 start and a funky course to the southwest, then to the northwest, then back to the first turn point, and then to a small airport to the south. Although the wind backed down, there were no signs of lift in the blue and no one wanted to go first. Finally some of us got bored and launched.

My first climb was amazingly good, good enough that I thermalled up while stowing my tow line. I was in a thermal with Oleg, Scott, another flex wing and a rigid wing. I missed the next climb just as the start window opened. I found another climb and was ready for the second and last start gate. It would have been nice to fly with Oleg and Scott since the people that joined me, with the exception of Campbell, followed but didn't help search. I got low at the first turn point and passed Oleg coming back. Ouch.

I headed out to the second turn point low over nothing but orange groves. I prepared a landing technique for orange groves as I groveled low towards the second turn point. I found a reasonable climb and several other pilots behind me joined in. We got high at the second turn point and headed back to the third (first) turn point. I stayed on course line while everyone else veered to the north. I found a sweet smooth 500 fpm climb that let me shake everyone except Campbell. I got down to 600 after rounding the third turn point and once again had to venture over the orange groves to snag a climb.

I went on final glide with the machine saying I had it by 400 feet. It sure didn't look like I had it, but the machine kept sticking with 400 feet. I kept hearing Mike Barber (in his Star Wars "use the force" voice) saying "trust the machine, Tom". I was getting concerned about landing short in the swamp when I spotted a couple of birds crossing my path heading to a circling buzzard to my right. Once again I heard Mike say, "don't follow the birds", but I did. I should have listened. The bird stopped circling and moved on. Now I was too far away and sinking fast. I called Monica on the radio as I got below the top of the cell tower next to my intended LZ. Right after Monica confirmed my message I found a weak bubble that finally got me high enough to make another attempt. This time I left with -40 showing on the machine. I guess I was fed up! I made it in with just enough altitude to snag the goal and swing around and land.

I was the second flex wing in for the day behind Oleg, but lost a lot of points for following the birds. I lost 24 minutes that I probably didn't need to lose. Another lesson relearned.

Plant Along Fisheating Creek

Beach on Fisheating Creek

Florida Ridge: Day Two: Fisheating Creek

I spent last night using paper towels to mop up the water that kept blowing and leaking into my tent. I didn't sleep very well since the National Weather Service predicted damaging hail overnight. I didn't think a tent was the safest place to be if large hail started falling from the sky!

The day was cancelled early and 8 of us went canoeing on Fisheating Creek near the junction of Route 27 and Route 29. The Swedes got there first and signed us up for the long trip, which takes most people over 4 hours. We got dropped off about 8 miles upstream after passing through several locked gates on corporate ranch land. We immediately saw alligators swimming in the creek when we arrived at the put-in. Fish were jumping out of the water ahead of the alligators and birds were everywhere. It was a good thing the driver told us which direction was downstream because there wasn't any obvious flow. After paddling for awhile in the creek, which was maybe 50 yards wide, it simply disappeared in cypress trees. We found a reasonable channel that was about 2 yards wide and headed into the shadows. I seemed like we stumbled into a lost world. The rest of the trip was sections of wide open water and then small channels through the trees or sand banks. If you want to see native wildlife, I would recommend spending some time here. We probably saw 40 alligators, lots of birds, fish, some turtles, and a wide range of plant life.

Muddy "playground" North of the Florida Ridge 

The Florida Ridge 

Florida Ridge: Day One

I took my time moving south on Monday. I broke camp at Quest and stopped at Wallaby breakfast on the way south. The sky was crystal blue and nothing was soaring, not even the bugs. Even the smoke stopped climbing above 2000 feet. The field at the Florida Ridge looked good compared to all the damage I saw on the drive there. I am still amazed at how much damage the hurricanes did last year.

I set up my tent and was going to unload my glider when I met Davis. He was very excited about the forecast for Tuesday. Epic. Georgia. New site and maybe state record. Well all that talk sounded good to me so I set up my glider and packed my harness for a quick departure after the pilots meeting this morning. I went to sleep last night dreaming of endless miles of scenery drifting by thousands of feet below me.

Then I woke up. High cumulus clouds were drifting in from the northwest. It looked like the front was already here. Those clouds eventually move away, but as they did the wind picked up. As Greg would say, at least the working cumulus were low, scarce, and weak. The day wasn't cancelled until after noon, but it was obvious much earlier that we would not fly today even though we had a task prepared for Avon Park.

Tomorrow looks wet so it is time to find alternative activities. Mark, Linda, and I went into town for lunch and spent some time looked at aligators in the ditches along the road. I did some mild off-roading and explored some local back roads. I am typing this blog sitting in the open back of my truck in the McDonald's parking lot on their wireless network. At least it is as warm as a summer's evening in New England.

Flytec Meet: Day Eight: Sad News

I didn't post anything last night since I didn't want to leak any news before it was appropriate. Late yesterday afternoon, Chris Mueller crashed while crossing the goal line very low at Quest and later died from his injuries. Needless to say, everyone was quite somber last night and this morning. I flew with Chris yesterday in the start circle where he was looping to help pass the time. We all signed and left brief messages on his custom sail this morning. Ollie and John were close by when Chris crashed and Ollie was the first person with medical training on the site. Ollie was visibly affected by the drama.

The day started out blue. Davis predicted strong lift and plenty of clouds along with convergence and a sea breeze. The rigids launched into a totally blue sky and were barely climbing when the flex wing launch window opened. I jumped into the line about 5 positions back from the front. At that point the launch and start were pushed back 45 minutes. I stayed in line since I wanted to get into the air once the launched opened. By the time I launched, the sky was filled with rapidly growing cummies and I had a robust climb to cloudbase. We played around at cloudbase until the start time. I took the first start time and was in a good position right on the start circle at 7000 feet. I lead the first gate to the left while another glider lead to the right. I found lift after a long glide and instantly had company. Although my shoulder continued to hurt, I promised myself that I would fly more aggressively. (I am naturally a more conservative pilot but that conservative tendancy does not work well in strong conditions.) I quickly grabbed the turnpoint at Route 33 and the turnpike and headed south towards the next turnpoint at Route 33 and Deen Still Road. I kept hitting 600-700 fpm climbs and continued to be with the first 3 or 4 gliders as we passed back by Quest. I missed a good climb that 2 other gliders to my east got, but being high, I kept moving on. That single mistake destroyed my day. I kept on gliding until I was low just north of the second turnpoint. I spent most of the afternoon trying to work up over a dead area. Once I got back up, the seabreeze started pushing in and made the return trip difficult. I wiggled my way to within 6 miles of Quest and finally landed in a field next to a housing development. I wanted to flew aggressively and I did. I also found the "other" side of aggressive and now need to find the happy compromise between aggressive and conservative.

John Heywood was impressive being the second flex wing into goal. Ollie made it back but Mark landed back at Quest and decided not to fly the task. As usual, James pulled up before I had the glider broken down. James is definitely a first-class driver.

I saw black snakes standing up about 5 inclues above their holes in the ground as I walked out of my LZ yesterday. It was stange seeing them stare at me, never flinching as my glider passed over them.

The day was cancelled due to approaching rain and wind. We had the awards ceremony this morning. Paris is once again the U.S. national champion and Oleg won the meet. The rain started shortly after the ceremony and most people packed up and left.

Flytec Meet: Day Seven: Cruise Around the Swamp

We flew around the Green Swamp today. I predicted the task at breakfast this morning since the winds were light, the lift good, and little chance of thunderstorms. I launched early and was soon floating around at cloudbase. I decided to check out the rigid wings waiting for their first start gate. After flying with the "boards" I flew back to the flexie start circle and just enjoyed the sweet air. Many pilots took the first start since the task was going to be long. The climbs and glides were straightforward until I noticed rain falling from a large dark series of clouds past the first turnpoint. I decided I should top out my climbs to ensure a safe run through any possible rain. That was a mistake since that was the only rain I saw all day. I had a slow climb at the second turnpoint and then blazed through the next leg flying right over the swamp dashing from cloud to cloud. I lead the pack to an old cloud that looked like it still might work. Since I was first, I spent some time finding the lift and lost about 1000 feet on the pilots following me. I found a good climb and everyone else immediately joined me. However, after about 5 turns the lift evaporated leaving me low. The rest of the gaggle was high enough to climb for another 5 minutes and moved on. They left me all alone without a climb. I fished around for a long time before getting another good climb. My then the day was dying so I topped out and went on final glide from 14 miles out. I had positive numbers to goal and some drying clouds overhead. However, I lost too much altitude and was stuck 3 miles short of goal. I lost some more altitude before finding a small bubble that I worked on for what seemed like enternity. I finally headed into goal just as John snuck in low.

Ollie made goal today but Mark landed early. Looks like tomorrow is another flying day. I need a rest day!

Flytec Meet: Day Six: Zoom Zoom

The sky was totally overcast when I woke up this morning, but the NWS said the sky would be partly cloudy by late morning. We had an interesting task that took us NW to Coleman, S to an intersection near the northern edge of the Green Swamp, back to the NW to a small town, and then back to Quest.

By launch time it was clear today was going to be a good racing day. I suited up early and was the 4 or 5 pilot to launch from my line. I entered a lockout situation at 800 feet on my tow and lost the towing bridal as I release at the same time the weak link broke. I climbed out to cloud base while I tried come to grips with the fact that I messed up my tow, lost the only tow bridal I have every owned, and lost my lucky weak link.

I slowly made my way to the start circle and decided to take the first clock even if no one else did. Several pilots tried to fake some pilots out and return, but a fair number of pilots kept on going. The day was very fast. It was so fast that I started having trouble keeping up with the heavier pilots (or pilots with ballast). I had a very fast trip to the first turnpoint and then I made the one mistake that hurt. Several pilots in front of me headed on the course line into the blue. I thought the better choice was to stick with the clouds to the east of the course line and hope the clouds eventually drifted over the course line. I incorrectly decided to follow the crowd assuming there was safety in numbers. I was wrong. We all slide down to groveling height and had to take a slow 150 fpm climb back out. The next climb was not much better. Meanwhile some of the pilots from the second start time passed over us on the cloud line I wanted to follow. Maybe I will learn some day.

John, myself, and another pilot started our final glide with 1800 feet above our best glide angle to goal. I quickly noticed that John and the other pilot were not doing very well and faded to the west towards some clouds. I started doing better than them so I kept gradually moving west while approaching goal. John and the other pilot were now very low and probably not going to make goal without another climb. I stumbled into a screamer and stopped to turn. The thermal turned into a 900 fpm climb that soon gave me 2800 feet over my best glide line. I left and turned on the afterburners. Below and behind me I could see the hordes of remaining pilots closing in. In the distance I could see that one of the pilots now in front of me was circling low short of Quest. I watched him eek is way up and start gliding to goal. I passed him just before we crossed the finish line. I later found out that John landed short of Quest.

Many pilots made it into goal today. Peter executed one of my typical moves by landing just outside the start circle. Tim had a weak link break low and busted a downtube trying to land with restricted space. He quickly replaced the downtube and almost completed the course. Ollie and Michael landed at goal and I am not sure how Mark did.

Flytec Meet: Day Five: Shifting Gears

It was a new day, but the forecast was similar to the last two days. The wind is a few degrees south instead of north of east, it was a few degrees warmer, and there were a few less clouds. The task was an out-and-back to a turnpoint almost due south. Most of the pilots noticed the cirrus moving in around launch time so everyone was eager to get going early. I was the first in line with John Chambers behind me. I waited until someone behind me wanted to go then took off. The tow was bumpy and the climb out after release was quick. I headed upwind and soon found another climb under a developing cloud. I tried to be relaxed behind the start gate trying to avoid my tendancy to mess things up early in the flight. I got a good start reaching cloudbase just .5 miles outside the start circle. I headed back towards Quest at 2:28 to get the first start time at 2:30. I got my point inside the circle, turned around and was immediately face to face with 50 gliders coming right at me. Yikes! After dodging gliders the pack of gliders, I was one my way. The lift was strong so everyone was running hard and fast. We were approaching the turnpoint when I noticed the turnpoint was surrounded by swamp and a thick clump of cirrus was about to block out the sun. What is it with these turnpoints? I knew I should have stocked up on altitude, but I didn't want to lose the lead gaggle so I left a thermal before I should have. I rounded the turnpoint and headed back on course line very low. I missed a good climb and was left dragging my knuckles over the tree tops sniffing for a ride to cloud base. Several other pilots joined me in our slow and uncertain climb out of the swamp. The lift eventually turned on and we moved on only to see the ground littered with gliders. Many of the faster pilots that left me behind were now on the ground. Apparently they didn't slow up when the lift became weak and uncertain. I had another good climb and then went on a long slow glide to just south of the glider port. I let James know I might need a ride but found a shifty little thermal that kept me in the game. Other hang gliders and sailplanes in the area quickly converged on the spot. Several hang gliders failed to find the fickle lift and landed below us. Once again we struggled with weak lift until we got some altitude. We were still climbing when my numbers to goal were positive. I should have left, but wanted to do some high-speed gliding so I kept climbing. I was the last of the four to leave, but managed to pass them all on my way into goal. That was fun!

Mark made goal today, but Ollie and John landed short. Many good pilots landed out today or came in very late. Later in the evening Ollie, Mark, Peter, George, and I enjoyed some milkshakes in town before turning in for the night. (I like to have ice cream after making goal.)

Flytec Meet: Day Five: Shifting Gears

It was a new day, but the forecast was similar to the last two days. The wind is a few degrees south instead of north of east, it was a few degrees warmer, and there were a few less clouds. The task was an out-and-back to a turnpoint almost due south. Most of the pilots noticed the cirrus moving in around launch time so everyone was eager to get going early. I was the first in line with John Chambers behind me. I waited until someone behind me wanted to go then took off. The tow was bumpy and the climb out after release was quick. I headed upwind and soon found another climb under a developing cloud. I tried to be relaxed behind the start gate trying to avoid my tendancy to mess things up early in the flight. I got a good start reaching cloudbase just .5 miles outside the start circle. I headed back towards Quest at 2:28 to get the first start time at 2:30. I got my point inside the circle, turned around and was immediately face to face with 50 gliders coming right at me. Yikes! After dodging gliders the pack of gliders, I was one my way. The lift was strong so everyone was running hard and fast. We were approaching the turnpoint when I noticed the turnpoint was surrounded by swamp and a thick clump of cirrus was about to block out the sun. What is it with these turnpoints? I knew I should have stocked up on altitude, but I didn't want to lose the lead gaggle so I left a thermal before I should have. I rounded the turnpoint and headed back on course line very low. I missed a good climb and was left dragging my knuckles over the tree tops sniffing for a ride to cloud base. Several other pilots joined me in our slow and uncertain climb out of the swamp. The lift eventually turned on and we moved on only to see the ground littered with gliders. Many of the faster pilots that left me behind were now on the ground. Apparently they didn't slow up when the lift became weak and uncertain. I had another good climb and then went on a long slow glide to just south of the glider port. I let James know I might need a ride but found a shifty little thermal that kept me in the game. Other hang gliders and sailplanes in the area quickly converged on the spot. Several hang gliders failed to find the fickle lift and landed below us. Once again we struggled with weak lift until we got some altitude. We were still climbing when my numbers to goal were positive. I should have left, but wanted to do some high-speed gliding so I kept climbing. I was the last of the four to leave, but managed to pass them all on my way into goal. That was fun!

Mark made goal today, but Ollie and John landed short. Many good pilots landed out today or came in very late. Later in the evening Ollie, Mark, Peter, George, and I enjoyed some milkshakes in town before turning in for the night. (I like to have ice cream after making goal.)

Logo 

Half of the Flex Wings 

Drinking and Driving! 

Flytec Meet: Day Four: Torture Chamber Turnpoint

We had a crosswind out-and-back to the Winter Haven airport today. The day looked very similar to yesterday with small quickly drying cummies forming to the east. The rigids launched and soon were all in the same gaggle over the field. I jumped in line for an early start and was soon at 4500 looking for somewhere to go. I headed down courseline and found another good climb and was soon joined by 50 of my closest friends. ;-) I almost pulled my now-famous start-gate bomb out when I crossed the start gate at 1600 feet. Although I was behind the lead gaggle, I did find a good climb that got me back in the game. I wanted to be upwind of the turnpoint so I headed southwest towards Wallaby Ranch. I saw several pilots struggling where I was low yesterday; I could feel their pain. I found a nice cloud line just north of the ranch that I worked to the east. Meanwhile Tove, who was 1000 below me, headed on course line. I had an easy trip to Route 27 and then down to Route 4. As I cross Route 4 I noticed Tove coming in below me by 1000 feet. So much for the round-about tatic.

I was about 10 miles out from the turnpoint when the evil-ness of the task committe became obvious. The turnpoint was the center of a busy airport that was surrounded by 3 large lakes, several housing developments, and a large swamp. At least the high cirrus was shutting down any remaining lift. Yikes! I tip-toed through the area and started catching up with some rigids. There were several gliders below me climbing slowly, but drifting away quickly. I wallowed for awhile and then decided to dive into the turnpoint and hope to find some of that weak lift on the way back. Just as I got the turn point, I noticed an eagle soaring at the southwest end of the runway. I quickly turned and soon was climbing away from the torture chamber. I continued to watch the suffering below me as I climbed out and then headed towards a slow climb over Fantasy of Flight. I joined Peter and Linda in a very slow climb as I waited for the cirrus to clear. Many pilots were now dropping out of the air. It was survival time. Every foot matters.

The climb eventually disappeared so a rigid and I moved on. We shared a couple more weak climbs until we crossed Deen Still Road. I watched John land below me as I finally got a good climb. The rigid faded upwind to the east, but I stayed directly over Route 33. My flight computer said I only need 800 feet to make goal, so I stayed directly on course line. I basically had a long glide from there to goal, with a few well placed turns in strong, but smooth lift. I tried hard to stay high in the smoother air.

I quickly showered and inhaled my dinner so I could board the bus to Hard Rock Live to see Bob's band Wezt. The show was excellent but too short. It was fun to see "Rock Star Bob" emerge from "Hang Gliding Bob"! I grabbed some ice cream on the way out and we headed back for some sleep to start all over again today.

Flytec Meet: Day Three

I should have been a flying comedian.

The sky was blue and the wind was blowing most of the morning, but cummies approached Quest from our east just as the rigid class was launching. I launched with the first batch of flex wing pilots and things started out ok. I got a nice tow and I was being dropped off in lift. The tug pilot waved me off and I reached for the release. The tug pilot, seeing my motion rolled off to the side expecting me to be off tow. However I missed the release and the tug broke my weak link as it dove away. Bummer, but at least I was ok and climbing. I went to store away my bridle and discovered it would not fit in my pocket with the rope still attached to the release. I fumbled with it for a moment and spazzed across the sky until some other pilots joined my climb. I gave up on that project for a moment and then tried to zip up my harness. I pulled the zipper closed and it would automatically unzip. Zip up, zip down .... zip up, zip down. What the heck is going on? Meanwhile I am weaving across the sky. Ok, chill out and fly the glider. I get back into the action and work into a good position. It is time to head on course and I need to stow my line and close my zipper. After a few ups and downs with the zipper that included some dangling legs I finally managed to get the zipper closed. (Hint for new pilots, your glide angle is crap when you are dragging your legs out of the harness!) Next, I try to stow my tow bridle. No luck, it just doesn't fit. Crap. Oh well, just fly. Meanwhile I drift off course and miss the next climb. I search around, but finding nothing I move on. I am soon down to 600 feet and drifting downwing away from course line in a dumpy little 100 fpm climb. I have no choice, so I stay with it. I soon pass over Route 33 and drift towards the Green Swamp. There goes a fast time for the day. I keep drifting. Finally I connect with something just north of Deen Still road that gets me back up above 2500 feet. I am now a long way off of the course line. No worries, I'll just fly faster and catch up. Surprise, I do catch and pass about a dozen slower gliders. Um, maybe there is still hope for this aerial clown. Then I lose GPS coverage at the first turnpoint. I hope it is just a temporary thing, but I lose a lot of altitude as I circle the area trying to get a point recorded at the turnpoint. I finally got a brief reading and decided to move on. Another slow climb and the day started fading. I found a small climb that was heading into an area with no roads but decided I should put this goofy flight out of its misery. This squid only managed 45 miles.

James was in the area when I landed so I was soon on the road to pick up Ollie and Mark near goal. John was the only person on our team to make goal. Oh, I also missed supper since we got back late. At least the Red Elvises were awesome as expected.

Flytec Meet: Day Two

Blown-out. Did laundry, cleaned out my tent, and played with kites, carts, and wind surfers. Moyes will be throwing a party this evening.

Flytec Meet: Day One

It was windy last night, windy this morning, and windy this afternoon. The day was cancelled by noon.

The New England gang drove up to Quest from Wallaby Ranch to spend the afternoon doing nothing with us.

Flytec Meet: The day before

We had a typical "day before the meet" today. People were unpacking new gliders, checking their latest tuning adjustments with quick flights, registering, and meeting old friends and making new friends. I jumped into the air for a couple of hours but stayed close to home since I didn't have a driver and didn't want to wear myself out before the meet starts. I flew with PK this afternoon, talked to Tim about his flight, and talked with Michael; so the New England gang is here and ready to go.

I heard that Rodger and Mark flew about 20 miles out of Wallaby today. Dave headed downwind but Rodger didn't know where he landed.

Rolling Out 

P38 

The Crew 

War Bird 

Bi-Wings 

Fun'n Sun

The forecast for windy conditions was just the push we needed to go to Sun'n Fun on Wednesday. Brian, Mark, Rick, Rodger, and I spent the day wondering around the static displays, staring at the constant activity in the air, and bumping into people we knew. It was a great way to spend a blown-out day.

Quest Air

I awoke this morning to dark imposing clouds so I decided it was time to move to Quest. After breakfast at the ranch, I noticed the sky was clearing and cummies were appearing. Dang. I knew I should have checked the weather forecast. Oh well, the truck was already loaded, so I hit the road. I quickly picked out a spot, pitched the tent, signed the waiver, and rigged the glider. I got into the air just in time to greet Rick who flow in from Wallaby. I managed a weak climb for a few minutes but was soon back on the ground. Although Rick landed, I wanted some airtime so I went back up for another 2.5 hours. I spent the afternoon around Quest since I didn't have a driver and didn't want to miss out on dinner with the gang. I practiced high speed glides and climbing with a lot of VG applied.

I learned later that Mark flew to Quest and almost back to Wallaby. Rodger and Brian stayed at the ranch, but had nice flights.

The clinic that Curt organized seemed to be going well. Many of the students told me there were learning a lot and having a good time.

Crystal River Airport on the west coast. 

CrystalRiver

You have to be creative to fly any distance when the wind is blowing from the east at Wallaby Ranch. Some pilots wanted to fly crosswind down Route 27, some wanted to fly to Quest, and others like me wanted to cross the Green Swamp and then fly north along a possible convergence line along the western shore. No one noticed that the early morning clouds were disappearing and that recent flights were nothing more than smooth sled rides. Dave, Rick, and I were almost ready to pack up for the day and go get ice cream when we decided to take our sled rides like "true men". Rick was the first to launch and commented that his tow was too smooth. I went next and was rudely tossed about in anything but smooth air. I released early and quickly climbed to cloudbase at 700 fpm. Was this a one-thermal wonder? Maybe not. Clouds were starting to appear all around us. Rick and I took off for the next cloud downwind while Dave was climbing up from 3000 feet. I wondered if the next cloud would be working or if Rick and I would land one glide away from launch. A quick climb back to cloudbase at 450 fpm soon answered that question and we moved on. After a couple more climbs I dove into a dying cloud at the edge of the swamp. I got there soon enough but Rick didn't. I waited around at cloudbase for awhile, but Rick urged me to press on so I did. (Rick landed after several climbs never got him high enough to get over the swamp.) I headed north along the western edge of the swamp and then drifted NW towards my declared goal of Crystal River airport. Rick kept me informed of Rodger's progress across the swamp. Rodger made it to a few miles NE of the Zypherhills airport. I kept moving along at a good pace but took a saftey climb near goal since I didn't know how strong the onshore wind would be. After flying with a 10 mph east wind, I landed into a 10 mph west wind. After breaking down I walked over to Dairy Queen and got the ice cream we were talking about earlier. You can look at my flight log on the OLC.

I saw a lot of airplanes heading south for Sun and Fun. Many of the airplanes were speciality planes or retired military aircraft. I even got to watch a biplane doing loops, tail slides, and Cuban eights below me.

Julie picked up Rick and took him back to Wallaby. Rick picked up Rodger, then drove to pick me up. We also found out that Ken flew to the coast about 30 miles south of me. We "saved" Ken from the bar he was supporting, grabbed some pizza and beer, and then headed home.

Rodger at 50 miles. 

Party Day

The Wills Wing Demo Days were going full force today at Wallaby Ranch. Tugs dragged gliders into the air 279 times yesterday! The wind was WNW going NNW so Dave, Rodger, and I decided to head down Route 27. I launched first, hit cloudbase, and then worked upwind to wait on the rest of the crew. Rodger soon arrived at cloudbase with Mark in close pursuit on a new T2. After Dave suffered a low weak link break, Rodger and I decided to head on course with Amy following on the ground. We got low around Wal-Mart and drifted east towards the restricted airspace. Rodger found a little climb that gave us some altitude to finally reach a good climb. From there we worked crossing upwind back to Route 27 at Lake Wales. We climbed to cloudbase and basically flew from cloud to cloud to Avon Park. I promised Amy we would get back in time for the party so I almost landed at Avon, but decided to push on another 8 miles so Rodger could get a new personal best at 50 miles. Rodger and I circled down at 52 miles and landed just as Amy pulled up. We scooted about 12 miles east of 27 to pick up Dave who left after us and went straight downwind for 63 miles, a new personal best for him.

You can look at my flight path at the OLC site.

The dinner and party was fun with lots of food, drink, dancing, and drunken golf cart off-roading. The weather today looks good from the NE, but I may skip the day so I can take Amy to the airport this evening.

Missed Opportunity

Norm, Mark, Terry, and I decided late in the morning to head north along Interstate 75. The weather looked perfect for some good open distance flying. Winds were forecasted to be SE around 15mph. Although the weather looked great, we had a lot of constraints to work with. I needed to be back at a reasonable time to pick up Amy at the airport, Terry didn't have a working radio, we wanted to keep things simple for our driver Pam, and several pilots were not sure they could fly for more than a few hours. We decided to keep within reach of Interstate 75 so we could keep everyone happy. I pushed out with Davis but had to wait about 30 minutes for the rest of the crew to join me at launch. (It was tough waiting!) I launched first and kept working upwind waiting for the rest of the crew. Mark and Norm got low. Terry joined me upwind. Mark found a climb downwind and I waited for Norm upwind. After Norm resigned himself to the ranch, I headed downwind to catch Mark and Terry. Terry headed east with Mike and his class while I headed downwind. Mark said he was a "couple of miles west of Quest". Mark was already 20 miles in front of me. Yikes! Time to shift into high gear. I was blowing my anything less than 400 fpm trying to make up miles. I skipped at 200 fpm climb at 2500 feet, that I should have taken. At 800 feet I heard Mark announce he was again at cloudbase 15 miles south of Quest. What? I was 7 miles in front of Mark. Crap. I struggled awhile down low and eventually landed a little short of Quest.

Mark landed a few miles northwest of Quest. Mike and his class of Steve and Dave landed 60 miles out. It was Dave's longest flight yet. Terry and Tyson landed 90 miles out south of Gainesville. Davis took the Falcon 42 miles. We all know what "the man" Kevin did! Way to go Kev!

Stearman on its way to Seminole 

Stearman leaving Wallaby 

Mike ready to go! 

Stearman engine plate 

Stearman front view 

Stearman at Wallaby Ranch 

Flying in the Fishbowl

Terry Reynolds dropped in with his Stearman this morning; what a sweet machine. Terry flew Mike to Seminole after breakfast. Terry had no problem getting the plane out of the field at the ranch. Mike later commented that he flies faster than the Stearman when on final glide to goal!

Everyone had high hopes for today, but cirrus clouds and high pressure soon had all of us wondering if we would soar at all. Around 2pm cumulus started forming and by 2:30 the sky south of the ranch was filled with signs of good lift. The original plan was to tag along with Mike's class and do some open distance. However, after we got into the air, Mike decided going downwind was not the best use of their time. Terry Presley and I were thinking of going to Quest and beyond and kept waiting for the other to make the first move. I finally took off not knowing that Terry just went on glide back upwind to join the class. I quickly drifted towards Quest in the 16 mph wind. I was about 1/2 of the way to Quest when I decided to fight back upwind to Wallaby and the rest of the gang. I met the class over the ranch and then continued working upwind along Route 27. I was about 5 miles SE of the hospital when I turned around and flew back to the ranch to share a climb with Dave. I left that climb and found another one over the factory that quickly took me to 6200 feet. From there I did a mini triangle; Deen Still Road/Route 27, Route 4 at Champions Gate, Route 4/Route 27, and back. I was a good day of flying that even featured some clouds. Another flight over four hours bringing my total so far this week to almost 10 hours. However, no serious miles yet.

Planform of the new T2 from Wills Wing. 

Bobs micro-trike. 

Rob Kells in front of a new Sport 2. 

Bob Corbo and his micro-trike. 

Another Dull Day at Wallaby Ranch

We had another dull day at Wallaby Monday. I awoke to find two hot air balloons landing. Yawn. During our full course breakfast, Rob, Steve, and Lisa from Wills Wing pulled in with a truck and trailer full of demo gliders, including the new T2. Of course we HAD to setup the new toys. You would think they could set up the gliders themselves. ;-) A little later Bob Corbo floated him with his micro-trike. Since the weather was nice, everyone decided to fly. Not much happened during my 4.5 hour flight besides flying with the eagles, sailplanes, the aforementioned truck load of demo gliders, plastic bags, escaped children's balloons, Bob's micro-trike, and ash from the fire near Route 192. Besides, it was cold at 5000 feet. We ended the day with a trip to a Vietnamese restaurant. Maybe something interesting will happen today.

Florida

There was a little frozen rain on the driveway when I left home Friday morning at 4am. I stopped briefly at the entrance to the Sawmill Parkway so Mark could catch up with me. We had an easy cruise through New York, New Jersey, and Maryland before hitting a traffic jam in Washington. We decided to head through the center of the city and were just on block away from route 395 when a cop swung to a screeching stop in the middle of the road and started directing traffic down an unmarked side street. Meanwhile a helicopter with a cameraman dangling out the side started circling over head. It didn't look good. After some creative driving through the gridlock we managed to approach the highway from the other side and were soon on our way to the next traffic jam. A car had rolled over on the highway, but once again we found a creative way to enter a parallel road that zipped us by the traffic. The rest of the drive was slow due to the constant rain and construction. We finally pulled into Wallaby at 1am. (We made the trip in 21 hours compared to my best time of 19 hours).

It was blown out on Saturday, so I took my time setting up camp and saying hello to everyone. Sunday started out blue and breezy, but by 2pm the wind was light enough to launch. However, it looks like the top of lift is very low, so I might wait until tomorrow to fly. The crew at the ranch are tidying up for the Wills Wing party that starts next week. The grass here is very green and the swamps are full. (Malcom was telling us about large fish swimming around in the field after on of the hurricanes last fall!)