Just Go!

Sometimes I don’t even try to explain why I need to fly; even to myself. I almost didn’t go flying this morning since the logical place to fly was West Rutland, which meant at least 6 hours of driving. On top of that I wasn’t sure it would be soarable. If it was soarable there was no hope of going XC. I know how I have hated myself in the past for spending an entire day, a tank of gasoline, and time away from family for an 8 minute sled ride. Although I talked myself into staying at home, I kept looking at the sky, the trees, and even the bugs for signs of lifting air. Who am I kidding? It was time to forget the reasons “not” to fly and just go.

I quickly bolted on my rack, tossed the glider on top, stuffed everything into the harness, grabbed some water, and hit the road. I remembered John G was looking for a ride from the Rutland airport to launch, so I gave him a quick call and told him I would be passing by around 12:30. I was leaving Keene when John called and told me he had already rented an SUV and was leaving for launch. He said there was no wind at the airport and that the ride up from the islands was glass smooth. I knew the air was going to be smooth, but I had hoped from some wind. I called Gary for a weather report in the LZ and he said there was a light wind blowing in at top. Ok, maybe not all is lost.

Everyone besides me and another PG pilot were already at launch when I arrived in the LZ. I told him to throw his wing into the truck and hop in. We met another pilot in a mini-van waiting at the base of the mountain. I assured him taking the mini-van up the mountain would be a mistake. I offered him a ride up in my vehicle and the three of us were soon bouncing our way to the top.

The cloud of dust that followed me up the mountain swirled around the truck as I pulled into the parking area. Seeing Bianca launch and rise above the tree line was just what I needed. I grabbed my harness and waded through the crowd of HG and PG pilots. I quickly greeted everyone, especially many of the PG pilots like Bo and Kathleen that I have not seen for most of this season. I chatted with Mark A, Lyle, and John S while I stuffed battens. Once rigged, I took a quick stroll to launch. The PG pilots were launching one after another and staying up. I took a couple pictures and then suited up.

I wiggled through some hang gliders still sitting around the setup area and then launched after John in his VR. I quickly climbed above the top of the ridge and joined everyone else. I love navigating through the constantly moving 3 dimensional landscape that presents itself above a soarable ridge on a weekend. I remember flying here when I was a fledgling pilot and how those crowded days were challenging and invigorating. However, today it was more like cruising down a familiar curvy road enjoying the sensual curves, dives, and arcs.

Although I was having fun, I could tell that some pilots were not comfortable with the close quarters so I did my part to thin things out by spending a good part of the afternoon flying across the gap and playing on the shallow hill to the west. John and I kept looking for little hot spots and would fly as far away as possible before returning. On one of my trips back to launch, I noticed that PK launched. We spent some time flying upwind along lifting lines that allowed us to explore the valley. We were not getting high enough to go anywhere but we did have enough altitude to return to the ridge each time and work back up.

Pilots slowly started landing below. Soon there were only 3 or 4 of us left on the mountain. The air was becoming smooth, the sun was starting to settle, and I got that strange little feeling I get this time of year when you feel like you have stayed past closing time. Although the leaves were still green, I knew winter was just around the corner. After taking a long look over the larger valley to the west, I buried the bar to my waist and let my Litespeed do what it does best; fly fast! I zinged around the valley and then the ridge at 70-75 mph. Ah, that felt good.

Once I regained some altitude I noticed that my truck was still on the top of the mountain, pilots were leaving the LZ, and the sun was sinking towards the horizon. I quickly headed to the LZ so I could at least hike up in twilight. I was checking out the windsock in the LZ when I noticed it was blowing from the east. East? Yuck. There isn’t a good way to approach the hill top LZ from the east. A PG pilot below me was soaring the tree line and I also thought it was a good idea to wait and see what develops. Sure enough the wind died off and then blew gently from the west. The PG pilot landed and I came in a minute or two behind him.

Gary was gracious enough to offer me and a couple other pilots a late ride to the top. Thanks Gary. We stopped for dinner in Rutland before we all started our long drives home. Once on the road, I was thinking that the 3.5 hours of flying was a worth the 6 hours of driving and the late arrival back home. Maybe I should continue to ignore those common sense reasons to not fly.