Sweat Shop

I swapped in a replacement sail I got from Moyes yesterday in the hanger at Morningside while melting in the sweltering heat. It was 95F mid-afternoon and the humidity level didn’t feel far behind. I struggled with the Mylar inserts, both removing them from the old sail and inserting them into the new one, and flooded the entire work area with sweat.

Speaking of flooding, I literally walked through a couple inches of water to get to the air strip when I was ready to fly around 5pm. (There was water on the hill side at Morningside. You know its wet when there is standing water on a hill side!) Rhett quickly dragged my soggy butt into the refreshing air before returning for some tandem flights. I noticed a mild right turn in the glider, so after landing I made a quick adjustment and was ready for another flight. I followed Rhett through the sullen air with almost no effort; it was like the tug was stationary in front of me. I think Rhett was disappointed when I tapped the rope and pinned off “early” at 4000 feet over the river.

I could tell the slight turn was gone. I snapped a few pictures of the hazy view and then yanked on the VG to check out the high speed glide. Ok at 50mph, 60mph, yep, still ok at 70, still under control at 75mph. I continued to buzz around the flight park and did a few wangs to help “set” the new sail. I set up for a SW approach into the bull’s eye and held off the flare until the last possible moment to see if a wing would drop. Nope, everything remained level. I just need to see how the sail works while climbing and I should be set.