I finally got into the air today. The forecast last night predicted strong winds today, but the forecast this morning predicted moderate winds steadily increasing through the day. I setup immediately after breakfast (10am at Wallaby) and launched before noon. Carlos dragged me upwind into lift and I soon pinned off. I enjoyed a 600 fpm climb to cloud base and then drove further upwind since I didn't have a driver for the day and would need to land back at the ranch. I only stopped for climbs over 400 fpm since the wind was blowing from the northeast at 16-17 mph. I was having a good time getting reacquainted with my glider when a large blue hole appeared upwind. I could have shifted south to a sweet cloud street or retreated downwind of Wallaby, but both choices would have made a trip back to the ranch difficult. I tried to survive on the bits of broken lift in the blue, but eventually had to turn downwind and drift back to the ranch. I worked some lift around the LZ and eventually zipped in for a "moonwalk" landing and "flew" the glider back to the tie-down area. Not exactly a flight to remember, but still it was good to be back in the air.
Later in the afternoon, a bright red 3-wheel vehicle sitting in the driveway caught my eye. The custom rig was decked out with carbon-coated mufflers and red LED light strips along the base and dashboard. The owner said it does 0 - 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. I bet it would be fun to drive. ;-)
I finally got into the air today. The forecast last night predicted strong winds today, but the forecast this morning predicted moderate winds steadily increasing through the day. I setup immediately after breakfast (10am at Wallaby) and launched before noon. Carlos dragged me upwind into lift and I soon pinned off. I enjoyed a 600 fpm climb to cloud base and then drove further upwind since I didn't have a driver for the day and would need to land back at the ranch. I only stopped for climbs over 400 fpm since the wind was blowing from the northeast at 16-17 mph. I was having a good time getting reacquainted with my glider when a large blue hole appeared upwind. I could have shifted south to a sweet cloud street or retreated downwind of Wallaby, but both choices would have made a trip back to the ranch difficult. I tried to survive on the bits of broken lift in the blue, but eventually had to turn downwind and drift back to the ranch. I worked some lift around the LZ and eventually zipped in for a "moonwalk" landing and "flew" the glider back to the tie-down area. Not exactly a flight to remember, but still it was good to be back in the air.
Later in the afternoon, a bright red 3-wheel vehicle sitting in the driveway caught my eye. The custom rig was decked out with carbon-coated mufflers and red LED light strips along the base and dashboard. The owner said it does 0 - 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. I bet it would be fun to drive. ;-)
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