5 at 5

I spent most of Tuesday knocking off chores and lounging around the ranch.  After lunch at 3pm I finally got motivated and lazily pushed out to launch.  The clock on my flight deck showed 5:00 when the "air taxi" pulled up in front of me.  We had a flat climb out to the southwest until I pinned off in a 500 fpm (2.5 m/s) smoothie to cloud base.  Sweet!  I was expecting an extended sledder, but spent the next 1.5 hours near cloud base watching the sun light-up the lakes of central Florida.

An osprey joined me in a climb near the medical center a few miles south of the ranch.  I managed to snap a quick picture as we circled closed together before we headed our separate ways.

Although the clouds dissipated, the climbs routinely left me above the haze of the inversion layer.

The air became smoother and smoother, but still rising at 50 fpm (0.25 m/s) over the swamps with their musky aroma and the orange groves with their fragrant blossoms.  A blissfully lazy way to end a day.

Flights: 1, Duration: 1:33, Distance: 16.9 miles