On Fire

You might think with a title of "On Fire" I would be writing about a great demonstration of pilot skill, but you would be wrong.  We were hungry for open distance flying on Tuesday and rearing to go.  We had drivers, an agreed-on shared radio frequency, and a rough course line to the north northeast that Davis provided that would route us around controlled airspace.

I was the third to launch and was dropped in an established, but dying, line of clouds to the east.  I struggled there too long before heading to a new line of clouds forming directly over the field.  I arrived low, but had high hopes when Dave, who launched after me, was turning with a bird directly over launch.  I couldn't find the thermal and landed in thermal turbulence followed soon after by Dave.  I now had to wait for a several other pilots to launch (Jamie, Jim S, Jim R) before giving it another go.  This time I pinned off around 1000 feet (300 m) in a strong surge that wasn't there when I turned around.  Dang.  Landed again.  I was the last pilot left on the field when I launched for the 3rd time.  (This time I stayed on for a full tow!)

I quickly climbed to base and then shared a climb with Jim S briefly before he headed northwest while I headed directly north.  The day was turning on and shifted into "racing mode".  I flew close to the lakes at Leesburg and was joined by several bald eagles.

I really starting making good time near "The Villages".

The good flying continued.

I passed over Dave at 7000 feet as he struggled below near the Ocala National Forest.  I caught John as the western sea breeze started undercutting the convergence line to the north.  I tried to race ahead towards the airport at Keystone, but ended low and drifting off course line to the east when Dave and John joined me.  We played around in a couple weak thermals before Dave and John took off towards the northeast.  I didn't want to drift into controlled airspace or float over a large military base in the area so I pushed upwind to play in a fire burning on the edge of a large prairie.

I played in the rising columns of smoke as the clouds dissipated overhead.

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough altitude to push on and chose to land in an ideal-looking field southeast of Melrose that faced into the wind.

I had a sweet landing and began breaking down once I let Sharon know where I was.

While I was waiting on Sharon and Dave, who landed a few miles away, I met John whose father used to fly out of the field.

We had a great discussion about many things, including how they strung a cable across the field years ago to discourage airplanes from landing to the fire burning to the south.  He described how fires can smolder for long periods in the peat below the surface.  I was shocked to learn that those smoldering fires can erode cavities large enough to "swallow" unlucky firefighters.  He left to join his family for dinner as I slid my glider under his nice new fence.  Awhile later his brother showed up on an ATV and we chatted more even after Sharon and Dave arrived.

We eventually said our farewells and drove off to pick up John who I thought was surely already on the ground as I snapped a picture of the sun lighting up a cu-nim.

John deftly drifted between controlled airspaces until the sun was nearly down.  We drove along rough wash-board dirt roads until "voila" there he was standing beside his glider in the dark.

We got back late after driving along Route 19 through the Ocala National Forest, hoping to avoid all the many deer we saw standing along the road.

(John, I apologize for not posting pictures of the eagles I flew with.  My camera automatically shut off and I didn't notice it wasn't running when I flew with the eagles.)

Flights: 3, Duration: 3:49, Distance: 83 miles