Long Nights

I haven't posted in a few days since I've been fighting a flu that spread through a couple of the Florida flight parks.  That explains why I was so sleepy on the flight south about a week ago.  It started with a sore throat that grounded me but I did manage help an infestation of rigid wings launch at Quest Air before collapsing under the shade tree on Sunday.

The sore throat abated by Monday morning so I setup and was the first to launch into an breezy overdeveloped sky.  The first several hundred feet were rowdy, then the remaining portion of the tow was smooth ... too smooth.  Paul waved me off at release altitude and I didn't find a bump until I was down to 1400 feet (420m).  Ollie was next up and pinned off early to join my ripping 40 fpm (0.2 m/s) climb.  When he asked "were is it?" I had to answer "you're in it!".  I blundered around a bit, but landed soon after Ollie a few minutes later.

I was ready to park the glider for the day since I was sneezing a lot.  The remaining pilots launched and Ollie urged me to "give it another go".  I wasn't ready for another sled ride so I asked Mark P if he was finding any lift.  I didn't understand what he said but could hear his vario chirping wildly, so I got my answer.  Ok, one more attempt.

I was the last to launch and Paul drug me right into a strong climb near the field.

The entire crew was now in the same climb, and even Paul soaring in the yellow tug.

The climb to cloud base was easy, but I was having visibility issues.

No, it wasn't the cool hazy fog at base, but the results of constantly sneezing while wearing a full-face helmet. :-(   I flew upwinds to the south towards the Seminole Lake Gliderport and watched Mark P and Ollie land.  (Miller pushed on upwind to Wallaby Ranch).  I took a few more climbs over sunny fields but the sneezing just got worse.

I finally turned tail and bounced around the airfield before landing in a nice headwind.

We shared an early dinner at Red Wing and I turned in early hoping for a good night's sleep.  Oh, what a night.  Aside from a nose that was running like an open faucet, everything around me conspired to keep me awake.  First, neighbors decided that 11pm was a good time for an hour of motocross riding behind my tent.  Then an armadillo decided to churn the ground all around my tent.  Once the armadillo left, I heard a vehicle slam on its brakes on the nearby highway.  I didn't hear any crashing so I thought nothing more about it.  A short time later a lift-flight helicopter circled the field with blinding flood lights and finally landed but left the turbine running.  Apparently someone was having a worse night than I was.  Toss in a few roosters that crowed at 4:30 while still dark, a few barking dogs, and noisy birds and you get the general idea how the night went.

I spent the next day in a fevered daze; cold even in the baking mid-day sun.  Of course it was a spanking good day and I watched everyone sky-out under sweet looking cumulus.  I slunk back to my tent around 8pm for another fever-induced delirium that lasted almost until daybreak.

The weather deteriorated as I recovered.  Several pilots took extended sledders on Wednesday and by the time I was feeling good on Thursday, rain damped the day by noon.  Pilots are starting to arrive for the Flytec Race & Rally.

Aside from watching it rain, we are also watching the local wildlife.

Flights: 2, Duration: 1:40