Inertia

I think the universe wanted me to stay on the ground Saturday.  It took forever to gather the flying and camping gear and then get Amy and I on the road.  A quick projection showed us arriving at Morningside around noon, which probably meant I would be so far back in the launch line that I would miss the afternoon soaring window.  Maybe I could shave time off on the drive north.  Hardly.  I stopped for gasoline only to find the pumps broken.  The next place we stopped didn't accept credit cards and I needed cash for tow fees.  Sigh.  After feeding the car, it was time to feed the humans on board.  The first place we stopped was done with breakfast.  Ugh.  We drove onto another place as I began to see the pattern for the day.

A short while later the universe then threw another roadblock in front of us; literally.  We were driving through a small town when traffic stopped and we could see the parking lot extending far ahead.  No problem, we'll just look at Google Maps and find a way around.  We dropped onto side streets and took a parallel road that merged back with the main road.  I was feeling smug until the paved road shrank to a gravel road, then a rough dirt road, and then a narrow logging road with potholes the size of small lakes.  Given the way the day was unwinding, I fully expected a locked gate or washed out bridge at any moment; but after some four-wheeling we broke through the trees onto a paved road near our intended route.  Whew.

Aside from the frustrating slow drivers that didn't understand how important it was for me to get to the flight park quickly, the rest of the trip went well.  ;-)

Although the hillside was decorated colorful gliders when I arrived at Morningside, I was surprised to see no one setup along the runway.  I had just stared talking with Peter J as Jon S pulled in.  We each asked "what are we waiting for?" as we looked up at the cummies overhead.  Apparently nothing as we headed across the road to setup.

The wind was light westerly, or 90 degrees cross to the north-south runway.  The wind had been predominately north or northwest while we setup, but switched with noticeable velocity from the south as Jim R towed two tandems.  Jim stopped by and said we would be launching from the north end of the runway.  Peter scored a ride with four-wheeler but I carried my glider and harness on foot.  Of course the wind blew in my face from the north during the entire walk.  I had a bad feeling but I needed to go where the tug was.  I helped Peter launch around 1:50pm after waiting a long time for the wind to go completely calm.

The wind remained calm while Peter was on tow, but started blowing on my back as loaded the glider onto the launch dolly.  I then noticed the launch dolly only had narrow grooves in the cradle; cut for round base bars.  When Jim returned I asked him about the dolly and he recommended not using it with my wide carbon speed bar.  After a quick call back to the hanger, I was left with the option of taking the dolly back to the shop for "sculpturing" or come up with something else on my own.   Jim recommended wrapping shirts or towels around the dolly supports to "fill in the holes" but I was totally out of spare shirts.  Lucky for me, Rob J stopped by and offered two shirts from his truck.  Thanks Rob!  We tied the shirts around the supports and both thought it would "probably" work.  ;-)

Now I had the issue with the continuous tailwind.  Jon was towed to the north end of the runway an a 4-wheelers just as we decided to walk all the way to the other end of the long, long runway.  He rode as I walked, once again, the length of the runway with all my gear.  I was beginning to wonder what it is that I specifically like about this sport.  ;-)

About an hour after Peter's launch, I wiped off the sweat, collected myself, and successfully launched using the jury-rigged cart.  I pinned off at 1400 feet (450 m) over the factories and started climbing at 150 fpm (0.75 m/s).  All was good until the thermal faded at 1700 feet (518m).  I searched for another climb and found a numerous bumps but was back on the ground after 15 minutes.  It didn't help that Jon was climbing under a cloud that Peter reported was at 6600 feet (2000m).

No problem, I'll just tow again.  The last words I heard as the tug wound up was something on the order of "don't release early this time".  Of course the weak link snapped as I came out of the cart.  I had a great landing in spite of the prop wash.  "OK, this isn't funny anymore!"

I dug out another weak link, put my harness back on, forgot to turn the video camera back on, and mounted up around 3:45, almost two hours after I was originally ready to go.  Sigh.  I had a good long tow to the factories northwest of Morningside where we met Jake flying in from Mount Ascutney.  I released once I was over Jake, waved a "thank-you" to Jim, and started climbing. Finally, the universe relented!

Jeff B and John A soon joined the weak and sometimes broken climb.  We flew around the valley and enjoyed the late afternoon.  I snapped pictures of Jim towing up a tandem over the river.

Jim towing over the Connecticut River

I flew around until the day started fading.  I soared with 3 paraglider pilots and another hang glider pilot on the 450 foot (137m) Morningside ridge.  It brought back memories of earlier flights when just getting above launch was a major thrill.

I made sure I was the last glider to land.  After everything was packed away, Amy and I drove to the top and soaked up the evening.  The nostalgia continued as I watched students launch into the smooth air over the valley below.

Morningside 450 launch

Early evening in the valley

Flights: 3, Duration: 1:43