Smooth

The forecast was wet and uninspiring.  I had written-off flying for the holiday weekend, but it would be nice to see friends like Brian Bordeaux, Dean Funk, Kari Castle, and others that rarely visit Morningside.  I was getting ready to go "socialize" when Jake Pierce called wondering what I thought of the weather.  Apparently the same as he did.  However, since he lives close to Mount Ascutney, he was going to check out launch with John Arrison.  A few minutes after he hung up, Peter Judge called looking for an excuse to go flying.  Addicts don't need much encouragement.  We were soon loading gliders onto Peter's SUV for a late trip north.

I tossed on both gliders; the T2C if I was able to tow and the Falcon in case a break in the weather allowed a quick flight or two from the hill.  Peter wondered if we should turn around when it started raining on us less than 30 minutes from my place.  I reminded him this was primarily a "social" trip again when we drove through another spot of heavy rain.

There were gliders launching from the hill when we arrived but activity quickly came to a halt as thunder rumbled across the river from a storm in Vermont.  We thought of Jake and John when another cell starting dumping copious amounts of rain on Ascutney.  We chatted inside with a large crowd as light rain fell.  The storms moved southeast, the skies cleared, and then filled with cumulus to the northwest.  I saw the break and started setting up the T2C.

Eric

I was concerned the sunshine might brew up more storms but as the afternoon wore on it became apparent that the wet ground was retarding thermal development.  Although clouds developed, they were wispy, ragged, and malformed.

LZ

Smooth tows, smooth flights, and sledders for everyone!

Nick Caci giving a lift to John Musto

No big flight, but since I didn't expect to fly it was a bonus.

Flights: 1, Duration: 0:15