Flying Around The Bok

The good weather continues.  The forecast for Monday looked great for a run from the Florida Ridge north.  With Fay stirring the pot, Mike and I decided to "take a stab" at flying to the Ridge yesterday and then fly back (or further) today.  Although the numbers didn't "add up" for the trip south, I was game for a go.  I even packed my toothbrush and a clean shirt in the harness.

Mike launched first behind Paul and I was second a few minutes later behind Fay.  I pinned off in a good climb that slowly turned into a mass of rising but unorganized air.  I wallowed around far below cloud base before moving south on course to Interstate 4.  Moments later I was struggling just to stay in the air as Jason was reporting great lift back at Wallaby Ranch.  Sigh.

I eventually climbed out only to find that Mike was now low and struggling over Davenport, east of our course line.  I decided having a flying buddy was better than a climb or two lead and flew over to join him.

After our "low scares" we shifted into conservative mode which didn't mode well for a long flight to the south.  However the flying was fun, mentally challenging but not "finger biting" dramatic.  We picked our way south to Haines City staying high.  When faced with a big blue hole north of Lake Wales, I decided to dive across while Mike faded east to a line of clouds skirting the hole.  His choice didn't work out well and I got a jump on him with a strong climb north of the mall.

We both knew the Ridge was just a dream at this point, so I flew west of course line to join a sailplane and to take some pictures of skydivers at the Lake Wales airport.

Mike suggested tagging Bok Tower and then returning home.  Sounded like a great plan to me since we didn't have a driver.

I was about 5 miles due west of the tower when Mike tagged the turn point putting him a climb ahead.  He radioed he was going to follow a line of developing clouds to the east which I decided to do as well after tagging the turn point.  His decision was spot-on.  I ran into a vacuum cleaner that was sucking up birds, bugs, leaves, and one happy pilot.  I shared several turns with an immature bald eagle before diving for the edge of the cloud.

The return trip was a cake-walk.  I flew along at base arriving back at the Ranch at 5000 feet (1500m) with only two brief stops.

I wasn't done for the day so I flew north towards to the intersection of route 27 and 474 to meet Jason who was finishing up a task he and Tyson flew.  After that I floating around the Ranch in the smooth glass off before spiraling down to land with a no-stepper in calm air.

Today does look like a killer day to fly from the Ridge north, but who can complain after all the flying we're doing.

Flights: 1, Duration: 3:57, Distance: 56.2 miles

Blank Slate

Without a driver for sightseeing trips, I'm looking for other ways to challenge myself.  I spent yesterday afternoon experimenting with a variety of camera angles while tethered to the ranch.  Much to my disappointment I found a blank slate last night instead of a cache of pictures.  Crap.

Anyway, the flying was great.  Unlike most days, I delayed pushing out to launch since I thought day would improve with time.  I had to abort about 3 seconds into my first tow when my harness unzipped from the top.  A quick "re-zip", reconnect, and I was away.  Paul and I hit a strong surge around 1000 feet (300 m), but I wasn't ready to get off that low after watching others sink out.  However, when we drove through it again at 1100 (330 m) I got the hint and released into a strong climb.

I spent the rest of the afternoon zipping between strong climbs to base above 5000 feet (1500 m) but always within a glide back.  My playground for the afternoon was roughly a cylinder with a 6 mile (9.6 km) radius.  The day got even better as the sea breeze began to trigger lift everywhere.  I had long unbelievably kind glides through huge blue holes.  Oh, I also captured many flying buddies on video with a camera that wasn't recording.  Sigh.

Here are some pictures from a few days ago.

Seth looking for the perfect shot.

Malcom and Sarah

Flights: 1, Duration: 2:18

Out and Almost Back

The winds were light, the lift weak to moderate, and drivers scarce, so we decided on a closed task.  I choose to go northwest to Quest Air and back to Wallaby Ranch.

Fay towed me the southeast and dropped me off in a weak but comfy climb.

Mike and Fellipe took off before I reached base so I hung around for the next wave of pilots to climb up.  I pushed a bit west but came back to the ranch to tank up before chasing Jason and Tyson.  They where a climb and a half ahead of me, but I caught up with Jason near the route 474.  The thermals were getting stronger and it was time to "let it rip".

The "bloom" soon turned into mild "over-development" as I approached the turn point.  I pushed east to a promising cloud near the lakes but didn't find any joy.

I searched the area without success and was in the pattern to land on the airstrip when I stumbled into a few bubbles and then noticed Tyson circling at the north end of the runway.  We shared a slow climb and waved goodbye to the pilots below.

I watched Davis speed in as he completed his task.  Tyson left as I continued climbing.  I shared the climb and an enthusiastic wave with a tandem glider and then later with someone flying a sweet looking Aeros glider with a tail.

I had an easy flight south to the airfield at Seminole and then faced a tough decision.  The day was drying out but I suspected I could find a climb of the Bronson ranch.  The Bronson's don't appreciate us landing there, so I decided to instead fly into the shade along route 474.  As expected, I was soon landing.  I pulled off a sweet landing in the nil wind close to the road.

Tim and Fellipe came by to pick me up shortly after I finished packing.  All-in-all it was a good day for flying and my first out-landing for the year.

Flights: 1, Duration: 2:52, Distance: 34 miles

No Big Adventure Is No Problem

I awoke yesterday morning expecting a grand adventure that included lots of miles flying above the Florida countryside.  That changed when a large swatch of mid-level clouds drifted in from the gulf and the updated weather models indicated weaker lift and westerly instead of southeast winds.  Oh well, it was still going be to a nice day with clouds.

Fellipe and I rallied the troops around 12:30 and Fellipe was first into the air around 1:00.  I was next with a relaxing tow.  Paul dropped me off in a weak smoothie that at least kept me in the air.  After I stowed my towing gear I looked around and was dismayed to see most of the ground shaded by the quickly developing clouds.  I played around under the low cloud base, went for a glide to the southeast, gradually sank out, and had to come back to the ranch for another tow after 30 minutes.

The second tow was just as smooth and the initial climb just as weak.  Since cloud base was low, I decided to stay relatively local.  I pushed upwind to Fantasy of Flight several times.  Each time I had to dive into the blue over the red checkered water tower and would come back low.

On one trip I got so low that I unzipped in preparation for landing when I stumbled into a broken climb that saved my butt.  A few minutes later Steve pulled in below me and we worked together to escape the grip of gravity for a bit longer.

 There were a lot of birds and gliders in the air.

The sky eventually OD'ed and we floated in with landings in nearly calm conditions.  We watched Mitch fly in later in the afternoon as we were out biking and visiting the alligator in the "back pond".  Once again, the day ended with a nice sunset.

A few days ago I snapped this picture of wave clouds over the ranch.

Flights: 2, Duration: 2:08, Distance: 42 miles

Is It Blowing?

Reading and predicting the weather is always tricky, but Sunday was tougher than usual.  Weather models, the morning tandem tows, and local advice all said it was "blown out".  On the other hand, personal observation of the wind on the surface and reports from local airports indicated it was fine.

There was incentive to fly; Mike needed to test fly a glider, Aric needed an airtime fix, Nick wanted another flight before he left, and the rest of us just wanted to play in the sky.  We almost launched around 1:30, but waffled waiting for a sign from above.  It wasn't until Greg launched around 2:30 did we really know it was safe to fly.

Paul

We spent the late afternoon flying around the ranch flying in moderate southeast winds.  The winds above 4000 feet (1200 m) were stronger, so we didn't hang out at the top (5165 feet / 1575 m) lest we get blown downwind.

Landings were interesting.  I was pushed about on final in seemingly light winds.  Mike and Fillipe had to deal with similar conditions moments later.  We all landed fine but with varying degrees of "style".

Flights: 1, Duration: 1:31