[J ball]

Have had the bug real bad to do some xc since Nme took me for what turned into a nice lil out and return adventure at crestline a couple months back. Finally got a chance when i went up to lakeview this 4th.
1st flight: Had a good launch and found a nice thermal in a few minutes that i thought was gonna be my ticket out (you need to get up a few k over launch to clear a big tree filled gap behind launch). Was workin pretty good and Robert (wingman) joined me in it. Think i was a little gun shy, bein my first flight there and that gap cross was a little intimidating. So, when i felt like i was falling out of the thermal and had drifted back a ways, i chickened out and made a mad dash back to launch, eeking over the ridge..

After that, i struggled for about a half hour, till i was all alone. everyone else had climbed out and took off. Grr.. i was getting frustrated and low! I unzipped, thinkin i was done when i felt some light lift. Made myself relax and worked that baby to about 12k, drifing about a third of the way across the gap before i maxed out. Pulled full vg, tucked my elbows, rocked head low, closed my visor and off i went!

Next thing i knew, i caught up to someone that landed about 10 miles out. I finally smiled and relaxed a little more, thinkin at least i made it past someone! Woot!
10 miles later and i hear Robert say he was putting it down just before town. I see town.. I look around as im getting low and there he is rt down the ridge from me in a nice big farm field. I hear Robert come on radio, sayin he sees me and has a great landing field for me and a beer waiting. Punks tryin to lure me in! i contemplate the offer just as i catch another nice thermal. I'm gone sucker..

About 5 more miles, people where still droppin out and I was at Black Cap launch, just above the middle of town and pretty low again. Decided i was gonna head out and land at the Fairgrounds, rt where we where camped. That is, until i hit another strong thermal.. I heard Robert again, sayin there was a nice little cloud above me and i was headin rt for it. Said i should get high again and head to a nice big valley field behind Black Cap and he'd pick me up. At about 12 k again, i was heading back that way when i heard Frank (FPeel) come on and point out a big ridge to the NW a ways and said i was high enough, i should head that way. hmm, lots more trees that way but i was high.. time to tuck the elbows again. Off i go again..

I know there are three people ahead of me and im keepin a look out for them.
I make it to the ridge and follow it till it makes a 90 to the right and i can keep following it along a big lake or cross over the hwy and a gap to another small ridge. I'm pretty beat by now really thinking of landing options. I'm not loving the almost zero decent landing spots between the lake and ridge for quite a few miles so im leaning towards crossing the hwy when i spot Jay Bass over that way. That
does it and i cross over as i see him climbing up ahead of me.

I'm pretty high so i leisurely cross a few hundred feet under him and glide for a couple miles. There wasn't anymore nice farm fields, just little scrub brush every were. I pick a thinner spot up ahead, circle over it and pick out a decent line thru the brush that was pretty much in line with the wind (i got dir from my 6030 and confirmed with wind lines on a pond i crossed over a couple miles back) Came down rt where i wanted, wind was a little cross from my rt but my u2 yawed into it as i flared for a no stepper, about 30 ft from the road. Holy crap, i'm beat! But thrilled and grinning ear to ear

I moved closer to the road, unclip and look behind me to see about a 10 ft wide dust devil slowly blow past me about 50 ft away.. time to tear down! I Call the ground crew, watch Jay pass over and set up a landing a couple miles past me. I can finally relax and sit on the side of the road, waving at passing cars (must really wonder what the f i'm doing out there but, surprisingly no one stops to ask..) It was real nice out there, just reliving the flight and thinking about how crazy but amazing that was.

Got a hair under 60 miles!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9jjNckshak

[J ball]

landing area

[J ball]

setup

[J ball]

Day 2: 2nd xc flight.

Well, actually day 3. Day two looked iffy and a lot of us took the day to recover from the day before. Which made my driver happy as she drug me and my semi hourly ibuprofen habit to 4 local antique shops.. Gotta keep the driver and my worn out shoulders happy

Up to launch and get set up. More pilots today. People are comin in for the event (we where there a few days early). A few launch about 1:30 and struggle for a while until they sink out to the bail out lz. Uh oh. This isnt lookin good. I am reminded about when i got back from my retrieve the other eve and people congratulate me but worn me it was a real good day and don't expect them all to be like that up here.

First glider that looks like its goin up decent and we rush to get in line. Sylv (wife) is on my wire and i tell her "well, at least i had a great flight already, i can live with a sledder now if i have to. She gives me an awkward helmet kiss and tells me she knows me better than that and she'll see me at our campground (28ish miles away..) I get off about third or fourth, rt behind Robert. I head rt, to the point of the ridge and find good lift pretty quick. Ken Muscio, MSLR legend, (who i notice is 3rd at king rt now! Go ken!) comes in under me, followed by Robert. Me and Ken get rt up and head out. Redemption for my struggles last time! Last I saw of Robert for the flight was him losing the thermal and had to bail back out front. Ken heads for the back ridge and i head for the front. Sounded like we got out on a rare good thermal, the rest struggled at launch for a while, a few making it out.

I'm on my own again and fighting for every mile. They where rt, today was a lot more work and the traveling was mostly slow and low. I was aiming for every thing i saw that looked like a thermal trigger. They where hit and miss so i didn't hang out at any too long unless i felt ANYTHING or was so low i didn't have a choice..

About ten miles in and i've heard about several short landings. I see someone real damn low ahead of me, skimmin the tree tops, not wanting to give an inch and workin hard to stay up. I catch up, a couple hundred over and realize its Ken. Eric (the guy who got up early and had us all running off the hill like lemmings) was still up ahead of us. Next thing i know, he's gained a little and i'm sinkin out bad! This area is a suck hole! I find somethin week, gain a few hundred feet and bail to cross a little gap. I didnt care if i was gonna be crazy low at the next hill, i just wanted to get out of here! Was the right call, i found week lift as i hit the next ridge, about 500 ft below the ridge top and climb back up. Whew.. Me and Ken leapfrog for a while and i relay a message to Eric's driver that he made it to black cap and was low and setting it down at camp.

Me and Ken share thermal hunting duties and make it to Black cap ourselves. Ok, i'm happy, Sylv will be duly impressed, i'm gonna head out to land..

Wait a minute, where's Ken going? Oh no he isn't getting away from me! I find some up and chase after him. I dont get real high and the cross over to Abert Rim (the giant one Frank steered me towards on my last flight) is far and pretty sketchy. I think to myself it's gonna be close, without many good escape options at some points, but i think i can make it, if i find anything on the way over.
I'm lower than Ken about half way across, looking at peoples little yards and a few pond edges in the middle of forest as possible lz's when i find that much needed little bit of up. Ken even turned around from a ways ahead to join me. It didn't give us much but I knew i at least could make it out of here and to the nice big fields below Abers.

Looked like that was all i was gonna get was to the fields as i scraped over to and a hundred feet below the rim. Ken was several hundred over and continuing on.
I hugged the rim, getting lower and lower, hunting at every rock outcrop, a few turns here and there but, nothin that was doin me any good. About half mile down the ridge and prob a bout 500 feet below the top, i find something promising.. had to do a few S turns real close to the ground to stay in it until u got up to the 200 ft cliff face, where it got stronger and i put it on a wing tip. Every turn, staring at that cliff as i went up.. "Wow, this is f'n cool." I push out from the hill some as i reach the top, worried if there might be weird air at the top of the cliff.

I look around for Ken as i climb and he's long gone. His drivers come on my freq, they are rt below me parked in some shade, and ask how i'm doin. I tell em i'm climbin out.. then i say "woah!" They ask me "come again, what was that?" I said "that was the sound of 1600 up!" In no time i was over 12k and decided to try following Abert this time, figuring that's where Ken went. I heard Sylv come on radio and say she picked up Robert and they where comin after me.

I go on a nice long glide, barely any lift but luckily not very sinky either. Constantly scanning for Ken and possible Lz's up ahead. They were all shitty. Its real big rocks, hwy, lake.. "well, at least there arn't very many cars.. " I'm about 2/3 of the way down the lake when I here Robert on radio and we fig out they arn't too far behind me. I get down to ridge top few times but make it to the end of the lake, real low, just as they catch up to me. For some reason, it really made me happy to see them. I send em up ahead a mile or so to scout a possible lz. They say it looks decent and i head over to them. I can see Robert holding a wind streamer for me and radios up the wind dir. "Now this is service!"

Wait, i feel a little lift.. i slowly circle back up to about 10.5 and tell em to continue on, It looks like better lz's up ahead anyway and I know Ken's gotta be up here somewhere.. Robert coms on radio "umm, Ken landed about 15 miles back.." They get in the truck and take off. A few more miles further and the ridge gets pretty far from the road so i just go on glide and make few more miles where i see a nice field next to the road to land in. Up goes the streamer again as i float some big circles over them, burning off a thousand feet or so. Robert tells me "dude! if you wanna make a run back to the ridge and sink out, I'll find a way to get to you!" I think they are more excited than me at this point, i'm beat! And have had to pee bad for about an hour!

Brought it in between the road and a fence. Luckily only needed a step cause thats about all i had in me..

It was a tough day, for those that made it out, most got under 10, a couple made it to Hunters Campground (28ish) Ken got about 55 and i pulled out 75miles :mrgreen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBTgloSHBCI

[mrcc]

Con grad

[Dan Harding]

sounded like a great and rewarding flight, and that is what it is all about.

[skyshaddo]

Cool!

[pjwings]

Great story... awesome flight!! Thanks for sharing!

[Fletcher]

sweet flight for your first XC
Sounds like you earned it
You'll never forget that one
U-2s are so much fun

[Jason]

nice!

2x as far as I've ever gone

[lostgriz]

Very nice flight and great write-up! Congratulations!

[mrflyn4fun]

GO DUDE!

[NMERider]

Well done J Ball!

[gpwrinkled]

Congrats on letting the XC bug bite you hard. I foresee many enjoyable flights in your future. Nice job landing where you did, the area looks a bit intimidating from the pic. Good on ya! Now just hang a camera somewhere and start taking us with you!

[ng]

Way to go. Sounds like a fun flight.

[latunatexx]

You are the man J. Congrats
I to see big things in your future (Competition?)

[flyingpuck]

EXCELLENT!!!!!!

[dsoltz]

Wow, 60mi for a first try at XC. That's quite impressive. Even more so, considering my personal best is 30mi, albeit in a PG.

Good job landing in an area that appears to be restricted.

Congrats! Thanks for sharing :-)

Dave (H2,P4)

[day dreamer]

Get Sum!!

[J ball]

thanks all, it was an awesome trip with a great group of people to top it off!

Jason: I gotta get out there to colorado and we can wrk on that xc

Nme: Dude! i swear, you where in my head thru the flights, "you'll make it, head for that trigger, you'll make it" thanks for the encouragement.

Its gonna be tough from now on.. Beer in the lz or xc, Beer or xc...
maybe i can fig out a way to bring a cooler.. Best of both