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Great Miami River Days Tows (quick and dirty) |
Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:31 pm
Did some river tows today. Just demos for the River Days. I'm tired, here is a very quick/sloppy edit.
(not yet uploaded, but it will be after I'm asleep.)
http://youtu.be/r9KFp1KcyuQ
Posted By: CHassan They said... Reply!? |
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Sunday 8/19/2012 |
Mon Aug 20, 2012 2:56 am
I knew going to bed late sat, that I was going to head to Wesmar if the forecast looked good in the morning. I was up with the sun, and after looking at the forecast my day was planned.
Drove over to Wesmar, set up, and did the usual hang waiting, procrastinating, and waiting for someone to stick. Eventually we decided it was looking good enough to try. There had been several tows early, but all ended in extended decent.
Now a fresh line started. Two pilots went up, and two pilots came down. The third pilot released early in the turbulence. That meant #4 was due up. I was #4.
Soon after leaving the ground I wondered if I should just pin off and call it a day. I was already tired from a long Saturday moving my aunt, and a long Saturday night by the fire pit with the neighbors. Here I was at 500’ and I’d already been through lift, sink, turbulence, more lift and more turbulence. I knew it was going to be a very active tow. Nearing the top of the tow things calmed down, but there was a moment of heart sinking realization that though I was still hooked to the tug, my vario had not made a sound in ½ a circle. Not a beep. It slowly started chirping again, but it wasn’t singing a real pleasant tone.
Eventually I hit 2k, but the vario was still only reading 300fpm up. On tow that means you are in sinking air. So I waited until the tug started climbing out on me and as he continued up I went ahead and released. It took me a few minutes and a couple trips “over the falls”, but I finally found my little slice of heaven. It was a 600fpm thermal with sharp edges and a small core. I bucked up, dug a tip in the middle of it and spun my way to 5300’.
The often present blue hole was surrounding the field, and I was about smack dab in the middle of it. My accent to 5300’ was abruptly halted. I almost felt like I literally bounced off the ceiling. Yet looking across to the large cummies surrounding me, I saw I still had a ways to go before I would reach the bottom of them. I worked 3 or 4 more thermals in the blue, just trying to pound my way above 5300. A few other pilots were climbing out to the east under the clouds. There was lift all over in the blue hole so I didn’t feel the need to race away to join them.
I was around 5k and found a nice core. Strong and small, but as solid as could be. I made a few turns, passed 5300, and then things started getting better. 7.5 on the average, 7.8 on the average. I looked up and a cloud was forming. It wasn't long and the cloud grew quite large. I leveled out and pulled in to get to the edge before I was sucked in and spit out 20,000’ later.
I made a couple trips in and out of the lift that fed this monster. Flying straight across the bottom at 40ish mph I was seeing over 600 fpm. By the time I was as close as I wanted to get to the bottom, I was actually looking down on the surrounding clouds. I probably could have climbed a couple more hundred feet and not greyed out.
I was going to head for the 3 gliders to the east, but Eric P in his ridged was heading my way. I decided to go cross wind to the lake about 7 miles away. I tanked up under my cloud one more time, told the guys where I was going and headed out. There was a nice looking series of clouds just east of the lake I targeted. Turns out they were much farther away than I anticipated. After an agonizing glide to them, I was left with less altitude than I started my glide with, and a quartering headwind back to the field. This didn’t look good. I had to find something, but I didn’t.
I turned tail and ran for Five Points, between me and the field. I wasn’t going to make it beck unless I found lift, which I did. Nothing like what I had been seeing. It was 1.0 and 1.2 on the average. The lift was bubbly, disorganized, and fading fast. I wanted to make a run up to Mt. Sterling, but after the first glide I was pushing my limits on making it back to the field. I decided in my last thermal I was heading back to the field. My last glide had me there about 900’ over, and not a beep between where I was and where I ended.
I made a high speed downwind pass, pulled around dropped the VG settled in ground effect, and watched as my flair window passed me by. Add in my half assed flair and I had to take a knee and drop the bar. Not happy at all with the landing.
It was a fun flight with strong lift, strong sink, light winds and good friends.
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July 29, 2012 A good day to fly Ohio! |
Sun Jul 29, 2012 4:18 am
[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Working ]
So I had a night to sleep on it and here is my story.
I arrived early hoping to set up a classic glider of John's. I need something to fly at the Great Miami River Days and John offered his Moyes Maxi circa 1977. Last John had seen it he loaned it out to someone and wasn't sure if it was all there. Sadly it wasn't. The control bar has been misplaced somewhere along years. Ahh well. Later Rick mentioned he had an old Raven sitting at home. I've been given permission to wash that wing up for him with fresh clean "mountain stream" water.
So I started setting up with a couple other guys at the west end of the field. I don't know what happened, but I looked up at one point and I swear I saw 15 or so gliders set up. It looked like flight park. Must have been something in the air.
Matt G took a flight "early" around 11:30. John's first tandem went up a bit after that, but John didn't come straight back down. With a sky full of cu's I decided I was going to chance an early start too. Steve W, Ken, and Mike C all beat me to the punch. I think most of them managed to scratch up to cloud base, as when I launched I was looking up at a couple gliders.
Rick towed me up and through some decent lift. About 800 on the average. When we came back around and he shot up, I pinned around 1800 I think. But finding the lift I saw previously was not easy. I scratched in zero, and 20 up. I think it took me 20 or 30 minutes to finally get and stay above 2k. Soon there after it was cloud base, and the day was on for me.
I couldn't tell you how many glides I took, or how many thermals I worked. I made a couple trips to Derby, almost touched Mt Sterling, and Almost tagged Five Points. I know I flew some with Larry, Dan, and Steve. I also got a good look at John and a tandem passenger I think I worked the same lift as several other gliders, but I couldn't tell who they were.
I spent the majority of the day bouncing from cloud to cloud. Come out from under one and have to dive down to get below the next. There were a few glides under connected clouds (not quite organized enough to call a street) where I would go 4 or 5 mile glides with only a few hundred feet of altitude loss.
The few times I got down around 2k it did get a little sketchy. Lift above 2500 or so was much easier to find and work. Thankfully I didn't get low very often. My first trip to Derby had me worried about getting back. Near mt Sterling I again got uneasy about making it. At Five points I was sure I needed more altitude to make the field. I found enough lift to get from 2500 to about 3500, and made it back to the field with just over 2k to spare.
The Climax was a joy to fly. I think the Climax has a built in left turn. Every glider I've flown I've preferred right turns in a thermal, but the Climax feels rock steady to the left, but to the right it is like your neighbor's wife sitting on you lap. A little awkward and embarrassing if anyone should happen to see you.
I still have to get use to the glide being so flat. It just goes and goes and goes.
So I burned up a few thousand feet over the field, set up and landing nice and easy to end my 4+ hour day. That makes my longest flight to date.
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Nice flight today. |
Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:19 pm
Chillin at the Newark/Heath airport waiting on my ride.
Topped out over 7K today. Pretty darn good for Ohio.
Flew for 3.5 hours. Pretty darn good for Ohio.
Knocked of 41 miles. Could have gon farther I think, but I was beat, and the terrain any farther was scary looking. Still 41 miles from point to point. Pretty darn good for Ohio.
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A gathering. |
Wed May 16, 2012 8:52 am
SO I've had some pretty good local XC flights. Not a huge amount, and I don't have the track logs for all of them, but here are the ones I could find.
Longest was 58 mile dogleg from Wesmar to Wakefield (51 mile straight line.
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