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AT LAST!!!!! |
Sun Feb 12, 2012 8:23 am
Finally got to make the inaugural flight on my new Sport 2. Got an 18 min sledder and a no wind landing without whack. Damn, she flies nice. I am in love with the VG. Only had enough altitude for one wang, and the first thing that came to mind is "this thing gets up to speed quickly". The wingover felt very solid and was well past 90 degrees. Also, exiting the wingover, I had a LOT of speed left over and had to control the zoom climb after     The best part is today I get to do it again
Posted By: soarass 2 Comments (Post your comment) |
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Patience is Part of the Package |
Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:44 pm
I have been sitting here all week watching the North wind howl down the canyons. Knowing my new Sport 2 is lying untouched and poised on the shelf is not making things any easier. But there's hope according to the Soaring Predictor: supposed to switch South around noon Sunday! I had the pleasure of watching Ken Howells perform the factory checkride on my new Sport and even got to circle with him a bit near the LZ. His big grin accompanied the words "you're gonna like it!" Then I can get some photos to post up to the Org. I anticipate with great eagerness the horizontal expansion of my gliding envelope 
Posted By: soarass 3 Comments (Post your comment) |
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Maiden Flight |
Sun Oct 02, 2011 7:12 am
[  Mood: In Love ]
 Finally Rob McKenzie got a 175 Sport 2 demo glider for me to try out!! He said we'd go Friday @ 3:00. I didn't want to go that late, but he's been doing this a lot longer than me, and I didn't argue. After assisting/teaching me the setup, he gave very good advice about training in some muscle memory regarding finding the down tubes. The base bar is a lot narrower than my Tandem F3 and it would be easy to tangle up in the rear wires. After getting a hang check, I practiced in the air after launch. I pulled on about 1/4 VG to reduce the wire slack a bit and walked it down to launch. Launch was pretty much a non-event; just kept the nose down and ran until I was lifted off. All my concerns about dropping 50 square feet immediately were gone. This flies NICE. Also immediately evident was the much lower bar pressure, and the streamlined base bar is far more comfortable than I had anticipated. I lightened my grip on the bar and never did experience any PIO. About 150-200 feet out front, I hooked a thermal which took me back over Marshall Mountain to 5K, and had the pleasant realization that I hadn't had to work nearly as hard as thermalling with my F3. The Tandem tends to wrap in when flying solo, so you are always highsiding. After leaving that thermal, I pulled on 3/4 VG and ran South to try to catch something off Cloud Peak. Got there A LOT HIGHER than the Falcon would, but the effort was in vain. Nothing but sink the rest of the way to the LZ, but it was a LOONGGGG glide. Completely slacked off the VG before setting up an approach, and still had to scrub off altitude with extra turns before diving in for a slight southeast landing. GLAD I practiced the move to the downtubes aloft. I was a bit disappointed when I made a timid flare and almost whacked. Unsure of a new glider and didn't want to zoom up. But no harm, and got the glider back to Rob in one piece. Now I am doomed until I get the new one ordered. So to make the Falcon feel better, I went out and got 2.5 hours the next day. The best October 1st flight I've gotten.
Posted By: soarass 3 Comments (Post your comment) |
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Proud Day |
Mon Jul 18, 2011 3:51 am
[  Mood: Happy ]
Yesterday I watched my buddy Jason get his H2 from Rob McKenzie. Even with an evening launch, the air was bouyant enough to give him a little soaring time before he landed and got the papers to send in. I think we got another natural. He must have gotten sick of me always coming in crowing about airtime I dragged down that weekend. Now I got a local flying buddy!
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Rehab..... |
Sun Dec 06, 2009 10:36 pm
[  Currently: Playing ]
Rehab full velocity now. The best part is when the therapist locks the shoulder into a fixed plane of rotation, then rotates it back so far you almost piss yourself, never mind act like a little b****. BUT!!! the shoulder is stronger and improving, and I have a lot to be thankful for. PT Master says "Lay off exercise 2 days a week"! Layoff time can be as important as workout time in recovery, but DAMN, is it frustrating!! Glad I restrained myself when the frau decided "since the furniture is all piled up for the carpet cleaner, we'll just go ahead and paint". The shoulder held together through three rooms and a hall/entry. At which point, we surrendered by mutual agreement. After reconstructing the spare room, living room, and bedroom, and bringing the kittens' climbing tree back into the house, we visited family and gave ourselves a break. Looks promising for a return to light duty soon. PT Master says "8 weeks, now we can hurt you without worrying about injuring you!"...... WTF!!! Now starts the long uphill back to decent condition after laying about for two months, which hopefully would coincide nicely with the spring flying season! With approriate judgement of course. Gettin' there.
Posted By: soarass 6 Comments (Post your comment) |
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