SkyMax: Flying Wallaby

Getting there

I estimated different options on how to get to Wallaby Ranch from Massachusetts. For two of us (Natalia and I) it was slightly cheaper to drive than fly in, rent a glider, car, etc. Plus, it would allow us to stop on the way there, explore different places and take a few photos.

We loaded my truck, and got on the road early morning

: Ready to roll

On the way down, we planned a two days trip, stopping in Savannah, Georgia.

Savannah is a beautiful town and we spent a few hours there taking pictures and playing tourists. I love photography, but my main goal was to fly. I would have loved to stay another day in Savannah, but vacation days were limited. As day progressed, I was getting restless, and wanted to get on the road. We needed to get to Wallaby Ranch before dark.

: Savannah's Police Station

: Downtown Savannah

: Downtown Savannah

Welcome to Wallaby

: Wallaby

We arrived to Wallaby at dusk. We hoped to rent one of the cabins, and skip camping in a tent, but everything was taken because of WW demo days. We only could get a cabin for the first night and we took that option to avoid setting up a tent in the dark.

When morning arrived, we got coffee and breakfast (food was excellent, by the way), I filled out all necessary papers so I could fly there and ... Winds were blowing 25-30 miles on the surface. No flying.

Winds were supposed to die down around 3-4PM, and the next day a storm was predicted in the evening - high winds, rain, thunderstorms. It looked like not much flying was in the cards for me.

: Good Morning Wallaby!

: Xmass Tree

: Our camp... Next to a Tom's ALiner camper.

Forecast held for the day and by 4:30PM a line of pilots to be towed up formed at one side of the ranch.

: In line for a tow

I was really impressed how efficient operation at Wallaby was. Three tugs were constantly towing people up. Staff on the ground was assisting with carts retrieval, and getting pilots back in the tow line after they landed.

I had 3 flights with the first one being a sledder, seconds being an extended sledder, and on the third one I played with a weak thermal for 20 minutes. I couldn't have been happier. I eventually lost that thermal, and couldn't find a replacement, but still, if you followed my posts from 2013, it was a huge progress for me.

I logged about 1.5 hours that day, and got my confidence back for a demo flight the next morning. The only thing that slightly worried me was landings. Flare on Falcon was still a mystery to me, and on two of my landings I ended up on my knees. Not a big deal, but not a confidence inspiring result either.

...

The day ended with great food and live music. A good company made it all even better. A few people I knew traveled for the event as well - Tom Lanning, Peter Judge, and Matt Carr.

: Dinner bell

: Live music is on

: Peter Judge

: Amy and Tom Lanning

: Matt Carr

Sport 2

The next morning, I grabbed my helmet and harness and went looking for Steve Pearson, Wills Wing designer who was in charge of the event. There were a couple of people in front of me who wanted to try Sport 2 as well. It was an early morning and overcast, so the flights were short, and I didn't have to wait too long before it was my turn. Steve adjusted a hang loop for me, gave me a few pointers on use of VG, and off I went.

As soon as the glider lifted out of the cart, my worries all disappeared. This glider was so easy to tow, it was practically flying on its own. When I released, I played with the glider at different VG settings. In calm morning air, the glider was super easy to control. It was turning by just thinking about it.

Then came time to land. I forgot to mention that Ryan Voight was running a landings clinic. He setup a camera, and told everyone who wanted to participate - simply land next to it. You'd be observed, filmed, and critiqued later on.

To land there, I felt I had to setup my approach much lower over the trees than I was comfortable with, so I knew I was going long, but better safe than sorry. Anyway, on my first landing, I left quarter of VG on, made a few S-turns to lose altitude, and went on a long final. I was surprised how easy the glider responded to my inputs, and how much easier it was for me to feel the glider in ground effect. I was still a tad late with my flare, but overall it felt much easier to land than Falcon. I was all smiles and giggles - I wanted this glider. No, I NEEDED this glider. NOW!

One of the guys from the ground crew commented that I wasn't towing right behind the plane, and I should go for another run, and fix it. I didn't really feel like my first tow was that bad but hey, I was up for another flight in that great glider. There were no other pilots wanting to test fly Sport2 so I immediately went for another flight. It felt even better the second time around. Now I needed to get $5K. ASAP :-)

: Landing demo Sport 2 (photo courtesy of Ryan Voight)

I spent afternoon listening to Ryan and Paul Voight discussing different aspects of landing a glider. Ryan presented a lot of video evidence for every point he was making. It was educational. Then he reviewed videos he took earlier in the morning. He gave me a few suggestions on how to improve my landings, also how to change final approach for better spot landing. That part was important to me as I eventually was going for H3 rating that has a spot landing test.

: Ryan Voight

Non-flying fun

That was it for my flying in Florida. The rest of the day was all overcast, a perfect weather for sledders, and not the one to play with thermals. I didn't feel like taking another short tow in a Falcon, so we hiked around Wallaby Ranch property instead:

: Wallaby Ranch trails

The next day, as forecasted, huge storm rolled in. The wind was so strong, it took down the big tent outside that was set for the Wills Wing sponsored party. And a lightning struck ground maybe 300 yards from cafeteria where everyone was weathering the storm. A bit later, Mitch Shipley found a few pieces of sand baked by lightning

: Baked sand

Before the storm, we packed our tent and checked into a hotel a few miles away. We also spent time driving around, trying exotic food, and just playing tourists. Once I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere, I was enjoying taking photos.